In this article: The followup | The story

The followup:

While Bill Casey's Conservative colleagues were reluctant to speak with reporters about what the future might hold for the veteran MP if he voted against his party's 2007 budget, Nova Scotia Liberal MP Mark Eyking praised Casey for having the courage to risk being tossed out of caucus.

"If you don't stand up for something you'll fall for anything," Eyking told reporters following Tuesday's Question Period. "You don't make the promise and then turn around and change it. And then to say in the House that we're getting the net benefit here, it's totally ridiculous. Everybody knows - from the average person at Tim Horton's to the economists in the universities back home - that this is a bad deal for Atlantic Canada."

Eyking added that he would be happy to have Casey join the Liberal caucus. "He's very like-minded," he said. "I've travelled with him. He's welcome aboard anytime because he's got what it takes."

NDP leader Jack Layton wasn't quite ready to extend an open invitation to join his party, but he did express sympathy for the dilemma facing the Nova Scotia MP.

"Certainly every member will search their conscience to try to determine what is the right thing to do," Layton said. "There was a very explicit agreement between the federal and provincial governments which is in the process of being broken here and that's a pretty serious matter for any Member of Parliament."

The story:

Nova Scotia Tory MP Bill Casey is threatening to vote against his own government’s 2007 budget unless the Conservatives reverse themselves, reinstating the Atlantic Accord on offshore resources.

Casey joins other Tory MPs from Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador in voicing disapproval for the new budget, which they complain leaves their provinces’ natural resource revenues vulnerable to clawbacks through reduced equalization payments.  The MPs charge that Prime Minister Stephen Harper is breaking explicit promises to allow the provinces to enjoy 100 per cent of offshore revenue. 

“This is a signed contract between the province of Nova Scotia and the Government of Canada, and it should not be amended by one side,” said Casey of the current offshore revenue agreement. 

Analysts estimate that with the new budget, both Nova Scotia and Newfoundland stand to lose about $1-billion over the next decade. 

Casey met with Finance Minister Jim Flaherty late Monday night in a last-minute effort to win concessions before the Commons vote expected this week. He announced that the two will meet again on Tuesday, although it appears unlikely Flaherty will have a change of heart. 

Conservative MP Gerald Keddy, who represents the Nova Scotia riding of South Shore-St. Margarets, said Monday he fully respects Casey’s decision. But Keddy plans to vote for the budget himself. 

That didn't stop the opposition Liberals from taking aim. “With his own members turning against him, will [Harper] end his betrayal of Atlantic Canada and honour the accord?” Halifax West MP Geoff Regan said in Question Period.   

Should Casey go through with voting against his party, he risks expulsion from the Conservative caucus.  “It’s my province, it’s a signed agreement…and if I don’t stand up for that, what do I stand for?” he said Monday.

With files from Canadian Press

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