What they said. What they meant.

Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.

Recent debates

8 latest topics

Government Orders

Business of Supply

A debate on the government's proposal for a 'Canada Strong' sovereign wealth fund, which the opposition argues is not a real sovereign wealth fund since the government has no budget surplus to fund it with. The Conservatives and Bloc both criticized it heavily as expensive, based on debt not surplus, and likely to distort markets by having government pick winners and losers. The Liberals defended it as far-sighted leadership investing in Canadian growth and potential.

Official Hansard ↗

Hon. Arielle Kayabaga

Liberal
“You Conservatives just oppose everything we do. You vote against our ideas so you must be against Canada. Everything we say is for Canada. Why do you keep voting against Canada?”
Our translation 60% shorter

Shannon Stubbs

Conservative
“Stop attacking our motives. We all care about Canada here. I'm asking you to explain how this fund would work. You should answer those questions.”
Our translation 84% shorter

Dan Muys

Conservative
“Canada used to have a rich middle class but now we have the lowest private sector investment in the OECD. That's because of our taxes and regulation. We opened a Major Projects Office to help with this. In less than a year, other countries expanded LNG capacity. But we haven't started building anything yet.”
Our translation 53% shorter

Shannon Stubbs

Conservative
“I want to thank Dan for advocating for energy development and affordability. The Major Projects Office is just another example of the government making big promises but not delivering. In 2015, for the first time in Canadian history, capital started flowing from Canada into the U.S. instead of the other way around. The Major Projects Office hasn't designated a single project in the national interest. Most of the projects it's announcing have already been built or gone through regulators. The Liberals are not delivering on their promises to cut red tape and interprovincial trade barriers.”
Our translation 58% shorter

Xavier Barsalou-Duval

Bloc Québécois
“I am talking a lot but not making a clear point. I want the government to spend money on something new.”
Our translation 75% shorter

Shannon Stubbs

Conservative
“I don't like how the government spends money. They make things expensive. We should make them tell us what they are doing. They want too much control. They aren't helping anyone.”
Our translation 79% shorter