Nova Scotia MP Bill Casey spoke his last words this afternoon in the House of Commons ending a career in Parliament that lasted 6,149 days.
“I want to say how proud I've been to be in Parliament,” Casey said in the House after the conclusion of Question Period.
Casey, a gentlemanly sort who is popular among MPs and journalists, was first elected as a Progressive Conservative in 1988, arriving on the wave the swept Brian Mulroney to office. He lost when his party was nearly wiped out with Kim Campbell as leader but then was re-elected. He became a Conservative when his PC party merged with the Canadian Alliance but quit that caucus and party after Prime Minister Stephen Harper's first budget in 2006. Casey felt that that budget broke an agreement Ottawa had with Nova Scotia on equalization payments. He has been sitting as an Independent ever since.
Casey represented the northwestern Nova Scotia riding of Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley.
“He demonstrated a tremendous high-road, human approach of what it means to be a Parliamentarian,” said Defence Minister (and neighbouring MP) Peter MacKay, in a tribute that followed Casey's speech. Geoff Regan, the Liberal MP from Halifax, also paid tribute, saying he served with “dignity, respect, and honour” and was a role model to many MPs. NDP MP Peter Stoffer, who is also a Nova Scotia MP, also paid tribute to Casey.
Though Casey leaves the Commons, he will stay in Ottawa. He has been hired by the Province of Nova Scotia to keep an eye on the federal government and effectively be Nova Scotia's ambassador in Ottawa.