OTTAWA, Ont. — The newly exonerated Vice-Admiral Mark Norman says he was alarmed by the persistent belief among senior government officials that he was guilty, and that their false assumptions took a significant financial and emotional toll on him and on his family.
On Wednesday, prosecutors stayed the single criminal charge of breach of trust laid against Norman, a major victory for the senior naval officer who has always maintained his innocence in the face of allegations he leaked confidential information about a project to procure a supply ship for the Royal Canadian Navy. In announcing the decision, Crown prosecutor Barbara Mercier told the court it was necessary in part due to new evidence the defence produced in March.
“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,” Mercier said. “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.”
She did not provide any details on what exactly that information was.
The announcement ends the two-year legal battle against the officer and heads off what would have been a politically explosive trial for the Liberal government in the middle of a federal election campaign.
Justice Heather Perkins-McVey addressed Norman at the end of the proceedings on Wednesday. “Vice-Admiral Norman, you entered a plea of not guilty,” she said. “You are presumed to be innocent, and you remain so. You are free to leave.”
“While I am relieved to be exonerated of any wrongdoing, I am disappointed it has taken this long,” Norman said in a statement to journalists after his court appearance. “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.”
RELATED
- How the Crown's case against Vice-Admiral Mark Norman unravelled
- Charge being dropped against Mark Norman would be major victory for senior naval officer
- CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD: Crown expected to withdraw breach of trust charge against Mark Norman
The RCMP alleged Norman tipped off Davie Shipbuilding in the fall of 2015 that the Liberal government was considering delaying a project in which the Quebec firm would convert a commercial ship into a much needed naval supply vessel. Details about the government’s decision were also leaked to journalists, and the resulting embarrassment — along with the potential imposition of $89 million in financial penalties — forced the Liberal government to back down on its plans.
But the government brought in the RCMP to hunt down the source of the alleged leak, and the police force ultimately focused on Norman, then the second-in-command of the Canadian Forces, as their prime suspect.
Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance suspended Norman from his job in January 2017 after the RCMP presented him with their allegations. Norman, who has never been interviewed by the RCMP, wasn’t charged until last year.
Norman said Wednesday that he wants to be reinstated to his military position, adding that it is “something that Canadians should expect and demand.” He thanked his lawyers, Marie Henein and Christine Mainville, and the rest of his legal team. “I could not have placed my, and my family’s life and future, in better hands,” he added.
Norman also thanked those who stepped forward to provide information that helped his case. Although he did not name anyone in particular, during the pre-trial a military officer, whose identity was protected by the court so he would not face retribution from the Canadian Forces leadership, outlined how a brigadier general boasted about how the military was hiding documents requested by Norman’s lawyers.
“If I have learned anything from my decades in uniform, it is that while professional or personal crisis is tough, it often brings out the best in people,” Norman said. “In that context, I would like to acknowledge the professional and personal risks taken by those who have stepped forward thereby highlighting their own commitment to the truth. Their actions epitomize “what right looks like”, and I will be forever in their debt for their personal courage, integrity and honour.”
He also thanked the thousands of Canadians who stood by him and his family, both with words of encouragement and financial support. A GoFundMe page started by a retired army officer has collected more than $400,000 to help pay for Norman’s massive legal bills . “We would simply never have made it here without your generosity and help,” Norman said.
He said he wants to eventually tell Canadians his story, “Not to lay blame, but to ensure that we all learn from this experience.”
In her statement to the judge on Wednesday, Mercier said the federal prosecution service still believes Norman’s conduct was “secretive and inappropriate,” but acknowledged that “inappropriate does not mean criminal.”
Norman’s lawyer Marie Henein responded that Norman’s conduct didn’t even rise to that level. “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,” she said. “He did nothing inappropriate, he did nothing criminal.”
In pre-trial hearings over the last year, Henein had been methodically building a case the Liberal government had politically interfered in the case and its officials had obstructed subpoenas for documents.
Norman’s trial had been set for August, which would have put it in the middle of an election campaign — a potential embarrassment for the governing Liberals, as it would likely have seen testimony from key Liberal cabinet ministers and officials.
On Wednesday Mercier denied there had been any political influence in the Norman matter. “There was no orchestration of this charge or of this case by anyone,” she told the judge. “There was no interference whatsoever in the PPSC decision to commence this prosecution or in our decision to end it today.”
Read the full text of Vice-Admiral Mark Norman's statement to media after the charge against him was stayed
I’m obviously pleased with the Crown’s decision to withdraw the charges against me.
While I am relieved to be exonerated of any wrongdoing, 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.
I have an important story to tell that Canadians will want and need to hear. It is my intention, in the coming days, to tell that story; not to lay blame, but to ensure that we all learn from this experience.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the support of Marie Henein, Christine Mainville and my entire legal team for their wisdom and guidance. I could not have placed my, and my family’s life and future, in better hands.
If I have learned anything from my decades in uniform, it is that while professional or personal crisis is tough, it often brings out the best in people. In that context, I would like to acknowledge the professional and personal risks taken by those who have stepped forward thereby highlighting their own commitment to the truth. Their actions epitomize “what right looks like”, and I will be forever in their debt for their personal courage, integrity and honour.
Ultimately, I look forward to my immediate reinstatement and a return to serving Canada – something that I have done unfailingly for the last 38 years – something that Canadians should expect and demand.
In closing, I want to speak directly to the thousands of Canadians who stood by me, who supported me and my family, both spiritually and financially: We would simply never have made it here without your generosity and help.
Thank You.
RELATED
- How the Crown's case against Vice-Admiral Mark Norman unravelled
- Charge being dropped against Mark Norman would be major victory for senior naval officer
- CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD: Crown expected to withdraw breach of trust charge against Mark Norman
• Email: [email protected] | Twitter: davidpugliese
• Email: [email protected] | Twitter: btaplatt
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
