Bernier's Ex Scores Huge Government Contracts in SECURITY!!!

Maxime Bernier was not the first politician that Julie Couillard screwed over, pardon the pun. Her boyfriends were not just involved with organized crime, some were also criminals.

However, Julie did quite well for herself, getting something out of every relationship, even if it was just notoriety (and a book deal). Whether this corruption ran deeper, remains to be seen, but Stephen Harper once again refused to deal with it.

Like the Cadman Affair, the 'In and Out' , Lisa Raitt, etc., he just swept it under the rug and hoped it would all go away. It won't.

Just because this happened a year ago, it still shows a pattern and this government just keeps getting worse, so hold onto your hats. Another storm will be along soon.

But back to Julie Couillard, and the cushy contracts she and her cohorts got from the Conservative Party of Canada.

Canada: Firms With Government Contracts Face Greater Scrutiny
By Matthew Harwood
May 30, 2008

Quebec's government will strengthen the background screening of firms receiving security contracts after finding that a prisoner-escort contractor had ties to organized crime.

According to Montreal's The Gazette, Public Security Minister Jacques Dupuis said, "The new Private Security Act, which will come into force in a few months, requires that we check criminal records in police data bases not only for employees of the agency, but also the shareholders and managers."

The investigations, conducted by Quebec's Provincial Police, will even delve into the background of relatives of employees, managers, and shareholders of those firms receiving security contracts, says CTV.ca.

The shift to scrutinize a contractor's management and shareholders and their family comes after the admission that the government had contracted the firm D.R.P. Investigation and Security Agency to escort prisoners from jails to hospitals, even though the son of the owner had a criminal record and ties to the Hell's Angels motorcycle gang.

Toronto's The Globe and Mail reports:

Robert Pépin [the owner's son] pleaded guilty in 2004 to possession of stolen goods. A police investigation into organized crime tied Mr. Pépin to Montreal biker gangs. In 2007, he was summoned to appear before the province's financial regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers, in an investigation of illegal investment activities.

On top of his association with D.R.P., Pépin also owned Location Auto Inter-Finance Inc., which was fined for charging interest rates running up to 300 percent. Both D.R.P. and Auto Inter-Finance shared the same address, according to The Globe and Mail. Pépin allegedly owned D.R.P., but his father, Denis Pépin, a former police officer, says he owns the company and his son's job was to attract new clients.

Dupuis said Thursday that any company failing to pass the police security check will not receive government contracts.

Firms guarding convicts to come under scrutiny
May 30 2008
The Canadian Press

QUEBEC -- Private companies hired to guard Quebec convicts will now be subject to stricter security checks, Public Security Minister Jacques Dupuis said Thursday.

The announcement came a day after the Parti Quebecois accused the government of giving a prisoner-escort contract to a company owned by a man with a criminal record.

Dupuis said the owner of the company is actually a retired Montreal police officer. However, his son pleaded guilty to receiving stolen goods.

The son, who committed suicide in 2006, had dated Julie Couillard, the former girlfriend of Maxime Bernier. Bernier resigned as foreign affairs minister this week after acknowledging he left confidential government documents at Couillard's home.

Couillard became noteworthy when it was reported she dated one man with connections to Quebec bikers and married another with links to the Hells Angels before getting involved with Bernier.

Under new guidelines announced Thursday, all shareholders, directors, employees and relatives of employees of security agencies who wish to get a contract with the Public Security Department will be checked by Quebec provincial police.

In 2006, the Public Security Department granted a contract to the DRP Investigation and Security Agency on the basis of a security check of its majority shareholder, Denis Pepin.

There were allegations that the actual owner of the company was his son Robert although Denis Pepin has said Robert only played a small role in the company.