Prime Minister Stephen Harper has filed a libel suit against the Liberals over statements published on the party's website concerning the Chuck Cadman affair.
An official in the Prime Minister's Office says Harper's lawyers filed the lawsuit Thursday in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice - the first time a sitting prime minister has sued the opposition for libel.
Harper last week threatened to sue Liberal Leader Stephane Dion, the Liberal Party of Canada and MPs Ralph Goodale and Michael Ignatieff over statements published on the party's website.
Those statements question Stephen Harper's alleged involvement in financial "offers" made to Cadman to sway his vote in a crucial 2005 Commons showdown.
Harper's lawyer demanded the Liberals remove the statements from their website and apologize.
But the Liberals rejected any notion of an apology.
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
4 comments:
Usually Prime Minsiters and Presidents rely on executive privilege to stay out of the court room. But HArper embraces it. Well, he's been to the Supreme Court before...
HArper is a master of obfuscation. He will not be able to do that in a discovery or at trial.
This is a huge political tactical blunder by Harper.
Harper did not "sue top Liberals"
He sued the Liberal Party.
As much as Harper tries to huff and puff about Dion, Iggy etc, he did not sue them. Even if that is the impression he is trying to give.
Correct, he did not sue them - If he had, they would have billed the taxpayer outright to cover their expenses - Suing the Liberal Party means they have to use their own money. Second, since when are Liberals so anti-use of our rights. Every citizen has the right to protect their reputation from false allegations and attacks via the courts. Harper is a citizen and thus all he is doing is exercising the same rights everyone has. I noticed you did not complain when Dion sued the Bloc over comments they made in regards to Dion's connection to the Adscam matter - He exercised his rights and won that lawsuit - but somehow Harper does not have the same rights? Harper may be a lot of things but a huffer and puffer he is not. When he says he is going to do something, he does it. As far as it being a huge political, tactical blunder, I have serious doubts. Simply look at the House for the last 2 years and the current position of Dion/Liberals in reference to tactical manuvering - something tells me Harper is much better at it than Dion/Liberals. This lawsuit accomplishes many things. It shows Harper is not afraid of having this matter examined by an impartial form (something no parliamentary committee is capable of). Second, by ensuring the Liberal party is on the hook for defending itself and, should they loose, millions in penalties and costs, it further taxes their limited financial resources. Third, Harper gets to do discovery on lots of things connected to this matter (as do the Liberals) - how long will the "John Doe's" who wrote and posted the comments be protected by the party and how long will the Party be willing to cover their legal expenses? If you look at the number of accusations launched by the Liberals against individuals (not all elected) over the last months it is quite apparent they don't care whose lives they destroy, whose families they hurt or whose character and potential for income they cast doubt upon. In court they can't hide behind the Queen's skirts. They must face up to the fact they have no proof and be held accountable for these accusations. Harper has the strengh of character to face this scum head to head. Will be interesting to see how long it is before the Liberals cave in on this.
If Harper is a huff and puffer, what does that make Stephane Dion? Good grief.
Post a Comment