The Bernier Affair
When he was first elected to the House of Commons in January of 2006, Maxime Bernier was a rising star within the Conservative Party and Quebec politics. His rise came to a sudden stop when, on May 26, 2008, he was forced to resign after violating rules of Cabinet secrecy and mishandling sensitive government documents.
 Maxime Bernier, Minister of Foreign Affairs(Source: pm.gc.ca) |
No one knew it at the time, but the beginning of the end of Mr. Bernier’s cabinet career began in August of 2007, when his then-girlfriend Julie Couillard accompanied him to his swearing in at Rideau Hall. Media would later report that Mr. Bernier had referred to Ms. Couillard as his “spouse” for the purposes of international travel for official business. Over subsequent months, Ms. Couillard accompanied her boyfriend on a number of trips, including events at the Canadian embassy in Paris and the United Nations in New York City, where she had her photo taken with U.S. President George W. Bush [1].
On May 7, 2008, media first reported that Ms. Couillard had ties to the Quebec wing of the Hell’s Angels biker gang, having dated one member and marrying another (from whom she was divorced in 1999). Subsequent reports suggested her ties to the gangs had continued up until as recently as 2005 [2]. Opposition parties immediately demanded reassurance from the government that national security had not been compromised by Mr. Bernier’s relationship, but all such demands were rebuffed, particularly by the Prime Minister, who accused the opposition of being “a group of gossipy old busybodies” prying into the personal lives of a federal minister [3].
 Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada |
The Conservative government continued on this tack even after the Minister handed in his resignation on Monday, May 26, 2008, when he admitted to leaving sensitive briefing materials at Ms. Couillard’s home, where they remained unprotected (and their loss undetected by government officials) for seven weeks [4].
In spite of numerous inquiries in and out of Parliament, many questions still remain unanswered by the government. When did the Prime Minister know documents had gone missing and when was his office fully informed of Ms. Couillard’s background? How could the government have lost track of the documents, some of which related to Canada’s Afghanistan strategy and our relationship with NATO? Who, other than the Minister and Ms. Couillard saw the documents? What steps has the government taken to ensure no such embarrassing episode happens again? [5]
An investigation initiated by the Clerk of the Privy Council failed to provide answers to these questions. This internal investigation did not even have the authority necessary to question Ms. Couillard. As Parliament prepared to return in the fall of 2008, the Public Safety Committee of the House of Commons resolved to summons Ms. Couillard to give her side of the story when the House resumes.
For her part, Ms. Couillard has written a book about the matter, slated for publication in early October 2008.
The final controversy of Mr. Bernier’s tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs was not his first. Almost from the moment of his appointment, in August of 2007, Mr. Bernier was the subject of opposition and media scrutiny. Key lapses included:
- his failure to adequately intervene in the case of Brenda Martin, a Canadian woman stranded in a Mexican prison for two years;
- his silence in the international effort to ban cluster munitions;
- embarrassing the government of Afghanistan by publicly suggesting the governor of Kandahar be replaced;
- his lack of response to international crises in Pakistan, Kenya, Sri Lanka or Zimbabwe; and,
- his abdication of duty on a range of issues to other ministers – Afghan detainees (Peter McKay), death row inmates abroad (Stockwell Day), the proposed sale of the Radarsat 2 satellite system (Jim Prentice), the Brenda Martin Case (Helena Guergis and Jason Kenney), a summit of foreign affairs ministers of Arctic nations in Greenland (Gary Lunn).
Mr. Bernier remains in the Conservative Caucus, now sitting as a backbencher.
References
[1] He 'destroyed my life,' girlfriend says; 'I've been cut off from the world', The Toronto Star, May 27, 2008
[2] Tories defend Bernier after new report links ex-girlfriend with gang, The Globe And Mail, May 17, 2008; 'Maxime knew' of biker ties, Couillard says, CBC.CA News, May 27, 2008
[3] 'Busybodies' told that Bernier's life is private; Did Foreign Minister compromise security with ex-girlfriend who had links to biker gangs? 'It's none of my business,' PM says, The Globe And Mail, May 9, 2008
[4] Bernier resigns; ex-girlfriend confirms he left confidential document with her, Cornwall Standard-Freeholder (On), May 27, 2008; La démission de Maxime Bernier a relancé le débat aux Communes, La Presse Canadienne, 27 mai 2008
[5] Harper owes us some answers, National Post, May 28, 2008
Or as i will call the guy butterfigirs
