"The late Independent MP from British Columbia who kept the Liberals in power in the spring of 2005 was offered a $1 million life insurance policy by the Conservatives in an attempt to win his vote, according to an upcoming book.If this is true, and there's no reason to think it's not, it's more than despicable, it's criminal. Who were the "Conservative party representatives" who made the offer? And are we to believe that a micro-managing control freak like Stephen Harper didn't know about it?Chuck Cadman, who was battling cancer and died in July 2005, sided with the minority Liberals in the crucial vote on May 19, 2005, ensuring Canadians would not have to head to the polls for a summer election." [...]
"Cadman, a former Reform and then Canadian Alliance MP, was dying of skin cancer when the crucial vote on a budget amendment came up on May 19, 2005.
The Liberal prime minister at the time, Paul Martin, needed Cadman's vote to stay in power, while Stephen Harper's Conservatives needed the Independent MP's support to force an election.
Two days before the vote, Zytaruk writes, Cadman was visited by two Conservative party representatives — who are not identified — and presented with a list of enticements to rejoin the party before the vote.
A million-dollar life insurance policy was on the list, Zytaruk writes."
To make matters worse (if they possibly could be), the million dollar insurance policy that was allegedly offered to bribe Cadman couldn't possibly have been accepted by any insurer. A pre-existing life-threatening illness is, as far as I know, an automatic disqualifier. (I can't get life insurance, and I'm almost 10 years post-diagnosis -- cured, or as close to cured as it gets.) No insurer would cover someone who was literally dying of stage 4 cancer, like Cadman (who did die 2 months later). That means the "Conservative party representatives" made this offer to a dying man, knowing full well it wouldn't pay out.
Can't wait to see what Steve has to say about all this.
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