Steve Norn pleads guilty to violating public health order

Former N.W.T. MLA Steve Norn pleaded guilty Wednesday to violating a public health order when he broke isolation to visit the Legislative Assembly in April of 2021. 

Norn appeared in N.W.T. Territorial Court to answer to two charges under the Public Health Act. He pleaded guilty to one, while the other was stayed. 

Norn admitted to entering the Legislative Assembly building when he was supposed to be isolating after travel outside the territory, contravening a COVID-19 public health order at the time that required people entering the Northwest Territories to self-isolate for 14 days.

A subsequent public inquiry into a complaint that Norn violated the Legislative Assembly's code of conduct led MLAs to remove him from his seat in the legislature. The public inquiry and code of conduct complaint cost N.W.T. taxpayers more than $800,000.

"Honestly, I just want to move on. Cauterize this," Norn told the courtroom Wednesday. "So much resources and time has been put into this political show."

The court heard that ProtectNWT, the agency that deals with COVID-19 self-isolation plans, approved Norn's self-isolation plan for his return from Grande Prairie, Alta., in early April of 2021. 

Prosecutor John Cliffe said ProtectNWT sent Norn an email stating he was required to isolate at a private residence for 14 days, up to and including April 18, 2021. 

However, on April 17, Norn went to his office at the Legislative Assembly building.

Norn later tested positive for COVID-19, and a security guard who was at the legislature when Norn entered was also forced to self-isolate.

Norn's conduct 'intentional,' says prosecutor

"Mr. Norn's conduct was intentional," said Cliffe, noting that Norn went to the legislature even though ProtectNWT had told him he was supposed to be isolating at a private residence.

He argued that Norn's position as an MLA was an aggravating factor. However, he said, Norn had already been severely penalized within this context, when he was expelled from the Legislative Assembly.

Now, said Cliffe, Norn "shouldn't be dealt with any differently than any ordinary person."

The maximum penalty for a first offence under the Public Health Act is a fine of up to $10,000, a jail term of up to six months, or both.

Cliffe said the Crown wasn't seeking anything close to the harshest penalty. 

He asked that Norn pay a $1,725 penalty as a "general deterrence."

Norn 'dragged through the mud,' says defence

Norn's lawyer, Jay Bran, said Norn has been unemployed since he was removed from his seat, and that his life had been "dragged through the mud." 

He said Norn and his children had experienced bullying and threats. 

Unlike regular citizens, Bran said, Norn's ordeal is easily Googleable, which will make it hard for him to find work. 

"If Mr. Norn was an MLA, he could afford the fine, but right now, it's a hardship," he said. 

Bran asked for a fine of just $100.

Norn told the judge that this is the longest he's been out of work since he was young, and that he has a "huge amount of debt" from legal fees. 

Judge Lloyd Strang, who presided over the case, said that as a sitting MLA, Norn should have known the importance of complying with public health orders. 

'Public life isn't easy'

The judge also acknowledged that as a political figure, Norn faced a level of public scrutiny that regular citizens wouldn't. He noted that the stress on his family is a "significant mitigating factor."

"Public life isn't easy. People do it to serve their community," said Strang. At the same time, public life "comes with responsibilities to lead with words and actions." 

Ultimately, the judge settled on a penalty of $1,380. Norn has until Feb. 28, 2023 to pay it, with the option to apply for an extension.

Speaking with CBC News afterward, Norn described the decision as "closure."

He said the whole thing, meaning the inquiry, was "overkill," given the other urgent priorities in the territory as a whole. 

For his own part, he plans to move forward. 

"I'm just gonna do my best for myself and my family and just move on," he said.  

"Hopefully I can find a job."