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By all accounts, Calandra did not appreciate this line of inquiry from McKay and interrupted by asking why past Liberal governments hadn’t shown the same concern about the well-being of farmers that they now have for bees.

“I don’t give a shit about the bumble bees,” Calandra said, in McKay’s recollection, as the bureaucrats looked on agog. In Calandra’s telling, he said something to the effect of, “You should also try giving a shit about the farmers.”

Either way, Calandra then grabbed his bag and left the meeting to attend a vote in the House of Commons.

The unpleasantness continued the following day in the House chamber during debate on the bill. Calandra claims McKay called him “a scumbag” — off mic, apparently — to which Calandra yelled back something about the comment not being particularly Christian.

McKay calls the remark “another stupid Calandra explosion” and added, “It was one of those moments when you want to go over and be every unChristian in your response.”

McKay and Calandra have some personal history. McKay thumped him in the 2000 election, when Calandra ran as a Canadian Alliance candidate.

But Calandra says he thinks McKay is a good MP and a decent guy and ascribes the incident to the usual to-and-fro of debate over a bill.

Doubtless, we can write this off to the accumulated tensions surfacing in the dying days of the session.

See you all in September.