RCMP secrets case inches along

Cameron Jay Ortis, a senior RCMP employee accused of divulging secret information, made his latest brief appearance in an Ontario court Friday.

All signs suggest his complex case will grind through the judicial process for some time, as deliberations continue over what portions of the thousands of pages of evidence can be disclosed.

Next week will mark one year since Ortis, director of an RCMP intelligence centre, was arrested, making international headlines.

Ortis is charged under the Security of Information Act for allegedly revealing secrets to an unnamed recipient and planning to give additional classified information to an unspecified foreign entity.

Officials decided early this year that the charges would proceed in Ontario Superior Court by way of direct indictment, meaning there will be no preliminary inquiry.

However, a parallel process is playing out in the Federal Court of Canada to determine whether certain information relevant to the case must be kept under wraps to avoid endangering national security.