OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 02/08/13 -- General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, issued the following statement today regarding the sentencing of Sub-Lieutenant Jeffrey Delisle:

"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."