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Ottawa: Canadian Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier resigned on Monday after it emerged he had left classified documents in the apartment of a former girlfriend with suspected ties to organised crime.
Bernier, 45, had been under increasing pressure to quit amid revelations about the personal life of Julie Couillard, his former girlfriend.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said, "Minister Bernier has learned and informed me that he left classified government documents in a non-secure location. This is a serious error. (He) has accepted his responsibilities in offering to resign."
Harper insisted Bernier's departure had nothing to do with the media furore over his relationship with Couillard.
He said, "This is about one thing and that is a failure to uphold expected standards on government documents. It is a very serious mistake, regardless of who the minister is, regardless of personal life."
Bernier was the first minister to quit the cabinet under a cloud since the Conservatives won power in January 2006. Harper said Trade Minister David Emerson would take over as foreign minister on a temporary basis.
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