Nobody in her office notices they are gone for six days. And these people are running the nuclear facilities at Chalk River.

No wonder the reactor is down and we’re running out of medical isotopes for the world.

But Raitt doesn’t have to resign. Instead they blame her 26-year old press aide Jasmine MacDonnell and she goes out on her ear.

“Totally incoherent,” said Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe. “The old double standard again.”

When Max Bernier forgets his secret documents at girlfriend Julie Couillard’s place, the gaffe is unforgivable and he gets dumped, no ifs, ands or buts.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper even moralizes about how ministers are responsible for their secret documents they must sign for and keep secure.

Then a year later all that is forgotten when Raitt does the same thing, She gets to stay though.

That’s because she’s a favourite of Harper’s, somebody he plucked out of the Port of Toronto, got her elected and brought her into cabinet – somebody he sees as a rising star. Falling star may be more like it now.

Bernier on the other hand was a liability and became a laughing stock passing out Jos Louis chocolate treats to Canadian soldiers facing life and death situations in Afghanistan.

As for Ms. MacDonnell, the best she can hope for is a good lawyer and a nice severance deal. Or else she goes public with the whole story.



But Harper is out of town in Quebec when the story breaks on CTV.

So Raitt is left to defend herself alone from an Opposition barrage in the Commons during Question Period. She has to get up 10 times on her feet to explain that she assumed her responsibilities.

Yeah, by dumping her aide.

A few seats over from her in the Commons, Bernier is chuckling like a school child with his seat-mate. Afterwards he tells reporters he has nothing to say.

The lost documents scandal couldn’t have come at a worse time for Raitt. She’s up to her ears in the Chalk River nuclear nightmare with isotope production ground to a halt and Canada looking bad in the eyes of the world. What a time to lose your documents.

No wonder she can’t run Chalk River, says Liberal MP David McGuinty.

Bloquiste Michel Guimond has another spin on it. He’s not so sure there is a double standard.

He thinks that in Bernier’s case the lost documents explanation may have been a pretext for dumping Bernier for something altogether more serious that has yet to come out.

Something to think about. It would help explain why Raitt got to keep her job and Bernier didn’t.