Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Before I say what I have to say, I'd like to respond to Mr. Spengemann's comment. I don't think the members of the Standing Committee on National Defence are playing politics. We simply want to get to the truth. Like many Canadians, we are very concerned by what happened in the Vice-Admiral Norman affair. My riding is home to a sizable military community. When, in the exercise of my functions, I was in the area, people would often raise the issue with me, saying how worthwhile it would be to find out what had transpired.
Vice-Admiral Norman has a story to tell Canadians, and we believe the Standing Committee on National Defence is a place where Canadians should hear that story. The vice-admiral could tell us everything that happened with the benefit of parliamentary privilege.
This was a very costly affair for taxpayers. The legal fees were sky-high, not to mention the fact that the country was deprived of Vice-Admiral Norman's invaluable service for more than two years.
Getting to the bottom of what happened is paramount so that it doesn't happen again, and we will use every tool in our parliamentary arsenal to do that. To begin with, we demand that the committee conduct a probe into the government's handling of the investigations and prosecution involving Vice-Admiral Norman. If the committee refuses to do that, it is a sign of disrespect to all Canadians and, specifically, to our brave men and women in uniform. The situation is very troubling and cannot happen again.
During my career as a hockey coach, I repeatedly witnessed the tremendous respect Canadians have for armed forces members and veterans. They are the ones who keep us safe all over the world, who protect our values and who come to our aid when we need them. During my career as a hockey coach, I also had to demonstrate leadership, fostering an environment in which the team could shine and work alongside great leaders. Leadership is taking care of those for whom we are responsible. One question, in particular, troubles me. Where was the leadership in Vice-Admiral Norman's case?
Vice-Admiral Norman and his family should have never gone through what they did. The committee should be able to determine why that happened. When the trial began, the government refused to cover the cost of Vice-Admiral Norman's legal defence, driving him and members of his family into bankruptcy. Luckily, they were able to count on the support of thousands of Canadians, the media and the opposition.
Many questions remain unanswered, questions the committee needs to get to the bottom of. Why did the Liberals not provide Vice-Admiral Norman's defence team with the documents in question? What is the Prime Minister trying to hide? Why, mere days after Andrew Leslie indicated he would be testifying, were the charges dropped? Was it just a coincidence? Why did the RCMP lay charges against Vice-Admiral Norman? What evidence did his defence team hand over to the Crown to get it to drop the charges? What was the evidence involving third party disclosure that led to the decision? Those are the questions we need answers to.
If the committee decides not to seek those answers out, we have every reason to believe that the Liberals—who claim to be a party of transparency—are trying to cover something up. As I see it, the Liberal members are scared of the truth coming out if they refuse to invite Vice-Admiral Norman to appear before the committee.