Defence lawyer awaiting information from Crown in RCMP secrets case
Posted September 20, 2019 9:58 am.
OTTAWA — A lawyer for an RCMP employee charged with breaching the official-secrets law says he is still awaiting details of the allegations from the Crown.
Heading into a hearing today, defence lawyer Ian Carter says he has only an initial synopsis of the case against Cameron Jay Ortis.
Carter says once he has fuller disclosure in the matter, he will review the material and be in a position to set a bail hearing.
Ortis, 47, is accused of violating three sections of the Security of Information Act as well as two Criminal Code provisions, including breach of trust, for allegedly trying to disclose classified information to an unspecified foreign entity or terrorist group.
The charge sheet lists a total of seven counts against Ortis under the various provisions, dating from as early as Jan. 1, 2015, through to Sept. 12 of this year, when he was arrested.
RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki says the allegations, if proven true, are extremely unsettling, given that Ortis had access to intelligence from domestic and international allies.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2019.
The Canadian Press
