CANADA:OTTAWA - Canada's foreign minister has resigned after it emerged that he left secret documents at his then girlfriend's house.
Prime minister Stephen Harper said yesterday he had accepted the resignation of Maxime Bernier, who came under fire in recent weeks after it was reported that his ex-girlfriend had previous relationships with Hells Angels members and links to organised crime.
"Mr Bernier has informed me that he left classified documents in a non-secure location. This is a serious error," Mr Harper said.
The documents were left at a private residence in the spring, Mr Harper said. He did not say what the documents were or if they were shared with others. But he insisted Mr Bernier's relationship with former model Julie Couillard was not a factor in the decision.
"It's only this error. It's a very serious mistake for any minister. We must always accept responsibilities for the documents that are classified," Mr Harper said. "The minister has immediately acknowledged the gravity of this mistake."
Hours before Mr Bernier quit, Mr Harper had dismissed the situation with Ms Couillard.
Opposition Liberal MP Ralph Goodale said Mr Harper had a lot of explaining to do because he had dismissed the story for weeks.
Ms Couillard had lived with Gilles Giguere, a well-known Montreal crime figure, for three years before he was gunned down in 1996 when he became a police informer. She later married and divorced Stéphane Sirois, an enforcer for a Hells Angels-affiliated biker club. - ( AP)