No bail decision yet for alleged RCMP spy

Cameron Ortis, thesenior RCMP director accused of preparing to leak sensitive information, will have to wait a few more days to find out if he'll be released on bail.

After a two-day hearing, the justice overseeing the case said he needs more time to reflect on the evidence and will render his decision Tuesday morning.

Ortis, 47, is charged under the Security of InformationAct with preparing to share sensitive information with a foreign entity or terrorist organization.He's also charged with sharing operational information back in 2015.

On Day 1of a two-day bail hearing, Crown attorneys laid out their case for keeping the head of the RCMP'snational intelligence co-ordination centre in custody.

The evidence and arguments are protected by a publication ban, a routine proceeding for bail hearings.The charges Ortis faces have a "reverse onus" rule on bail meaning his defence team has to convince the court thatbail should be granted.

RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki has said that,by virtue of his position, Ortishad access to intelligence gathered by Canadian authorities and foreign allies.

According to documents viewed by CBC in the immediate aftermath of his arrest, the classified intelligence material Ortis allegedlywas preparing to share includedsome of the most closely protected of Canada's national security assets; its disseminationwould threaten Canada's relations with its allies.

The documents saidCanada's security services first got wind of Ortis's alleged activitiesthrough a separate probe of Phantom Secure Communications, a B.C.-based company under investigation for allegedly providing encryptedcommunication devices to international criminals.

The FBI discovered in 2018 that a person was sendingemails to company CEOVincent Ramos offering to provide valuable information.Canadian authoritiesbelieve that person was Ortis, the documents allege.

The investigation into Ortis is still ongoing andLucki has called the allegations "extremely unsettling."