CAF officer arrested on foreign interference allegation released from custody

A Canadian soldier takes part in an announcement in Petawawa, Ont., on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick (Sean Kilpatrick)

OTTAWA -- A member of the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command who is facing charges related to a leak of sensitive information to a foreign entity was released from custody on Monday following a hearing in Gatineau, Que.

Master Warrant Officer Matthew Robar was arrested last week and hit with a number of serious charges, including breaching the Foreign Interference and Security of Information Act.

The case is shrouded in secrecy. Few details have been made publicly available and Rory Fowler, a lawyer for Robar, said his client was not informed of what exactly he did that led to his arrest.

“I find it remarkable that the military police ... sees no problem with identifying my client by name, in a press release, on a highly inflammatory subject and then turn around saying, well, there’s nothing else that we can provide you (with),” Fowler said.

This is the second time Robar has been detained this year. Fowler said Robar was arrested on Oct. 24 and released on conditions the following day.

He was suddenly arrested again on Dec. 10, the day the Canadian Forces Military Police announced charges, and held for days in an unheated cell, Fowler said.

Robar had filed a grievance after being subject to a disciplinary investigation that started last year and eventually led to a reprimand. It remains unclear if, or to what extent, the disciplinary investigation is related to the current case.

The government media release said the arrest was the result of a joint investigation dating back to 2024 by Canadian Forces Military Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police into the “unauthorized disclosure of safeguarded information to a foreign entity.”

Fowler served as counsel on a grievance against the remedial measure Robar was hit with, but he is not the main defence lawyer in the case of alleged foreign interference.

None of the allegations in this case have been proved in court.

If the charges proceed to prosecution, they would be tried in the military justice system by court martial, though no such court has been convened yet. It could then be weeks or months before the case moves through the system.

By Kyle Duggan

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 15, 2025.