Tory MP threatens to vote against budget - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

RedHot25 · 06-05-2007, 08:59 AM

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia...get-casey.html

Concerning the offshore accord and a 'broken promise'...

Nova Scotia Tory MP Bill Casey, who said he will vote against his government's budget, will meet again Tuesday with Finance Minister Jim Flaherty to try to win changes.

Casey has said the budget effectively kills the province's offshore accord.

...

Casey said the government broke its promise to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador to exclude offshore oil and gas revenues from the equalization formula for the transfer of federal money to the provinces.

jolinar of malkshor · 06-05-2007, 11:54 AM

The government needs to live up to its commitments.

Bobblehead · 06-05-2007, 12:00 PM

It is a shame that MPs need to choose between their constituents or be removed from their party (as the article said would probably happen).

RedHot25 · 06-06-2007, 05:00 AM

And he's booted out...

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia...y.html?ref=rss

MP Bill Casey was booted out of the Tory caucus hours after he broke ranks with his party on Tuesday night and voted against a bill to implement the federal budget.

The Nova Scotia MP said he couldn't support the budget because it doesn't allow his province to fully benefit from offshore oil and gas revenues without losing equalization payments from the federal government.
.....

Casey, a veteran backbencher, said the government had promised Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador that it wouldn't include offshore oil and gas revenues in its equalization formula.

"I believe that the government of Canada signed a contract with my province of Nova Scotia and it's not being honoured," Casey told CBC News earlier Tuesday in Ottawa.

"Whether it's by accident or not, the budget was amended, and that amendment was not agreed to by the provinces, who also signed it. So only one side of this agreement changed it and approved this amendment.
"I don't think that's right."

RedHot25 · 06-06-2007, 05:04 AM

More here, as well, including an interesting comment from Peter McKay:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...ional/National

Tory Whip Jay Hill said the decision meant immediate expulsion from the caucus.

"Mr. Casey was well aware of the consequences before he cast his vote," Mr. Hill said.

But Mr. Casey seemed less certain. "I'm still a Conservative," he said. "Peter MacKay said they wouldn't throw anybody out of the caucus if they voted their conscience on [the budget bill]. Although the Whip just gave me a little different message a minute ago."

Last month, Mr. MacKay told the House: "We will not throw a member out of caucus for voting his conscience. There will be no whipping, flipping, hiring or firing on budget votes as we saw with the Liberal government."

Table 5 · 06-06-2007, 05:59 AM

sure would be nice if a party actually lived up to their words once in a while. While I disagree that offshore oil and gas revenue should not be counted against equalization payments, if the Tories made that promise, they should have kept it.

Hardly surprising though. They're all the same.

Slava · 06-06-2007, 11:47 AM

The Conservatives criticize the Liberals for things and then do the exact same thing when they're in power. What a refreshing change this government has been!

jolinar of malkshor · 06-06-2007, 05:10 PM

I am sending an email to my MP to say how pissed off I am about this

RedHot25 · 06-06-2007, 08:37 PM

Its like a ghost town in this thread?

On the radio today they were talking to a lot of average joe and janes and whoever else on the street and they seem impressed with casey. not so much with the gov't. the message was loud and clear...run as an independent here and he would win handily.

Slava · 06-06-2007, 08:52 PM

I applaud Casey...a good move if its good for his constituents!

Bobblehead · 06-06-2007, 08:53 PM

McKay has always been a lock in his riding, but something like this makes me wonder if his constituents won't put some heat on him.
He is also a N.S. MP, if people agree with Casey then they must agree about the Atlantic Accord.
And it was McKay who said he wouldn't be kicked from caucus.
What are McKay constituents take on this situation?

Ford Prefect · 06-06-2007, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedHot25

Its like a ghost town in this thread?

On the radio today they were talking to a lot of average joe and janes and whoever else on the street and they seem impressed with casey. not so much with the gov't. the message was loud and clear...run as an independent here and he would win handily.

Maybe others are getting jaded like I am. I used to be an avid follower of politics ... I even used to belong to parties and get involved in campaigns. Anymore, I could care less. They're all the same. There was once a poltical scientist who labelled the Conservatives and the Liberals tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum. He was close, but a cartoonist, might have been Rodewalt, nailed it on the head when he labelled them tweedle-dum and tweedle-dumber. With the price of gasoline, it's almost not worth going out to vote anymore.

PYroMaNiaC · 06-06-2007, 10:29 PM

I wrote a letter to my MP. This is crazy. This is a government that got elected on issues of transparency, honesty and intergrity. If they can't get this simple issue right, what hope is there?

Julio · 06-06-2007, 11:57 PM

It's actions like this as to why I have less and less respect for the Conservatives every day. I may not have been a big fan of Preso and the Reformers, (being in Sask during the mid to late 80 could make you a bit negative about conservatism in government), but at least they I could respect for their integrety and their ideals. One of the biggest things that they preached was parlamentary independence. Now granted, this is easier to do when you aren't ruling, but it is sad to see so many ex Reformers become silent sheep in the backbenches of the government.

RedHot25 · 06-07-2007, 05:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

McKay has always been a lock in his riding, but something like this makes me wonder if his constituents won't put some heat on him.
He is also a N.S. MP, if people agree with Casey then they must agree about the Atlantic Accord.
And it was McKay who said he wouldn't be kicked from caucus.
What are McKay constituents take on this situation?

WEll, he may get some flack, but in all honesty....I think it would take a miracle for McKay not to get re-elected down here. From what I can tell, he seems pretty much like a slam-dunk. But stranger things have happened, so I guess you never truly know.

Bobblehead · 06-07-2007, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedHot25

WEll, he may get some flack, but in all honesty....I think it would take a miracle for McKay not to get re-elected down here. From what I can tell, he seems pretty much like a slam-dunk. But stranger things have happened, so I guess you never truly know.

But other than be Elmer's son, disband the PC party and get dumped by a Millionairess in front of the nation, what has he done?

RedHot25 · 06-07-2007, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

But other than be Elmer's son, disband the PC party and get dumped by a Millionairess in front of the nation, what has he done?

Yup....well take this for what its worth because I am not originally from here. But to me, it seems like McKay is one of those people that gets elected because, well, he's "Peter McKay". That may not mean much to you or others, but here...it means a lot I think. There will be some chunks in his armour, now, and especially with Elizabeth May running against him, but he will win.

He is currently being awfully, awfully quiet on this whole thing. I don't have anything to this to back it up, but I heard (I think on the radio?) that he apparently at one point was in full support of the Atlantic Accord and relayed the idea that he would make sure that it would go through.....but this was a bit ago. Anyways, like I said, not 100% sure on this, just heard bits and pieces on the radio.

RedHot25 · 06-07-2007, 08:44 AM

And as I type that, something from McKay pops up in the news:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...7?hub=Politics

....MacKay...told Parliament his Conservative party wouldn't throw out people who vote their conscience.

Asked this morning why the government is now ejecting Casey for opposing the budget bill, MacKay responded that the Nova Scotia MP had gone against a fundamental principle of parliamentary democracy.

He also says he never thought Casey would actually vote against a budgetary bill.

However, MacKay says Casey's decision was "premature'' because he's still in talks with Nova Scotia over honouring the accord, and there is time to make a deal.

RedHot25 · 06-07-2007, 08:50 AM

And now this....

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia...-computer.html

The Nova Scotia MP kicked out of the Conservative caucus earlier this week says he no longer has access to his electronic constituency files.

....

The next day when Casey turned on his computer, he discovered he couldn't access hundreds of files.

"At the moment we can't access the files," he said. "They're claiming they belong to the party and I claim they belong to me."

However, the Canadian Press says it was told that Casey was only denied access to party databases, not constituency information.

And this: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia...casey-out.html

RedHot25 · 06-07-2007, 11:28 AM

More from McKay now...

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia...y.html?ref=rss

"There is a Westminster tradition that members who vote against a money bill … can not remain in the party," MacKay said.

"I was confident that Mr. Casey and all members of the Atlantic caucus believed so strongly in the process we were following to see that the Atlantic Accord was respected that it would never come to this."

Before the vote, MacKay told the House of Commons that his party would not be "whipping, flipping, hiring or firing" any of their members for opposing the bill.