Explain yourselves

Nothing to see here, folks. Just move along.

That’s essentially the line that the prime minister, defence minister and top commander of the Canadian Armed Forces are asking us to accept in the wake of the sudden disappearance of the forces’ second-in-command.

It isn’t good enough. The Canadian public, as well as the military, deserve a proper explanation of why the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, has been suddenly sidelined amid reports that a leak of top-secret defence information may be involved.

Norman was abruptly relieved of his duties in a notice signed by Gen. Jonathan Vance, chief of the defence staff.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau say they support the decision — and that’s all they will say.

Apparently, no one at the top of the military or government thinks the public has a right to be in on this secret, even though national security issues may be at stake.

Citing confidential sources, the Globe and Mail reports that Vance’s decision followed an RCMP investigation into an alleged leak of “top-secret” defence information. The RCMP itself won’t confirm or deny any details of any investigation that may (or may not) have taken place.

But the fact remains that ejecting such a senior officer from his “powers, duties and functions” (even “temporarily,” as a defence department spokesperson told the Star) is a shocking and possibly unprecedented move in the Canadian military, and cries out for answers.

The opposition Conservatives are quite properly pressing for more information, with defence critic James Bezan noting that “when a decision of this magnitude is made, Canadians deserve to be kept informed.”

The deafening silence on such a move is all the more confusing because of the build-up Norman received when he was officially installed in the No. 2 position just last August.

By all accounts, the vice-admiral has had a brilliant career spanning almost 40 years and including serving as head of the Royal Canadian Navy. In his new job, he helped Vance oversee a defence department with 119,000 employees and an annual budget of $18.6 billion. Vance himself praised him extravagantly, saying Norman “does much, if not most, of the heavy lifting that keeps defence running.”

What could possibly have changed so dramatically in only five months? Canadians should not be kept in the dark. The government needs to provide a full explanation of what’s going on here.

The opposition Conservatives are quite properly pressing the government for more information