MINISTERS, POWER, WOMEN AND NATIONAL SECURITY

In 1963 the British Secretary of State for War, a chap by the name of John Profumo, resigned his post in the Macmillan government after he was caught in a lie about a relationship he had developed with a showgirl by the name of Christine Keeler. He was married and that might have been scandal enough but Christine was being shared by her high-ranking cabinet minister with a Mr. Eugene Ivanov, a senior naval attache at the USSR's embassy in London.

The potential impact on national security propelled the affair into a public scandal that shook the political foundations of the country. How could a man with the intellect of Profumo be so stupid? How could this not have been picked up earlier? Had the UK's cold war security been compromised? Let's not forget that the extent of the KGB/NKVD infiltration of British Intelligence was fresh on the mind of Britain and her allies. Senior MI5 operative Kim Philby defected earlier in the year following a rash of other senior defections., collectively known as the Cambridge Five.

Profumo resigned because he had misled the House of Commons by saying he had not had inappropriate relations with Keeler.

Here we are 45 years later in Canada with a Foreign Affairs Minister who may have compromised Canada's security, and the security of its allies, by leaving top secret NATO briefing notes at his girlfriend's house. This girlfriend had connections to the Quebec Hells Angels and admits to having past lovers with ties to organized crime. She was also working on behalf of a company that was lobbying for airport security work.

Like Profumo's, the defense was that Maxime Bernier's private life was not the business of the House of Commons. Despite concerns expressed for weeks by the opposition about national security, Prime Minister Harper defended his Quebec Lieutenant. What the PM did not know was that his minister had misplaced a top secret briefing book and five weeks later it was returned to government. It had been left at the minister's girlfriend's house.

Julie Couillard has alleged that security experts have confirmed that her house was under electronic surveillance and a bug had been placed in her bed. Why, and under direction from whom? Was someone trying to recover the lost briefing notes in a clandestine mission to avoid damaging the country's international relations?

Why did the Prime Minister not call for a proper investigation to ensure that security breaches were not committed when the issue of the relationship first came to the attention of the House of Commons.

Is it possible that the government attempted to cover-up this mistake but failed to pull it off?

Mad Max's gaffs and the PMO's leak of sensitive information related to the position of Democratic candidates on the NAFTA agreement have made this country look like it is being run by buffoons.

There are many unanswered questions. The Prime Minister has a responsibility to this country to call a public inquiry into how his administration deals with confidential and secret information. Our allies need to be reassured that they can trust us.

Harper is beginning to look a lot like the besieged former British Conservative Prime Minister
Harold Macmillan whose credibility was permanently damaged by the Profumo Affair.