Canada鈥檚 second-highest ranking military officer has been removed from his post without explanation.
Vice chief of defence staff Mark Norman was dismissed by chief Gen. Jonathan Vance over the weekend in a letter dated Jan. 13.
While the letter said the removal is 鈥渢emporary,鈥� sources told CTV鈥檚 Mercedes Stephenson that Norman is not expected to return.
Royal Canadian Navy commander Vice-Admiral Ron Lloyd has now been appointed as interim vice chief.
The letter of dismissal was made public on Monday and did not offer any reason as to why Norman was relieved from his military duties. A spokesman for Vance only said that 鈥渇or the time being鈥� Norman wouldn鈥檛 be carrying out the functions of the job.
"At this time, we have no additional information to provide," Lt.-Col. Jason Proulx said in an email.
The defence minister's office also provided no further information as to why Norman was discharged.
"I fully support the decision taken by the CDS to relieve the VCDS from the performance of military duty," said Harjit Sajjan in a statement.
The unprecedented replacement came as a shock to both the public and many military personnel. Some senior members of the Canadian Forces were unaware of Norman鈥檚 removal until they were contacted by 麻豆影视.
The mysterious circumstances surrounding Norman鈥檚 dismissal has created a lot of speculation but nothing has been confirmed.
Military police are not investigating Norman.
"We weren't, and we are not, investigating on this case," Maj. Jean-Marc Mercier, a public affairs officer with the military police group, told The Canadian Press.
Sources told Stephenson that there was no political involvement in the move, nor was it related to any leak to a foreign country.
Norman was promoted to Vice Chief of the Defence Staff in 2016 after three years as Chief of the Naval Staff and Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy.
He was apparently 鈥渙ut-spoken鈥� and 鈥渨ell-liked鈥�.
With files from CTV鈥檚 Mercedes Stephenson and The Canadian Press
