Bitter divisions inside Stephen Harper's cabinet over Toronto Mayor Rob Ford recently erupted on the floor of the House of Commons and triggered a profane battle between two of the prime minister's most powerful ministers.
Several cabinet and caucus sources said Finance Minister Jim Flaherty was unable to hold back his fury after Employment Minister Jason Kenney became the first member of Harper's cabinet to call on Ford to resign on Nov. 19.
The finance minister, who is an old friend of the Ford family, got word of Kenney's public upbraiding of Ford and confronted his cabinet colleague once the two were seated in the Commons for the daily question period.
In a voice loud enough for several of their cabinet colleagues to hear, Flaherty told Kenney to "shut the f--k up" about Ford.
Kenney responded angrily in kind, and although the two men were separated by four other ministers, alarmed caucus colleagues, who requested anonymity, were concerned the bilious debate might escalate beyond their control.
"I thought they might come to blows," said one MP who was not authorized to speak publicly about the incident.
Another MP said there was shock at the sight of two senior ministers battling in such a public way.
"It made other caucus members feel awkward," the MP said. "Jim was very emotional and he is very protective of Ford."
[...]
There have been other examples of escalating tension between caucus members spilling onto the floor of the House.
This past week, Conservative MP Kyle Seeback apologized for calling fellow Conservative Brad Butt a "bitch" during a loud exchange on the Commons floor.
"It was more like a locker room than the House of Parliament," one witness said privately.
The next day, Seeback rose in his seat to deal with the situation.
“Mr. Speaker, yesterday I used some very unparliamentary language in the chamber and for that I unreservedly apologize," Seeback said.
It is unclear what caused that flare-up between the two MPs.
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Christ, guys. This is the House of Commons, not a locker room. Get it together. I'm especially looking at you, Conservative Party of Canada, since both incidents involved your jocks.
