Editing Myriam Bédard (section)

==Post-Olympic career==
She briefly retired from the sport to give birth to her daughter (the father was another biathlete, and soldier, Jean Paquet). Her comeback was not very successful, being hampered by injuries. After the [[1998 Winter Olympics]], Bédard retired from biathlon. She later announced an attempt to make the Canadian Olympic team as a [[speed skating|speed skater]], but did not pursue this goal for long. In 2004, Bédard was one of eight persons (and the only woman) in the [[International Biathlon Union]]'s (IBU) executive board, where she served as the IBU's vice-president responsible for special issues.

On February 27, 2004, in the context of the [[Liberal Party of Canada sponsorship scandal|sponsorship scandal]] that came to light soon after Prime Minister [[Jean Chrétien]] left office, Bédard asserted that she had been forced to resign from her marketing department job at [[Via Rail]] in 2002 shortly after raising concerns about the company's dealings with advertiser [[Groupaction]]. Responses to her allegations led to the firings a few days later of Via Rail chair [[Jean Pelletier]] and president [[Marc LeFrançois]].

However, in testimony before the [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts|Standing Committee on Public Accounts]] in late March 2004, Bédard made further allegations that were met with widespread skepticism: she claimed that she had been told that Groupaction was involved in drug trafficking, that her partner Nima Mazhari had personally convinced Prime Minister Chrétien to keep Canada out of the war in Iraq, and that Québécois race car legend [[Jacques Villeneuve]] had been paid $12 million to wear a Canadian flag on his uniform. Villeneuve strongly denied the latter allegation, calling it "ludicrous."<ref>{{cite web|title=Myriam Bédard croit que Jacques Villeneuve a touché le gros lot|url=http://www.rds.ca/courses/myriam-bedard-croit-que-jacques-villeneuve-a-touche-le-gros-lot-1.247430|publisher=[[Réseau des sports|RDS]]|access-date=11 March 2017|language=fr|date=24 March 2004}}</ref>

According to [[CBC News]], an arbitrator's report later concluded that Bédard had voluntarily left Via Rail.

On December 8, 2006, a Canada-wide arrest warrant was issued for Bédard for the abduction of her daughter.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 14, 2006 |title=Arrest warrant issued for Myriam Bédard |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/arrest-warrant-issued-for-myriam-b%C3%A3-dard-1.601707 |work=CBC News}}</ref> Bédard was in [[Washington, D.C.]] Bédard was arrested by the [[United States Marshals Service]] in [[Columbia, Maryland]]. She was detained in [[Columbia, Maryland]] until her extradition to Canada. She appeared in court in [[Baltimore, Maryland]] on December 26, 2006. Her daughter was under the care of the [[United States Marshals Service]] prior to being returned to her father December 23. Bédard returned to Canada on January 4, 2007. On September 20, 2007, a jury at a [[Quebec City]] found Bédard guilty of child abduction for violating a child custody agreement.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/former-olympic-champion-bedard-guilty-of-child-abduction-1.688844 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211134504/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/former-olympic-champion-bedard-guilty-of-child-abduction-1.688844 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |title=Former Olympic champion Bédard guilty of child abduction |publisher=CBC News |date=September 20, 2007 }}</ref> On October 9, 2007, she was sentenced to a [[conditional discharge]] and two years [[probation]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/bedard-gets-conditional-discharge-probation-for-child-abduction-1.692281?ref=rss|title=Bédard gets conditional discharge and probation for child abduction|agency=CBC Sports|date=October 9, 2007}}</ref> Bédard was also charged with contempt of court later on and sentenced to 45 days of [[community service]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://globalnews.ca/news/725617/ex-olympian-myriam-bedard-gets-45-days-of-community-service/|title=Ex-Olympian Myriam Bédard gets 45 days of community service|last=Plante|first=Caroline|website=Global News|access-date=March 11, 2016}}</ref>