Lest We Be Hoist on Our Own Couillard...

There were some pretty hilarious articles today about the Maxime Bernier - Julie Couillard story. It's the perfect sex scandal because there's noone to feel sorry for. There's no sad spouse or kids. The femme fatale never looked like a fool. The names are even tailor-made for quips.

But let's not lose sight of the fact that there are some serious national security and diplomatic issues here and we need answers. The story is funnier if we assume that Bernier was bamboozled by lust and that Couillard took revenge because she was a woman scorned, but we don't know that that interpretation is even remotely close to reality.

Harper was pretty astute in breaking the story as he winged his way to Europe, but we need to maintain some focus at least until his return on Monday so we can demand answers. Is there an RCMP investigation? Was there a CSIS investigation? How did Bernier mislay the documents for such a long time (now estimated at 7 weeks)? Do we need stronger procedures for ensuring the confidentiality of documents? Will Canada suffer repercussions from allies?

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