How can Stephen Harper be allowed to remain Prime Minister?

I can't see how to escape the conclusion that Stephen Harper lied to the House of Commons.

In the Commons, on February 28, he is asked about "the bribe". He says he's looked into it and there's nothing to "the story".

In the Zytaruk tape, which subsequently was released, he is asked about a million dollar insurance policy and he says he doesn't know the details, didn't forbid it, but didn't think it would work. He is quite aware of a proposal to Cadman involving financial compensation.

Any way to construct his statements as truthful would seem to involve a torture of language.

How can Stephen Harper be allowed to remain Prime Minister?


Commons Debates
February 28, 2008

Hon. Stéphane Dion (Leader of the Opposition, Lib.): Mr.
Speaker, Chuck Cadman was a man of great integrity but now we
learn that the Conservative Party tried to bribe him and that the
Prime Minister was aware of it. Mr. Cadman could not be bought.

Standing Order 23(1) states:
The offer of any money or other advantage to any Member of this House, for the
promoting of any matter whatsoever depending or to be transacted in Parliament, is a high crime and misdemeanour, and tends to the subversion of the Constitution

What was the Prime Minister thinking?

Right Hon. Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, CPC): Mr.
Speaker, as I said earlier, this story was raised with me two and a half
years ago. I looked into it. There is absolutely no truth in it.

From the Zytaruk interview:

Zytaruk: "I mean, there was an insurance policy for a million dollars. Do you know anything about that?"

Harper: "I don't know the details. I know that there were discussions, uh, this is not for publication?"

Zytaruk: "This (inaudible) for the book. Not for the newspaper. This is for the book."

Harper: "Um, I don't know the details. I can tell you that I had told the individuals, I mean, they wanted to do it. But I told them they were wasting their time. I said Chuck had made up his mind, he was going to vote with the Liberals and I knew why and I respected the decision. But they were just, they were convinced there was, there were financial issues. There may or may not have been, but I said that's not, you know, I mean, I, that's not going to change."

Zytaruk: "You said (inaudible) beforehand and stuff? It wasn't even a party guy, or maybe some friends, if it was people actually in the party?"

Harper: "No, no, they were legitimately representing the party. I said don't press him. I mean, you have this theory that it's, you know, financial insecurity and, you know, just, you know, if that's what you're saying, make that case but don't press it. I don't think, my view was, my view had been for two or three weeks preceding it, was that Chuck was not going to force an election. I just, we had all kinds of our guys were calling him, and trying to persuade him, I mean, but I just had concluded that's where he stood and respected that."

Zytaruk: "Thank you for that. And when (inaudible)."

Harper: "But the, uh, the offer to Chuck was that it was only to replace financial considerations he might lose due to an election."

Zytaruk: "Oh, OK."

Harper: "OK? That's my understanding of what they were talking about."

Zytaruk: "But, the thing is, though, you made it clear you weren't big on the idea in the first place?"

Harper: "Well, I just thought Chuck had made up his mind, in my own view ..."

Zytaruk: "Oh, okay. So, it's not like, he's like, (inaudible)."

Harper: "I talked to Chuck myself. I talked to (inaudible). You know, I talked to him, oh, two or three weeks before that, and then several weeks before that. I mean, you know, I kind of had a sense of where he was going."

Zytaruk: "Well, thank you very much."

And a representative exchange from the February 29th debates:

Hon. Ralph Goodale (Wascana, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the
government attacks the word of Mrs. Cadman, but her story is
consistent. It is confirmed by her daughter and by the Prime
Minister's own words.
In an interview taped in 2005 he was asked explicitly about the
insurance offer. He did not deny it. In fact, he confirmed an offer was
made. He confirmed it was about “financial insecurity”, not about a
nomination. He told Conservative officials to “make the case to Mr.
Cadman”.
Did the Prime Minister know that would be an indictable offence
under the Criminal Code?

Mr. James Moore (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of
Public Works and Government Services and for the Pacific
Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics, CPC): Mr.
Speaker, the member for Wascana is, as usual, misrepresenting what
the then leader of the opposition did say.
The member for Wascana was not at the meeting. Three people
were at the meeting. All three people said that no offer was made.
My colleague does not have to take my word for it. On a
nationally televised interview on Global, on May 21, 2005, in
answer to the question “Did he offer you a deal?”, Chuck Cadman
said “No, absolutely nothing. There was never any deal offered"

Baron of Arizona

Watched. Interestingly, Vincent Price's character gets six years in prison, just like Conrad Black. But hard labour, and after narrowly escaping a lynching.