Marianne White

Once the darling of the Canadian athletic world, Myriam Bedard is to appear in court today for the start of a trial that is the latest headline in a life in the spotlight.

Ms. Bedard, a double-gold medallist in biathlon, is accused of abducting her 12-year-old daughter, but she is challenging the case and asking for a stay of proceedings.

Estranged from her family and friends since she took up with her companion, Nima Mazhari, Ms. Bedard has become isolated, her behaviour often raising eyebrows.

Ms. Bedard's family has not talked to her in more than four years, and accuses Mr. Mazhari of manipulating her.

Mr. Mazhari is out of jail pending an appeal of his conviction for stealing 20 paintings from a fellow artist.

"I think that the media have more access to her than I do," her mother, Francine Bedard, said in an interview.

The coming trial is yet another ordeal for the family, who supported Ms. Bedard's ex-husband when he went to the police last year after she left for the United States with their daughter, Maude.

"We live a day at a time -- we live with that the best we can," Francine Bedard said in a soft but weary-sounding voice.

She is not sure she will attend the trial, if there is one.

In an affidavit filed last week, Ms. Bedard's lawyer John Pepper Jr. wrote that the proceedings have "no apparent legal grounds" because Bedard had sole custody of her daughter at the time.

Ms. Bedard, Mr. Mazhari and Maude went to the United States last year to protest against what they called "bureaucratic terrorism" by Canadian authorities as a result of Ms. Bedard's testimony in the sponsorship scandal. (Ms. Bedard worked with Via Rail and was hailed as a whistleblower for dishing out some details of how money was being spent, until she made some bizarre statements.)

Ms. Bedard's U.S. stay ended after two months with her arrest in Columbia, Md., after her ex-husband Jean Paquet sought a warrant alleging she breached a custody arrangement. She was later charged with abduction in contravention of a custody order.

Justice Jean-Claude Beaulieu is expected to address the motion to dismiss the case tomorrow. If the trial goes ahead, it is expected to last three weeks. If Ms. Bedard is found guilty of abduction, she could face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Ms. Bedard said she is eager to start the case and clear her name.

After the glow faded from her double gold at the 1994 winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, she tried to compete in rowing and skating. When that failed, she criticized Olympic authorities and former sponsors.

Ms. Bedard started a publicity firm with Mazhari after that and later decided to move to Levis, across the St. Lawrence River from Quebec City, in 2002 to open a restaurant with him. That was the breaking point with her family.

The restaurant adventure did not last long, and the failure left behind a lot of unhappy employees and creditors. Some of them sued the couple for unpaid bills.

But Ms. Bedard's dramatic fall from grace was noticed when, testifying before the Gomery inquiry into the sponsorship scandal, she made a number of allegations that couldn't be substantiated. She claimed that race car champion Jacques Villeneuve received $12-million for wearing the Canadian flag on his outfit, and that one of the sponsorship ad agencies had been involved in drug deals. She also insisted Mr. Mazhari helped former prime minister Jean Chretien decide to not send troops to Iraq.

The head of Via Rail at the time, Jean Pelletier, referred to her as a "pitiful" single mother. Mr. Pelletier was fired for that, but the courts later ruled the government had treated him unfairly.

The couple was back in the spotlight this summer when Mr. Mazhari was found guilty of stealing 20 paintings from fellow artist Ghita Caiserman-Roth between 2001 and 2003. He was sentenced to six months in jail, but is free while his lawyers appeal.

Ms. Bedard's mother said she still hopes to reconcile with her daughter.

"We hope that one day there will be a change. But we have to go on with our life. I have my son, Benoit, and my other daughter, Chantal, who has four daughters, so our life goes on with them."

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