PC caucus will need 'change in tone' to get along with federal Liberals: MP Casey

Charlottetown's Liberal MP is raising doubts about whether the "collaborative tone" ofP.E.I.'s premier-designateactually spells good news for federal-provincial relations.

MP Sean Casey says while he's encouraged to hear PC Leader DennisKing say he wants to work with the federal Liberals,he questions whether some of King's returningcaucus members will be as willing.

"I tell you where I have some very very serious concerns, and that's whether Dennis King is going to be able to manage his caucus," said Casey.

"He strikes a very collaborative tone, which is completely, totally at odds with how we saw the caucus [members] carry themselves.... Regularly, I had Steven Myers taking pot shots at me on Twitter, and Jamie Fox chiming in, apparently for no good reason."

When CBC asked for specific examples, Casey produced a half-dozenTwitter posts and hansard transcriptions from the legislature.

In one statement in the legislature, Myerssaid "we all know meeting with Sean Casey is a useless task to get anything done."

None of that really served any purpose whatsoever. MP Sean Casey

On Twitter, Myers has called Casey "#silentSean," accused of him offering "#noleadership," and of having "no pull in Ottawa," among other criticisms.

"None of that really served any purpose whatsoever," said Casey."Idon't see how that advanced their cause, and it certainly won't now that they're on the other side of the aisle.... So there will have to be a change in tone for this to work."

Malpeque MP Wayne Easter the only other Island MP to weigh in appears more forgiving.

Easter said while he's also been the target ofcriticism from PC MLAs, that's to be expected.

Criticism 'not a problem': Easter

"I think it's the responsibility of members of Parliament, and MLAs to really fight the best they can for their constituents," said Easter.

"And if that means challenging each other once in a while, that's not a problem. That goes with the territory, I understand that."

Neither Myers norFox returned calls on this issue but King said he expects the federal-provincial relationship to remain positive.

"Sometimes in the past in politics, people have said things and acted in such a way.... You know what, thatis what it is," King said.

"I think we're in a new time or in a new era of politics and I expect that will be reflected in how we conduct ourselves in the legislature going forward."

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