Former RCMP intelligence official sentenced to 14 years in jail after leaking national secrets

An Ontario Superior Court judge has sentenced former RCMP intelligence official Cameron Ortis to 14 years in jail.

Assistant crown attorney Judy Kliewer said Ortis’s conduct was a "betrayal" of the RCMP and Canada’s Five Eyes partners that "jeopardized the safety of Canadians."

In arriving at his decision, Justice Robert Maranger said the task of sentencing was a “heavy burden,” and that he expected the Ortis decision to be appealed to higher courts on the grounds of “what evidence could and could not be presented at a trial for reasons of national security.”

Maranger called Ortis “somewhat of an enigma” and that no tangible evidence of a motive was made clear in his case.

“In my time as a trial judge, I have never encountered an accused described by Crown witnesses in the manner that they described Cameron Ortis. He was praised in no uncertain terms by his coworkers for his work ethic and intelligence” said Maranger, while acknowledging that the betrayal and raw emotion felt by his peers was palpable. 

"His conduct puts at risk the ability of Canada to continue receiving information to keep the country safe," said Kliewer, who had previously urged Justice Maranger to "send a strong message."

"He's surviving, but it's tough. He's disappointed by the conviction, said Ortis's defence lawyer, Jon Doody. "We will be appealing it, and hopefully, we will be seeking bail pending an appeal in the next few weeks."

This was the first time charges under the Security of Information Act (SOIA) were put on trial and there was intense scrutiny of the case.

First test by trial

In November, a jury found Ortis guilty of violating four counts of the official secrets law. Ortis was convicted of leaking or attempting to leak operational information to four individuals. Among them, Vincent Ramos, a B.C. cybertech entrepreneur and three international money launderers.

Before he was arrested in September, 2019, Ortis was the Director General of the RCMP’s National Intelligence Coordination Centre. In that position, he was bound to secrecy and had access to top secret information from both domestic and international partners. The allegations against Ortis date back to 2015.

At the time, Ortis had access to the top secret network where the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada share sensitive information about criminals they are investigating.

When police raided his Ottawa apartment, they seized five laptop computers, five external hard drives, 10 memory keys and three cell phones. They also found an encrypted USB file which they could only partially break. The USB file contained hundreds of classified documents.

Breaking- Ortis sentenced to 14 years
Justice Maranger: conclude that a total sentence of 14 years is “a fit and just sentence “
Takes into account time served/ harsh conditions. / house arrest
He can serve time near where he lives I. British Columbia@CTVNews

— Judy Trinh (@judyatrinh) February 7, 2024

Rogue operator, or secret agent?

In court, two very different versions of Ortis were presented. The prosecution painted a picture of Ortis as a smart bureaucrat with no police training who acted on his own, possibly motivated by greed. The defence presented Ortis as a defender of Canadian security tasked with incredible responsibility by a top secret foreign agency. Jurors sided with the crown.

The jury heard that Ortis made contact with Ramos, a cyber genius who sold encrypted Blackberry cell phones to Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel and Australia’s Hells Angels. In an email shown to jurors, an unknown sender offers to provide Ramos information about a money laundering investigation in exchange for $20,000.

Crown prosecutor Judy Kliewer, centre, speaks to reporters alongside fellow prosecutor John MacFarlane outside of the Ottawa Courthouse after Cameron Jay Ortis, a former RCMP intelligence official charged with breaching Canada's secrets law was found guilty in Ottawa, on Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

Court documents also reveal that three other individuals Ortis is alleged to have contacted were money launderers connected to a network of billions of dollars. It’s alleged they worked with terrorist organizations such as Iran backed Hezbollah to hide money obtained through crimes such as human trafficking and smuggling.

In the witness stand, Ortis testified that he was working to entice the international criminals to sign on to an encryption service that would allow authorities to monitor their activities. Ortis said that he was authorized to deal with the serious threat by a foreign agency, that he could not name for national security reasons.

A request for 'mercy'

Since his 2019 arrest, Ortis has already spent three years in jail in pre-trial custody and one additional year on house arrest.

As part of Ortis’s sentencing submissions, the defence tabled 26 letters of support from family and friends asking for leniency.

Sean McGuire, his former university roommate at the University of Northern British Columbia wrote that Ortis was committed to "justice, fairness and ethical considerations."

McGuire said he agreed to be one of the sureties because Ortis was an integral part of his life who helped him "become a better person."

"Cam consistently makes decisions based on selfless principles prioritizing what is right over personal gain. I have never once seen Cam motivated by money or other material items," McGuire wrote.

But one letter stood out. It was written by former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig.

Kovrig was detained in China for more than 1,000 days after Canadian authorities arrested Huawei Chief Financial Officer, Meng Wanzhou at the request of the U.S.

Cameron Jay Ortis, a former RCMP intelligence official charged with breaching Canada's secrets law, arrives for his trial at the courthouse in Ottawa, on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

In his letter, Kovrig describes himself as a "current advocate against arbitrary detention," and asks the judge to show "mercy" for Ortis, who he says is a former acquaintance.

"In the rising geopolitical storm engulfing our country, we need more people like Cameron Ortis to serve and protect Canada. The scale of the challenges we face are such that we can’t afford to waste his talent and energy. We need his hard work, and he needs our mercy," Kovrig wrote.

Legal precedents set

The Ortis case has set the template for how other cases in violation of Canada’s official secrets law will be tried. Because it involved issues of national security, reporters were not allowed in the room during most of the trial. Instead, vetted transcripts were provided to the media after witnesses testified. Many of the documents contained heavy redactions.

Ortis’s lawyer Mark Ertel says the requirement to keep certain information classified for jurors made it challenging to mount a fulsome defence of his client.

Jury verdicts are difficult to overturn on appeal, because jurors do not have to explain how they reached their decision. An appeal could be granted if the judge made a mistake in how he explained to the jury how they should conduct their responsibility

The Ortis case will also set precedents for two other SOIA cases currently before the courts. 

In 2022, Yuesheng Wang, a former Quebec hydro worker, was charged with economic espionage under the act.

And last July, RCMP used the secrets law to charge retired Mountie Bill Majcher with offenses related to foreign interference. He faces allegations that he used his extensive network to help the Chinese government "identify and intimidate" an individual in Canada.

Prior to Ortis, Jeffrey Delisle was convicted after he confessed to selling secrets to the Russians and pleaded guilty. After being sentenced to 20 years in prison, Delisle was granted full parole in 2019.

In 2021 a judge stayed criminal proceedings against naval engineer Qin Quentin Huang, because of an unreasonable delay in bringing the matter to trial. Huang was accused of attempting to pass secrets to China.