Hill Times: Talk about Bernier heats up, likely to be shuffled, Tories say

[tuvor]

Following what is seen as another misstep for Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier on the Julie Couillard controversy, the Quebec Cabinet minister is likely to be demoted in the government's next Cabinet shuffle, Conservative insiders say.

"The talk is that Maxime is going to end up at something fun and more at his level, like Revenue," one Conservative insider told The Hill Times last week, referring to the National Revenue portfolio, where former Defence minister Gordon O'Connor (Carleton-Mississippi Mills, Ont.) was moved in August 2007.

"As a stand-alone issue, it's stupid," the insider said of the controversy over Ms. Couillard's apparent security risk to Mr. Bernier, but when it is added to a list of Mr. Bernier's (Beauce, Que.) recent gaffes, it is another story. "The problem that Max has is that—this may not be the straw that breaks the camel's back—but there's getting to be a lot of straw on the camel. It's like, 'Oh, again.'"

Another Conservative source agreed, saying that the talk among Conservatives is that Mr. Bernier is likely to be shuffled in the next Cabinet shakeup, perhaps in the summer or fall. "I think if there's a summer shuffle, he's definitely at or near the top of the list."

http://www.thehilltimes.ca/html/cover_index.php?display=story&full_path=/2008/may/19/bernier/&c=1

[daleo]

1. We need a Ministry of Funny Walks

Then Harper would have somewhere harmless to dump his rejects.