Killing an Honourable Reputation by a Dishonourable Disputant

"Vice-Admiral Norman remains committed to the Navy, the Canadian Armed Forces and their mission. However, after consulting with his family, his chain of command, and his counsel, VAdm Norman has decided to retire from the Canadian Armed Forces."
"Both parties believe that this resolution will return focus to the critical work of the Canadian Forces, which is the protection of all Canadians."
"The Government of Canada thanks VAdm Norman for his 38 years of dedicated service, and wishes him well in all of his future endeavours."
Department of National Defence, Ottawa

Vice-Admiral Mark Norman is retiring. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's agenda when the Liberal government he heads followed the previous Conservative-led government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, was to reverse all the decisions made by the Harper government. Everything from new laws enacted by the previous government to military acquisitions for the Armed Forces. Trudeau's new Liberal government changed all the names of government departments to fully distinguish them as 'his' new departments under his 'Canada-is-back' plan of re-establishing the Liberals as Canada's natural-governing party.

The Conservative government's plan to contract to purchase badly-needed Lockheed Martin's F-35 jets was jettisoned by Trudeau, and Canada ended up with elderly second-hand Australian fighter jets in an ongoing contretemps of juggling various options, none of which played out satisfactorily, leaving Canada limping along on aged jets reflective of Trudeau's intransigence. A military re-fuelling supply vessel that the Conservative Minister of Defence urged the second-in-command of the Canadian Forces, head of the Naval command, to pursue represented yet another issue Trudeau countermanded.

Documents linked to a Liberal cabinet meeting where the supply ship contract was discussed and the decision to sink it was made, were leaked and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau focused on Mark Norman, then second-in-command of the Forces as the culprit. An RCMP investigation was launched over a matter that in Ottawa saw such 'leaks' of confidential documents taking place on a regular basis simply being overlooked as 'business as usual'. Vice-Admiral Norman's home was raided by police, his files and computers taken away.

The Trudeau government meant to discard the contract for the supply ship from a Quebec shipyard and consider contracting instead with an East-Coast shipyard that was lobbying the government, and had close contacts with the-then president of the Treasury Board who made overtures on their behalf.
When news of the situation leaked and saw publication it was an embarrassment to Trudeau and he vented his rage on Norman, going so far a year before charges were eventually laid, as to twice state publicly that the issue would be going to trial.

Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, pictured with his defence lawyer Marie Henein, and the government released a joint statement on Wednesday, announcing they had a reached a 'mutually acceptable agreement' and that he would be retiring from military service. Mr. Norman had previously said he planned to resume his duties. The Hill Times file photograph by Andrew Meade

When it did, eventually, Vice-Admiral Norman's legal team unearthed evidence given them by  former Conservative Cabinet members clarifying without doubt that Norman was simply following orders, as he contended throughout his two-year ordeal. Chief of the Defence Staff Jonathan Vance had lost little time in informing his second-in-command, however, that he would be deposed from his duties. In essence, abandoning a close colleague, and giving fuel to the fire of suspicion, rather than supporting him.

Charged with one count of breach of trust after his January 2017 suspension, in May of 2019 prosecutors informed the court at trial that there was no likelihood of a conviction. Norman's legal expenses over the period in question amounted to about $1 million in his defence, which the Armed Forces declined to pay as is usually routinely done, but not in his case. Once the charges were stayed, however, the decision was reversed, and Chief of the Defence Staff Vance declared his intention to welcome Norman back to active duty.

Norman's previous role, however, was occupied, and it doesn't take much imagination to understand what a difficult working situation it would be for him. The oppressive misery he suffered resulting from Prime Minister Trudeau's intention to discredit and charge Norman with no due cause, would not be readily eased, nor would an apology from Trudeau be forthcoming. Arrangements were being made for a civil suit against the government, perhaps pre-empted by this non-disclosure agreement concluded between Vice-Admiral Norman and the government of Canada.

"This is unparalleled in Canadian history when one of our most trusted public servants, the second highest ranking member of the military, was essentially dragged through a public show trial, in many ways, over something he was later vindicated over."
"All of it could have been avoided."
former Conservative cabinet minister Erin O'Toole

Mr. Trudeau, for you and Mr. Sajjan to duck the reading of the approved by all parties parliamentary apology to Vice-Admiral Norman supports Elton John’s thesis, “Sorry seems to be the hardest word.”   Roy Green

Resignation Required  :  Reinstatement Desired

"Vice-Admiral Norman, you entered a plea of not guilty."
"You are presumed to be innocent and you remain so."
"You are free to leave."
Ontario Court Justice Heather Perkins-McVey  -- April 9, 2019

"[Norman is] a highly experienced and successful officer."
"VAdm Norman has had, and will continue to have, the trust of senior military and civilian leadership."
Chief of the Defence Staff General Jon Vance/Deputy Minister Jody Thomas  -- April 10, 2019

"I have compelling, sobering and frightening information."
Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
General Vance to Vice-Admiral Norman -- January 2017

Chief of Defence Staff Jonathan Vance and Vice-Admiral Mark Norman on their way to court, separately, on Jan. 30, 2019. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, the second-ranking officer in the Canadian Forces was accused of leaking information relating to a shipbuilding contract for the government to a lobbyist and reporter. The previous Conservative government had contracted with a Quebec-based shipyard to convert a ship for the Canadian Navy to a supply vessel, badly needed for Canada's military to fulfill its NATO obligations. When Justin Trudeau and the Liberals came to power, Trudeau set about reversing as many decisions made by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government as he could manage.

Then-head of the Treasury Board, Scott Brison, introduced to the newly-installed Cabinet at a meeting a lobbying request from a rival shipbuilder in Nova Scotia known to be a Liberal supporter, and planned to cancel the Quebec-based contract in favour of the Nova Scotia shipbuilder, paying a penalty of $96-million in the process. When the news was leaked to the media, a great controversy embarrassing the government ensued, and the Prime Minister's Office was determined to identify who leaked that information.

It could have been any of a dozen people. The Privy Council Office itself, identified about six suspects, all privy to the same information that Vice-Admiral Norman was chosen by the PMO and obviously Trudeau himself, to pay a penalty for. That penalty was the utter destruction of his long and honourable career, and the penury that comes with trying to defend himself with mounting legal costs that the government with its deep coffers had no concerns with itself.

Stunned and declaring himself innocent of such charges, but resourceful enough to employ the services of a formidable legal team, the end result of a two-and-a-half-year effort to destroy this man ended with the Public Prosecution Service withdrawing the government's legal case against Norman. Vice-Admiral Norman, relieved of the elephant that had sat on his back for so long, thanked his legal team, his supporters and well-wishers and noted his intention to return to duty.

Justin Trudeau, whose spitefully petty sense of entitlement was wholly responsible for the agony this man suffered, spoke not a word of apology, an apology that came readily to his lips when it was directed toward Canadian Islamists found guilty of terrorism, accompanied by handsome a cheque of multiple millions in compensation for his 'ordeal' in facing justice. It took a full year for legal charges to fall on Norman after he was suspended from duty, but in the interim Trudeau had informed the news media that a trial would be forthcoming, even before charges were laid.

Now, to the issues revolving around the honourable Canadian Chief of Defence Staff General Jon Vance. When Vance called for Norman to meet with him in January 2017, briefed by the RCMP, he planned to suspend the vice-admiral despite an absence of proof, but based on vague allegations. Vance informed his second-in-command he was suspended from command, having lost confidence in Norman's ability to act in the capacity he held.

No explanation, no opportunity given him for a hearing so Norman could respond to allegations, based only on unproven claims supporting the search warrant the RCMP used to invade Norman's home and carry away all documents, files, devices in his possession with which to build a case against him. It took a year after that for a formal charge of criminal action to be lodged. The letter from Vance relating to Norman's approval forwarded to senior staff was itself leaked to news media from an insider at National Defence but no investigation was launched.

Vance refused to explain why the vice-admiral was removed, not to Norman not to the news media, not to his law team, much less what 'evidence' existed to charge him. A civil servant in fact, was charged with releasing documents on the very same issue -- whereas Norman was charged with verbally passing information. Norman's request for his legal bills to be paid by the Defence Department -- normal procedure -- was turned down with the claim he was guilty of disclosing confidential information. This, before any charges were actually laid.

At trial, a name-protected senior naval officer came forward to explain that a brigadier-general had informed him that no efforts were to be made to secure documentation and files required by Norman's defence. His name not revealed to safeguard him from retribution. His decision to come forward a reflection of his personal sense of honour in defence of a fellow member of the military unjustly accused. Neither Vance nor Minister of Defence Harjit Sajjan searched their records as required and requested by Norman's defence team.

In the final analysis, the Public Prosecutors were unable to mount a case against Norman for lack of evidence. And after carefully scrutinizing the files assembled in defence of Vice-Admiral Norman by his defence team, the prosecutors concluded there was no possibility of defending the charge against the vice-admiral. As to Vice-Admiral Norman's stated desire to return to his office and resume his post as second-in-command of Canada's military, one can only wonder at the man's fortitude; that he could envision working alongside someone of the ilk of his commanding officer.

This drama is not concluded. The day following his acquittal and his statement of returning to work, Canada's Minister of Defence, Harjit Sajjan, a creature of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, stated that Norman would not be granted his previous job of vice-chief of the defence staff. For a military man himself, albeit in the reserves, he betrays the ignorance of entitlement in not understanding that this is a decision not to be made by him, but by another of Trudeau's vassals, Jonathan Vance.

Vice-Admiral Mark Norman and his lawyer Marie Henein attend a press conference in Ottawa on May 8, 2019.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

Crucifying an Honourable Man

"I am confident that at all times I acted with integrity, I acted ethically, and I acted in the best interest of the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Forces, and ultimately the people of Canada."
"I'm obviously pleased with the Crown's decision to withdraw the charges against me."
"While I am relieved to be exonerated of any wrong-doing, I am disappointed it has taken this long. The alarming and protracted bias of perceived guilt across the senior levels of government has been quite damaging, and the emotional and financial impacts of this entire ordeal have taken their toll."
Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, former second-in-command of Canadian Armed Forces

"Vice-Admiral Norman, you entered a plea of not guilty."
"You are presumed to be innocent, and  you remain so. You are free to leave."
Ontario Court Justice Heather Perkins-McVey, Ottawa

"No person should walk into a courtroom fighting their elected government of any sort of political factors."
"The government has been at the table. They've been at the table with seven or eight lawyers from the Justice Department. The charges were referred by the [Privy Council Office], the PCO is the holder of records ... to this day, because of the position taken by the PMO [Prime Minister's Office] and PCO."
"To say there was an interest [from political government] in this case puts it mildly; the people standing in the way of ... full disclosure was the government."
"What you don't do is, you don't put a finger and try to weigh in on the scales of justice."
Marie Heinen, Admiral Norman defence team

Vice-Admiral Mark Norman and his lawyer Marie Henein: Norman left an Ottawa courtroom free and vowing to return to duty after federal Crown prosecutors stayed their breach-of-trust case against the military's former second-in-command.  (Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

"This new information definitely provided greater context to the conduct of Vice-Admiral Norman, and it revealed a number of complexities in the process that we were not aware of."
"Based on the new information we have come to the conclusion that given the particular situation involving Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, there is no reasonable prospect of conviction in this case."
Barbara Mercier, Crown prosecutor 

It is an open secret and always has been that because the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau felt embarrassed by its clumsy interference in a matter of military procurement of a naval supply ship when in 2015 the Liberal government followed the previous Conservative government by immediately taking steps to reverse all decisions made by their predecessors. a spirit of vengeful spite led the Prime Minister's Office under Trudeau's direction to find and to prosecute whoever they assumed had leaked confidential Cabinet information to a news source.

That the PCO had determined at least six people privy to what had been discussed; a second-thought on proceeding with an already-signed contract to convert a ship to supply capacity by a Montreal shipyard to contracting instead with an East coast shipyard, absorbing a $68-million penalty in the process, did not stop the wheels turning to have the RCMP look into Justin Trudeau's certainty that then-second-in-command of the Canadian military, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, had improperly given secret Cabinet data to alert the Montreal shipyard.

Information that leaked into the public realm when a news source made it public, embarrassing the government so that it had little option but to proceed with the original contract which was delivered on price and on time. What then ensued was a prolonged targeting of Vice-Admiral Norman whose home was invaded by RCMP officers who confiscated all computers, hard drives, files and other material, including personal items, to aid in their 'investigation. Norman was relieved of his position and placed on hold.

His commanding officer, Chief of Defence Staff Jonathan Vance rather than defending his second-in-command appears to have lent himself to the removal of Norman, an act of betrayal hitherto unknown in the Canadian military command. In lock-step with the actions of the Prime Minister of Canada who forecasted a full year before Vice-Admiral Norman was formally charged, that a trial would be forthcoming. Norman declared his innocence to little avail; he was left dangling in the wind for a full year, uncertain of what was happening, distraught at his unforeseen situation.

He had the good sense to hire one of Canada's foremost lawyers in Marie Henein whose past clients have been similarly high-profile personalities, albeit not always sympathetic public figures. She set about putting government on notice that she would require files and records, including Norman's own, to be able to properly represent him in court. In response to which, military command, the PCO and the PMO did their best to obfuscate and demur, dragging their heels in producing relevant files to enable the defence.

It was patently clear over the past year in preparation for the defence of Vice-Admiral Norman that his law team was being blocked from access to significant material that would prove his innocence of the absurd charges. "He has always maintained his innocence from the beginning, and as I hope is clear in the conduct of this case, we were prepared to fight right to the end to establish it. He did nothing inappropriate, he did nothing criminal", stated Ms. Henein, after the Crown withdrew its charge.

The military, which had deigned not to pay Vice-Admiral Norman's mounting legal expenses, as is regularly done in support of their own, now announced that it was prepared to cover those expenses. A retired general who had run in the 2015 election as a Liberal notified Justin Trudeau of his intention to act as a witness on behalf of Norman. Another officer currently in the military testified that he witnessed deliberate obstruction by senior officers in providing necessary files for the Norman defence.

The entire affair of Justin Trudeau's petty vindictive interference in the Public Prosecutorial Service in the previous case of SNC Lavalin, played out like a Tin Pot Dictatorship. This Liberal government has been an absolute disgrace, an embarrassment to the people of Canada, and a hindrance to advancing Canadian interests both domestically and abroad.

Trudeau's Petty Vindictiveness

"Don't worry, this isn't our first rodeo. We made sure we never used his name. Send back the nil return [access to information request]."
"He seemed proud to provide that response."
"It just doesn't seem right, the way the whole situation played out, when I was thinking back about it."
"I just wanted to make it known, whether it's relevant or not."
Witness for the defence; name protected

"In spite of the fact that I believe my view is clear, I continue to receive enquiries about my position regarding cabinet confidences pertaining to my government as relates to the case involving
Admiral Norman."
"As I recently indicated publicly, I do not assert cabinet confidence for documents relevant to this proceeding."
Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper

Vice-Admiral Mark Norman's lawyers are accusing the federal government of obfuscation after obtaining an email from former prime minister Stephen Harper confirming he has no objection to releasing secret documents relevant to the case. Vice Admiral Mark Norman arrives to the Ottawa Courthouse in Ottawa on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018. Photo: Sean Kilpatrick

"The passive position taken by the Crown throughout this investigation and throughout this application in my respectful submission, is profoundly concerning. [It represents evidence of] obfuscation and gamesmanship [on the part of the Crown]."
"How extraordinary that Vice-Admiral Norman after three years, three years of this investigation, that it is his counsel that has to try to unravel this, that has to try to bring the relevant information before this honourable court."
"To suggest this isn't obfuscation and gamesmanship, when we directly asked again and again [about both the Harper waiver and the government's position on cabinet confidence] they [the government] have refused to answer that question since July."
"After three and a half years, how is it that his counsel has to try to unravel this? And this is the tip of the iceberg."
Marie Henein, counsel for the defence of Vice-Admiral Mark Norman

Mark Norman with his lawyer Marie Henein in September 2018. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press/File

Vice-Admiral Mark Norman who until the RCMP was requested to investigate him for leaking secret government information, was the second in command of the Canadian Armed Forces, has faced an uphill battle to defend himself against the single charge that has ruined his career and blemished his otherwise extraordinary reputation. The charge the Trudeau government has laid against him is a single count of criminal breach of trust relating to the iAOR -- the interim Auxiliary Oil Replenishment vessel for the Canadian navy.

That vessel is a floating energy source for Canadian warships. The Navy once had two in operation, so old and decrepit they were finally decommissioned. The government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in recognition of the urgency of such a supply ship had put into motion a temporary replacement until new supply ships could be built. Davie Shipyards in Quebec was given the contract. But when the Trudeau government succeeded the Harper government one of the first things done was to place the contract on hold when a Vancouver shipyard lobbied new government Treasury Board President Scott Brison (a Vancouver M.P.) to cancel with Davie and award the contract to Irving Shipbuilding.

It was Brison's intervention and Trudeau's intention to cancel the Davie Shipyards contract that was leaked to a CBC journalist and to Davie by any number of sources who had access to that information that the Privy Council Office was aware of. The public learned of the expense involved in the contract's cancellation and was not pleased. The result was that the Trudeau government was intent on using Vice-Admiral Norman as a target for punishment for embarrassing the Prime Minister into making good on the Davie contract once the scandal was publicly aired.

Vice-Admiral Norman's lawyers have been frustrated in their attempts to have government files released to them in their defence of the man's innocence of the charge brought against an honourable public servant. Where government lawyers have interfered with normal defence access to witnesses and failing to disclose records useful to his defence. Out of the blue two witnesses for the defence have presented themselves. One, a former analyst at the Privy Council Office who routinely took notes of meetings between the PCO and the office of the Prime Minister (PMO) which it advises.

"I think these notes would be relevant to your defence. I brought them to the attention of the government, and I understand that they will be provided to you. But I wanted to make sure", Melissa Burke wrote to the Vice-Admiral's lawyers. Well, the PMO did have the notes but had no intention of sending them over to the defence. And though most background information requested by the defence dates from the Harper government era, the current government, citing security issues, has stalled on releasing them, even though Prime Minister Harper is in support of his government's documents' release.

Another witness that turned up was a member of the Canadian Forces known as "Witness A", whose name has been withheld to avoid repercussions from government. He recounted how a smiling brigadier-general had him withhold documents relating to a request to release them to the defence. "We made sure we didn't use his (Norman's) name", he was told so the automatic file search would not identify the documents in question since his name had been absent on them. Consequently, lead counsel Marie Henein is now subpoenaing that brigadier-general, along with Chief of the Defence Staff Jonathan Vance and former deputy Department of National Defence minister John Forster.

And Ontario Court Judge Heather Perkins-McVey who is holding the relevant hearings, has commented on the new revelations brought before her as "Troubling. Very troubling".

Trudeau's Spiteful Vendetta

"[Vice-Admiral Mark] Norman appears to be the first person in Canadian history to be criminally prosecuted for a purported violation of Cabinet confidences. This, in circumstances where he was not generally a participant in any Cabinet meetings and did not leak any Cabinet documents."
"[Davie Shipbuilding and then CBC journalist James Cudmore had thus] already obtained information regarding the Cabinet meeting from other sources [prior to communicating with Mark Norman about the project delay]."
"The PCO [Privy Council Office] investigation found that there were six separate leaks related to the Ad Hoc Committee alone, including to two separate CBC reporters, Radio-Canada, and the lobbying firm Fleishman & Hillard. The sources of most of the leaks identified in the PCO investigation remain unknown."
Defence Application for government documents, Ottawa courthouse

One year after Vice-Admiral Mark Norman was suspended from his position, the investigation into allegations he leaked cabinet secrets to a Quebec shipbuilder has yet to result in charges. (CBC)

Justin Trudeau, as prime minister of Canada, has no love for anyone he suspects of having crossed him in any way. His intention of continuing to starve the Canadian military of essential equipment such as the badly needed naval supply ship rather than continue to rely on renting such an essential ship from a foreign country to enable the Canadian navy to carry out its required duties was thwarted when word got out of his intention of scrapping a conversion of a ship to supply ship purposes as a temporary measure until eventually a new one could be commissioned.

Trudeau was furious and ordered that whomever was responsible for alerting the contract holder to the prime minister's intentions giving the news media another Trudeau failure to trumpet, have his feet held to the fire. The easiest target was the vice-chief of the Defence Staff, it appears. That he was second-in-command of the Canadian Forces didn't appear to present as a deterrent; Trudeau wanted someone's head to roll, and Vice-Admiral Norman's was chosen precisely for occupying that elite level of command as an example to anyone else who might consider foiling any of Trudeau's plans.

It's an old, tried-and-true strategy of dictators and autocrats, both of which class of world leaders Justin Trudeau has expressed a measure of admiration for; they deal abruptly and with finality with any who dare detract from their greatness. Vice-Admiral Norman's home was invaded by an RCMP investigative team on orders from the PMO. His home was ransacked, computers, thumb drives, documents, both professional and personal without differentiation, were hauled out of the home into RCMP possession.

Vice-Admiral Norman was left dangling for a year, with no charges levelled, simply accusations. Until finally, charges were finally laid, charging him with violating Cabinet confidences. Trudeau had, during a townhall meeting of questions and answers, been challenged by someone present over the year-long RCMP investigation of Norman, characterizing it as a "witch hunt". Trudeau's response to which was that the investigation would "inevitably" lead to "court processes", irrespective that this naval officer of stellar ranking hadn't been charged with a crime.

Vice-Admiral Mark Norman leaves court with his lawyer Marie Henein following a hearing in Ottawa, Tuesday September 4, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Norman's legal team brings up the simple fact that no evidence exists that he leaked cabinet documents. He had been busy doing his job, executing and overseeing that the orders of elected officials were followed, the while facing resistance from "several senior civil servants", one of whom was responsible for the leak, a government employee. A leak, furthermore when it was a reality that leaks of all kinds from government are business-as-usual, a situation rarely prosecuted.

The application also pointed out that an internal investigation by the Privy Council Office (which advises the PMO) had validated that at least 42 individuals knew of the planned cabinet committee discussion relating to the ship contract beforehand, and at least 73 people knew the results pertaining to the contract afterward, a rather large pool of potential suspects by any measure, yet it was the vice-admiral upon whom suspicion thudded with a vengeance.

In fact then-CBC journalist James Cudmore reported the delay planned of the contract Davie Shipbuilding had been awarded. The embarrassing publicity forced the government to reverse its intentions and proceed with the supply ship award.  Norman's defence, none other than Marie Heinen whose professionalism in criminal-defence trials is becoming legendary, believes that a senior civil servant with the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency disclosed the cabinet documents at issue to a lobbyist who then fulfilled his obligations by passing them to Davie Shipyards.

Contained within the defence application is 52 requests for government disclosure on the basis that the documents thus far disclosed represent "selective evidence cherry-picked by the prosecution", and to properly defend their client, the defence requires "the full narrative of government activity as it pertained to the (ship contract)." The more that is revealed about this case and the absurdity of its ongoing persecution of a man whom colleagues hold as a professional in the highest esteem, the more is revealed about the persona of a nasty little man who just happens to be a prime minister of Canada.

A small group of protesters turned up outside the Ottawa courthouse on May 16, 2018 to show their support for Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, who was charged with one count of breach of trust in relation to a shipbuilding contract. (Murray Brewster/CBC News)