POLITICAL INTERFERENCE IN V-A NORMAN CASE

   The legal team for Norman is demanding that redacted notes taken in meetings between Crown prosecutors and government lawyers from the Privy Council Office (PCO) be fully disclosed so defense lawyers can determine whether political interference took place.
   Norman lawyer Christine Mainville told a court on Monday that prosecutors should not be talking strategy with the PCO, which she called the “right arm” to the Prime Minister’s Office and first launched the investigation that led to the vice-admiral being charged.
   “The PCO supports the prime minister. They implement what the Prime Minister’s Office wants. They execute on behalf of the Prime Minister’s Office,” said Mainville.

  “So much for the independence of the PPSC,” interjected Justice Heather Perkins McVey, referring to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.