A Canadian military counter-intelligence operative accused of sharing sensitive information with a foreign entity is scheduled to face a court martial next month after eight charges were laid against him last year.
Master Warrant Officer Matthew Robar was arrested last December and initially faced eight charges under the National Defence Act and the Security of Information Act, including allegations of communicating information to a “foreign entity.”
Military court filings obtained by CBC News indicate Robar was accused of passing sensitive information to Ukraine. The military has not publicly confirmed the identity of the alleged foreign recipient.
A spokesperson for the Office of the Chief Military Judge told The Epoch Times in a Nov. 4 email that Robar has been charged by the Director of Military Prosecutions (DMP) and has elected to be tried by a Standing Court Martial.
A Standing Court Martial is a type of military court in which a single military judge presides without a jury or panel.
Robar will be answering to three charges under the National Defence Act at the Dec. 9 court martial. The military has not clarified whether the other five charges were withdrawn or whether they could be dealt with separately.
Robar is accused of negligently performing a military duty between September 2024 and February 2025, when he held the appointment of Sergeant Major at the Canadian Forces National Counter Intelligence Unit headquarters in Ottawa.
A Sergeant Major is a senior appointment held by a non-commissioned member who serves as a principal adviser to a unit commander.
The negligence charge relates to an alleged “unauthorized relationship with a foreign entity” and sharing unauthorized information with that person, according to the spokesperson.
Robar also faces a charge of “conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline.” He is accused of being dishonest with his superiors in October 2025 about the “nature and extent of his relationship with a foreign entity,” according to the email.
A third charge concerns alleged failure to comply with federal regulations governing the storage of a Mossberg 500 pump-action shotgun.
The investigation began in 2024 and was conducted jointly by the Canadian Forces Military Police and the RCMP.
The last time a member of the Canadian military faced similar charges was in 2012, when former Royal Canadian Navy sub-lieutenant Jeffrey Delisle pleaded guilty to selling confidential information about Canada and its allies to Russia. He was granted parole in 2019 after completing one-third of his 20-year sentence.
Former senior RCMP intelligence official Cameron Ortis was convicted in 2023 of leaking classified information to unauthorized individuals. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison in February 2024.
In 2024, Alberta RCMP officer Eli Ndatuje was also arrested after being accused of disclosing confidential information to the Rwandan government.
