Alleged RCMP spy Cameron Ortis faces 3 new charges under Canada's secrets act
Cameron Ortis, the head of the RCMP's national intelligence co-ordination centre, faces three new charges under Canada's secrets act.
A spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada said the additional Security of Information Act charges relate to the unauthorized communication of special operational information.
Ortis was charged in September with preparing to share sensitive information with a foreign entity or terrorist organization. He's also charged with sharing operational information back in 2015.
He appears again in court tomorrow.
Public Prosecution Service of Canada spokesperson Nathalie Houle said the service filed a direct indictment on Thursday.
The indictment — which allows the attorney general or the deputy attorney general to send a case directly to trial without a preliminary inquiry — includes three additional charges under section 14 of the act.
That section says that "every person permanently bound to secrecy commits an offence who, intentionally and without authority, communicates or confirms special operational information."
RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki has said that, by virtue of his position, Ortis had access to intelligence gathered by both Canadian authorities and foreign allies.
According to documents viewed by CBC in the immediate aftermath of his arrest, the classified intelligence material Ortis is accused of preparing to share included some of the most closely protected of Canada's national security assets, and its dissemination would have threatened Canada's relations with its allies.
