A 38-year-old man from Ontario, who was charged under Canada’s state secrets law for leaking sensitive information about a nuclear facility, has been found not criminally responsible after he posted a You Tube video revealing vulnerabilities at a power plant and offering instructions on how to inflict damage.
James Alexander Mousaly, who worked for Ontario Power Generation, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and psychosis when he streamed the problematic video for 22 minutes on January 30, 2024, according to a ruling by a judge in Oshawa, Ontario.
“His delusions included beliefs of being a prophet and a whistleblower regarding workplace safety,” stated Ontario Superior Court Justice Jill Cameron.
The video was online for less than one day before it was removed by family members, and there was no evidence that more than a few people viewed it during that time, the court heard.
Redacted partial transcripts from the livestream presented in court show someone expressing strong opinions against the nuclear sector while offering assistance “to any terrorist or any non-terrorist organization … if you want to destroy any nuclear power station in the world.”
“F–k the whole nuclear industry,” the person said according to the transcript. “You can’t use this energy source. It is f–king hopeless.”
An expert from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission confirmed that the You Tube video “included at least one vulnerability of a Canadian nuclear power plant” classified as secret, based on an agreed statement of facts submitted in court. Ontario Power Generation expressed concerns that information shared in the video “would allow an adversary to optimize an attack on a nuclear power plant in Canada or abroad,” as per the agreed statement.
The specific vulnerability hasn’t been disclosed since any sensitive or classified details are protected under a court order.
Mousaly had been employed as a nuclear operator since 2015 at an Ontario Power Generation site; however, his access credentials were revoked just one month before his livestreaming incident, as mentioned in court. Following his trial’s conclusion on Thursday, some details about Mousaly were removed from federal government websites.
According to Ontario’s public sector salary disclosure records, Mousaly earned $127,600 in 2023.
Mousaly’s attorney, Thomas Balka, told the court that his client did not mean to cause harm to the nuclear facility but intended instead to “keep people safe by causing governments to shut down this source of power.”
“He recognizes this was not lawful and that his mental health issues fueled this disordered thinking,” Balka noted while highlighting that Mousaly is seen by his family as a “hardworking, loving, caring partner, son and stepfather.”
The judge ordered him held until space becomes available at a specialized provincial mental health facility. A mental health review board will now oversee his case and determine whether he should remain detained there and for how long.
The charge against him comes under Section 16(1) of Canada’s Security of Information Act-now renamed the Foreign Interference and Security of Information Act-which makes it illegal to share “to a foreign entity or terrorist group information that the government of Canada or of a province is taking measures to safeguard,” if it’s believed or recklessly disregarded whether such information is protected while intending to increase “the capacity of a foreign entity or terrorist group to harm Canadian interests.”
This case marks only the third time charges under this act have reached resolution in court.
Previously, senior RCMP intelligence official Cameron Ortis was convicted in 2023 and sentenced to 14 years behind bars for leaking intelligence details related to police targets; meanwhile former navy lieutenant Jeffrey Delisle pleaded guilty back in 2012 for selling top-secret info to Russia and received a sentence of 20 years imprisonment.
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