Despite admitting that he spied for the Russians, a Canadian navy sub-lieutenant will likely hang on to his military pension and rank until he’s sentenced.
Sub-Lt. Jeffrey Paul Delisle, a Canadian navy officer, pleaded guilty to three espionage-related charges Wednesday, admitting he passed classified information to Russia for five years.
For the time being he’ll hang on to his rank and continue to collect about $6,000 a month in salary.
But according to military insiders, that pay will be clawed back to the time of his January arrest after he’s sentenced next year.
Delisle will likely face “release for service misconduct and (being) stripped of his commission as an officer in the armed forces,” Col. (Ret'd) Michel Drapeau of the University of Ottawa told CTV News.
Despite being able to keep his pension, he’s unlikely to have any place to spend it.
“I would think it would be 25 years or thereabout,” Drapeau said.
Delisle’s actions are likely to reverberate beyond the size of his bank account, though.
The Department of National Defence is reviewing its security in the wake of the recent espionage case, Federal Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said at a press conference Thursday.
“We are very aware of the case and, together with our allies, are reviewing the procedures that were in place to protect the security of that information,” Toews said.
He added that Canada is co-operating closely with its allies to minimize any damage the security breach may have caused.
“Given the extensive sharing of information that occurs between the Five Eyes community -- Great Britain, Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Australia -- our agencies are always concerned when there is any compromise of security and we work very closely together.”
Toews said he would not comment on the specifics of the case while sentencing is still underway.
According to military insiders, U.S. intelligence services have already provided Canada with a checklist detailing how to better protect classified information. It includes safeguards on who gets access to secret information and how those people are vetted.
“Everyone is rechecking their security and trying to elevate the classification of security so less and less is available,” said Chris Sands, a senior fellow at the U.S. Hudson Institute who specializes in Canada-U.S. relations, in an interview with CTV News.
According to the Crown, between 2007 and 2011, Delisle provided Russia with secrets made available to him via his position at a naval intelligence centre in Halifax. Court also heard Delisle was paid $3,000 a month to share the classified information with Russia’s intelligence community.
The 41-year-old faces a breach of trust charge under the Criminal Code and two counts of passing classified information to a foreign entity. He is the first person in Canada to enter a plea under the Security of Information Act.
Sentencing is expected to take place over two days, beginning Jan. 10, 2013.
Toews said he expects Canada’s reputation with its allies to remain intact, pointing out that such breaches are not unique to Canada and have also occurred in the United States.
In 2010, U.S. soldier Bradley Manning was arrested for secretly downloading thousands of classified U.S. government documents and turning them over to anti-secrecy website Wikileaks, which published them.
The incident greatly embarrassed the U.S. government and Manley is still in military custody awaiting trial.
With a report from CTV’s Robert Fife and files from The Canadian Press
