Analysis · Debate reply · beta

Jean-Denis Garon

Bloc Québécois on Canadian Fuel Affordability Act 2026-09-22

289 words · 18 sentences · 22 clauses

Replying to Greg Fergus (Liberal)

“Madam Speaker, I listened to my colleague with great interest, and I congratulate him. I would like to warmly welcome my hon. colleague back to the House. He talked about what is worth discussing. I have two very clear questions to ask him, and I hope he can answer them very clearly and unequivocally. First, I believe that the Parti Québécois supports or is calling for the suspension of the excise tax on gasoline. Will the Bloc Québécois support the Parti Québécois on this issue? I also have a second very quick question. He spoke at great length and in great detail, but I would just like to know how he is going to vote.”

Statement grade

B–

72 / 100, held down by Relevance

A score under 50 is red. Choose a measurement to see where it lost points and why; choose it again to clear.

Promise 10%Claims 46%Reasoning 28%Procedure 6%Positioning 2%The ask 7%

This view breaks the statement into its steps and names what each one does.

Madam Speaker, Promise · 30 wordsfirst of all, we are certainly going to vote to send it to committee. We do not want to see the bill defeated; we want to send it to committee. Claims · 4 wordsThat is our job. Reasoning · 35 wordsConsidering that the member was Speaker of the House himself for a brief moment, he is well aware that this needs to go to committee so that we can perform our parliamentary work with diligence. Claims · 28 wordsMembers will recall that we voted in support of this measure last April.¹ What I am saying is that here, unlike Quebec City, we implemented and applied it. Reasoning · 10 wordsThat is why we need to know where it stands. Procedure · 17 wordsNow, I may be mistaken. The member may be monitoring things even more closely than I am.Procedure Claims · 42 wordsAll parties in the Quebec National Assembly have a plan to balance the budget, ²yet here we are talking about $5.3 billion while the government keeps digging itself into a deeper fiscal hole year after year.³ Trump is not the only cause. Positioning · 5 wordsMy colleague opposite saw that.Positioning Claims · 8 wordsThe hole is getting deeper by the year. Reasoning · 37 wordsIf the federal government had a plan to return to a balanced budget, if public finances were healthier, if things had been managed differently in all the years since 2015, this would be an entirely different conversation.Off point Claims · 33 wordsI think that the parties in Quebec City that are proposing this or other measures have included it in a comprehensive framework to fight poverty and help people with the cost of living. The ask · 21 wordsThat is exactly what we are asking for. What we are saying is that it must be part of a whole. Claims · 19 wordsI think all the parties in Quebec City that are proposing this or other measures have made the effort.Partly on point

At a glance

Lost points for

Switch Claims on to list the checkable claims here.

What the tags mean

Signal · 86

3 of 15 deductions are Signal

Signal checks whether every part makes a point, gives a reason, or asks for action. A low score means the speaker filled time with fluff, pleasantries, or attacks.

Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “Now, I may be mistaken.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “The member may be monitoring things even more closely than I am.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “My colleague opposite saw that.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.

Relevance · 42

12 of 15 deductions are Relevance

Relevance checks whether the speaker stays on topic and answers the question asked. A low score means the speaker dodged the issue. Measured against the point put to the member, and the bill under debate.

Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate.What the tags mean “All parties in the Quebec National Assembly have a plan to balance the budget,”About the Quebec parties’ budget plans and the federal deficit, not the bill or the questions asked.
Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate.What the tags mean “yet here we are talking about $5.3 billion while the government keeps digging itself into a deeper fiscal hole year after year.”About the size of the federal deficit, not the bill or the questions asked.
Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate.What the tags mean “Trump is not the only cause.”About causes of the fiscal hole, not the bill or the questions asked.
Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate.What the tags mean “My colleague opposite saw that.”About the member across the floor and the deficit, not the bill or the questions asked.
Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate.What the tags mean “The hole is getting deeper by the year.”About the federal deficit, not the bill or the questions asked.
Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate.What the tags mean “If the federal government had a plan to return to a balanced budget,”About the absence of a federal balanced-budget plan, not the bill or the questions asked.
Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate.What the tags mean “if public finances were healthier,”About the state of public finances, not the bill or the questions asked.
Talking about something other than the matter at hand: the question asked, or the bill, motion or speech under debate.What the tags mean “if things had been managed differently in all the years since 2015, this would be an entirely different conversation.”About fiscal management since 2015, not the bill or the questions asked.
Staying near the subject without addressing the matter at hand: what was asked, or what the bill, motion or speech is about.What the tags mean “I think that the parties in Quebec City that are proposing this or other measures have included it in a comprehensive framework to fight poverty and help people with the cost of living.”About Quebec parties’ broader cost-of-living frameworks, which touches the bill’s subject but does not answer the questions asked.
Staying near the subject without addressing the matter at hand: what was asked, or what the bill, motion or speech is about.What the tags mean “That is exactly what we are asking for.”About asking for a comprehensive framework, touching the bill’s subject without answering how he will vote or whether he supports the PQ position.
Staying near the subject without addressing the matter at hand: what was asked, or what the bill, motion or speech is about.What the tags mean “What we are saying is that it must be part of a whole.”About the measure being part of a whole, touching the bill’s subject without answering the questions asked.
Staying near the subject without addressing the matter at hand: what was asked, or what the bill, motion or speech is about.What the tags mean “I think all the parties in Quebec City that are proposing this or other measures have made the effort.”About Quebec parties’ efforts on cost-of-living measures, touching the bill’s subject without answering the questions asked.

Respect · 100

0 of 15 deductions are Respect

Respect checks whether the speaker argued with people’s positions and records rather than attacking the people: insults, mockery, or bad motives assigned to them. Criticism of what someone did, however strong, is not marked.

Nothing lost points.

Clarity · 100

0 of 15 deductions are Clarity

Clarity checks for plain speaking, clear ownership of actions, and honest limits on certainty. A low score means vague promises or evasive language.

Nothing lost points.

Claims · 3

This list shows the factual statements you can check for yourself: the words as said, and the claim restated to stand on its own.

1“we voted in support of this measure last April”The Bloc Québécois voted in support of the fuel excise tax suspension measure in April 2026.search
2“All parties in the Quebec National Assembly have a plan to balance the budget”All parties in the Quebec National Assembly have a plan to balance the budget.search
3“$5.3 billion”The federal fiscal figure under discussion is $5.3 billion.search

Analysed on 2026-10-20