夏洛特敦选区的议员肖恩·凯西表示，他之所以被解除担任退伍军人事务部议会秘书的职务，是因为他支持了新民主党（NDP）一名议员提出的法案——该法案旨在限制向以色列的武器出口。
Charlottetown MP Sean Casey says he was removed from his position as parliamentary secretary to the minister of veterans affairs because he supported an NDP private member's bill that targeted arms exports to Israel.
今年3月，凯西曾被告知：如果他支持新民主党议员珍妮·关（Jenny Kwan）提出的C-233法案（即《消除漏洞法案》），他将被免去现任职务。尽管有15名自由党议员违背党派立场、支持该法案，但凯西仍是唯一一位这样做的议会秘书。
In March, Casey said he was warned by the Liberal whip that if he supported NDP MP Jenny Kwan's Bill C-233, known as the No More Loopholes Act, then he would be relieved of his duties. Although 15 Liberal MPs broke rank and supported the bill, Casey was the only parliamentary secretary to do so.
凯西在接受CBC新闻采访时说：“该法案的目的是堵住那些允许加拿大军事装备被出售给其他国家、但最终却被用于杀害巴勒斯坦人的漏洞。这正是我的选民所关心的问题。”
"The bill was targeted at closing the loopholes that allowed for Canadian military equipment to be sold to another country but end up in Israel, so end up being used to kill Palestinians," said Casey in an interview with CBC News.
新民主党提出的这项关于武器控制的法案最终未能通过；15名自由党议员因此与政府立场相悖。凯西表示：“我的选民们非常关注这个问题。”他称，周四他接到了总理办公室（PMO）的电话，被告知自己将被替换。他形容与党派领袖及总理办公室的沟通非常直接，对方明确提到了他支持珍妮·关提出的法案这一事实。
NDP's U.S. arms-control bill fails, 15 Liberal MPs break rank with government Crown corp. reviewed U.S.-bound arms exports over potential transfer to Israel "That was the goal of the legislation. And that's what my constituents were concerned about." Casey said he received a call from the Atlantic desk of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Thursday saying that he was being replaced.
周五，总理办公室宣布由魁北克选区的议员索菲·查特尔（Sophie Chatel）接替凯西的职务。
He described the conversations with both the whip and the PMO as "direct" and clearly referencing his support for Kwan's bill.
议会秘书的年薪为20,900加元，比他们作为普通议员的基本工资（217,700加元）高出900加元；他们在公开活动中代表部长出席相关活动。
On Friday, the PMO announced that Quebec MP Sophie Chatel will replace Casey. Parliamentary secretaries make $20,900 above their base MP salary of $217,700 and represent the minister at public events.
凯西表示，在过去的六个月里，他一直在担心自己是否会受到任何纪律处分。“我始终遵守了对选民的承诺，投票支持了这项法案，但直到昨天才收到任何消息。”
Casey said over the past six months, he began to wonder whether he'd be disciplined at all. "I kept my word to my constituents and I voted in favour of the legislation and didn't hear anything from anyone until yesterday," he said.
“等了这么久，我都怀疑他们是不是把我忘掉了吧……”凯西表示，根据他的理解，非内阁成员的自由党议员应该有权对私人提案（即非政府提出的法案）进行自由投票——除非这些提案涉及实施自由党的政策、预算等关系到国家利益的重大议题，或者涉及《权利与自由宪章》所保障的公民权利。
"It took so darn long, I was kind of wondering if they forgot about me." Departure from Trudeau platform Casey said his understanding was that Liberal MPs outside of cabinet were entitled to a free vote on private member's bills, except in cases that involve implementing the Liberal platform, traditional confidence matters like the budget or instances that affected protections guaranteed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
这一规定明确写在2015年自由党竞选纲领中，正是该纲领帮助特鲁多领导的自由党赢得了大选。
This was explicitly laid out in the 2015 Liberal platform that brought the Trudeau Liberals to power.
“根据我在这届议会工作的15年经验来看，显然有一项规则被改变了，但我和许多同事都并不知情，”他说。
"Based on everything I knew in my 15 years here, there was a rule change that was unbeknownst to me and to many of my colleagues," he said.
总理办公室没有立即回应我们的评论请求。由于有十几名自由党议员支持关（Kwan）提出的法案，这次投票过程似乎并没有受到党派的强制干预（即没有党派强制要求议员必须投票支持或反对某个特定提案）；不过该法案最终还是未能通过。
The Prime Minister's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The vote did not appear to be whipped, given that more than a dozen Liberal MPs did support Kwan's bill, which ultimately failed. In a statement, Kwan said what happened to Casey is "distressing and should concern all Canadians."
关在一份声明中表示，凯西所遭遇的情况“令人担忧，应该引起所有加拿大人的重视”。她指出，这暴露了自由党政府在允许议员自由行使职权、代表选民利益方面的问题：“总理虽然口头上支持言论自由，但实际上却会利用权力压制不同意见。”
She said it raises questions about the Liberal government's commitment to allowing MPs to exercise their judgment and represent their constituents freely. "The prime minister talks a good talk, but in reality, he will wield his power to shut down dissent," she said. Casey said this will not prevent him from reflecting the will of his constituents in the House, saying "if anything, I'm freed a little bit to not have to toe the party line as strictly as is now apparently required."
凯西表示，这并不会影响他在议会中表达选民意愿的能力：“相反，现在我不再需要严格遵守党的路线了。”不过他仍然对总理表示“极大的尊重”，也对自由党怀有深厚的感情。“发生的一切丝毫没有改变我对自由党的看法，”他说。
But he said he continues to have "tremendous" respect for the prime minister and affection for the Liberal Party. "What has happened doesn't change that one iota," he said.