“I'm using humor and cheap shots about the attendance of other members to deflect from the real point. I'm arguing over the math about how many seats on a committee the other party should get. I want to distract from the government's main point, which is that they want to change the rules to limit debate and scrutiny. I'd rather bicker about technicalities than debate their power grab.”
What they said. What they meant.
Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.
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Government Business No. 9—Changes to the Standing Orders
A bill to remove federal barriers to interprovincial trade and improve labour mobility. During discussion, members mostly argued about parliamentary procedure, transparency, and majority vs. minority governments, rather than the substance of the bill.
“I want my party to have more seats on each committee than anyone else. I'm arguing over the math of committee seat counts to help my party keep control. I don't want the other parties to have too much power to cause trouble for our government.”
“We want to be able to claim we're collaborative. The fact a Conservative bill passed today helps prove that. Never mind that we just got an official majority. Focus on that example of cross-party agreement, not on how many seats we now have.”
“I want to talk about collaboration, so I don't have to mention our new majority. Don't worry about the power we just got. We'll keep working together. I have friends in every party. We serve Canadians.”
“I don't like this motion. It gives the government too much power. Committee work won't represent Canadians anymore. It will just push the Liberal view. People in my riding are feeling cynical about our democracy. The government should respect how Canadians voted. But the Liberals just want to push their agenda without working with others. It's shameful. I promise that Conservatives will keep fighting for Canadians.”
“I don't know why the other parties are so worried about this motion. The government deserves most of the power on committees. We were elected to lead. We will get our way on committees like past majority governments. The opposition can still complain and delay things. Why are they so scared? Maybe they aren't good at their jobs. We should get more power to pass our agenda.”
“Canadians voted for a minority government. They want us to keep the government on a short leash. This motion stops that. This motion gives the government too much power. Canadians didn't vote for that.”
“The government is doing something new. They made a minority government act like a majority government. They want more power in committees. They want to change how much time parties get to talk. Does my friend worry this means we won't find out about bad things the government did?”
“I don't like that the government changed from a minority to a majority. Canadians didn't vote for this! This will make Canadians distrust politics.”
“The government adding two more members to each committee to get a majority on them is an abuse of power. Conservatives would never do that.”
“I repeat: Conservative would never abuse power like the government is. The government is breaking democracy. People will become cynical and stop voting because of this. I saw a message from a young man who said he may never vote again because of what the government did. This is very bad.”
“You would do the same if our positions were reversed. You're being silly.”
“I am very angry that you are changing the rules. I think you are destroying democracy.”
“I'm filling time with kind words and saying nothing anyone could pin down later. I want to complain about my political opponents and their policies. I don't like what they're doing with committees. I think it's undemocratic. They should be held accountable. I'm going to talk about how expensive things are and blame it on the other party. They're not doing a good job.”
“That's a lot to respond to. First, on the Canada-US deal, we won't do what that Conservative MP did. He said Canada was just having an anti-American hissy fit. Our government will focus on getting the best deal for Canada. On committees, it's simple. If a party gets a majority of seats in the House, it gets a majority on committees. That's the way it's always been. We want collaboration. We even passed a Conservative bill first with our majority.”
“You're wrong. The government should give the opposition more influence on committees because many Canadians voted for the opposition.”
“The government said it would work with everyone but now it's changing the rules without asking us. That's bad. I want the government to talk to my party before it changes how committees work.”
“I think the government is just starting to change the rules without asking, and it will probably do it a lot more. I'm warning my colleagues to expect the government to act undemocratically.”
“The Liberals are trying to take too many seats on committees. They want 58.3% of the seats even though they only have 50.8% in the House. That's unreasonable. They should give up some committee chairs if they want more voting control.”
“The Liberals stole our official opposition powers. Canadians didn't vote for this. I'm sad about it.”