OTTAWA — Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says he supported the chief of defence staff’s decision to suspend Vice-Admiral Mark Norman in 2017, more than a year before he was charged with breach of trust for allegedly leaking government secrets about military procurement.
But Sajjan says the decision was Gen. Jonathan Vance’s alone.
The public prosecutor abruptly stayed the charges against Norman last week, fuelling opposition charges that the Liberal government interfered politically in the case.
But Sajjan insists the case was handled independently of the government from start to finish — including Norman’s suspension.
Sajjan says he also supports a Conservative motion passed unanimously Tuesday by the House of Commons apologizing to Norman for his ordeal.
Sajjan and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had left the chamber before the vote.
The Canadian Press
