OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Public Safety Minister Bill Blair is looking into allegations the RCMP brushed off warnings about a senior director who was later arrested on national-security charges.
Trudeau made the comments today about a new civil lawsuit that alleges Cameron Jay Ortis engaged in degrading and abusive behaviour towards employees while he was director general of the RCMP’s National Intelligence Co-ordination Centre.
The statement of claim filed in Ontario Superior Court by three people who worked under Ortis says he belittled them, undermined their value and work, and caused significant distress and mental suffering.
The claim contends that by late September 2016, it had become clear Ortis intended to force out or otherwise remove centre employees and bring in new staff over whom he had greater personal control.
Ortis was arrested Sept. 12 last year for allegedly revealing secrets to an unnamed recipient and planning to give additional classified information to an unspecified foreign entity.
He is charged with Security of Information Act violations, breach of trust and a computer-related offence.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 31, 2020.
The Canadian Press
