“The government lets bad things happen on purpose to make its delaying look good.”
What they said. What they meant.
Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.
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Oral Questions
International Trade
A House of Commons debate on international trade. The Conservatives criticized the Liberal government for failing to remove U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, while the Liberals defended their approach of seeking the best trade deals and working to diversify Canada's trade partners beyond the U.S. Much of the discussion focused on the impacts of tariffs on specific industries and regions in Canada.
“I cheer for our government. We have the best deal. We talk to many, many people. Everyone in Canada works together and agrees. We will make Canada strong.”
“You messed up. Huge tariffs hurt workers. A deal with Ecuador won't fix it. Your delays closed a plant in your own riding. Stop stalling and help Canadian workers.”
“Canada relies too much on trade with one country. We will make it strong by signing random deals with every country we can. I will list many deals to sound busy.”
“The economy is not good and the government has done nothing useful about it. Steel and lumber cost more because of tariffs. Mexico made a better deal than us. I will blame the Prime Minister for all of it.”
“The government wants you to think increasing exports a little more to China is good. They hope touting a plan to sell more things to more countries will make you forget that we still haven't dealt with the U.S. tariffs.”
“Canadians need more than the government's kind words. I want the government to actually fix this trade problem. The government should do its real job and get U.S. tariffs removed. Canadian workers need a plan that gets results.”
“We won't tell you the plan. We are doing some work. We will get a good trade deal eventually. We're negotiating secretly. That's all you need to know.”
“I want you to feel bad for workers. I'm blaming you for their problems. I say you don't put workers first. I want you to tell us your secret plan.”
“I deny we're to blame. Deflect to other programs. Our programs are good. I say we are helping workers. I don't accept your premise.”
“It has been 278 days. The Prime Minister is not at the table. When will we get the promised trade deal?”
“We have a trade deal. It's called CUSMA. We are at the table talking. We won't settle for a bad deal. We will support impacted industries and workers. The Conservatives would have folded in 2018.”
“You say our trade with the US is bad. But it's huge and valuable! You're the problem, not that trade.”
“I ignore your point about trade with the US being valuable. I say it's good that we make many agreements with other countries. I want everyone to praise us for those instead.”
“These tariffs hurt workers in my riding. The government should do something about that!”
“The tariffs are lower than you said. We've made some changes to help the industry. We should keep doing that.”
“The Prime Minister said he would fix things. He hasn't. I want him to get us a better deal now.”
“I'm filling time by talking about how great things are instead of answering the question. I want help, but I'm not actually saying how we'll get a better trade deal.”