A Calgary man who once worked in military intelligence has pleaded guilty to firearms and explosives charges, after police found evidence suggesting he was planning an attack on a downtown Calgary skyscraper that houses a Veteran Affairs Canada office.

The 45-year-old man, who can only be referred to as GG under a court-ordered publication ban, had undergone a preliminary psychiatric exam and was fit to stand trial, but pleaded guilty Thursday in a Calgary courtroom. He will be sentenced in the new year.

Crown prosecutor Doug Simpson told CBC News that a terrorism charge was considered but never laid.

GG was arrested last January after he was found with weapons, explosives and detailed building plans, apparently targeting the Veterans Affairs office on the seventh floor of the Bantrel Tower, at 700 Sixth Avenue S.W.

According to court documents, GG joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 2008, and had been working in military intelligence, but three years later, he went on long-term disability.

For at least a year before his arrest last January, GG had been at odds with Veterans Affairs over compensation for health-care costs, after he claimed he received an H1N1 flu shot while in the military that he alleged led to him being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

RCMP were called by GG's wife, whose name also can't be released under the publication ban, on Jan. 8, 2014, at 5:47 p.m. after she suspected that her husband was possibly suicidal.

She told police that GG was a former member of the military and that he had taken a rifle with him when he left their home.

After a search of several hours, police found GG on his parents' acreage near Springbank just west of Calgary. He was sleeping in a utility trailer and dressed in camouflage pants. Police found a duffle bag beside him that contained a loaded .40-calibre HK semi-automatic handgun.

GG told officers he intended to commit suicide. He was arrested under the Mental Health Act and taken to hospital for treatment.

Guns, explosives found

Officers also found several items inside GG's car, including a loaded semi-automatic rifle, 1,000 rounds of ammunition, night vision binoculars, gun powder, bear spray and smoke grenades. They also found eight jugs of chemicals — including ammonia, bleach, muriatic acid and chlorine — in two suitcases. Wires from a battery were running in the direction of the suitcases, but were not attached to them.

Police were also unable to identify substances found in smaller containers.

A corporal with the RCMP explosives unit said that as part of his work following GG's arrest, he constructed a pipe bomb using materials found in GG's car. The corporal detonated the pipe bomb, and said it would have been extremely dangerous to the public.

In-depth plans

Police also seized several items in GG's possession, including six videos (Some taken by GG in November and December 2013 at the Bantrel Tower) and a few photographs from his cellphone. A copy of a typed plan and building information on the Bantrel Tower were also found on GG's laptop.

The plan contained notes by GG that he made during reconnaissance of the Bantrel Tower, and the Crown said the notes referred to a plan made in the fall of 2013 "to attack the office of Veterans Affairs in the Bantrel Tower Building."

One part of the plan was labelled as a "risk assessment," while another had the title "Walking around the building with IR camera on identifying." There are references to steps to be taken on certain floors of the building.

GG also had a copy the Bantrel Tower building specifications, including exits, entrances and office locations.

Temporary publication ban

Defence lawyer Tonii Roulston had asked the judge for a publication ban to protect GG and his wife from public retaliation.

"I am not seeking to have the facts of this case quashed or that these facts not be heard by members of the public," said Roulston. "Here, there is some substantial harm that is real.

"The nature of the charges are a bit unusual from what we would normally see before the court."

Judge Sean Dunnigan agreed.

CBC went to court to oppose the publication ban, arguing it may give the public the impression that media are trying to hide or protect the accused, and that an attempt to avoid embarrassment for the family would set a serious precedent.

Dunnigan, however, said he did not have time to make a proper decision: "I don't want to shoot from the hip here." So he approved an interim publication ban, on the names of the accused and his wife, with reservations.

The interim publication ban will last for two weeks. There will be a full hearing on the ban after that period, as the judge wanted more time to prepare a decision. CBC plans to continue to fight the ban.

GG will undergo a forensic psychiatric exam and a risk assessment before his sentencing.

Bantrel Tower building information

- Building located on northwest corner of Sixth Avenue and Sixth Street S.W. in downtown Calgary near shops, gym and the Calgary Courts Centre.

- 11,000 square feet

- Number of floors: 22

- +15 walkway access to all of downtown system

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