Jeffrey Deslisle-former RCN, convicted of spying

[The Bread Guy]

Putting the law on one's hands is the work of the mob whom communist and terrorist leaders encourage to do violent acts. I admire the way you were able to control yourself. Philippine laws used to allow the murder of man with whom a wife cheats in flagrante delicto which means "caught in the act". Alienating somebody's spouse can be grounds for torts and damages lawsuit which according to the latest Supreme Court reports awarded  at least 200 thousand dollars to the victim. I am not fomenting you to do this. But to show how sensible and logical I am, so many ladies invite me to cheat on their husbands. I don't bite..I cannot afford 200 thousand dollars.

busconductor - more reading, less posting for you for a bit.

Everyone else, back to the topic at hand, please, and thanks.

Milnet.ca Staff

 

[Maxadia]

Navy struggles to explain deleted intelligence slides

Electronic records detailing the planned overhaul of Canadian naval intelligence — created when admitted Russian spy Jeffrey Delisle was at the height of his treachery — were deleted from a National Defence database.

Two PowerPoint slide presentations, aimed at explaining the overhaul to intelligence analysts on both the east and west coasts, were reported destroyed when copies were requested earlier this year by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.

Military officials described the deletions as a clerical error.

But when the news agency asked why both the electronic and paper copies had been expunged, and whether that violated access-to-information law, the navy eventually reversed itself and claimed some copies of the presentations had survived in email accounts of officers serving overseas.

The confusion over the handling of the records alarms defence and intelligence experts.

"We should be asking questions, absolutely," said retired colonel and military law expert Michel Drapeau.

"I mean, naval intelligence goes to the security of the country, security of people, of our Armed Forces. They are issues of national interest."

Questions about the deletion of the PowerPoint presentations come at time when the military's entire handling of sensitive data is under scrutiny.

Last week, court records released in the Delisle case showed the naval officer retained top secret access even though his security clearance had lapsed and that prior screenings had failed to pick up red flags in his personal life.

Delisle had been working at HMCS Trinity, a top secret intelligence centre in Halifax, when he was arrested last January for passing highly classified information over to Russia over a five year period. He pleaded guilty in October.

Deletion raises concerns, say experts
The deletion of the electronic briefings on changes to naval intelligence adds to concerns raised by the Delisle case.

"You would want all intelligence documents and briefings to be handled carefully," said Wesley Wark, an intelligence expert at the University of Toronto.

"It's not just handling, but archiving and preservation of sensitive documents. It goes to the heart of what an intelligence system does. An intelligence system doesn't deal with just current information. It deals with memory and (institutional) capacity."

Delisle would most certainly have had access to the briefings — which, among other things, compare Canada's naval intelligence capability with its allies, lays out the division of responsibilities under the new system, as well as the number, disposition and function of staff within the beefed-up branch.

Wark said the navy's actions become even more serious in light of the spy case. While he's prepared to accept it may have been a mistake, the absence of those records from the database might have significance in assessing Delisle's actions.

"You have a security breach of significant consequence on your hands, you want to be able to discover just what a person conducting a security breach might have had access to in order to be able to assess the damage, and that's a tricky business, but it's absolutely crucial," he said.

The navy has given several contradictory explanations as to why staff initially destroyed the records and whether they had authority to do so.

Exceptions made for draft records
At first, officials said informally it was allowed because the documents were not signed and therefore not considered "official" — something Drapeau dismissed as a "silly" explanation.

"You have to ask what was the compelling reason for you to destroy — whether it was authorized or not — these documents which would very clearly have an historic value," he said.

Federal law, under the Library and Archives Act, requires departments to hold on to such briefing material because of its historical value and mandates officials to seek permission from the chief archivist if the materials are to be destroyed. Exceptions are made for draft records that do not leave the custody of the person who wrote it.

Similarly, the federal Treasury Board has a policy that requires briefing materials to be maintained. The Access to Information and Privacy Act requires documents to be retained, as well.

When The Canadian Press started asking questions last March, an internal National Defence email trail shows the navy's information manager justified the destruction by saying "they were draft documents never communicated beyond the author."

In fact, the presentations were given to the Acoustic Data Analysis Centre at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, B.C. and HMCS Trinity, the all-source fusion intelligence centre in Halifax where Delisle was caught spying.

The March 13, 2012 email also said the material in the briefing was pulled from a "master document that was approved and presented to (Commander Royal Canadian Navy)."

Document eventually recovered
Asked about the contradiction last week, the navy acknowledged the explanation was wrong.

"The briefing deck provided to Trinity, drafted by multiple authors, was written to facilitate staff level discussion, which provided input to a Commander Royal Canadian Navy decision brief," Lt.-Cmdr. Hubert Genest said in an email statement.

"As a result of a misunderstanding of the Treasury Board policy & Library and Archives Canada rules by a member of Naval Staff Headquarters, the document was removed from the document management system, but when the error was discovered, the document was recovered and put back on the system."

Extensively censored copies of the presentations, and the overall Naval Intelligence Roadmap, were released to The Canadian Press on Nov. 19.

Had the navy not restored the briefings, Drapeau said it would have broken both the archives law as well as Treasury Board policy. And had it not eventually released them, the navy could have been accused of obstruction under the Access to Information Act.

Wark said the contents of the briefings would have been of particular interest to the Russians because, while they didn't expose potential sources, they did provide an organizational framework and insight into how Canada was beefing up its intelligence apparatus.

The government has refused to discuss what sort of information Delisle siphoned off.

Previously released court documents show the Harper government is still trying to assess how badly Delisle compromised the country's intelligence apparatus. But the country's international electronic eavesdropping service, the Communications Security Establishment, has acknowledged the damage was high.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2012/12/03/ns-delisle-deleted-documents.html

 

[jollyjacktar]

Bruce McKinnon cartoon Halifax Chronicle Herald 2 Dec 2012

 

[Maxadia]

I miss Bruce's daily cartoons.  Have to save a link somewhere sometime.  ;D

 

[57Chevy]

                                            Shared with provisions of The Copyright Act

Apart from sentencing I suspect he'll be stripped (of not much) also.


Judge to determine fate of Halifax navy spy who sold secrets to Russia
08 Feb

The Canadian Press

HALIFAX - A Halifax navy intelligence officer will be sentenced later today for selling secrets to Russia.

Sub-Lt. Jeffrey Paul Delisle pleaded guilty last year to breach of trust and communicating information to a foreign entity that could harm Canada's interests.

The Crown is seeking a prison sentence of at least 20 years, while the defence is asking for nine to 10 years.

Both agreed that Delisle should be fined $111,817, which was based on the amount of money Delisle collected from his Russian bosses over nearly five years.

The 41-year-old Delisle was arrested in January 2012 and became the first person to be charged under the Security of Information Act.

That law was passed following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

Mike Taylor, Delisle's lawyer, has said he is surprised that intelligence officials haven't tried to learn more about what type of information he leaked to Russia.

But intelligence experts suggest that Delisle's lawyer wasn't approached because government insiders already know much of what he released after walking into Russia's embassy in Ottawa in July 2007 to offer his services.

 

[Eye In The Sky]

Aside from the actual sentence, I think it would also be appropriate for the individual to be stripped of his Commission.  :2c:

 

[Monsoon]

Mike Taylor, Delisle's lawyer, has said he is surprised that intelligence officials haven't tried to learn more about what type of information he leaked to Russia.

I.e. he's surprised that he wasn't able to strike a plea-bargain in exchange for his client's "cooperation". Fortunately for the crown, his client made it amply clear in his initial interview with the police that he didn't have the slightest idea what information he passed to the Russians - he just mass-downloaded some stuff and handed it over. I suspect the Russians are still trying to comb through it themselves.

 

[Journeyman]

I.e. he's surprised that he wasn't able to strike a plea-bargain in exchange for his client's "cooperation".

Good call.

 

[observor 69]

The Globe and Mail

Sub-Lieutenant Jeffrey Delisle has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for spying.

Nova Scotia’s Chief Judge of the Provincial Court, Patrick Curran, handed down the sentence this afternoon.

SLt. Delisle will serve 18 years, five months, accounting for time served.

The naval officer will also be fined about $111,000, the amount of money he received from the Russians since 2007.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/navy-spy-sentenced-to-20-years/article8390425/

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

So, based on my calculations, as long as he says he's sorry to the parole board, he'll be out on day parole is just over a year.
The only thing working againsnt him is "fame",....parole board doesn't like that pesky media caring about whom they let out.

 

[Retired AF Guy]

So, based on my calculations, as long as he says he's sorry to the parole board, he'll be out on day parole is just over a year.
The only thing working againsnt him is "fame",....parole board doesn't like that pesky media caring about whom they let out.

I thought you had to serve a certain number of years ( e.g. one-third of your sentence) before you were eligible for parole?

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

1/3 is provincial....

 

[The Bread Guy]

What the CDS says.....

“Today, the Canadian Armed Forces have entered one of the final stages in the process dealing with the odious behaviour of Sub-Lieutenant Jeffrey Delisle.

“A critical foundation of our intelligence mission is the mutual trust we have forged with our allies, and other intergovernmental and international partners. This is the bedrock of our mutual defence and security. Through his own admission, Sub-Lieutenant Delisle violated that trust, not only with our partners, but also with the people with whom he worked on a daily basis, and with the Canadian Armed Forces as a whole. The protection of our sources and our methods is critical to their effectiveness in the utilization of intelligence as a means of protecting our country and Canadians. Moreover, the unauthorized and unlawful disclosure of allied intelligence products has the potential to adversely impact Canada’s access to intelligence and other sensitive information. As such, through the activities in which he wilfully and deliberately engaged, Sub-Lieutenant Delisle could have placed this country’s security at higher risk. This cannot be overlooked. 

“Sub-Lieutenant Delisle failed each and every Canadian. With that said, I want to assure Canadians that we are actively pursuing measures to improve and enhance all facets of our security procedures. This includes undertaking a complete functional review and rewrite of the defence security policy suite, a realignment of all aspects of security in the Department, and working with other government departments to discuss, synchronize, and adopt best practices.

“The Canadian Armed Forces hold their members to a very high standard of conduct and performance, in Canada or abroad, on or off military duty. All personnel handling sensitive information are expected to observe stringent security procedures and are held to the highest ethical standards, consistent with the core military values of loyalty, integrity and honour. Clearly, Sub-Lieutenant Delisle’s actions failed to meet this standard. With the sentencing complete, we can now finalize the administrative review which will determine resultant administrative actions for Sub-Lieutenant Delisle. Given the serious nature of the crimes to which he has pled guilty, and for which he has now been sentenced, a rapid completion of the administrative review has been ordered while still allowing sufficient time for procedural fairness to occur. 

“I have every confidence that this incident is not reflective of the characteristically impeccable performance and dedication of the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces, and Canadians can be assured that Sub-Lieutenant Delisle’s actions are, in no way, indicative of the values, ethics, and actions of our members as a whole, or of our commitment to safeguarding their national interests.”

 

[Tank Troll]

Wouldn't 2 years less a day of that sentence be spent in Club Ed?

 

[jollyjacktar]

No it's all civilian jail for him.  Two years in ClubEd would be nice to think of though.

 

[Tank Troll]

Didn't Kyle Brown do 2 less a day on his sentence in Club Ed?

 

[Pandora114]

Doesn't he lose his pension as well?  I thought I read that somewhere...

I hope he does...sucks he's not going to ClubEd.  I think ClubEd is too good for him and needs to be hanged for high treason (sucks we dont' have that anymore)

 

[Cansky]

Didn't Kyle Brown do 2 less a day on his sentence in Club Ed?

Yes Kylie did 2 years at DB Edmonton but the difference is that Kylie Brown was court martialed and this idiot was charged in the civilian justice system.  I don't think the civilian judge can send someone to DB .  Any JAG's know for sure?

 

[OldSolduer]

He'll be  PC case.

 

[garb811]

Yes Kylie did 2 years at DB Edmonton but the difference is that Kylie Brown was court martialed and this idiot was charged in the civilian justice system.  I don't think the civilian judge can send someone to DB .  Any JAG's know for sure?

You're right, civilian courts do not have the capacity to sentence anyone to the DB. 

QR&Os: Volume II - Chapter 114 General Provisions Respecting Imprisonment And Detention:

114.03 – COMMITTING AUTHORITIES

(1) Subsection 219(1) of the National Defence Act provides:

"219. (1) The Minister may prescribe or appoint authorities for the purposes of this section and section 220 and, in this section and section 220, an authority prescribed or appointed under this subsection is referred to as a "committing authority"."

(2) The following authorities may act as committing authorities for the purposes of sections 219 and 220 of the National Defence Act:

the Minister;
the Chief of the Defence Staff;
an officer commanding a command;
an officer commanding a formation;
a commanding officer; and
a military judge.