Mark Norman (Canadian naval officer)
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Vice-Admiral Mark A. G. Norman (born 1963 or 1964) is a retired
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officer. He took up the post of Vice Chief of the Defence Staff of Canada on August 5, 2016. He was temporarily relieved of the post on January 16, 2017 and was permanently removed on June 27, 2018, accused of having released sensitive government information to affect a procurement of naval supply ships, which potentially constituted a breach of trust. In 2019, charges against him were dropped by the Crown because there was "no reasonable prospect of conviction." Norman subsequently received an "all-party" apology from the
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, a settlement of claims, and full reimbursement of legal fees incurred by him.


Early life

Norman was raised in
Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between To ...
, the son of
Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Francis John Norman, a former Commandant of the
Royal Military College of Canada '') , established = 1876 , type = Military academy , chancellor = Anita Anand ('' la, ex officio, label=none'' as Defence Minister) , principal = Harry Kowal , head_label ...
(1982–1985).


Naval career

Educated at Queen's University, Norman joined the Naval Reserve in 1980 as a diesel mechanic with before transferring to the regular force in 1985 as a sub-lieutenant. He then joined the frigate before advancing to the post of executive officer of the destroyer . He was then promoted to commanding officer of the frigate . Norman was assigned to a series of posts ashore. He went on to be Assistant Chief of Transformation in 2005, Director General Strategy, Chief Force Development in 2007 and Commander, Canadian Fleet – Atlantic in 2009. He then became Director General of Maritime Force Development in 2010, and Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff and Deputy Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy in June 2011, before becoming Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy and Chief of the Naval Staff in June 2013. In January 2016, it was announced that he was to be appointed Vice Chief of the Defence Staff of the Canadian Armed Forces, assuming the position on August 5. His successor as Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy was Rear-Admiral Ron Lloyd.


Removal from command

On January 13, 2017, Norman was temporarily relieved of his post as Vice Chief of Defence Staff by General Jonathan Vance, Chief of the Defence Staff. The removal was connected with an investigation into whether Norman had leaked sensitive documents relating to the procurement of an interim supply ship for the Royal Canadian Navy. Norman was replaced on a temporary basis by Vice-Admiral Ron Lloyd, the commander of the Navy. On March 9, 2018, Norman was charged with one count of breach of trust by a public officer. He was permanently removed from his post on June 27, 2018. Even before Norman was formally charged, Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
twice publicly predicted that the case would end up in court. On May 8, 2019, Crown prosecutors stayed the charges against Vice-Admiral Norman. Crown prosecutor Barbara Mercier informed the presiding judge that there was "no reasonable prospect of conviction", adding that, while Norman's actions had been inappropriate, "inappropriate doesn’t mean criminal". Defence Minister
Harjit Sajjan Harjit Singh Sajjan (, ; born September 6, 1970) is a Canadian politician who has served as the minister of international development since October 26, 2021. A member of the Liberal Party, Sajjan represents the British Columbia (BC) riding ...
said that the Federal government would pay the legal fees Norman had incurred.


Apology, retirement and settlement

The
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
issued an "all-party" apology to Norman on May 14, 2019. News reports in late June 2019 stated that the Department of National Defence and Norman had concluded "a mutually acceptable agreement ... for which details will remain confidential". Norman refused to discuss the terms of the settlement and his retirement, although he had said in May 2019 that he had "an important story to tell that Canadians will want and need to hear". Whether a confidentially agreement had been signed was also to remain confidential. Other reports indicated that Norman has started making arrangements to reimburse donors who had contributed to his defence fund. Norman's
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page had gathered from 3,547 people a total of $442,810.
Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
"twice publicly mused" that Norman "would see the inside of a courtroom", and this was all "before any criminal charge was laid" against him. As one journalist opined, the stakes were high: the "federal government’s mission asto destroy not only your exemplary military career, but also to ruin you financially and taint the remainder of your life with a criminal record." Norman’s lawyers had said that then-
President of the Treasury Board The president of the Treasury Board () is a minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet. The president is the chair of the Treasury Board of Canada (a committee of Cabinet in the Privy Council) and is the minister responsible for the Treasury ...
, Scott Brison, who resigned from political life in February 2019, had "tried to have the (
Davie Shipbuilding Davie Shipbuilding is a historic shipbuilding company located in Lauzon, Quebec, Canada. The facility is now operating as Chantier Davie Canada Inc. and is the oldest continually operating shipbuilder in North America. History The Davie shipyard ...
) deal killed on behalf of the Irving family – who operate rival
Irving Shipbuilding Irving Shipbuilding Inc. is a Canadian shipbuilder and in-service support provider. The company owns industrial fabricators Woodside Industries in Dartmouth, Marine Fabricators in Dartmouth, Halifax Shipyard as the largest facility and company ...
." It was disclosed in January 2020 in response to a written question by the Member of Parliament Erin O'Toole that the failed prosecution of Norman had cost the taxpayer $1.4 million.


Awards and decorations

Norman's personal awards and decorations included the following:


Command Commendation


References


External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Norman, Mark Living people Commanders of the Order of Military Merit (Canada) Canadian admirals Queen's University at Kingston alumni Commanders of the Legion of Merit Year of birth missing (living people) Commanders of the Royal Canadian Navy