Tories accuse PM of thinking about Brookfield's 'bottom line' with EV mandate

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OTTAWA — While Canada prepares to launch a decade-long ban on the sale of new gas-powered vehicles next year, the Conservatives are accusing the PM of having more on his mind than climate change.

During question period on Wednesday, Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer accused Prime Minister Mark Carney of thinking more about the bottom line of his former employer in allowing his government to go ahead with the contentious Justin Trudeau-era policy.

“Canadians, autoworkers, Ford, GM — they all don’t want the EV mandate, but the prime minister’s intent on pushing it through,” Scheer said.

“Why? Well, right before becoming prime minister he was chair of Brookfield and he advocated for a ban on gas-powered cars. Brookfield is heavily invested in the EV supply chain. If this prime minister refuses to reveal his financial interests or self-admitted conflicts — isn’t it true that this isn’t about the environment, this is about the bottom line for Brookfield?”

Carney’s financial holdings were a sore spot during his run at the Liberal leadership and subsequent federal election, lashing out at several reporters who asked him about it — repeatedly insisting that all of his publicly traded assets were placed in a blind trust.

As of Dec. 31, disclosures by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed Carney held just under $7 million US in unexercised stock options in Brookfield Asset Management.

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In response, AI Minister Evan Solomon completely ducked the questions about his party leader’s portfolio, instead talking up his government’s efforts to protect auto-sector jobs from leaving Canada and the investments made by Canada in automakers.

“We have invested in the auto sector, including the EV sector, to build good jobs in places like St. Thomas,” he said, referring to the Ontario city’s $7-billion Volkswagen battery plant, which is under construction.

“This government will always invest in workers and make sure that the auto industry is growing, resilient and successful.”

This was the second straight day the Conservatives hammered the government over EV mandates, which will require 100% of all new cars sold by 2035 to be electric.

On Tuesday, Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin accused the Tories of taking unfair aim at Canada’s auto industry by demanding an end to the mandates, clearly unaware that Canada’s auto industry is against the policy, which by next year will require 20% of new car sales to be EVs.

In a news conference earlier this year, Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association president Brian Kingston described the EV mandates as “complete fantasy” and legislation dictating which cars Canadians can and cannot buy as a “made-in-Canada policy failure.”

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume