By Canadian Press

Five lingering questions from the end of Mark Norman’s criminal case

May 10, 2019 | 1:08 PM

OTTAWA — Now that public prosecutors have decided to stay a breach-of-trust charge against Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, here are five questions Canadians don’t have full answers to:

1) What was the evidence that got Norman’s charge stayed?

The Public Prosecution Service of Canada said it received information in late March from Norman’s legal team that, upon review with the evidence the RCMP provided, led them to believe there was no reasonable prospect of conviction in the case. In court, the Crown said the new information provided greater context about Norman’s conduct and “revealed a number of complexities” prosecutors hadn’t previously known about. Defence lawyer Marie Henein suggested that it’s related to the previous Conservative government’s negotiations of the supply-ship deal with Chantier Davie shipyard.

The information, however, hasn’t been made public. Nor was there an indication about why the information didn’t arrive sooner, or why it took another month before prosecutors decided to stay the case. At a press conference, Norman called the procurement system complicated and obtuse and an ugly process that is difficult to explain at the best of times.

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2) What was in that 60-page memo dealing with the Norman case that the top civil servant sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last year?

Norman’s legal team wanted to see what was in the memo, believing the information would help his defence. According to the government, it was information subject to solicitor-client privilege, which is the reason cited for keeping its contents secret. A witness in Norman’s pre-trial hearings suggested the memo actually originated with the Privy Council Office’s top legal officer but passed through Privy Council clerk Michael Wernick because that’s how memorandums from the public service formally get to the prime minister’s desk. But it’s not clear what the memo said specifically about Norman’s case.

Of note is that Wernick has public said that in October 2018 he decided to let the court make the final call on what ordinarily secret cabinet information could be released to the defence team.

3) Now that one legal fight is over, will Norman start another one?

Although the government plans to cover Norman’s legal fees, he could sue the government in civil court over the handling of his case. The RCMP and government are the targets of a civil suit from Sen. Mike Duffy, who alleges his rights were abused in an investigation of his Senate expenses — which led to criminal charges of which he was acquitted.

Henein said Wednesday that Norman’s criminal case had just ended minutes before and she and her client would make a decision at another time about whether to file a similar civil suit.

4) Does Mark Norman go back to work? And in what role?

Norman was suspended as the vice-chief of the defence staff at the start of 2017, and then officially shuffled out of the assignment and replaced by Lt.-Gen. Paul Wynnyk the following year. He has been in a “supernumerary position” within the defence chief’s office since June 2018.

Norman said he is ready to go back to work — he joked about sorting out his building pass — but in what capacity is unclear. Gen. Jonathan Vance, chief of the defence staff, will make that decision. He said in a statement Wednesday that he looks forward to welcoming Norman back “as soon as possible,” once they have discussed how best to return him.

5) What happens to the other criminal trial over a shipbuilding leak?

Matthew Matchett’s case remains open and the federal prosecution service reiterated Wednesday that it’s a wholly separate proceeding. Matchett was suspended in October 2018 from his job as a procurement officer at Public Services and Procurement Canada after his name came up in a submission Norman’s legal team made. He was charged in February with one count of breach of trust.

Documents relevant to Norman’s case — including some that weren’t made public — could yet come out in Matchett’s trial. His case is in a similar state as Norman’s was before Wednesday, with the Crown and defence going over documents to determine what is relevant evidence.

The Canadian Press