Vice Admiral Mark Norman was denied the possibility of returning to his former position by the Minister of Defense Harjit Sajjan.
“I believe that for me and for the Canadian Armed Forces the best choice would be for me to go back into my former position,” Norman told the press last week.
The decision comes shortly after the Crown unexpectedly dropped charges against Norman citing new evidence regarding his breach of trust charges.
According to Sajjan, the Vice-Admiral’s former position is currently occupied by another person.
“We currently have a vice-chief of defence staff and he will remain in place,” said Minister Sajjan.
Vice Admiral Mark Norman was accused of releasing sensitive information about a nearly $700 million government shipbuilding contract.
Shortly after learning about the outcome, Norman announced that he was intending on returning to his former post with the Canadian Navy.
Norman was suspended from his position in 2018 by General Jonathan Vance after allegedly playing a hand in leaking the shipbuilding contract information.
Norman’s legal team argued that his case faced political interference and they pressed to call upon key witnesses from the Prime Minister’s Office, such as former Principal Secretary Gerald Butts, to testify before the court.
One of Norman’s lawyers, Marie Henein criticized the Trudeau government underhandedly shortly after the case was scuttled.
“Before we get started, I’d just like to introduce the all-female team that represented Vice-Admiral Norman. Fortunately, Vice-Admiral Norman didn’t fire the females he hired,” said Henein.
In a surprise decision on the part of Crown prosecutors, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman was cleared of any wrongdoing after all charges against him were dropped.
While Vice Admiral Norman will not be getting his former position back, he is set to meet with General Vance shortly.
According to Vance, Norman will be welcomed back into the Navy at a different position level.
