MONTREAL - A published report says Julie Couillard's mother received a three-year mandate from the federal government to arbitrate employment-insurance disputes.
Montreal La Presse says Diane Bellemare was handed the term on Aug. 1, 2007, a few weeks before Couillard accompanied Maxime Bernier to his swearing-in as foreign affairs minister.
The newspaper says the part-time deal in Saint-Jerome, north of Montreal, is worth up to $50,000 a year.
Leslie Harmer, a spokeswoman for Human Resources Minister Monte Solberg, says Bellemare underwent security clearance.
She could not say if it was known whether Bellemare was Couillard's mother.
