Senior counterintelligence officer arrested for espionage

Cameron Ortis faces five charges under the Criminal Code and the Information Security Act of Canada. Source: www.cbc.ca

According to AFP, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said on September 13 that it had arrested a senior intelligence officer accused of stealing sensitive documents.

The federal police agency says Cameron Ortis faces five charges under the Criminal Code and the Information Security Act of Canada.

“The allegations are that he collected, stored and processed sensitive information, and we believe that Ortis intended to provide this information to someone he should not have provided it to,” prosecutor John MacFarlane told reporters.

Canadian news network Global News said Mr. Ortis, who was arrested on September 12, was a top adviser to former RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson and had control of counterintelligence operations. The RCMP was concerned that Mr. Ortis had stolen “large amounts of information, which could lead to numerous investigations.”

“I can assure you that the authorities are taking this extremely seriously,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters at a campaign rally.

Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer, Mr. Trudeau’s opponent in the second-term campaign, commented: “The arrest of a senior RCMP intelligence officer for leaking national security information is extremely concerning. This is another reminder of the threats we face from foreign actors.”

Radio-Canada said Mr. Ortis is an expert on East Asia, critical infrastructure and online “cyberbots.”

On the social network LinkedIn, the account of a person named Cameron Ortis shows that he has worked for the Canadian Government since 2007 after receiving a doctorate in international relations and political science from the University of British Columbia.

According to the account, Mr. Ortis can speak Mandarin, the official language of China - the country with which Canada is in an unprecedented diplomatic crisis.