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Monday, May 26, 2008
Maxime Bernier resigns - PMO press release
Press Release
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the following statement:
“Earlier this evening, I accepted the resignation of Maxime Bernier as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Last night, Maxime Bernier became aware that he had left classified government documents at a private residence earlier this spring. I became aware of this security breach late this afternoon.
The documents in question have been returned to the Government of Canada and Mr. Bernier deeply regrets this error.
I have asked Minister David Emerson to take on additional duties as Minister of Foreign Affairs on an interim basis. I have also asked Minister Josée Verner to take on additional duties for La Francophonie.”
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Posted by Matthew Johnston on May 26, 2008 | Permalink
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Comments
Good. Now appoint someone else and move on.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2008-05-26 8:43:08 PM
This is pretty big news, but I'm hardly surprised. Bernier had become a liability for the Government in the media and a punching bag for the opposition parties.
Appointing Bernier to Foreign Affairs was a bad decision by Harper. Bernier had no foreign policy experience and insufficient knowledge and interest for the post. Harper should have left well enough alone and let Bernier continue the fantastic work he was doing deregulating and otherwise liberalizing the Canadian economy as Minister of Industry. That's where his background in business, finance, and banking were best put to use. Now he's just another backbencher.
Posted by: Kalim Kassam | 2008-05-26 8:52:58 PM
Details on the breach:
"Sources told CTV News the documents included classified information for last April's NATO summit in Romania. One sensitive document contained details about NATO's military strategy in Afghanistan."
Posted by: Kalim Kassam | 2008-05-26 9:04:57 PM
How you CON defenders feeling about the fact that Maxie knew all along about his biker babe's history while lying to your faces?
How you feel about Maxie and Harper's FA dept. knowing the documents were sitting there for a month, and no-one, from 'heckuva job,' Maxie to his underlings, lifting one finger to go get them?
Howabout Harper, unable to find a CON credible enough to replace his buddy Bernier, appointing a former Liberal, Dave 'here's a billion, America' Emerson to take over?
The HarperClowns even fail on national security. Not ready for prime time...
Posted by: joe bleau | 2008-05-27 4:44:11 AM
One down, many more to go...
Posted by: Trudeau's Ghost | 2008-05-27 8:59:15 AM
“There's no wisdom below the belt."
- John A. MacDonald
Posted by: set you free | 2008-05-27 9:49:44 AM
SYF- There are plenty of good reasons why politicians show up at functions with wife and kids in tow. A mature person with a stable family life tends to have less risk of contact with the wrong element. It's also why sex scandals get so much traction.
Womanizers like Kennedy got off way too easy because of the unwritten code of the media in those days. If people had known he was hanging with some mob connected cuties, he might have been taken down a few notches.
Let's not forget Trudeau's frantic scramble to find a wife. His homosexual tendancies were becoming an embarassment, so he latched onto a young impressionable girl he thought he could control. What a fairy tale romance that turned out to be. The poor girl must have been an emotional mess when she first caught him checking out the guys instead of the dolls.
Posted by: dp | 2008-05-27 10:52:16 AM
dp:
We could get onto the subject of Bill Graham, but that would be off-topic. Other than the fact his particular personal weakness was never made an issue in either Parliament or in the MSM.
Once again, it is proven that when a human being starts thinking with the wrong head, it only leads to difficulty.
Posted by: set you free | 2008-05-27 12:36:53 PM
Yes we should get into Bill Graham as everyone knows what he does or did.
It seems tho that while that behaviour is supposed to be 'normal" its still hush hush.
Wow Bermier's little nooky was a hottie indeed.
Posted by: Merle Terlesky | 2008-05-27 12:53:59 PM
This is what happens when a government is desperate to hire Quebeckers for better optics, and the pickings are slim.
Posted by: Buchanan | 2008-05-27 9:19:49 PM
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