Who's afraid of Cadman now?

It seems as if the Prime Minister doesn't want to risk losing an injunction during the election.

The claim he needs to focus on it to help the lawyers is, of course, nonsense. The client's job is long ago done -- it's now up to the lawyers and the judge.

The problem is (as I tell clients every day) litigation is unpredictable and a judge might just say the injunction was an uncalled for tactic. And that might look bad ... .

Harper seeks delay in hearing over Cadman libel suit

TIM NAUMETZ
The Canadian Press
Fri, 12 Sep 2008

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Stephen Harper wants a judge to put off a hearing in his $3.5-million defamation suit against the Liberal party that is scheduled to be held during the federal election campaign.

Mr. Harper's lawyers filed an "emergency" motion for an adjournment with Superior Court Justice Charles Hackland, court officials said Friday.

Richard Dearden, Mr. Harper's lawyer, will argue Mr. Harper's campaign schedule prevents him from paying close attention to the legal details of the lawsuit he filed over an allegation that Conservatives attempted to bribe a terminally ill MP in 2005.

The move came at the same time lawyers for the Liberal party filed their own motion with Judge Hackland asking him to order Mr. Harper to produce documents which Mr. Dearden has failed to provide, despite promises to do so.

Mr. Harper sued last March after the Liberals posted website headlines suggesting Mr. Harper was aware that two senior Conservatives attempted to bribe independent MP Chuck Cadman before a critical Commons confidence vote in May, 2005.

In a book published this year, B.C. author Tom Zytaruk quoted Mr. Cadman's widow, Dona, as saying her dying husband told her Conservatives offered him a $1-million life insurance policy in return for voting against the Liberals and rejoining the Conservative party.

Dona Cadman later testified in an examination in the lawsuit that her husband told her the Conservatives also offered him a caucus position as deputy justice critic and other considerations she said she could not remember.

Mr. Harper sought the hearing he now wants postponed in an attempt to get a court order to stop the Liberals from using a tape recording at the centre of the affair.

The prime minister says the tape of an interview Mr. Zytaruk conducted with him outside Dona Cadman's home in September, 2005 has been doctored.

On the tape, Mr. Zytaruk is heard asking Mr. Harper about the allegation Conservatives offered Mr. Cadman a $1-million life insurance policy, and Mr. Harper is heard responding he was not aware of the details and knew only that Conservatives approached Mr. Cadman to discuss "financial considerations" in return for voting against the Liberals.

Mr. Harper hired three forensic sound experts to review the tape and added $1-million to his original lawsuit on the basis of their sworn affidavits that the recording had been altered.

Dona Cadman, however, testified in one of the court examinations that Mr. Zytaruk played the tape for her right after he interviewed Mr. Harper. She also listened to the disputed copy during the examination and told Liberal lawyer Chris Paliare that she believed it was the same version she heard after the interview.

Mr. Harper has testified he knew nothing about the insurance policy and only authorized Doug Finley, his top political organizer and campaign manager, to offer Mr. Cadman election campaign support, including a repayable loan and other financing from the party.Tom Flanagan, another senior Conservative adviser, went along with Mr. Finley on the visit.

A hearing is scheduled for next Wednesday on Mr. Harper's request to adjourn his injunction application.
James Morton
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