Canada’s federal police department acknowledged for the first time that an ex-girlfriend of the country’s former foreign minister, who had ties to a notorious motorcycle gang, was known to the force before news of her controversial relationship with the minister forced his resignation.
Assistant Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Commissioner Raf Souccar told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday that connections to organized criminals, such as the ones Julie Couillard had with members of the Hells Angels biker gang, would be a relevant security concern.
Couillard, the ex-girlfriend of former foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier, became the subject of a Canadian scandal last month when news leaked that Bernier left classified documents at her home.
Bernier resigned two weeks ago just before Couillard was to go public with her account of how he forgot NATO briefing documents at her Montreal home for a month.
During the two-hour committee hearing probing Bernier’s sudden resignation over the security breach, the RCMP skirted around the issue of whether they informed the Conservative government of a potential security problem, or whether there’s an ongoing police investigation into Bernier’s former relationship with Couillard.
However, when asked directly whether Couillard “was known to the RCMP” prior to the Bernier affair becoming public knowledge last month, Souccar said: “Yes, she was.”
Citing privacy concerns, Souccar said hypothetically that a Cabinet minister associating with someone with extensive links to crime figures would spur the RCMP to notify government authorities.
His responses contradict the government’s steadfast claim that Couillard’s past is private and not a security concern.
The Tories have refused opposition demands for a police investigation.
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