QUESTION PERIOD — Justice
Vice-Admiral Mark Norman
May 13, 2019
My question is for the government leader on a subject that is still in the news, concerning Vice-Admiral Mark Norman. In an interview on Global News this weekend, Minister Qualtrough stated that the Prime Minister’s public comments indicating the vice-admiral would be criminally charged were “not the best framing of words.”
Honourable senators may remember that on February 1, 2018, the Prime Minister told a town hall in Edmonton that the investigation would “inevitably” lead to court processes.
Senator Harder, Vice-Admiral Norman wasn’t charged until March 2018. How, therefore, could the Prime Minister know this was inevitable? How can the government dismiss the Prime Minister’s comments made not once, but twice, as just the poor framing of words?
I thank the honourable senator for his question. I can report that my voice is better, but I suspect he will not think my answers are.
Let me repeat as I have when earlier iterations of the same question have been posed: I remind everybody that the RCMP is an arm’s-length organization, which made their decisions in respect of this matter, independently. The Public Prosecution Service of Canada is independent from government. The head of that prosecution service has now twice publicly stated that there was no interference in any way from anybody in government, including the Minister of Justice, with respect to the decisions on how the case was handled. They were made independent of the government, and there was no political interference.
I can assure honourable senators that this case was followed by the appropriate enforcement and prosecution officials with the due diligence and independence that we would wish our judiciary and prosecution service to enjoy.
As a follow-up, in a separate interview this weekend with CTV News, the Minister of Defence stated that he “regrets” that the vice-admiral had to go through this process. Minister Sajjan’s regret is not a sufficient apology for Mark Norman and his family. However, Minister Qualtrough indicated in her interview that the government will not apologize to the vice-admiral.
Senator Harder, the Prime Minister has provided many apologies on behalf of the Government of Canada over the last few years. Why has he ruled out an apology in this case?
Again, honourable senators, I think it’s important to recognize that the prosecution service operates at arm’s length and made the decisions with respect to this case, as they saw fit throughout, including the recent decision to suspend the prosecution. It is not for the government to apologize for how an independent prosecution service conducts its affairs.
