OTTAWA — An RCMP employee who worked in the same intelligence unit as a man charged with revealing classified information says the unit was not involved in criminal investigations, surveillance or undercover work.

Gregory O’Hayon told Ontario Superior Court that Operations Research, as the unit was known, focused on intelligence and analysis.

The Crown alleges Cameron Jay Ortis, who once led the unit, anonymously sent secret information in 2015 to people who were of investigative interest to the national police force. 

Ortis, 51, has pleaded not guilty to violating the Security of Information Act by allegedly revealing secrets to three individuals and trying to do so in a fourth instance. 

Ortis’s lawyers have indicated they will try to persuade the jury their client had the authority to take the actions he did. 

Reporters and the general public were excluded from the courtroom for O’Hayon’s appearance Wednesday, but an edited transcript of his testimony was released today.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2023.

The Canadian Press