Halifax spy case delayed again

There is another delay in thecase against a Canadian naval intelligence officer accused of spying.

Sub-Lt. Jeffrey Delisle is charged with communicating information to a foreign entity that could harm national interests.

Delisle's lawyer, Mike Taylor,has requested more time to review documents, of which he said there are thousands.

The 41-year-old security analyst was arrested in January and has been in custody since at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility. He wasdenied bailin March.

Delisle was charged under a section of the Security of Information Act that was passed by the House of Commons after the terrorist attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.

The RCMP said the charges against him marked the first time anyone had been charged under that section of the act.

Delisle is alleged to have given or sold information to a foreign entity between July 6, 2007, and Jan. 13, 2012.

Until 2010, he worked for both the Chief of Defence Intelligence and at the Strategic Joint Staff, which oversees virtually every major aspect of the military's domestic and international plans and operations. His last posting was in Trinity, a highly secure naval intelligence centre in Halifax where he started work in August of last year.

Delisle, who joined the military as a reservist private in 1996, went on to join the regular forces in 2001. He was promoted to sergeant before being accepted as an officer candidate in Kingston, Ont.

There is a ban on publication in the case.

The defence has requestedseveral delays sinceDelisle's arrest.

"I received some disclosure that I just haven't had a chance to go through," Mike Taylor said.

"I received a lengthy report and some documents that pertain to the search warrant that was issued and I need a chance to look at those and then talk to Mr. Delisle about them and figure out what we're going to do next."

He said his client is in good spirits, understands the delays and wants the case to move forward.

The next scheduled court date for Delisile is July 17.