Feds rang up $1.4M in legal costs during failed prosecution of Mark Norman

OTTAWA — The federal government says it rang up more than $1.4 million in legal costs during the failed prosecution of retired vice-admiral Mark Norman.

Ottawa revealed the figure this week in response to a question from the official Opposition Conservatives.

The government refused to provide any other details about the costs, including the cost of the RCMP’s investigation, citing solicitor-client privilege.

Norman was suspended as the military’s second-in-command in January 2017 and later charged with breach of trust for allegedly leaking cabinet secrets about a $700-million federal shipbuilding contract with Quebec’s Chantier Davie shipyard.

The naval officer pleaded not guilty to the charge and, following a months-long court battle, federal prosecutors dropped the high-profile and politically charged criminal case, citing the emergence of new information.

The government and Norman eventually reached a settlement, the details of which have not been made public, before the vice-admiral retired last year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 28, 2020.

The Canadian Press