Canadian military intelligence operative accused of leaking secrets was trying to help Ukraine: sources

A Canadian military counter-intelligence operative, accused of passing sensitive information to a foreign entity, was having conversations with a representative of Ukraine, CBC News has learned.

The case, according to sources, has pitted different parts of the defence intelligence and security community against each other.

Master Warrant Officer Matthew Robar faces eight charges under the National Defence Act and the Security of Information Act, including communicating "special operational information" to a foreign entity.

He was arrested last week by military police following a joint investigation with the RCMP. A military judge released him from custody with conditions following a hearing on Monday.

The Department of National Defence has steadfastly refused to say who Robar might have been talking with and under what circumstances.

The Globe and Mail reported early Tuesday — citing a source — that the country involved was Ukraine. Sources have confirmed that information to CBC News.

The embattled Eastern European country works both official and unofficial channels in requesting equipment and support to help beat back the Russian invasion.

CBC News has spoken to confidential sources who claim Robar was introduced to a Ukrainian representative in May 2024 by a Canadian official and a dialogue allegedly began about the kind of support Canadians might be able to provide in the information sphere.

The sources spoke to CBC News on condition they not be named because of the sensitive nature of the case and the charges against Robar.

The contacts culminated in a meeting involving Robar and the representative in September 2024 in Lithuania.

Robar, however, was suspended from duty the following month and an internal investigation was launched within his unit at Canadian Forces Intelligence Command.

All of this unfolded against a backdrop of tighter intelligence and defence co-operation between the two countries.

Late last year, after Robar was suspended, Canada and Ukraine signed an agreement that included formalizing intelligence and counter-intelligence co-operation.

The intention, according to the text of the agreement, is to "facilitate even greater information sharing regarding defence and security between various Canadian and Ukrainian government departments and agencies."

It is unclear what kind of information Robar is accused of passing to the Ukrainians.

A transcript of Monday’s custody hearing quotes both the military prosecutor and defence counsel as saying the alleged actions of the accused do not rise to the level of the spy case a decade ago, where former naval intelligence officer Jeffrey Delisle passed secrets to Russia — a crime for which he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The complaint that initiated the military police and RCMP national security investigation against Robar came from another unit within Canada’s military intelligence community, the sources said.

Two separate investigations

On Tuesday, Canadian Forces Provost Marshal Brig.-Gen. Vanessa Hanrahan, in an interview with CBC News, would not confirm that the complaint originated within the military intelligence community.

"What I can say is that the complaint came from within the Canadian Armed Forces," Hanrahan said. "The military police received an internal complaint and that initiated the police investigation."

That military police investigation into Robar was opened in November 2024, a month after the intelligence command began its own review, the provost marshal said.

Both investigations proceeded in tandem, which military legal experts have said is highly unusual and potentially significant.

But Hanrahan said it’s not unheard of.

"There are cases when a unit discovery investigation can absolutely take place at the same time as a military police investigation," she said. "It just means that there needs to be co-ordination if there's any overlapping aspects of the two investigations."

Hanrahan confirmed that Robar was initially arrested and held without charge at the end of October.

"Depending on the investigation, it is possible that you could see where someone is arrested and released on conditions, or not released on conditions, and then the investigation may continue," she said.

Following the internal investigation by his unit, Robar was issued a reprimand, which he grieved in a process that is ongoing.