A federal government official accused of leaking high-level government secrets to a $ 700 million shipbuilding project more than six years ago pleaded not guilty when the trial against him began on Monday.
Standing next to his lawyer in a gray suit and blue tie decorated with anchors while the court clerk read aloud a single charge of breach of trust, Matthew Mattet replied “not guilty” when asked to plead guilty.
This was the first time Matchet had spoken publicly since RCMP officials accused him in February 2019 of allegedly leaking secret documents from the cabinet related to a shipbuilding deal between Quebec shipyard Chantier Davie and the federal government.
The leak is believed to have occurred in November 2015, when the newly elected Liberal government decided to postpone the finalization of a contract with Davey to lease a temporary supply ship for the fleet, MV Asterix.
The court heard that Matchet worked at the time for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, a federal agency responsible for promoting and supporting local businesses in the region.
The Liberals later approved a shipbuilding deal with Davey, according to which the government has been renting Asterix from Davey since January 2018, while the Navy is waiting for two permanent new support ships to be built by Seaspan Shipyards in Vancouver.
The five-year lease expires next year, although the government has the option to extend it for another five years or buy the ship.
The first permanent maintenance ship was supposed to be delivered in 2023, but this schedule is already in the air.
Matchett has chosen to be tried by a jury. Ontario Supreme Court Justice Judge Hugh McLean told jurors that the trial is expected to take about four weeks.
In 2017, retired Vice Admiral Mark Norman was removed as deputy commander of the army and was later charged with breach of trust in 2018 for allegedly revealing cabinet secrets to the same shipbuilding project.
Vice Admiral Mark Norman at the Ottawa Court with lawyer Marie Hennain on Wednesday, May 8, 2019. Norman and the government reached a financial agreement after a similar case. (Sean Kilpatrick / Canadian Press)
Norman pleaded not guilty before his lawyers spent months in court fighting the crown and the government for access to thousands of documents they said were essential to ensuring a fair trial for their client.
During the trial, Norman’s lawyers argued that the case against their client was politically motivated and that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government were intervening, an accusation the Liberals deny.
Royal prosecutors eventually dropped the charges in May 2019, telling the judge that the new evidence they had received from Norman’s defense team led them to conclude that there was no reasonable chance of a verdict.
After the indictment was dropped, Norman said he wanted to return to work. But instead, he and the government reached a financial agreement, the details of which were not made public before the vice admiral retired last year.
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