VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) – Chuck Cadman, an independent member of Parliament whose pivotal vote helped Canada’s ruling Liberal party survive a confidence vote in May, died Saturday of cancer, his office said. He was 57.
Cadman, who died at his home in Surrey, British Columbia, was first elected in 1997, but came to prominence as a crusader for victims’ rights after his 16-year-old son was stabbed to death in 1992 in a random street attack.
Cadman was recognizable for his mane of long, silver hair, drawn back into a pony tail. He was once mistaken for a janitor in his own parliamentary office.
A technician by trade and a one-time rock guitarist, Cadman spent the last federal election day playing recorded music beside the grave of his son, Jesse.
He flew to Ottawa for the May 19 confidence vote soon after undergoing chemotherapy treatment for malignant melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, saying he was obeying the wishes of constituents who did not want to face another election a year after giving the Liberals their shaky mandate.
His vote siding with Prime Minister Paul Martin’s Liberals deadlocked the voting, allowing House Speaker Peter Milliken to cast the tiebreaker – the first such scenario in Canadian history.
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