Andrew Leslie, a Liberal MP for the Orleans riding in Ottawa is set to testify against the Trudeau government on behalf of Vice-Admiral Mark Norman.
In March of 2018, RCMP charged Norman with one count of breach of trust related to the leak of a confidential cabinet brief regarding $700 million ship procurement contract.
Leslie, a retired Canadian Forces Lieutenant-General, recently announced that he would not seek re-election.
Reports indicate the federal government had been aware of Leslie’s intention to testify for over a year. The government also signed-off on covering his legal costs related to the trial, a privilege not granted to Vice-Admiral Norman despite his requests.
Leslie is a high-profile MP who served as the chief whip for the government and as the parliamentary secretary for the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chrystia Freeland.
The charges against Norman, formerly the Canadian Navy’s top soldier, were laid a year after police raided his Ottawa home, and following Chief of Defence General Jonathan Vance suspended Norman from his fleet command in January 2017.
