Opposition Out For Blood After Bernier Gets Boot
Posted May 27, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Former Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier may not have resigned because of his controversial relationship with ex-girlfriend Julie Coulliard.
But that didn’t stop opposition parties from making frequent mention of that – and the security breaches that ultimately led to his resignation – on Parliament Hill Tuesday.
“Clearly there are security issues,” Liberal leader Stephane Dion stated emphatically.
NDP boss Jack Layton was also quick to pile on.
“The RCMP should be conducting the investigation, there’s a lot of questions still on the table here,” he said. “Are there other documents? How come it took so long?”
Coulliard was initially dismissed by Prime Stephen Harper as a national security breach despite her ties to members of Quebec’s Hells Angels. It wasn’t until she gave a televised interview in Quebec Monday that her senior cabinet minister companion saw his job slip away.
Perhaps the most stunning of her admissions, during the interview Coulliard claimed Bernier left classified NATO briefings in her apartment.
“I was panicked by the fact that I had that at my house,” she said.
Coulliard also suggested her home was bugged with listening devices.
“The worst part is there was apparently some in my box spring of my mattress in my bedroom,” she added.
Meanwhile, on the Conservative side the fallout continues with Harper expected to shuffle his cabinet soon in the hopes of putting a fresh new face on his government and leaving the scandal in the past with a potential fall federal election looming.
Harper Accepts Resignation Of Foreign Min. Bernier Over Security Breach – Not Girlfriend
