5 things you need to know this morning: June 20, 2025

Start your day off right with five things you need to know this morning.

Five things you need to know

1. MPs to leave Ottawa today for 3-month summer vacation after voting on projects bill

Happy times for the 343 men and women fortunate enough to be MPs – they're about to go on a long summer vacation, despite having only recently returned to work. The blessed few (base annual salary: $209,800), who will have their feet up until mid-September, are set to vote on the controversial Bill C-5, the centrepiece of Mark Carney's plan to "build, baby, build" today.

Parliament set to rise today, with MPs to vote on controversial major projects billhttps://t.co/BRvX3oIKqh

— CityNews Halifax (@CityNewsHFX) June 20, 2025

2. Anita Anand praises herself as 'action-oriented' in fawning Canadian Press article

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand has been given an opportunity to speak about herself at length in a fawning article by the Canadian Press news agency. The minister, who has already been severely criticized for her remarks about the Hamas-Israel war, praised herself as "action-oriented" and said she enjoys having "difficult responsibilities," adding: "We have so much work to do and we cannot waste any time doing it."

‘We cannot waste any time’: Anand promises ‘action’ and reform in foreign affairs https://t.co/EjzreXKSF0

— CP24 (@CP24) June 20, 2025

3. Quebec downgrades projections of emissions reduction, blames Trump

Quebec has said it has been forced to scale back its projections for greenhouse gas emissions reductions because of Donald Trump. The province said the US had created a "challenging environment for advancing climate action," which "does not allow the deployment of measures as quickly and effectively as planned."

Quebec dials back emissions projections due to global uncertainty https://t.co/SSFpIfs2U0

— CTV National News (@CTVNationalNews) June 20, 2025

4. AFN chief not satisfied after Liberals back down on Bill C-5 measure

The federal government has backed down in the face of relentless pressure from First Nations leaders over a measure in Bill C-5 that would have allowed Ottawa to sidestep the Indian Act. The Liberals said they would remove that power from the bill, which is designed to speed up the completion of infrastructure projects, but Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Nepinak Woodhouse has not been placated, arguing the changes don't go far enough.

Federal power to sidestep Indian Act removed from major projects bill https://t.co/ir5Zx6k8qL pic.twitter.com/QfLyPcEafw

— Toronto Sun (@TheTorontoSun) June 19, 2025

5. Anti-Israel activists break into UK's largest air base, vandalize military planes

The British government has launched a security review of its military bases after anti-Israel activists broke into the country's largest air force station and vandalized military planes. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the intrusion at RAF Brize Norton was "disgraceful"

BREAKING: Palestine Action break into RAF Brize Norton and damage two military aircrafts.

Flights depart daily from the base to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.

From Cyprus, British planes collect intelligence, refuel fighter jets and transport weapons to commit genocide in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/zzmFqGKW8N

— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) June 20, 2025