Opposition MPs ramped up demands for answers on the Maxime Bernier affair Tuesday, calling for official investigations into possible security breaches and the alleged bugging of his former girlfriend's residence.
But Prime Minister Stephen Harper rejected an expanded probe, telling reporters there is no evidence to suggest official secrets have been revealed, and he dismissed outright questions about electronic eavesdropping.
“There is no evidence to indicate that documents have circulated,” the Prime Minister said at a media briefing in Paris, where he is meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
“The documents were returned to the government of Canada, but it is our intention to review the incident to ensure that that is the case ... We have no information that would suggest that any secrets have been revealed.”
Asked if a larger investigation should be launched, Mr. Harper fell back on previous statements that he won't intrude on individuals' private lives.
“As we've said, private lives are private lives, and the government of Canada does not intend to get into the business of investigating private citizens.”
Mr. Bernier was forced to resign as foreign affairs minister after admitting he left secret documents relating to a NATO summit at the apartment of Julie Couillard, a former girlfriend who had ties to criminal biker gangs.
Ms. Couillard alleged in a taped television interview Monday that Mr. Bernier had been careless with government papers and that she had recently learned her house had been bugged, including the box spring mattress in her bedroom.
Asked about the bugging, Mr. Harper said “I have absolutely no reason to believe it's true.”
Until late Monday, Mr. Harper and his government had routinely brushed off questions about security concerns and Ms. Couillard, accusing the Opposition of gutter politics and a prurient interest in the private lives of cabinet ministers.
'Nothing to do with Madame Couillard'
Asked Tuesday if he cared to amend his views on the Opposition's interest in the story – given Mr. Bernier's departure – Mr. Harper repeated that the Minister broke “very serious cabinet rules.”
“This has nothing to do with Madame Couillard,” he said. “This was the unfortunate error and the unfortunate actions of the Minister that are at issue.”
“This is amateur hour on the Rideau," Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae shot back Tuesday in the House of Commons, where the Bernier affair dominated Question Period.
"Why did it take the government five weeks to discover that documents were missing, and why did it take the government five weeks to ask a question either of [Mr. Bernier] or of Madame Couillard? Why do you sit on your duffs and do nothing for five weeks?"
A request for comment from Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion was turned down earlier Tuesday. But in the House of Commons, Mr. Dion castigated Mr. Harper for an "appalling lack of judgment" in his promotion and support of Mr. Bernier.
"If the government had taken seriously the questions that were asked by the opposition for weeks, the government would have discovered [long] before yesterday that there were security documents missing and where they were," said Mr. Dion, who called for a public inquiry.
"Will the Prime Minister take this matter seriously and undertake the investigation that is warranted to see if there have been other deficiencies in national security?"
Government House Leader Peter Van Loan stuck to the government mantra that Mr. Harper took the matter seriously by promptly accepting Mr. Bernier's resignation as soon as he learned of the security breach late Monday.
Like Mr. Harper, Mr. Van Loan said the problem had nothing to do with Mr. Bernier's private life or choice of romantic companions.
"The issue that arose was one related to a document, not one related to the background of Madame Couillard, not one related to that personal relationship," Mr. Van Loan said. "It mattered not if that document had been left in a restaurant, at a friend's home, or in Madame Couillard's home, it was a grave error, and for that the minister has resigned."
RCMP investigation?
New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton has called on the RCMP to take a broad look into the allegations raised in Monday night's interview with Ms. Couillard and over recent weeks. Breaches of national security, if they violate the Security of Information Act, can constitute criminal offences.
