HALIFAX (CP) - Bill Casey, the renegade Tory MP who defied Prime Minister Stephen Harper by voting against a federal budget bill, accused his Conservative colleagues Wednesday of exacting revenge through a series of dirty tricks.
The veteran Nova Scotia MP, who was tossed out of the Conservative caucus Tuesday, told a Halifax radio station that he and his staff have been cut off from their electronic constituency files.
"We have 784 constituency files here that deal with people problems ... and we've been cut off," Casey told an open-line show on CJCH.
"But this is not right. I'm a member of Parliament. These are my constituents. They've got problems. They're people I try to help. This is what I do."
But a Conservative source, who asked not to be named, insisted Casey had been cut off only from party databases - not his own constituency files.
At issue is a dispute over the budget and how it affects the ability of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland to reap benefits from their offshore oil and gas sectors.
Casey argues the budget effectively negates each province's version of the Atlantic Accord, a federal-provincial agreement that states offshore royalties will not be clawed back under Ottawa's equalization program.
Both provinces say their accords are like contracts that have been broken by Ottawa without consent.
In Halifax, Premier Rodney MacDonald said he had told Casey before the vote that he was making progress toward securing a side deal with Ottawa.
"I wanted to make sure he knew where we were at with respect to our negotiations and that we were making progress," MacDonald said. "But then, at the end of the day, the choice was his."
Still, MacDonald confirmed Wednesday that no deal had been reached.
"I have not given any indication that there is a deal and there will not be a deal until we sign off on something," he said. "Unless it's 100 per cent of the offshore (revenue), I will not sign off on it."
On Tuesday, just before the crucial vote, three senior Conservative ministers tried to persuade Casey to support the budget bill by suggesting they had struck a deal with Nova Scotia to settle the dispute over royalties.
But Casey said he wanted to see the deal in writing.
When no paper was produced, Casey joined the opposition in voting against adoption of the budget implementation bill at report stage. It still passed 158-108, with the Bloc Quebecois supporting the Conservatives.
MacDonald later said he was unaware of any offer from the federal government.
"I don't know what he (Casey) was presented with ... but what I do know is that we've had dialogue," MacDonald said.
"There's no offer to date from the federal government. There's dialogue, discussions and there is no offer per se."
Copyright © 2007 Canadian Press
The veteran Nova Scotia MP, who was tossed out of the Conservative caucus Tuesday, told a Halifax radio station that he and his staff have been cut off from their electronic constituency files.
"We have 784 constituency files here that deal with people problems ... and we've been cut off," Casey told an open-line show on CJCH.
"But this is not right. I'm a member of Parliament. These are my constituents. They've got problems. They're people I try to help. This is what I do."
But a Conservative source, who asked not to be named, insisted Casey had been cut off only from party databases - not his own constituency files.
At issue is a dispute over the budget and how it affects the ability of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland to reap benefits from their offshore oil and gas sectors.
Casey argues the budget effectively negates each province's version of the Atlantic Accord, a federal-provincial agreement that states offshore royalties will not be clawed back under Ottawa's equalization program.
Both provinces say their accords are like contracts that have been broken by Ottawa without consent.
In Halifax, Premier Rodney MacDonald said he had told Casey before the vote that he was making progress toward securing a side deal with Ottawa.
"I wanted to make sure he knew where we were at with respect to our negotiations and that we were making progress," MacDonald said. "But then, at the end of the day, the choice was his."
Still, MacDonald confirmed Wednesday that no deal had been reached.
"I have not given any indication that there is a deal and there will not be a deal until we sign off on something," he said. "Unless it's 100 per cent of the offshore (revenue), I will not sign off on it."
On Tuesday, just before the crucial vote, three senior Conservative ministers tried to persuade Casey to support the budget bill by suggesting they had struck a deal with Nova Scotia to settle the dispute over royalties.
But Casey said he wanted to see the deal in writing.
When no paper was produced, Casey joined the opposition in voting against adoption of the budget implementation bill at report stage. It still passed 158-108, with the Bloc Quebecois supporting the Conservatives.
MacDonald later said he was unaware of any offer from the federal government.
"I don't know what he (Casey) was presented with ... but what I do know is that we've had dialogue," MacDonald said.
"There's no offer to date from the federal government. There's dialogue, discussions and there is no offer per se."
Copyright © 2007 Canadian Press