OTTAWA — Federal New Democrats will recommend that allegations that the Tories promised Chuck Cadman a $1-million life insurance package in return for defeating the Liberals be sent to a special federal prosecutor to look into.
NDP MP Pat Martin said he no longer wants the matter to be sent to a special ethics committee because the testimony given there is protected from being used in future prosecutions. Sending it to the RCMP is also problematic because of increasing unease with the national force, he said.
“After the dust settles, the ethics committee might want to look at the results and make recommendations to see if our ethical guidelines and standards are robust enough,” Mr. Martin told CTV's Question Period yesterday.
The federal government has established the position of a federal prosecutor to look into such matters. The NDP and other parties are concerned because it is the role of the Justice Minister to decide which individuals undergo prosecutorial reviews.
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But Mr. Martin said the Tories' reputation for transparency and accountability will be harmed if they don't forward the issue to the prosecutor's office. The Tories promised the creation of the office in the 2006 election campaign.
Some Liberals were surprised by the move and suggested that the New Democrats may be afraid that the Liberals would receive too much publicity if the committee were to look into the matter.
The matter dominated the Commons Question Period last week and is expected to do so again this week. It revolves around an allegation from Mr. Cadman's widow, Dona, who has said her husband told her he was offered the policy in return for his vote. She has been joined by her daughter and son-in-law, both of whom say that they, too, were told by Mr. Cadman of the offer.
Yesterday, government Whip Jay Hill maintained to CTV that no offer was made.
“I'm sure that they are recounting the details as they believe them to be, but the reality is, as I say, there was no offer made,” he told Question Period.
Also yesterday, a key figure in the matter said there was only one meeting between Mr. Cadman and two Tory officials, not two, as suggested by some.
Dan Wallace, Mr. Cadman's legislative assistant, was situated just outside the MP's private office during the meeting. Mr. Cadman met with senior Tories Doug Finley and Tom Flanagan just hours before the crucial vote.
But Mr. Wallace has also said he doesn't know the details of any offers.
In a taped interview with author Tom Zytaruk, Prime Minister Stephen Harper confirmed that the senior Tories intended to make an offer to Mr. Cadman to cover some financial considerations flowing from a possible election.
The allegations are contained in a soon-to-be published book about Mr. Cadman.
