Naughty, Naughty Stephen

On Both Sides

High sticking is not allowed in hockey, our national sport, and it is not allowed in politics as played in Canada.....you have to be squeaky clean and play fair even if it means you don't make the playoffs and win the Stanley Cup.

Colby Cosh: Actuaries gone wild

Posted: February 29, 2008, 9:31 AM by Colby Cosh

Colby Cosh

The Opposition seems very worked up today about a claim by Chuck Cadman's widow and daughter that the independent Member of Parliament was offered a $1 million life insurance policy in exchange for a non-confidence vote that would have brought down the government of Paul Martin. They and others are demanding an investigation, so I'd like to suggest a natural starting point: let's find out which insurance company would write that million-dollar policy for a visibly ill man in the final stage of malignant melanoma. Nobody seems to be ridiculing that part of the tale as being incredibly implausible—not even the Prime Minister—so maybe we need to put off the corruption probe until we all have a chance to pull our money out of Canadian financial institutions and hide it under our mattresses?

Scandal may be too good to be true TheStar.com - Columnist - Scandal may be too good to be true

March 01, 2008

Thomas Walkom

The Chuck Cadman-Stephen Harper bribery allegation is an irresistible tale.

Those who don't like the current prime minister will take great delight in a new book claiming that three years ago unnamed Conservative party officials offered British Columbia MP Cadman – at the time terminally ill with cancer – $1 million to vote against the then Liberal government.

In those days of deadlock, Cadman's vote would have been enough to defeat Paul Martin's government and force an election. To that end, Harper was openly courting his former colleague (a year earlier, after losing the Conservative nomination in Surrey North, Cadman had won his seat as an independent ).

Author Tom Zytaruk's book says Cadman told his wife, Dona, that he had been approached by two Harper emissaries and offered a $1 million "life insurance policy" for voting with his old party. Cadman, whose melanoma was matter of public record, refused. He died two months later.

Author Zytaruk also has Harper on tape confirming that yes, his officials were talking to Cadman about giving him money "to replace financial considerations he might lose due to an election."

There is even a delightful bit where an obviously nervous Harper says to Zytaruk: "Uh, this is not for publication?"

So, yes, this is an irresistible story. Harper, the leader who said he would be squeaky clean, is being hoist with his own petard. The opposition parties are in full cry. We in the media are licking our chops.

Which is why this irresistible story should be resisted.

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PM has some explaining to do

Mar. 01, 2008
Prime Minister Stephen Harper wasn't in Parliament yesterday to answer a barrage of questions about whether his Conservative party offered independent MP Chuck Cadman a million-dollar "life insurance" deal to ...