Former Canadian Official Cameron Ortis Receives 14-Year Sentence
A 51-year-old former civilian member of Canada’s national police force has been handed a 14-year prison term for disclosing intelligence to suspected criminals. Cameron Ortis, convicted in November after an eight-week trial in Ottawa, faced prosecution allegations of sharing government secrets with organized crime figures. Ortis vehemently denied these accusations, asserting he was covertly working to thwart ‘a grave threat to Canada.’
Judge Robert Maranger, in delivering the sentence on Wednesday, factored in Ortis’s time served, determining that he will remain incarcerated for an additional seven years.
The trial represented the inaugural test of Canada’s existing espionage laws. Prosecutor Judy Kliewer expressed dissatisfaction with the sentence, deeming it inadequate, and subsequently filed a notice of appeal against the decision.
“Ortis really placed the security of Canadians in jeopardy,” she told reporters outside the courthouse on Wednesday.
“Obviously we thought this conduct was deserving of a much higher sentence than what the judge imposed today.”
Prosecutor Kliewer had pushed for a 28-year prison term for Ortis, contending that a lenient sentence would convey a message of vulnerability to Canada’s allies, such as the US and the UK, regarding the nation’s ability to safeguard sensitive information. However, Ortis’s defense team advocated for a shorter, seven-year sentence, citing his three-year pretrial detention, during which he experienced significant personal losses, including his job, friendships, and savings. Defense attorney Jon Doody emphasized that Ortis had “lost everything” during this period. Judge Maranger deemed the 14-year sentence as appropriate and equitable, considering Ortis’s offenses and the “punitive” conditions he endured in prison, which included periods of isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Prosecutor Kliewer had pushed for a 28-year prison term for Ortis, contending that a lenient sentence would convey a message of vulnerability to Canada’s allies, such as the US and the UK, regarding the nation’s ability to safeguard sensitive information. However, Ortis’s defense team advocated for a shorter, seven-year sentence, citing his three-year pretrial detention, during which he experienced significant personal losses, including his job, friendships, and savings.
Defense attorney Jon Doody emphasized that Ortis had “lost everything” during this period. Judge Maranger deemed the 14-year sentence as appropriate and equitable, considering Ortis’s offenses and the “punitive” conditions he endured in prison, which included periods of isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ortis solicited nearly C$27,500 ($20,500; £16,000) from Ramos in exchange for intelligence on police operations, according to prosecutors, although there is no evidence to suggest he ever received payments. Ortis testified in court that he divulged the intelligence as part of a covert mission to coax targets into adopting an encrypted email service, thereby granting security agencies access to their communications.
His legal team asserted that his actions were undertaken “to confront a grave threat to Canada that could not be ignored.” However, prosecutors contended that he purposefully shared the information without authorization from his superiors, noting the absence of any documentation of his mission in RCMP archives. “His narrative was nothing more than an effort to persuade you that his criminal, self-serving deeds were directed toward a lofty and clandestine objective,” Prosecutor Kliewer declared to the court.
