By Canadian Press

Chief of defence staff, DND deputy minister brief federal cabinet

May 14, 2019 | 8:53 AM

OTTAWA — Canada’s top general and the deputy minister of national defence are attending the federal cabinet this morning a week after the criminal case against the military’s former second-in-command fell apart.

Both the prime minister’s office and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan’s staff say the staying of charges against Vice-Admiral Mark Norman is not what Gen. Jonathan Vance and deputy minister Jody Thomas went to cabinet to discuss.

Neither would stop to talk on their way into the regular cabinet meeting Tuesday morning.

Norman was suspended in January 2017 and then charged with breach of trust for allegedly leaking secret information about a navy contract to Quebec’s Davie shipyard.

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The charges were stayed last week when prosecutors said new information they’d received from the defence made them believe they had no reasonable prospect of securing a conviction.

Questions are now circling about how the case was handled by both the military and the RCMP after former Conservative minister Peter MacKay said Norman had cabinet approval to speak to Davie about the contract.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says he will not comment on the quality of the RCMP investigation.

“The RCMP functions totally at arm’s length from the government of Canada in conducting investigations,” Goodale said. “They make their own decisions. They conduct themselves in a professional manner.”

Justice Minister David Lametti would not speculate on whether he is expecting Norman to sue the government nor would he say if Ottawa is setting aside any money against the prospect of such a lawsuit.

The Canadian Press