Two-day bail hearing in RCMP secrets case set for next week

An RCMP employee charged with breaching the official-secrets law will get a chance next week to argue he should be released on bail.

A bail hearing is set for Oct. 17 and 18 for Cameron Jay Ortis, who was arrested almost a month ago.

Ortis, 47, made his fifth appearance in Ontario court today via video link from the maximum-security wing of an Ottawa jail.

The senior RCMP intelligence official is accused of violating the Security of Information Act as well as Criminal Code provisions, including breach of trust, for allegedly trying to disclose classified information to an unspecified foreign entity or terrorist group.

He faces a total of seven counts against under the various provisions, dating from as early as Jan. 1, 2015, through to Sept. 12 of this year.

RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki has said the allegations are extremely unsettling, given that Ortis had access to intelligence from domestic and international allies.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 9, 2019.