Today, readers are responding to developments in the breach of trust case against Vice-Admiral Mark Norman. The Vice-Admiral is returning to active duty with the Canadian Forces after the Crown dropped the charge against him on Tuesday.
Vice-Admiral Mark Norman leaves the Ottawa Courthouse with his defense team May 8, 2019 in Ottawa. Dave Chan For The Globe and MailDave Chan/The Globe and Mail
This must come as a great relief to Vice-Admiral Norman and his family. But the last two years must have been very difficult times for them. I call on the Trudeau Liberals to cover Vice-Admiral Norman's legal costs in defending himself against this politically-motivated prosecution.
Great news! Best wishes to Vice-Admiral Norman. Amazing defence by Marie Henein and associates. Vice-Admiral Norman was charged under troubling circumstances and the pre-trial lack of document disclosure was unprecedented. That needs to be examined in an investigation. There should be an investigation to uncover exactly what happened in this case. An innocent man has been put through great adversity by the Trudeau Government. Why was he charged? Why has the Crown now decided to drop the case? Those questions need to be investigated.
This whole episode calls for an independent inquiry as to what happened, why, how, and who was involved. Otherwise, on the face of it (an ugly face indeed) the RCMP, did a slipshod job, the Crown was not diligent, Wernick’s 60 page redacted memo (a longer document than the Constitution) had no connection to politics or politicians, and Marie Henein was outstandingly brilliant in beating all the wizards.if you buy any of that holus bolus you probably also believe that pigs fly. Norman has been through hell for two-and-a-half years at the caprice of someone, the Canadian taxpayer has spent a ton of money, and the Government in total has wasted an incredible amount of time. Admiral Norman is fortunate that an untold number of Canadians lined up to support him with the money to mount a vigorous defence. Undoubtedly someone thought they could lay the charges and he couldn’t fight back. Very wrong and a great surprise to them!Now let’s do the rest of the job and find out who the really guilty are.
Reports says Norman spent $500,000 on attorneys. Will the government be refunding his money? I bet a lot of Liberals are sleeping better after this decision. Another tax payer stickup by a inept Trudeau Liberal Government?
Jeff Spooner in response:
Sad state of affairs when you exhaust what money you have and had to rely on a Go Fund Me page to continue paying your legal bills, as the government continued to stall and run up Norman's legal fees. Everybody including the defence department hung Norman out to dry, simply over politics.
S TW also in response:
They just announced they would spend our tax dollars to reimburse the legal fees. It's the right decision however a total waste of money due to Liberal sour grapes.
No political interference? Unbelievable. So, we'll just settle for vindictive, then? The procurement arm of the federal government needs to be dismantled and rebuilt from scratch. Norman worked within a truly broken system to achieve remarkable results and for his efforts a cadre of Machiavellian ghouls made his life a living Hell.
There should be a full airing of why charges were laid in the first place, communications between PMO, PCO and the Justice Department that dealt with the charges, and why the charges have now been dropped. It’s not enough to say that there was not a reasonable prospect of conviction. Light should be shed on Scott Brison’s role and that of the Irvings in this sordid process. General Vance should resign in disgrace, and Vice-Admiral Norman’s legal fees should be paid immediately! Mr. Norman should be fully reinstated, and after an appropriate time be allowed to retire from the Canadian Forces with dignity, and the thanks of a grateful nation.
Readers are also responding to Konrad Yakabuski’s column on the subject, in which he argues “Mr. Trudeau needs to take responsibility for his government’s failures, instead of constantly seeking to pass the buck. Apologizing to Vice-Adm. Norman would be a good start.”
There was enough evidence to charge him but not enough to convict, at least not enough that also wouldn't reveal government secrets. Mark Norman is hardly a hero.
Good luck on getting an apology from Trudeau, but Harjit Sajjan did announce they will pay Vice-Admiral Norman's legal fees, as they should have done in the first place. I don't think Trudeau's legal troubles are over yet. He's burned too many bridges with his arrogance and indifference to those around him.
The sudden collapse of this case raises more questions than answers.
Whether fair or not, this amounts to yet another smudge on the Trudeau Government. The problem is he/they have not amassed enough in the way of offsetting successes which might distract the electorate away from what seems an unbroken string of either compromises, weak showings, or embarrassments. Perception is reality, and Mr Trudeau has dug himself one very deep hole, getting deeper.
I think there has to be more to the story. Charges don't get laid unless there is strong evidence. Then the government backs off after the defence wants full disclosure on the evidence. Something smells. I think the Conservatives are right to pursue the story further.
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