Canada PM sues opposition for libel
OTTAWA (AFP) — Stephen Harper became the first sitting Canadian prime minister to sue the opposition for libel Thursday, involving allegations that his Conservatives once tried to bribe a dying MP.
"I have every right, as does my family, to defend our reputation," Harper told parliament. "The Liberal Party will come to regret engaging in this illegal and untruthful behavior."
"Today my representatives have filed a statement of claim in a court of law and I look forward to seeing the leader of the opposition actually let this go to trial," he said.
But the opposition Liberals refused to back down, saying the threat of a lawsuit would not stem their relentless pursuit, now two weeks into it, to get to the bottom of the alleged scandal.
Previously, Harper demanded the Liberals apologize for claiming he knew that members of his Conservative Party, while in opposition, had tried to "bribe" a former independent MP dying of cancer to swing his vote and topple the government in 2005.
The allegations were revealed in a new biography of now deceased MP Chuck Cadman and repeated by his widow and daughter, who said Cadman was offered a one-million-dollar life insurance policy to side with the Conservatives in the crucial ballot.
In a 2005 interview with the author of the book, Harper confirmed two Conservative officials had approached Cadman "to replace financial considerations he might lose due to an election."
But he denied any wrongdoing.
Opposition Liberal leader Stephane Dion countered: "It's certainly an offer with financial consideration and according to the law, it's a bribe."
In a statement of claim filed Thursday in the Ontario Superior Court, Harper said the Liberals were "malicious, reckless, callous and reprehensible" in their accusations and showed "total disregard for his personal reputation and his reputation as holder of the office of prime minister of Canada."
He is seeking 2.5 million dollars (Canadian, US) in damages and legal costs.
In the end, Cadman voted to keep then Liberal prime minister Paul Martin in power in 2005, but was unable to stop the inevitable.
Cadman died two months later and Martin's minority government soon fell, leading to snap elections that swept Harper's Conservatives to power in January 2006.
