(Ottawa) More than four years after Cameron Jay Ortis was charged with violating Canada’s Official Secrets Act, the former director general of intelligence for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is set to go before the tribunal.
Cameron Jay Ortis was taken into custody in Ottawa on September 12, 2019, after an arrest that deeply shocked the national police.
As head of the RCMP’s National Intelligence Coordination Centre, Mr. Ortis had access to some of the most confidential information in the country.
The 51-year-old man is accused of violating the Information Protection Act by revealing secrets to three people and attempting to do so in a fourth case, as well as breach of trust and computer crime.
A multi-week trial is expected to begin in Ontario Superior Court on Tuesday with the selection of a jury.
Jon Doody, co-counsel for Mr. Ortis, said he plans to plead not guilty to all charges.
“He intends to take the stand in his own defense.” He is eager to make his side of the story known, Mr.e Doody.
“He thinks it’s a compelling story, which I do, and I think it will resonate with the jury. »
Mr. Ortis was released on bail under strict conditions, but spent several months behind bars in an Ottawa jail.
The case progressed while parallel proceedings took place in the Federal Court regarding sensitive details. Mr. Ortis’s first defense lawyer was appointed judge last year, leading to a change in lawyers and therefore slowing down court proceedings.
Portions of court documents filed in support of the warrant applications have been released, providing insight into the origins of the case in 2014, when the RCMP was involved in an investigation known as Project Oryx.
Days after Mr. Ortis’ arrest in 2019, then-RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki said investigators came across documents during an investigation with the FBI that led federal officers to believe there could be some sort of “internal corruption”.
Mme Lucki said the allegations against Mr. Ortis had shaken many, noting that he had access to information from police allies in Canada and abroad.
A memo from the Canadian Center for Cyber Security, made public under the Access to Information Actindicates that Mr. Ortis had access to documents designated as top secret special information.
He was also authorized to use the Canadian Top Secret Network, which contains a range of data, including special intelligence.
The charges against Mr. Ortis allege that he communicated “special operational information” without authorization while he was designated as a person “permanently held in secrecy” – a category that includes many public servants in the Canadian community of security and intelligence.
Attorney Mark Ertel, who is participating in Mr. Ortis’s defense, said he and Mr. Doody will argue that their client had the authority to act as he did.
Whatever the outcome of the trial, the case has prompted changes within the RCMP to strengthen internal security.
The RCMP says it has implemented mandatory security awareness training for employees and made it easier to report security breaches.
The federal police also raised the profile of departmental security operations and made progress in creating a program to reduce the risk of secrets being divulged by staff.