Article content

On the morning of Monday, Jan. 9, four unmarked police cars arrived at Vice-Admiral Mark Norman’s modest home in the Ottawa suburb of Orléans.

Norman, the second-highest-ranking officer in the Canadian military, was standing in the driveway, about to take his wife to work. The plainclothes RCMP officers asked Norman to go back into the house, and for the next five to six hours they interrogated the vice-admiral, seizing his computers and cellphones.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Inside the mysterious removal of the Canadian military's second-in-command Back to video

The RCMP’s arrival at Norman’s home set in motion the removal of one of the most respected officers in the Canadian Forces, for reasons the Liberal government has yet to acknowledge.

Hours after the RCMP went to Norman’s home, Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance removed the vice-admiral from his position, a move Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau say they fully support.

The handling of the matter has raised questions about fairness and due process, and about whether Norman — who has not been charged with anything — will ever be able to rebuild his reputation.