http://www.cbc.ca/mobile/text/story_news-topstories.html?/ept/html/story/2009/09/03/quebec-bernier-couillard-atip.html
CBC.CA
03 September 2009
Bernier's mislaid files held foreign policy secrets: report
Former cabinet minister calls report 'derogatory and sensationalist'
Last Updated: Thursday, September 3, 2009 | 4:06 PM ET
CBC News
Former Conservative foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier is
denouncing a Montreal newspaper report that says documents he
misplaced last year contained a mine of crucial national security
information.
Bernier issued a statement Thursday calling the report in newspaper Le
Devoir "derogatory and sensationalist."
The newspaper obtained copies of national security documents Bernier
left at his ex-girlfriend's house last year, and reported that they
contained highly sensitive information about foreign policy and global
efforts to fight terrorism.
The documents were obtained through a federal access to information request.
The gaffe ultimately cost Bernier his cabinet position and catapulted
his ex-girlfriend, Julie Couillard, into the public spotlight after
she revealed the details in a May 2008 television interview.
Bernier said the Privy Council Office has already investigated the
incident and concluded that the material did not pose a risk to
national security.
But Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae asked if that's the case,
why are many pages of the documents obtained by Le Devoir under Access
to Information blacked out.
"The government can't say there was no sensitive information there,
and then see that we have a completely redacted document where a lot
of the information is not being made available to the public, because
it's sensitive.
"You have to decide, is it sensitive or isn't it? And if it isn't
sensitive, then why would we have five or six hundred pages with a lot
of things blacked out? If we can't read that information, it's clear
it's sensitive, and Mr. Bernier should not have left those documents
there."
When asked about the media report on Thursday, Prime Minister Stephen
Harper said he believes Bernier's resignation was an adequate response
to the breach in security.
"Yes, absolutely, and that is the reason he did resign," Harper told
reporters in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. "That has been over for a year
now, that whole situation, and I have no comments to add at this
time."
Contained classified 'secret' information
The documents include classified information about NATO's plans to
expand operations in the Balkans, Taliban prisoners in Afghanistan,
arms control in the Middle East, security in Ukraine, and al-Qaeda's
presence in Pakistan.
Some 560 pages provide a detailed and comprehensive overview of
Canada's foreign policy strategy, Le Devoir reported Thursday.
The documents include an information booklet marked "secret" prepared
for the 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest.
They also include a briefing note for a meeting with Bernier and
Afghan Foreign Affairs Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta, where three "key
objectives" were under discussion.
Those objectives were blocked out by federal authorities, when the
documents were released to Le Devoir under access to information laws.
Almost every page obtained by the newspaper has large sections blacked out.
The original copies — left at Couillard's house in April 2008 — were
not censored.
At the time, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Bernier did not breach
national security by leaving the documents behind. Harper indicated
the documents included a mix of public and confidential material, and
briefing notes for meetings.
Normally, the federal government must respond to access to information
requests within 30 days.
In Le Devoir's case, it took a year for the newspaper to receive the
requested documents.
They were first sent to the Privy Council Office and the national
defence minister's office for approval prior to their release.
The Department of Foreign Affairs, the Liberal party and the Bloc
Québécois haven't yet responded to the report.
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