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- UNBC grad found guilty of leaking secret Canadian intelligence to police targets
UNBC grad found guilty of leaking secret Canadian intelligence to police targets
Also, the climate non-crisis. And pizza-banks
Cameron Ortis, formerly the highest-ranked civilian member of the RCMP, has been found guilty of six charges, including multiple counts under the Security of Information Act, the law meant to protect Canada's secrets:
The Crown argued Ortis used his position within the RCMP — leading a unit that had access to Canadian and allied intelligence — to leak sensitive information to police targets in early 2015.
Ortis claimed during his trial that he was acting to protect Canada from a "grave threat" passed along by a foreign entity.
Ortis was accused of leaking special operational information "without authority" to Phantom Secure CEO Vincent Ramos — who sold encrypted cellphones to organized crime members — and Salim Henareh and Muhammad Ashraf, two men police suspected of being agents of an international money-laundering network with ties to terrorists.
Ortis was accused of sending the men Canadian intelligence, including RCMP assets and documents from the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). He also was accused of leaking a report put together by the Five Eyes, an intelligence-sharing alliance that includes the U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
…
During his four days of in-camera testimony earlier this month, Ortis claimed he was actually working on a secret operation based on information from a foreign agency.
According to a transcript of that testimony, the alleged operation, which Ortis said he called "OR Nudge," was intended to lure criminals to an encrypted email service to allow authorities to intercept their messages. Outside of the courtroom, the email service called Ortis's claims "completely false" and "salacious."
Ortis was in UNBC’s graduating class of 1999, apparently working as a bouncer in Prince George, before his rapid rise in the world of academia and international intelligence. There’s a fascinating documentary about Ortis available from the 5th Estate on YouTube and CBC Gem, though it does not mention his academic roots in Prince George:
The climate non-crisis
In June 2021, 619 people died in a heat dome that hit B.C., including 14 in Prince George.
That same month, the community of Lytton was essentially decimated by a rapidly-spreading wildfire after recording the highest-ever temperature in Canada. Many residents remain homeless as a result.
Likewise, the entire community of Merritt was put out of their homes and may never be able to return after flooding in November 2021 — flooding that is exascerbated by drought and heat, making the soil unable to retain water when it rises.
Meanwhile, the province and country as a whole just recorded its worst wildfire season ever, and here in B.C. we are still in the midst of an unprecedented drought that is forcing farmers and ranchers to make tough decisions about whether they can even carry on due to a lack of water. Here in Prince George, the Nechako is at the lowest level ever recorded, which is likely to have equally dire consequences for salmon runs and the surrounding ecosystem.
Speaking of the Nechako, the MLA for Nechako Lakes, John Rustad, is the leader of the B.C. Conservative Party. And yesterday they released their climate policy:
British Columbians are NOT facing an existential threat from our changing climate. It isn’t a crisis. In fact, our changing climate is not the most pressing issue facing us in BC or around the world.
The policy does say that greenhouse gases and CO2 emitted by people are contributing to this apparent non-crisis, which is a bit different from 2021 when Rustad shared a post urging people to celebrate CO2 because they were being hoodwinked into thinking it was a problem, a stance which ultimately got him removed from the B.C. Liberals, setting him onto the path of B.C. Conservative leader — though it also couches that language by saying humans are just one of hundreds of factors impacting the climate. This viewpoint is in contrast to the majority of climate scientists who point the finger directly at humans.
Anyways, the policy of Rustad’s new party is primarily around getting rid of carbon taxes and saying we’ll be able to innovate our way forward. It also points toward the need for food and water security, which I think most people would agree with, though I am curious how you secure those things when existing food producers are finding themselves without the ability to access the water needed to produce food.
In other John Rustad news, the teacher’s union in his riding has written an open letter asking him to walk back and consider his remarks around SOGI and how it is impacting people working in classrooms.
Quick news:
Together We Stand, formed as an advocacy group for people living in Mocassin Flats and other encampments, has won an award from the B.C. Non-Profit Housing Association. Here’s an interview with one of the people involved who has her own experience with homelessness.
Civic Light Up and Festival of Trees kickoff to be held next week.
Prince George RCMP identify victim of suspicious death on Sintich Road.
Two arrested following early morning incident on Upland Street.
“There is an absolute need.” DPAC President elated over approved youth mental health home.
Crashing into police cruiser earns jail time for Prince George man.
Prince George responds to fundraising efforts for fire victim.
Not sure when the Hart Ski Hill is opening, but it’s holding a pair of singles mixers this weekend.
Meet an ancient Nechako White Sturgeon and learn more about conservation efforts.
I am apparently 48 per cent Gen Z in my communciation style. 💀
Today’s song:
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