In the House of Commons Wednesday Prime Minister Mark Carney and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre sparred for the first time since the Liberals gained a majority.

The Conservative proposal to scrap fuel taxes for the rest of the year was voted down by the Liberals.

Mark Carney announced this week that the federal excise tax would be cut saving 10 cents a litre on gasoline and 4 cents a litre on diesel from April 20th until September 7th.

Green Party leader Elizabeth May had a different take on the excise tax after she said she just read that big oil and gas companies are making $30 million an hour because of the wars.

“So why are we deciding to get rid of the excise tax on gas instead of an excess profit tax on the companies that are raking in the dough due to war?”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Mark Carney timed his partial temporary gas tax pause until labour day to save Canadian drivers precisely net zero from today’s prices. He says the switch to summer fuel hikes gas prices by 10 cents per litre.

On the international front, in an interview with the Associated Press, the International Energy Agency Executive Director said disruptions from the U.S.-Israel-Iran war, which erupted in late February, have choked the vital waterway carrying 20 per cent of global oil and blocked supplies to Europe.

Fatih Birol says without quick action, flight cancellations could start soon in Europe, with refineries unable to fully compensate for the 20 to 30 per cent of jet fuel Europe imports from the region.

Birol called it the largest energy crisis ever, predicting global price surges in gasoline, gas, and electricity