The House of Commons apologized Tuesday to Vice-Admiral Mark Norman and his family for what they endured over the course of his breach-of-trust case, which collapsed last week.
However, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan were absent.
When Conservative deputy leader Lisa Raitt rose in the House after Question Period, shortly after 3 p.m., she proposed a motion asking that the House “recognize Vice-Admiral Mark Norman for his decades of loyal service to Canada, express regret for the personal and professional hardships he endured as a result of his failed prosecution and apologize to him and his family for what they experienced during their legal conflict with government.”
MPs yelled “yay” to adopting the motion, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had already left the chamber moments before. His office said he had to fly to Hamilton, where, according to his itinerary, he was scheduled to attend a 6 p.m. reception with members of the Croatian-Canadian community, to coincide with the visit of Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic.
Also missing from the House during the vote was Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, who expressed regret for what happened to Vice-Adm. Norman on CTV’s Question Period Sunday but did not go as far as apologizing. Mr. Sajjan’s office said he left the House because he had “a previously scheduled engagement.”
Vice-Adm. Norman was suspended as the military’s second-in-command on Jan. 16, 2017, and charged with breach of trust last year for allegedly leaking government secrets in an attempt to influence cabinet’s decision in a review of a $668-million contract with Davie shipyard for a supply vessel. He denied any wrongdoing.
The charge against the senior naval officer
The decision among Liberal MPs to support the motion to apologize marks a departure from the Prime Minister’s position. In Question Period Tuesday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh pointedly asked Mr. Trudeau to apologize, and he declined.
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