The prime minister was still on his way back from hosting the G7 in Kananaskis, and the Commons was moving along without him being there on a Wednesday. The other leaders were present, and Andrew Scheer did lead off today, and he returned to the party’s mendacious talking points about the supposed “insane” ban on gas-powered vehicles (which is not actually a ban), and he claimed that favourite vehicles will be “illegal,” and that the government is pricing people out of buying a vehicle. Julie Dabrusin started with the fact there is no ban, before lamenting that the Conservatives are talking down the auto sector at a time when it is under threat from Trump tariffs. Scheer insisted there is a ban, and that it would “devastate” the auto sector, blamed Carney for not getting a deal on tariffs with Trump, and claimed the “ban” on gas-powered vehicles would kill 90,000 jobs. Dabrusin praised the auto sector and praised the fact that EVs are cheaper to operate and maintain. Scheer then tried to tie this to a conspiracy about Brookfield and insisted this was about Carney’s private interests. Evan Solomon got up to recite a script about how much the government invested in the auto sector. Pierre Paul-Hus read the French script that this was taking away choice. Dabrusin reminded him that they are not banning vehicles, and that Quebec already has regulations about access ps to EVs. Paul-Hus claimed this was about trying to “control” Canadians, and Dabrusin repeated that they are not banning gas-powered vehicles, and that EVs are cheaper to maintain. Paul-Hus said that the government tried to “control” people through the carbon levy, and wanted this scrapped as well. Dabrusin called this out as absurd, and praised the auto sector.
Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and he decried the concessions made around the border and defence, and worried that the PM came away from the G7 “empty handed.” Dominic LeBlanc said that Carney’s meeting with Trump was “constructive,” and that he was convinced they made progress. Blanchet decried Bill C-5, and LeBlanc raised the tariff war and insisted that they would respect environmental regulations and First Nations. Blanchet insisted that C-5 wouldn’t do what they claim, and Chrystia Freeland stood up to take exception to this assertion.
Round two, and Brad Redekopp returned to the misleading EV script (Solomon: the auto sector is already under attack, don’t make it worse; MacKinnon: This line of question is absurd), Ziad Aboulatif read the same script (MacKinnon: Same answer), Kerry Diotte claimed the Liberals believe gas and diesel are “evil” (MacKinnon: Same answer), Matt Strauss accused the government of misleading that it wasn’t a ban (Dabrusin: Do you want to fight the unjustified tariffs or do you want to talk down a growing climate conscious sector in Canada), and Richard Martel read the script in French (MacKinnon: You’ve breathed the air of a Zamboni, and there is choice in Zamboni of being gas or electric powered, and we want to give people a choice in cars).
The assertion of the *need* for gas-powered vehicles coming from the Conservatives is overwrought theatre. #QP
— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2025-06-18T18:42:45.629Z
Jean-Denis Garon demanded a carbon rebate for Quebec, and if they don’t get it, then it was “stealing from Quebeckers” (MacKinnon: Quebec was not part of the levy; Dabrusin: The levy didn’t apply in Quebec, so the rebate doesn’t either).
Shelby Kramp-Neuman decried the housing situation (Robertson: We are well aware of the challenge of housing affordability, and people voted for us to build; van Koeverden: People remember people calling a woman’s house a shack, calling co-op housing “Soviet” and now they want to call modular housing “shipping containers” while he lives in taxpayer-funded government housing), Pat Kelly tutted about Robertson’s real estate holdings (MacKinnon: He lives under the ethics code all do; Robertson: Housing starts are up overall this year), Rosemarie Falk also decried Robertson’s holdings (van Koeverden: Poilievre lives in taxpayer-funded government housing).
Round three saw questions on fentanyl (Fraser: It’s incumbent to approach this with a level of seriousness, and not partisan games; It is beyond reprehensible to believe that some parties favour criminals over victims; Your MP at committee tried to make it easier for someone accused of intimate partner violence to get bail, and cares more about his social media clips), extortion (Anandasangaree: I want to thank the police who broke up that extortion ring in the tow truck industry; Fraser: Extortion is already a crime, and we want more resources for police), femicides in Quebec (Sahota: We will automatically revoke gun permits for those accused of intimate partner violence; Provost: This government worked tirelessly to reduce the danger of firearms), operational readiness in the Canadian Forces (McGuinty: We have tripled spending in the past decade, and we are investing in our defence policy update), BC Ferries buying ships from China (Freeland: I share the concern, but this is provincial jurisdiction; You seem confused as to jurisdiction but federally, the instruction is to buy Canadian and if they can’t, then from free-trade partners who allow access to their markets), Nova Scotia waiting to negotiate a pharmacare deal (Michel: We are working with the provinces to give the best healthcare system possible for Canadians).
The Conservatives seem to believe that the federal government can override a provincial decision. FFS #QP
— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2025-06-18T19:05:59.889Z
Overall, while the subject matter has been largely repetitive, not every question was asked equally. Andrew Scheer can’t seem to help himself, and not only to keep up the false premise of this question, but the fact that he spun out a conspiracy about Brookfield and Carney, which is always boggling. Why does he think this is a winning tactic? Is the conspiracy crowd online that much of a voter base that he feels the need to pander to them like this? I simply do not get it. We also got another round of the same talking points about crime and extortion, with the same gross oversimplications, ignorance of Charter rights, or of the very bills they want to repeal (reminder: The former Bill C-75, which the Conservatives have vilified, impose stricter bail conditions on those accused of domestic violence), and the ministers remain hit-and-miss at pointing any of these things out. Fraser will, but Ruby Sahota, as the secretary of state, just reads talking points that miss the moment, and it’s so frustrating to watch because there are replies that could be made that they just refuse to give.
Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Ben Carr for a blue suit over a white shirt and a light blue tie, and to Melissa Lantsman for a navy jacket with a pink grid pattern over a white collarless shirt and black slacks. Style citations go out to Alana Hirtle for a white leather jacket with pink, blue and yellow panels and eighties-style printed faces across it (maybe Bananarama?) over a black top and slacks, and to Scott Anderson for a dark green taupe jacket over a grey taupe shirt, dark blue slacks, and a navy tie. Special mention goes out to Fraser Tolmie for a bright pink jacket with a dark blue pocket square over a light blue shirt and dark blue jeans without a tie.