Former RCMP intelligence boss was acting on information from a foreign agency: defence

In a stunning moment in an already extraordinary case, the lawyer for Cameron Ortis — the former high-ranking RCMP intelligence official accused of leaking classified information to police targets —  said Thursday his client was acting on secret information sent by a foreign agency.

"Cameron Ortis is no enemy of Canada," defence lawyer Mark Ertel told the jury Thursday morning.

"He protected Canada from serious and imminent threats."

Ertel told the jury they will hear from Ortis that he had a "duty to act."

"His actions were in large part a result of secret information communicated to him by a foreign agency," he said.

"And he's going to be forbidden from telling you what the information was, or what the foreign agency was. So he's defending himself with one hand tied behind his back."

The 51-year-old has already pleaded not guilty to all six charges against him, including multiple counts under the Security of Information Act — the law meant to protect Canada's secrets.

The Crown alleges Ortis used his position as the head of a highly-sensitive unit within the RCMP to attempt to sell intelligence gathered by Canada and its Five Eyes allies to individuals linked to the criminal underworld.

Ertel told the jury Ortis is testifying without access to his work emails and other top-secret documents but "has a compelling story to tell."

"He's not hiding behind the right to remain silent," he said. "He going to say everything that he can say, everything that the law allows him to say, because this is a unique case, where the accused person, unlike every other case, is not allowed to tell you the entirety of the defence."

WATCH | Ortis's lawyer calls closed testimony 'unfortunate'

The court then took a break before the afternoon session. Members of the public, including media, were kicked out of the courtroom and the doors were locked before Ortis began testifying in-camera. A redacted transcript is expected to be released Friday.

A consortium of media organizations that includes CBC News fought the move in-camera, but lost. Other details of the secrecy measure are covered by a publication ban.

"You're going to have to wait until tomorrow for a transcript, which is unfortunate for Mr. Ortis and for Canada," Ertel told reporters outside of the courtroom Thursday morning.