N.S. Tory riding executive suspended

This is from the Globe and Mail. Harper always spouts off about how MP's should be able to speak for their constituents and not be bound by the party and whipped into shape when they vote against the party line. I guess the moral is: Don't do as I say but do as I say not to do. Harper is showing his authoritarian streak that is usually kept hidden. He not only turfed out Bill Casey but also suspends his riding executive in order to get a candidate he approves through an executive he approves.
Harper shows he has almost as many principles as Dion As with their other policies it is between Tweedle hypocrite Dee or Tweedle hypocrite Dum.


N.S. Tory riding executive suspended
JAMES KELLER

The Canadian Press

October 22, 2007 at 12:17 PM EDT

HALIFAX — A Tory riding executive in northern Nova Scotia has been suspended by the party's national council over its defiant support for ousted MP Bill Casey, a Conservative Party spokesman said Sunday.

The executive in Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley was told to either resign or to choose a candidate other than Mr. Casey, who was kicked out of caucus earlier this year for voting against the federal budget.

But the riding executive decided to do neither, and will instead hold an annual general meeting next month to let local members voice their opinion.

In the meantime, the executive has been suspended and will be replaced by an interim board, which will select a candidate if an election is called, said party spokesman Ryan Sparrow.


Bill Casey

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“They were suspended because if there's a snap election, hypothetically, a candidate (other than Mr. Casey) would have to be appointed and they refused to accept that,” Mr. Sparrow said in an interview.

“From all accounts, they were very good to work with. It's a disagreement and as a result they've been suspended.”

News of the suspension followed a meeting Sunday evening, when the executive informed the party's national council president Don Plett of their decision not to choose a new candidate.

Riding association president Scott Armstrong said the board wasn't told about the suspension at the meeting with Mr. Plett, though the party said the suspension was a condition imposed by the national council last week.

“If that's true, we're sorry about that,” said Mr. Armstrong. “We think we were a very effective board, we were elected by the people and we think we've represented them well.”

Mr. Armstrong said local members will have their say at the general meeting, scheduled for Nov. 27, when members will elect a new riding executive. Mr. Armstrong said he expects many of the board members will return.

He said the board still wants Mr. Casey as the candidate, and he expects local party members will agree at next month's meeting.

“We have such a divisive issue in our riding, a difficult and emotional issue, and we want to make sure the actions we're taking to reflect the general membership,” Mr. Armstrong said in an interview following Sunday's meeting Wentworth, N.S.

“We think they do, we think Bill gets huge support out there in the grassroots of our party, but ... we need some direction as a board on what to do.”

Mr. Armstrong suggested the national council would have a responsibility to listen to a freshly elected executive.

It's the latest in a back-and-forth clash between the riding association and the Conservative party.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Stephen Harper used an announcement about a deal to end his fight with Nova Scotia to make clear that Mr. Casey will not allowed to rejoin the Conservative caucus.

The riding association voted last weekend to nominate Mr. Casey anyway, but the national council quickly declared the riding vacant.

Mr. Casey, who said he will run as an Independent if he can't run as a Conservative, said the prime minister has an obligation to listen to the riding association.

“They are demanding their right, the democratic right, to select the candidate,” he said in an interview Sunday.

“And that was always my understanding of the position the prime minister took, that each riding association should select their candidate.”

Mr. Casey's fight with Mr. Harper stems from changes to the federal equalization program contained in the most recent budget.

The budget forced Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador, to choose between their offshore deals or an enriched equalization formula that included a fiscal cap — a choice that had the potential to cost Nova Scotia up to $1 billion.

The new deal between Premier Rodney MacDonald and Mr. Harper guarantees that Nova Scotia won't lose any royalties under the revised equalization formula.

Mr. Casey has argued the deal amounts to a tacit admission by Mr. Harper that his government was wrong all along.