A federal ethics committee may not get the chance to consider several motions tabled by opposition MPs who want it to look into the Chuck Cadman affair, an NDP MP said Tuesday.

Pat Martin, a committee member, told the CBC's Don Newman the committee clerk informed members during an in camera planning meeting on Tuesday afternoon that the issue may not be something it could examine since no one in the matter holds public office as defined by the House of Commons.

Sukh Dhaliwal in an interview with CBC-TV, Tuesday.
(CBC)

"So we're kind of up in the air right now," Martin said. "The chair hasn't ruled whether or not there'd be an order for those three motions to be heard."

But Martin said the point was moot since the NDP, who hold the swing vote in the committee, have decided to vote against any such motion.

"We've decided we don't believe the Cadman affair is a good fit for the ethics committee so it's kind of moot," he said.

Allegations surfaced last week that in 2005, Cadman, who was dying of cancer at the time, was offered a $1-million life insurance policy by Conservative operatives looking for the Independent MP's help in bringing down the Paul Martin's Liberal government.

Cadman ended up voting with the Liberals, briefly prolonging their time in office. He died weeks later from cancer.

Liberal and Bloc Québécois motions calling for the committee to investigate the allegations were expected to be tabled when the members met in camera on Tuesday afternoon.

Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal told CBC News on Tuesday morning he was "very disappointed" by news that Martin planned to vote against the motion.

Martin had initially pushed for the parliamentary group to examine the matter but now raised concerns that any testimony heard there couldn't be used for future criminal prosecutions due to parliamentary privilege.

Instead, Martin has suggested a special federal prosecutor probe the allegations of bribery.

The Conservative government's Accountability Act created an independent public prosecutions office that can conduct prosecutions into crimes under federal jurisdiction, such as the Canada Elections Act.

But a spokesman for the office, which is headed by the recently nominated Brian Saunders, said it is not an investigative agency.

The Liberals have already requested that the RCMP investigate the allegations, noting in a letter that under the Criminal Code it is illegal to try to influence a member of Parliament with financial incentives.

Allegations of bribery were originally made by Cadman's widow in a yet-to-be-released book, Like A Rock: The Chuck Cadman Story, written by Vancouver journalist Tom Zytaruk. Last week, Cadman's daughter Jodi backed up her mother's story.

On Monday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper filed a notice of libel against Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion and the Liberal Party of Canada over statements made on their website directly linking him to the affair.

The letter demands the articles be removed from the website and that Dion apologize in the House in English and French. It demands he use the words, "We apologize to the prime minister for the unfounded attacks made on his reputation."

But the Liberals said no such apology will be issued and the articles remain on their website.

Also on Monday, Dona Cadman issued a statement saying that she believed Harper when he personally told her more than two years ago that he had no knowledge of the alleged bribe. If she didn't believe him, she said, she wouldn't be running as a Conservative Party candidate in B.C.