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Charlottetown MP Sean Casey told CBC News he was removed from his position as parliamentary secretary to the minister of veterans affairs after he supported an NDP private member’s bill targeting arms export controls. In March the Liberal whip warned Casey that voting for the legislation would lead to his dismissal from the post. Casey was one of 15 Liberal MPs who backed the measure but the only parliamentary secretary among them when the bill was defeated at second reading on March 11, 2026. The NDP legislation known as Bill C-233 or the No More Loopholes Act sought to eliminate an exemption for exports to the United States.
The bill would have required Canadian defence shipments to the United States to undergo the same permit reviews and human-rights risk assessments applied to other destinations according to a JURIST report on the legislation. “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” Casey said in an interview with CBC News. “That was the goal of the legislation. And that’s what my constituents were concerned about.” Casey described his conversations with the whip and the Prime Minister’s Office as direct and clearly tied to his vote.
A telephone call from the Atlantic desk of the Prime Minister’s Office on Thursday informed Casey that Quebec MP Sophie Chatel would replace him in the role according to his account to CBC News. The Prime Minister’s Office has declined to comment on the matter. NDP MP Jenny Kwan called the episode troubling and said it raised questions about whether Liberal MPs could vote according to the wishes of their constituents without facing consequences.
Canada halted new permits for the export of military goods to Israel in January 2024 citing concerns over its military campaign in Gaza. A Globe and Mail report placed the decision in the context of broader bilateral tensions that later included Israel’s withdrawal of its defence attaché from Ottawa. A November 2025 report by the Arms Embargo Now coalition documented hundreds of shipments of Canadian-made F-35 components and explosives that reached Israel through U.S. intermediaries despite the restrictions.
Fifteen Liberal MPs ultimately voted in favour of the NDP bill including former environment minister Steven Guilbeault and Scarborough Centre MP Salma Zahid. The legislation failed to pass but highlighted divisions within the governing party under Prime Minister Mark Carney according to a separate CBC News account of the March vote. Roughly half of Canada’s defence exports benefit from the U.S. exemption that bypasses individual case-by-case oversight.
Casey had served as parliamentary secretary to the minister of veterans affairs before the change took effect. Kwan’s bill followed earlier attempts to address how Canadian artillery propellants and other materiel had been destined for Israel through the United States. The episode has drawn attention to the balance between party discipline and representation on foreign policy issues.
