Article content

Accused in the House of Commons Monday of lobbying on behalf of the powerful Irving family, Scott Brison was defiant.

The Treasury Board president responded to questions about the case of Vice-Admiral Mark Norman by saying his role is to ensure there is due diligence in the expenditure of public funds.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or John Ivison: With Mark Norman trial, Liberals stuck in a situation they cannot win Back to video

When the Liberals came to power in the fall of 2015, they were confronted with the a sole-sourced contract for a $668-million naval supply ship, set into motion by the previous Conservative government. “We needed to perform some level of due diligence to ensure the proper expenditure of taxpayers’ funds,” he said. “That’s what I did — my job.”

But the tangled web of claims and counter-claims over the contract with Quebec-based Davie Shipyard has seen Norman, formerly the second-in-command of the Canadian Armed Forces, charged with criminal breach of trust.

And when Vice-Admiral Norman’s case comes to court next August, it is likely that Brison’s reputation will be dragged through the mire too.