Canadian Official, Cameron Ortis, Receives 14-Year Sentence for Unauthorized Disclosure of Classified Information

A former civilian member of Canada's national police force, Cameron Ortis, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for leaking intelligence to suspected criminals. Prosecutors argued that Ortis, 51, shared government secrets with organized crime figures, while Ortis denied it and claimed he was working secretly to prevent a threat to Canada. Judge Robert Maranger sentenced Ortis on Wednesday, taking into account the time he has already spent behind bars, meaning he will serve a total of seven more years. This case marked the first trial testing Canada's current espionage laws. Prosecutors had sought a 28-year prison sentence, but Ortis' lawyers argued for a shorter sentence of seven years, considering his three years spent in jail awaiting trial. Judge Maranger deemed the 14-year sentence to be just, taking into account Ortis' crimes and the conditions he endured in prison during the Covid-19 pandemic. Ortis was arrested in 2019 and charged with six counts, including violating national security laws. He was found guilty on all charges. At the time of his arrest, he held the position of director general of the National Intelligence Coordination Centre, a branch of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Prosecutors stated that Ortis used his position to leak sensitive information to members of an international money-laundering ring and Vincent Ramos, the head of a mobile security company connected to drug traffickers and organized crime. Ortis claimed that he leaked the intelligence as part of a secret mission to lure targets into adopting an encrypted email service, which would provide security agencies access to their communication. However, prosecutors countered that there was no evidence of approval from Ortis' superiors and no record of his mission in RCMP archives.