A former director of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) who had access to top-secret information from Canadian intelligence agencies and his allies was found guilty Wednesday of disclosing state secrets.
Six charges have been brought against Cameron Ortis, 51, mostly related to breaches of the Protection of Information Act after he communicated with people targeted by international criminal investigations.
“No one, regardless of importance, is above the law when Canada’s security interests are threatened,” the deputy director of the Public Prosecutions of Canada said in a press release following the ruling.
Mr. Ortis was the director of the RCMP’s National Intelligence Coordination Center until his arrest in September 2020. As such, he had access to intelligence information shared by members of the Five Eyes, an intelligence alliance that brings together Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.
The man explained during his trial that he was contacted by a foreign agency in 2014 who convinced him there was a serious threat in Canada.
The director then decided to contact four investigative targets alone to try to lure them into a trap, sharing information with them in the process.
Still, the jury convicted the former RCMP officer on Wednesday. He must return to class in January to hear his verdict. The Crown has already indicated it intends to seek a prison sentence of around 20 years.