Special court hearing to decide how to handle secret information in Ortis espionage trial

The case againstthesenior RCMP official accused of preparing to leak sensitive information is moving to Federal Court for a special hearingto determine how the trial canproceed while protectingclassified intelligence.

Cameron Ortis, who served as director general of the RCMP's national intelligence co-ordination centre, ischarged with violating the Security of Information Act.He was arrested in September and is accused of trying to share sensitive information with a foreign entity or terrorist organization. He'salso charged with sharing operational information in 2015.

According to documents viewed by CBC in the immediate aftermath of his arrest, the classified intelligence material Ortis is accused of preparing to share includes some of the most closely protected of Canada's national security assetsand its dissemination would have threatened Canada's relations with its allies.

A special court hearing has been set for Aug. 27 to discuss how to manage the trial while complying withsection 38 of the Canada Evidence Act,which prevents disclosing "sensitive"or"potentially injurious"information in a criminal proceeding without the consent of the attorney generalor a court order.

A spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada said an amicus curiae a special adviserlikelywill be appointed and next steps will be discussed that day.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said "Canada has filed an application in the Federal Court to commence Section 38 proceedings under theCanada Evidence Actto protect sensitive national security information from being disclosed at trial."

Back in January, defence lawyer Ian Carter said he couldn't even talk to his client about the charges due to the secret information involved in the case.

"Given the very nature of these charges and the highly sensitive information involved, I cannot have communications with my client about the charges right now for fear that he would be in breach of the Security of Information Act in telling me anything that relates to these matters," he said.

Most of the details in the case so far have been covered by a publication ban. A ruling by the attorney general could affect how much information in the case is released.

Last year, Attorney GeneralDavid Lamettiissued for the first time evera secrecy certificate under section 38 of the Canada Evidence Actto prevent therelease documents in the case of an Ontario man accused of attempting to spy for China.

Ortisis expectedback in Ontario Superior Court in September.