Chuck Cadman

On May 19, 2005, Cadman flew to Ottawa for a confidence vote not long after undergoing chemotherapy treatment for malignant melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer. Cadman voted with the government on the 2005 budget, which had incorporated amendments proposed by the NDP, and forced a tie in the House of Commons. The tie was broken by Peter Milliken the Speaker of the House of Commons, who voted in favour of the Liberal budget (who explained he simply did so because the Speaker traditionally votes to continue a government). The budget was later passed in Cadman's absence on June 23, 2005. In an interview after the budget vote, Cadman said he voted in favour of the budget simply because he was obeying the wishes of constituents who did not want to face another election a year after giving the minority Liberals their shaky mandate.

Dona Cadman says that her husband told her that prior to the vote, two Conservative Party officials, later suggested to be Tom Flanagan and Doug Finley, offered her husband a million-dollar life insurance policy in exchange for his vote against the Liberal budget in May 2005, the rationale being replacement of the life insurance that is part of an MP's compensation package (since Cadman was not running for re-election and would thus not die an MP if he voted down the government).[2] An audio tape suggests then-opposition leader Stephen Harper was not only aware of a financial offer to Chuck Cadman but gave it his personal approval.[3][4] According to Dona Cadman, Harper "looked me straight in the eyes and told me he had no knowledge of an insurance policy offer. I knew he was telling me the truth; I could see it in his eyes."[5] Cadman's daughter also acknowledged that her father had been disturbed by the offer. Harper later stated in an August 2008 court deposition that he personally authorized an offer made to Cadman in 2005; however, this offer was of the normal amount offered to a candidate running in an election campaign.[6][7] The Conservative Party, based upon analysis by forensic experts who concluded that the tape was edited, asked an Ontario court to order to Liberals to stop using the tape. But neutral expert testimony showed that the tape has not been edited.[8][9]

Under section 119 of the Criminal Code, it is illegal to bribe an MP. Accordingly, Opposition Liberal party Intergovernmental Affairs critic Dominic LeBlanc asked the RCMP in February 2008 to investigate the allegation that the Conservatives had offered Cadman a million-dollar life insurance policy in exchange for his support on the budget vote. In May 2008, the RCMP announced that there was no evidence to support charges.[10]

James Moore, Conservative MP for Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam told a news conference June 4, 2008, that two top audio specialists found that the tape[11] in which PM Stephen Harper confirms financial considerations had been offered to Chuck Cadman had been altered. But LeBlanc said on June 5, 2008 that the Tories have not been clear about what they claim was doctored on the tape. He said the Tories have also forgotten a huge part of the allegations – the testimony of Cadman's widow, Dona Cadman. In her affidavit, Dona Cadman "repeats very clearly her recollection of her husband's words to the effect that two Conservative operatives ... offered him a million dollar life insurance policy in exchange for his vote", said LeBlanc.[12]

Tom Zytaruk, the reporter who made the recording said "I know I didn't doctor any tape. So in a sense all this stuff that [Conservative MP] James Moore is saying is meaningless. I know what happened."[13]

In early July 2008, Dona Cadman swore an affidavit that challenged some of Tom Zytaruk's assertions. She denied specific public accounts by Zytaruk of how he came to meet Harper that day, and he professed himself "extremely surprised, disappointed and deeply distressed" by her statement.[14]

Liberals redoubled their use of the Cadman material – some argued that the RCMP inaction was possibly due to political interference while others argued that the standard of proof for criminal law was too high to satisfy when an official was willing to commit perjury. Neither of these allegations were made through official channels.

However, the bald statement that "Harper knew of Conservative bribery" did appear as the title of a press release. In a rare political libel case, Prime Minister Harper filed a libel lawsuit against the Liberal Party over statements on the party's website regarding the Chuck Cadman affair published under this title.[15]

With the filing of the suit, open political comment on the case effectively stopped, an example of libel chill.

The suit was settled in February 2009 after Michael Ignatieff took over leadership of the Party.