Who is the alleged spy?
His name is Jeffrey Paul Delisle. He is a 40-year-old sub-lieutenant in Canada’s navy. He works as a junior intelligence officer at the Royal Canadian Navy’s HMCS Trinity Centre in Halifax.

He was arrested Friday and charged with providing information to a “foreign entity,” according to court documents. The same day, the RCMP raided his Lewis Drive home in Bedford.

Delisle has a bachelor of arts from Royal Military College, according to the Globe and Mail. Unnamed sources told the Chronicle Herald that Delisle joined the navy as a reservist in 1996. He then joined the regular forces in 2001 and was posted to Trinity the same year until 2005. He was promoted to the rank of officer in 2008, and returned to Trinity in 2010.

His military resume also includes work at the Department of Defense in Ottawa, and the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario.

He wore a camouflage army uniform when he left his house, according to the Herald, and mostly kept to himself in his quiet neighbourhood.

His home is assessed at around $240,000, also according to the Herald, and there are two mortgages on the home in a woman’s name. Delisle declared bankruptcy in 1998, according to the Globe and Mail, about a month before his 27th birthday. At the time he owed $18,587 and had $1,000 in assets.

What is he accused of?
Investigators allege that Delisle committed a breach of trust under the Criminal Code for incidents that happened between July 6, 2007 and Jan. 13, 2012 in Ottawa, Kingston, Ontario, and Halifax. In this case, they allege he communicated “to a foreign entity information that the Government of Canada is taking measures to safeguard.”

Delisle is also accused of passing state secrets once last week in Halifax, between Jan. 10 and Jan. 13. A Montreal RCMP officer swore to the allegations in court on Monday.

CTV reported Monday that the information was shared with the Russians. A Russian connection hasn’t been substantiated in other media reports, and it has lead to widespread speculation.

What sort of information does Trinity deal with?
If on-site security information gives any indication, the information Trinity deals with is, to put it mildly, top secret. Unnamed sources told the Globe and Mail that Trinity is “ultra-secure,” surrounded by barbed wire and an electronic shield that blocks unauthorized transmissions. Trinity operates two remote transmission centres near Halifax that transmit and receive information.

According to the Chronicle Herald and the Canadian Press, Trinity is “a multi-national base with access to secret data from NATO countries.”

Trinity deals with communications and intelligence of naval nature. The intelligence officers at Trinity collect, analyze and share this information with allies like the U.S. Since July, 2009, U.S. and Canadian personnel have made “regular liaison visits” between Trinity and a navy intelligence base in Virginia.

According to unnamed sources, Trinity tracks shipping in Canadian waters. Also, according to the Herald, Delisle would have had to bond with other Trinity officers in order to work at the secure unit.

View The Trinity Base in a larger map

What information is Delisle alleged to have leaked?
The courts, the military and the federal government have attempted to lock down the information, but here’s what we know:

Even as a junior intelligence officer, Delisle had top-level clearance.

A spokesperson from the RCMP has repeatedly said the information does not pose a threat to public safety.

“Notwithstanding the serious­ness of these charges, the RCMP is not aware of any threat to public safety at this time from this situation," Bob Paulson, commissioner of the police force, said in a statement. “This investigation demon­strates that Canada is not im­mune to threats posed by foreign entities wishing to undermine Canadian sovereignty.”

Paulson told the Chronicle Herald that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Mounties, the Canada Border Services Agency and other military agencies were involved in the investigation, illustrating that the information was a big deal.

The Defence Department is conducting a damage assessment to determine the strength and impact of the information.

That’s the end of what we know. Here’s the beginning of the speculation.

Michel Juneau-Katsuya, a former senior intelligence officer at CSIS, told CBC that Delisle “would have had access to sensitive information about protecting the Atlantic, our naval fleet out of Halifax and NATO.”

He said the “foreign entity” was most likely Russia since it has been trying to gather information about NATO since the Cold War.

The Times Colonist also spoke to Juneau-Katsuya. They reported that unnamed sources have told the former officer that Delisle’s duties involved monitoring the North Atlantic seas.

He said Delisle had access to information about the locations of ocean sensors that help authorities monitor ships’ movements. He said that information might be useful to a country like Russia.

The Times Colonist interviewed Jeremy Kinsman, former Canadian ambassador to Russia. Kinsman said Tuesday that Russia might be interested in information related to Canada’s territorial claims in the Arctic.

“Tensions have been high between Canada and Russia over duelling claims to the mineral riches of the Arctic and the strategic and commercial potential of the Northwest Passage shipping route,” The Times Colonist wrote.

Wesley Wark, a security expert at the Munk Centre at U of T, told CBC that China and Iran are two other countries with an interest in Canadian and NATO secrets.

"We have access to a lot of allied intelligence, so we're a perfect and natural target, even though we tend not to think of ourselves as such," Wark told CBC.

On Tuesday night, CTV reported that Canada is planning a “measured response” to Russia, which might mean summoning the Russian ambassador, or expelling Russian diplomats.

CTV also said the federal government wants to maintain good relations with Russia because Prime Minister Stephen Harper is visiting the country later this year for an APEC summit.

How has the government responded to these allegations?
Seven or eight mounties and military officers raided Delisle’s home on Friday after he was arrested. They were inside the house taking pictures for hours, the Chronicle Herald reported, and left around 9 p.m.

The officers put a teenage girl, two children, and packages and boxes into a truck. Neighbours told the Herald the truck might have belonged to relatives, and they also picked up two dogs and a cat from the house.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay responded to the allegations by reassuring Canadians via the media that this case will not hurt our country’s international reputation. He called the case a matter of national security.

"Our allies have full confidence in Canada, full confidence in our information," MacKay said during a news conference in Ottawa on Tuesday.

He wouldn’t say whether the “foreign entity” was Russia, and when asked to comment, said: “I am not going to play Clue.”

Harper wouldn’t comment on the case since it’s before the courts and relates to national security, but he did congratulate the RCMP and other security agencies on their arrest of Delisle.

Where is Delisle now?

Delisle is in police custody now. He had a court date yesterday, but he decided not to attend, opting instead to stay in his jail cell until his next hearing on Jan. 25.

How have Delisle and his lawyer responded to these allegations?
Delisle’s defence lawyer, Cameron MacKeen, like almost everyone else involved, wouldn’t comment on the case. All he said was:

"The only comment I'm going to say is people have to realize there's a presumption of innocence in this country and that's something we'll be looking at going forward."

MacKeen said she received disclosure (findings and evidence) on Tuesday.

What sentence does Delisle face?
A breach of trust under the Criminal Code could mean up to five years in jail. If Delisle is convicted of a violation under the Security of Information Act, he could face life in prison.

What is the Security of Information Act?
Delisle’s charges are the first ever to be laid under this specific section of the Security of Information Act — passing information to a foreign entity.

A “foreign enti­ty" might mean a foreign power, a “group or association of foreign powers" or “one or more foreign powers and one or more terrorist groups."

The act replaced the Official Secrets Act following the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001. The House of Commons voted to pass it as a response to the attacks.