Military to crack down on leaks of unclassified information

OTTAWA — The Canadian Forces is going to crack down on leaks of unclassified information in the wake of the unauthorized release of details about the crash of a Cyclone helicopter and problems in Ontario long-term care homes.

Details about the latest effort to hunt down and punish those who leak information was leaked to this newspaper.

The Canadian Forces and senior Department of National Defence leadership are particularly upset by leaks over the last month that embarrassed either the Liberal government or military leaders. In one case, Canadian Forces personnel informed the CBC that the crash of a Cyclone helicopter off the coast of Greece was witnessed by the crew of a Canadian warship, undercutting suggestions by defence minister Harjit Sajjan and Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance that the crash occurred some distance away from the vessel.

In another incident, Canadian military personnel told Global News about abuses they were seeing in long-term care homes in Ontario. The Canadian Forces leadership had the information earlier about the abuses but the federal government had delayed taking action. That changed after Global informed the Department of National Defence it was going to broadcast details about the abuses, sources say.

The DND confirmed to this newspaper the new directive on unclassified information is being written but it had no details on when it would be ready to be issued to military personnel and department employees.

“The Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces has an obligation to its country to being open and transparent, while ensuring the proper handling of information for security and business reasons,” stated the DND email. “Any suspected non-compliance might be investigated and consequences will be commensurate with the circumstances and in line with DND/CAF’S usual process for dealing with disciplinary or administrative matters.”

The DND and Canadian military has previously brought in similar policies.

In 2014, then Army commander Lt.-gen. Marquis Hainse announced to the ranks he would pursue disciplinary action against soldiers who provided information to the media without permission. Hainse said such leaks hurt the reputation of the army and his policy was designed to embed “the principles of openness, transparency and accessibility into the day-to-day operations of the (Canadian Forces) and the (Department of National Defence).”

A copy of Hainse’s memo was leaked to CBC. Hainse’s hunt for alleged leakers proved unsuccessful.

In 2013, it was revealed the office of then defence minister Peter Mackay had called in military police to investigate what it claimed was a leak of classified information to this newspaper. The focus of the investigation was an article which published details provided by the U.S. Navy. The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service spent more than a month and tens of thousands of dollars before concluding the information was indeed from a U.S. Navy news release.