MP's widow angry with political exploitation

Last Updated: Thursday, January 19, 2006 | 7:08 PM ET

CBC News

The widow of Independent MP Chuck Cadman is upset that too many politicians have been using his legacy for their own political gain during the election campaign.

Dona Cadman says all three major parties are using her late husband's name to promote their "tough on crime" platforms in the election.

"It sort of makes me proud that they are doing that, but on the other hand it makes me angry too. Nobody has asked me if they could use his name," she told CBC Radio's The Early Edition.

"I mean he fought very hard to make a name for himself. And I think he would figure that people should make their own names for themselves."

She says she is now planning to run as an Independent herself in Surrey North in the next federal election.

After their 16-year son Jessie was murdered in Surrey by a group of teenagers in 1992, Dona and Chuck Cadman became heavily involved in justice reform and victims' rights.

Frustrated by the lack of action by the Liberal government, Chuck Cadman ran and was elected as the MP for Surrey North in 1997.

He ran as an Independent in the 2004 election after he lost the Conservative nomination to a challenger who signed up more members for the party.

He served for eight years in Ottawa before dying of cancer last year.