Juno News - January 05, 2020The most scandalous story of the past decade
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Summary
A story that was not just one of if not the most scandalous stories of 2019, but perhaps the scandalous story of the decade, was the treatment by the federal government of former Vice Admiral Mark Norman, who faced criminal charges concerning leaks that he allegedly made concerning cabinet confidence in a matter relating to shipbuilding contracts and so forth.
Transcript
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We're now at the beginning of January and we've had a few weeks to look back at all those year
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in review, decade in review conversations that we've been having and I think there's one story
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that didn't get the attention that it deserved and I didn't give it the attention it it deserved
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over the past few weeks but there's certainly time to cover it now. A story that was not just
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one of if not the most scandalous stories of 2019 but perhaps the most scandalous story of the decade
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and that was the treatment by the federal government of Vice Admiral Mark Norman. To recap he faced
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criminal charges concerning leaks that he allegedly made concerning cabinet confidence as an issue
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relating to shipbuilding contracts and so forth. Mark Norman charged criminally an RCMP raid on his
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home for an issue that well he always maintained he didn't do it but even if he had done these
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leaks these leaks happen all the time in Ottawa and this was thought to be the first time ever that a
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person in political Ottawa whether a military person a bureaucrat or a political staffer would have faced
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a criminal charge concerning a leak. Imagine that an incredibly decorated and respected person serving
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in uniform for decades finds themselves risking incarceration over this matter. How did we get to
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this point? How did we get to a point where the government says well we have to give Omar Khad our
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10 million dollars I mean there's nothing we can do it's just the inevitable state of things our hands are
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tied we must do that and we must throw the book at the former head of the navy throw his life into
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turmoil see him remortgage his home which he did to initially pay for his legal bills because he didn't
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know that he'd get them reimbursed by the government as has finally now happened. How is it that that is the
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way our priorities unfold a really really sickening chapter and boy has it left a lot of people
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incredibly disturbed really powerful stories though about the thousands of Canadians who stepped up to
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contribute to Mark Norman's legal defense fund. I heard of veterans in their 80s and 90s who literally
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went went through the cupboards to to find the five dollars or ten dollars that they had people who were
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not of significant means to contribute whatever they could to defend Mark Norman and his honor and
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his dignity and hopefully by doing so standing up for the honor of our country because there's something
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incredibly dishonorable about this experience that unfolded and I don't think we should just let this
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sit as a story from 2019 that is all that is all wrapped up the charge has been stayed there was no
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chance of conviction they determined and there were things that that could not be said regarding
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settlements and so forth and perhaps there will be more to come out in the future perhaps we will hear
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more from Mark Norman in the months and years to come but we can't forget about it we want to keep
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hearing more we want to hear from him his side of the story and most importantly something needs to be done and
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I'd like your help and I'd like your input because I've been trying to think what what can be done
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to honor Mark Norman to thank him for his service and to acknowledge that a wrong was done the house of commons
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did issue an apology shortly after this legal process wrapped up that is as it should be
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issue an apology this is the guy who can apologize for anything and everything and and bring out tears
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faster than Meryl Streep on set can and yet no words
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for Mark Norman specifically from the Prime Minister that was wrong something needs to happen moving
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forward I'm not too sure what it is what the mechanisms are available things like the Order of
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Canada are not supposed to be political positions where the Prime Minister determines them or cabinet
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determines them and so forth something like that though needs to happen
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to both restore Mark Norman's honor not that his honor was ever really in question but
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it was sullied by what the government did to him and by honoring him we in turn
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heal this wound that happened to ourselves to our own country that we were damaged
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by this episode and this escapade that really looked poorly on the federal government this could even
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happen in the first place so do not forget about what happened to Mark Norman and more needs to be
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done on this more needs to be told more needs to be learned and the man is still owed more