The federal government says it rang up more than $1.4 million in legal costs during the failed prosecution of retired vice-admiral Mark Norman.
Ottawa revealed the figure this week in response to an order paper question from the Conservatives.
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The government refused to provide any other details about the costs, including the cost of the RCMP’s investigation, citing solicitor-client privilege.
Norman was suspended as the military’s second-in-command in January 2017 and later charged with breach of trust for allegedly leaking cabinet secrets about a $700-million federal shipbuilding contract with Quebec’s Chantier Davie shipyard.
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The naval officer pleaded not guilty to the charge and, following a months-long court battle, federal prosecutors dropped the high-profile and politically charged criminal case, citing the emergence of new information.
The government and Norman eventually reached a settlement, the details of which have not been made public, before the vice-admiral retired last year.