Yes...but!

June 2 2008

Home > Columns >Yes...But! Year 8-30

It would make a perfect movie script: a glamorous woman, a sexy politician, state secrets, mafia- or organized crime connections: all within a framework of a minority government dominated by a control freak with dictatorial tendencies. Here real life is better than fiction.

Consider the female in question. Julie Couillard lives in a nice house in a Montreal suburb, speaks both languages fluently; drives a four-ring Audi; has no apparent income, but dresses fittingly for whatever occasion in fashionable attire, where less is more.

She also is a man-eater, had one man die on her and another commit suicide, and eats politicians raw.

Of course we all remember when Maxime Bernier got the most coveted job in the Harper government: Minister of Foreign Affair, involving lots of travel, stately official functions, a dream assignment: we remember him because of his gorgeous companion, for which he selected a very ro'bust' lady, featuring, what Christie Blatchford in the Globe and Mail called – gesturing to chest - “huge tracks of Land.”

With his affair with Ms Couillard, Bernier qualified on the “Affairs” angle, whether that made him suitable for the post of “Foreign Affairs” is an open question. However, in the Harper government, regional representation is primary, expertise is secondary, because, for all practical purposes, Harper is the Minister of All Affairs, including Foreign.

So what is the real story behind this? For that we cannot rely on the persons involved since every party concerned will give a version where Number One is always the innocent.

Here is my take on matters, probably as likely as any.

I believe that some five months ago an RCMP inspector came calling on Mr. Bernier, with a long list of former – and current- lovers of his celebrated, adorable, great-looking lady, and suggested that he terminate this relationship, as she definitely was a security risk. He also mentioned, in passing, that his document filing habits were far from perfect, another reason why he should sever his ties with this woman. Mr. Bernier said he would comply, and no longer have her as his official escort.

Yet, late April, four months after they parted ways officially, he was in her residence, went under cover to her to be under covers with her, I am sure, which is not surprising: he is a single man and she has all the attributes, physically at least, a man desires.

So what did really happen? It’s Samson and Delilah all over again. In the Bible book of Judges, chapter 16, you can read the intriguing story of an important Hebrew hero, whose weakness for a woman also led to his downfall.

Why were officials documents left there? Julie Couillard loved her role of prominence. When after a night of love-making, he still refused to reinstate her, she, while he was sound asleep, took out of his attaché case its thickest file, and hid it under a rug, quickly out of sight.

When Monsieur Bernier woke up, he dressed, said au revoir and left minus the documents.

Ms Couillard is a chick but no chicken. Of course she exploited these ‘official state documents, all about NATO.’ She knew very well that Putin’s pals in the Politburo in Moscow are always trying to thwart the NATO designs. She has dealt with characters much more ingenious and dangerous than this butterfly man who operates by the seat of his pants, and depends on his wits, his ready smile, his good looks, which have served him well as a politician.

Perhaps he reasoned, quite understandably, “Why prepare for a task when the P.M. calls the shots anyway? Why bother to read the documents when his opinion is never entertained?” That’s why Mr Bernier never missed these papers.

Ms Couillard has a remarkable story to tell. Somebody should dramatize her life and film the many turns in her career, where she, even now, without a permanent job, manages to hang on to a decent house, drives a sporty vehicle and has expensive clothes.

It speaks ill of a government where, under the cloak of democracy, we have in essence a dictatorship. Mr Harper is no consensus seeker, which is the very soul of cooperative government. We see it time and again: window dressing instead of effective environmental policies. Hard-bang words when the Palestinians dare to attack their occupiers, but sweet talk to Israel which effectively starves these people to death. His government has no real agenda, and uses bluster to hide incompetence. He basically is a Bush clone.

Yet our world faces immense challenges. Peak Oil is here and with it a total reorientation of the way we live. Not a hint of that anywhere. The financial world is teetering on the edge of the abyss: no guidance here whatsoever. Food has become a major concern, yet the Bio-Fuel hoax persists.