Ex-intelligence officer to learn of bail status Friday
Cameron Ortis will learn Friday whether his bail conditions will be revised, revoked or remain status quo pending the bail review decision by Superior Court Justice Marc Labrosse.
Ortis, 47, the former high-ranking RCMP intelligence official accused of espionage, has been out on bail since the Oct. 22 decision by Justice of the Peace Serge Legault to release him into his parents’ supervision at their Abbotsford, B.C. condominium with a list of court-imposed conditions.
Tuesday’s hearing, initially scheduled for the lower court, was moved up to Superior Court following last week’s appeal by federal Crown prosecutors.
Ortis was released after posting a $125,000 bond and his parents, David and Loretta Ortis, each signed a $125,000 bond as his sureties. Ortis surrendered his passport and was ordered to remain under a form of house arrest, where he is forbidden from using, possessing or having any access to any equipment capable of connecting to the internet.
All cellphones, computers and tablets owned by his parents must be password-protected and locked away. Ortis is also forbidden from any public access to the internet.
According to the conditions, the condo was to be equipped with a cellular-connected alarm system installed to the main door of the residence. Ortis was ordered to report weekly to the RCMP detachment in Mission, B.C., about eight kilometres from the condo.
Ortis — one of the most senior civilian intelligence officials at
RCMP headquarters in Ottawa — served as director general of the national intelligence co-ordination centre until his Sept. 12 arrest. He is accused of violating three sections of the Security of Information Act as well as two Criminal Code provisions, including breach of trust, for allegedly attempting or preparing to disclose classified information to an unspecified entity.
A publication ban imposed at his bail hearing, and reinforced during his bail review, restricts all evidence given so far in court by federal Crown prosecutors Judy
Kliewer and John MacFarlane.
Ortis was not required to appear in court for Tuesday’s hearing and was represented by his defence lawyer, Ian Carter.
He is not expected to appear in person at Friday’s hearing. Ahelmer@postmedia.com