“I don't want to talk about that Honda plant. Sure, it closed, but plans get delayed everywhere. We're investing now so all that stuff will pay off eventually. You just wait.”
What they said. What they meant.
Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.
Recent debates
8 latest topics
Spring Economic Update 2026 Implementation Act
57 statements
Spring Economic Update 2026 Implementation Act
19 statements
Arab Heritage Month Act
5 statements
The Economy
15 statements
Government Priorities
2 statements
Government Priorities
2 statements
Housing
12 statements
The Environment
2 statements
Government Orders
Business of Supply
A wide-ranging bill to implement the Spring 2026 Economic Update, touching on everything from tax deductions for tradespeople to aviation fuel taxes to beer excise duty rates. In 5 hours of debate, MPs mostly grilled the Finance Minister on unrelated topics like ride-sharing regulation, StatsCan data collection, and election promises from 2015. Some substantive questions were asked about domestic investment levels and the bill's housing provisions, but mostly talk went in circles without many direct answers.
“I'm going to ignore your question and just repeat my talking points.”
“You ask hard questions about our electric car mandate. I won't give specifics. I'll just say nice things about the auto industry instead. Who cares about details? We should all cheer and feel good.”
“I want the government to create this new wealth fund. It will be great. It will follow best practices and be independent. I didn't say how much it will cost.”
“Youth unemployment is bad. My team has a big plan with a big number. We'll do it for the children. Vote for us.”
“Youth unemployment is bad in many countries. Our government wants to look like it is doing something.”
“You say there's a youth unemployment crisis. I say our government has a plan. Our big plan will help young people get jobs in trades. This is the kind of thing that helps youth. We can always do more for young people. We want to support them.”
“You say I haven't answered any questions. I've been answering questions for three hours. Have you answered questions for three hours? We need to cut red tape. We're taking action to support youth.”
“I'm very happy about immigration. Immigrants are all the best and brightest. Canadians are nice people who welcome everyone. We brought immigration down to a good level.”
“I want to compliment the minister and ask for a small policy change. A company in my riding wants to use Canadian wind towers, but it's hard for them because of the surtax. Can the minister change the rule for companies that already have a contract? I know it's a difficult balance.”
“I want to compliment the member for Kings—Hants and thank him for his support. The government is trying to find the right balance between supporting a key industry and allowing projects to go forward. I want to thank him for his leadership in informing the government on how to strike this balance.”
“I want to change the subject to talk about how great we are. We did a little thing with a few social programs. And there's a tiny change to how much we take from workers' paycheques. Isn't that great? I want the minister to agree with me that this tiny payroll tax cut is a big deal for small businesses. It's not much, but I want people to think we're helping.”
“I want to change the subject too. Let's spend time thanking staff instead of responding to your motion. I also want you to agree that our tiny payroll tax cut is a big deal. It's not much, but all the provinces said yes. Look, we all worked together! That's the real story here.”
“I want to brag about my riding. I like a subsidy for my wine makers. Spend money on my program. The minister should praise wine makers everywhere. Cheers to us!”
“I want to praise my team. Praise farmers everywhere. Farmers are important. My colleagues know about farming. My party is great at farming policy. Let's celebrate my great team.”
“I have so many wonderful colleagues. I'm going to praise them now. My colleagues are great champions. Let me ask a question. We need to change how we regulate food and pesticides. Many powerful agencies are involved. We want to add economic costs to their decisions. There are lots of important factors to balance. This is part of our broad economic plans. Our party is really focusing on this. We support farmers by looking at how our regulations work. Regulations are important to our plans. I want the minister to talk about this. This is part of our big agenda.”
“I want to praise my colleagues at length. They are so amazing. The hour is late but the questions are so good. I want to especially praise the member for Peterborough. She is such a great farmer. Thank you for your expertise. All the farmers in this country should feel good. We celebrate you. Food security is very important. We know that there are many connections between food security and other kinds of security. We import a lot of our food. But we have plans to grow more food in Canada. I want to thank my colleague for showing me some greenhouses. Both of my colleagues are so amazing.”
“I want the minister to say Canada's finances are good so Canadians will like us.”
“I'm filling time with kind words and saying nothing anyone could pin down later.”
“I want to praise my party and talk about how we are helping the fishing industry in Atlantic Canada. The government should spend a lot of money on small craft harbours.”