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Cameron Ortis, a former RCMP intelligence official, has been found guilty of breaching Canada’s Security of Information Act by sharing secret information with the targets of international criminal investigations.
Ortis had a top security clearance and access to sensitive, highly classified information as a civilian member of the RCMP. At the time of his arrest, he worked as the civilian director-general for the RCMP National Intelligence Co-ordination Centre. Prior to that, he led a specialized national-security unit in the force called Operations Research.
His case gained special attention because of the national-security and intelligence communities with which he was involved. It was also the first time that charges under the Security of Information Act have gone to trial.
Cameron Jay Ortis, a former RCMP intelligence official charged with breaching Canada's secrets law, arrives for his trial at the courthouse in Ottawa, on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
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No sign of terrorism in Rainbow Bridge blast that killed two, injured border officer, N.Y. Governor says
A car explosion at the busy Canada-U.S. border crossing in Niagara Falls yesterday killed two people and injured a border officer, but New York Governor Kathy Hochul said the incident did not appear to be terrorism-related.
Eyewitness accounts described a car careening down an approach to the New York side of the Rainbow Bridge crossing, striking a secondary-inspection building and exploding in a towering fireball. It raised a plume of smoke visible for kilometres.
As investigators scrambled to determine a cause, authorities shut down three other crossings in the area, the Lewiston, Whirlpool and Peace Bridge ports of entry. They have all since reopened, but the Rainbow Bridge crossing and a railway line remain closed as the investigation continues.
Washington presses India on alleged plot to kill Sikh activist in U.S.
The U.S. government says it raised concerns with senior officials in the Indian government about an alleged plot to kill a Sikh separatist on American soil and demanded that anyone responsible be held accountable.
The statement from the Biden administration came after a report in the Financial Times cited unnamed officials who said U.S. authorities had stopped a conspiracy to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual Canada-U.S. citizen.
The incident is similar to assertions by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier this year that the Indian government was involved in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader who was gunned down at a temple in Surrey, B.C., in June.
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Also on our radar
Hostage release, ceasefire delayed, Israel says: A four-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas hit a hurdle yesterday when Israel’s national-security adviser said in an announcement that the deal would not take effect before Friday, a day later than originally expected. Tzachi Hanegbi gave no reason for the delay, but Israeli media said there were still some last-minute details being ironed out. If implemented, the deal temporarily freezes violence from both sides at a tenuous moment.
Geert Wilders wins big in Dutch elections: Anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders won a huge victory in Dutch elections, according to a near complete count of the vote early Thursday, in a stunning lurch to the far right for a nation once famed as a beacon of tolerance. The result will send shockwaves through Europe, where far-right ideology is on the rise.
HBC sells off millions in real estate: Hudson’s Bay Co. has completed a series of real estate transactions in the United States and Canada worth US$340-million, cash that the company says will help to fund its retail operations after falling behind on payments to its suppliers.
Senator receives online abuse, threat after ‘wanted poster’: After a tweet by former Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer in the style of a wanted poster with her picture and office phone number, Senator Bernadette Clement said she feared for her safety after receiving a threatening phone call from a man who said he was coming to her house. Scheer’s post claimed Clement had shut down debate on a Conservative-backed bill and urged people to call the senator’s office.
Low water levels preventing supplies from reaching NWT: Frank Pope, the mayor of Norman Wells, a small oil town along the Mackenzie River, is warning about low water levels this year impeding barge traffic and preventing the town from receiving crucial supplies. Norman Wells and neighbouring areas depend more than most Northwest Territories communities on barge traffic, and when it’s not available they may be forced to rely on flights, which send already high prices for necessities like groceries through the roof.
New malaria vaccine rolled out in Africa: In an effort to fight malaria, one of Africa’s biggest killers, health agencies are launching a rollout of a new ‘breakthrough’ vaccine in Cameroon. The new vaccine is expected to be included in routine immunization programs in several countries by early next year, and offers relief from a disease that kills hundreds of thousands of African children every year.
Morning markets
Global stocks edge higher: World shares inched closer to their best month since the COVID vaccine breakthroughs of late 2020 on Thursday as Europe digested another far-right election shock and oil dipped after OPEC+ postponed its weekend meeting. Just after 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.13 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.07 per cent and 0.20 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.99 per cent. Markets in the U.S. are closed. The Canadian dollar was modestly higher at 73.08 US cents.
What everyone’s talking about
Guy Saint-Jacques: “Even if the recent allegations by Michael Spavor are true – that he was unwittingly used by Michael Kovrig in intelligence-collection activities, which he said led to the two being detained by China – it would not be the main reason why he was arrested. … Beijing was likely just waiting for the right moment to arrest him and have an opportunity to question him, and hostage diplomacy offered just such an opportunity.”
Editorial: “The development of social media over the past two decades has taught us a lot about the promises and dangers of modern technology. As artificial intelligence develops at a breakneck pace, it’s incumbent on policy-makers to learn the right lessons so we can head off problems.”
Today’s editorial cartoon
Illustration by David Parkins
Living better
Roasted vegetables are perfect for cold-weather meals
Though we associate salads with summer, there’s no reason they should be relegated only to the season that produces the most local veggies. When it’s cold out, why not turn the oven on to make your salad? Try jumbling warm roasted veg with salad-friendly ingredients – then drizzle with a vinaigrette, creamy dressing or something saucy. Winter salads often call for hardy brassicas – kale, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage – and winter squash, all of which benefit from roasting.
Moment in time: Nov. 23, 1990
American-born actress Patricia Neal is pictured with her husband, author Roald Dahl and their 9-month-old daughter Lucy Neal Dahl, at their home at Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, England, May, 1966.The Canadian Press
Roald Dahl, British children’s author, dies at 74
More than two decades after Roald Dahl’s death, his legacy remains hotly debated in contemporary literature. Mr. Dahl published his first children’s book, The Gremlin, in 1943, before going on a run of acclaimed wit and whimsy that spanned the next half-century – James and the Giant Peach (1961), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964), Fantastic Mr. Fox (1970), The BFG (1982), Matilda (1988) – and he counts more than 300 million copies on the shelves of young readers around the world. In life, Mr. Dahl drolly warned his publishers that if they “so much as change a single comma in one of my books … I will send along the ‘enormous crocodile’ to gobble them up.” After death, critics and sensitivity readers have strongly condemned him for making antisemitic comments and his use of racist and sexist characterizations. Mr. Dahl’s family apologized for his antisemitism in 2020; Puffin Books published expurgated versions of his books this year, while simultaneously keeping his original texts in print after backlash. Controversy has done little to dampen his popularity: In December, expect families to pack theatres for Wonka, the latest movie based on Mr. Dahl’s work. Cliff Lee
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