Bernier: A handy reminder

The Chinese wall between what Stephen Harper cares about (loose documents) and what he claims not to care about (other loose objects) is an artificial construct, as we pointed out here 10 days ago, in a post that pointed to this article in Le Devoir. Because that article is now over the subscriber wall, here are pertinent points:

• Bernier was called in to Harper’s office for a private meeting last October.

• The main subject of the meeting was Harper’s displeasure at Bernier’s tendency to ignore PMO orders. "If my people say something, it’s me saying it," the newspaper paraphrases Harper.

• But Harper also had a word with Bernier about Couillard, whose appearance was the least of Harper’s problems: he was also concerned about her influence on Bernier’s job performance and ministerial decisions, including her travel with him and her attempt to get him to change a speech to the United Nations.

Just a reminder, in case we’re still in nobody-cares-about-girlfriends mode today.