Steven Staples on the Delisle case in the Chronicle Herald

Steven Staples, President of the Rideau Institute, says that the documents released this week in the Delisle case should pressure the Department of National Defence to explain how years of spying went undetected and how the military will strengthen its internal defences. Mr. Staples was quoted in the Chronicle Herald article, “Spy-papers seen as wake up call for Feds” (November 30, 2012).

“I’m reassured that some of this information is coming to light, because this is the way the public can demand changes to make sure something like this doesn’t ever happen again,” Steven Staples, president of the Rideau Institute, said in a telephone interview.

Those changes are essential to repairing Canada’s reputation internationally, Staples said, because some of the information Delisle sold to the Russians came from Canada’s allies.

The RCMP arrested Delisle in Bedford last January and charged him with two counts of violating the Security of Information Act by passing information to a foreign entity and one Criminal Code count of breach of trust by a public officer.

Delisle, 41, pleaded guilty to all the charges in October and will be sentenced in January.

With the majority of the court proceedings over, the Canadian military should address whether it has adopted new security measures, Staples said.

“It’s when systems become very secretive that they try to cover up their own wrongdoing,” he said. “So the more information the public is provided about this case, I think the better chance there is that the government will respond properly, and improve.

“And that will also be more reassuring to our allies.”

The full story is available online.