Canadian lawmaker removed from position after backing bill targeting arms exports to Israel

Canadian lawmaker removed from position after backing bill targeting arms exports to Israel MEE staff on Sat, 09/26/2026 - 10:47 Sean Casey was among 15 Liberal MPs who backed legislation seeking to close loopholes allowing Canadian military equipment to reach Israel Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne leave a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, 14 April 2026 (Andrej Ivanov/AFP) Off A Canadian Liberal Party lawmaker has said he was removed from his position as parliamentary secretary to the minister of veterans affairs after backing legislation aimed at regulating the country's arms exports to Israel.  Sean Casey, who represents Charlottetown in Prince Edward Island, told CBC News a Liberal whip warned him in March that supporting New Democratic Party lawmaker Jenny Kwan’s private member’s bill would mean his removal from the parliamentary secretary post. The bill was reportedly meant to close a loophole that allows Canadian-made military equipment to be exported to another country and then end up in Israel.  Casey said he supported the measure because of concerns raised by voters in his riding, although the bill was defeated in the House of Commons. Casey was the only one of the 15 Liberal MPs to vote for the bill, and the only one of them in a position as a parliamentary secretary. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); He said he was told of his removal during a call from the prime minister’s office on Thursday and was replaced by Quebec MP Sophie Chatel a day later. Kwan, who tabled the bill, said the episode was troubling and asked whether Liberal MPs were really free to vote as their constituents wanted. “A Parliamentary Secretary should not have to choose between doing their job and following their conscience,” Kwan said in a statement on her website. The government may oppose her bill, she added, but MPs “should not have to fear losing their pa