CanPol: Canada's Prime Minister sues the opposition and its leader

[Asher]

http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/308877

PM taking legal action against Dion, Liberals

Sources say Harper plans libel suit over allegations stemming from Cadman vote
Mar 03, 2008 10:07 AM
THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper has served notice of a libel lawsuit against Liberal Leader Stephane Dion and the Liberal Party of Canada.

Sources say the prime minister plans to sue over allegations Liberals made pertaining to the Chuck Cadman affair.

The Liberals have asked for a criminal investigation amid allegations that the Conservatives, under then-opposition leader Harper, offered a financial incentive to Cadman to sway his vote in a crucial 2005 Commons showdown.

The Independent MP's widow, now a Conservative candidate, says the incentive was a $1-million life-insurance policy, and she considered it a bribe.

Cadman sided with the Liberals in the vote, and kept then-Prime Minister Paul Martin in office for a few more months.

None of the allegations, which are contained in a soon-to-be-released book, have been proven.

[DinoDoc]

What elements does one have to prove for a libel suit in Canada?

[Wezil]

I don't do libel law so I'll leave that for others to answer.

I do know that there is paliamentary immunity but that does not extend to websites (the source of the libel apparently www.liberal.ca).

[Wezil]

Another article on the threat of lawsuit.

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper is threatening to sue the Liberals over "false and devastatingly defamatory" statements in connection with the Chuck Cadman controversy.

A tersely worded letter from Ottawa lawyer Richard Dearden released this morning says the "malicious and reckless" remarks made on the website www.liberal.ca impugn the reputation of the Prime Minister, and demands the articles be removed from the website immediately. It also requires a public apology from Liberal Leader Stephane Dion in both official languages in the House of Commons.

"The defamatory statements are egregious," Dearden's letter reads. "The articles in issue are not a fair and accurate report of proceedings in the House of Commons and are not privileged. Further, the statements complained of were made maliciously and with a reckless disregard for the truth destroying any privilege that may have existed."

The notice of libel letter warns that a failure to fully apologize and pull the offending articles from the website will cause "aggravated and punitive damages."

A soon-to-be-published book has alleged Conservative Party officials offered Cadman a $1-million insurance policy for his vote to help topple the governing Liberals in May 2005. An audiotaped interview with Harper from the B.C. author suggests Harper had knowledge of a meeting between Cadman and party officials.

Here is the wording of the apology demanded by the Conservatives to be read in the House of Commons and posted on the Liberal Party website:


"Last week Mr. Ignatieff, Mr. Goodale and I made defamatory statements falsely claiming that Prime Minister Stephen Harper acted illegally in matters concerning former British Columbia MP Chuck Cadman. Today, we acknowledge that the Prime Minister has acted ethically, morally and legally and retract the statements we made to the contrary. We apologize to the Prime Minister for the unfounded attacks made on his reputation."

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2008/03/03/4893551-cp.html

So they are alleging it is not an accurate description of the House proceedings hence not privileged?

One of the Liberal webpages.

Harper Must Come Clean About Allegations of Conservative Bribery, Liberals say
February 28, 2008

Prime Minister Stephen Harper must reveal to Canadians what he knows about shocking allegations that Conservative representatives tried to bribe terminally ill former British Columbia MP Chuck Cadman with a $1-million life insurance policy in exchange for his vote, the Liberal Opposition said today.

“Chuck Cadman was a man of great integrity. But now we learn that the Conservative Party tried to bribe him and that the Prime Minister was aware of it,” said Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion during Question Period in the House of Commons. “Mr. Harper knew that envoys sent by him attempted to buy a man who was on the verge of death.

“He knew that was immoral. He knew it was unethical. He knew it was illegal. It was a violation of section 119 of the Criminal Code.

“Why did the Prime Minister authorize this type of tactic that was as immoral as it was illegal?”

The allegations, which surfaced in the media yesterday, were re-confirmed by Mr. Cadman’s widow again today. The veracity of Ms. Cadman’s statement was corroborated by Mr. Cadman’s former legislative assistant, Dan Wallace, in a soon to be released book.

Mr. Dion pointed to standing order 23-1, which states the offer of any money or other advantage to any member of this House for the promoting of any matter whatsoever depending or to be transacted in Parliament is a high crime and intends to the subversion of the constitution.

“Not only was trying to bribe Chuck Cadman an insult to his honour and integrity, not only was it morally and ethically wrong, but it was against the law. Again, I ask the Prime Minister: what was he thinking?”

Deputy Leader Michael Ignatieff added that Prime Minister Harper must immediately come clean with Canadians about his denial of the allegations.

“Is the Prime Minister saying that the widow of Chuck Cadman is lying? Is he saying that a Conservative candidate is lying? He needs to make this point clear,” said Mr. Ignatieff. “Because the issue then is why didn't he stop the offer in the first place? Why didn't he treat a dying man with respect and why didn't he control his own desire to win at any price?

“Is the Prime Minister aware that by neglecting to stop the agents of his party, he became complicit in an attempt to corrupt a Member of Parliament?”

http://www.liberal.ca/story_13635_e.aspx

[Ben Kenobi]

Good.

Now I really want to see who offered Cadman the million bucks.



All the transcript says is that "someone" offered him that money. Cadman never actually says who.

I certainly don't believe his widow who is bitter towards the conservatives, or his staffer, who is making good money off his 'tell-all' book.

I'd like to see evidence not hearsay.

[Wezil]

If you think the Liberals did it you are a loon.

Does it really make sense that they would push so hard on a scandal that they are at the bottom of? That would be lovely news to come out. You've spouted that same nonsense a half dozen times now without a scintilla of evidence. Could you put up or shut up please. Where's your evidence? Or is this more of your "Canadians would be better off under Washington" or "oil patch workers want to be Americans" type of rubbish?

I hate the Libs as much as the next guy but geez man your head must be up your *** if you actually believe what you are typing.

[Wezil]

Harper says he'll sue. Liberals say go ahead and do it. Tory poll numbers drop as voters opt for 3rd parties.

OTTAWA - A new poll suggests Stephen Harper's Conservatives have taken a beating in public opinion over the past week, but the opposition Liberals have done nothing to capitalize.

The Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey had the two major parties in a statistical dead heat, with the Tories nominally ahead of the Liberals 31-30.

The governing party had been as high as 35 per cent in a previous Harris-Decima poll - albeit only two points higher than the Liberals - but some other pollsters had the Tory lead as wide as seven percentage points.

The poll of more than 1,000 respondents was taken over the last weekend. The survey followed a federal budget, and began just after news broke of the Chuck Cadman bribery allegations and in the midst of a war of words between Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.

While the Tories and Liberals appeared stalled, the NDP at 17 per cent and the Bloc Quebecois at eight per cent nationally were not big beneficiaries.

The survey's margin of error is 3.1 per cent, 19 times in 20, with wider margins for regional breakdowns.


The Green party, which has never elected an MP, rose to 13 per cent nationally and was actually a point ahead of the NDP in Ontario - 18-17.

Bruce Anderson, the president of Harris-Decima, says the Green support may simply reflect voters parking their support in the absence of compelling alternatives.

He's says the two major parties are in a neck-and-neck battle and neither appears to be gaining an edge.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2008/03/04/4904121-cp.html