“You've been here over an hour. You say a lot but never answer our questions. Did the screen apply to that one clause or not?”
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.
“Did you really think no one would notice you dodging yes-or-no on that one clause? Try again.”
“I'm going to ask you a specific yes-or-no question about your actions so there's no way you can dodge this.”
“You're hiding something. I want you to give us that letter so we can expose you.”
“You say you had a screen to stop your conflict. But your department hired someone else connected to your company. Did the screen apply to that guy too?”
“I didn't accuse you of anything. I just repeated your own words back to you. Did Finance Canada hire an outside contractor for the 2025 budget speech, yes or no?”
“I want you to admit that you hired Frank Baylis's sister-in-law. I already know that you did. I demand that you say it out loud.”
“You should answer the question. I think there's a problem here. I want to know if you did anything about it.”
“It looks like the government is wasting money buying land for a project that isn't even approved yet. Taxpayers shouldn't be on the hook for this.”
“I'm going to point out that the minister is avoiding questions and imply he's hiding something. Does this bill let the government or its friends make money off land they shouldn't?”
“The government should tell taxpayers how much it's spending to buy all this land.”
“You talk and talk but never answer simple questions. I ask again: are taxpayers taking all the risk for your 'public-private partnership'? Yes or no?”
“You're putting all the risk on the public and all the profit in private hands. Is this even a real partnership? I'm not sure you know what the word means.”
“The government wants more power to collect information on airports. Has it told Parliament how much the airports are worth?”
“If airports get sold off to private owners, they'll suck out all the money for profit, raise fees on people flying, and leave the airports with no money to fix things. This is a bad idea.”
“You say you want to help the economy, but it got worse when you were in charge before. I think you made bad choices that made companies want to leave Canada. I want you to admit you were wrong.”
“You're dodging my actual question. Tell me the number I want. How much money left Canada while you were in charge?”
“You didn't answer my question. I'll say it simply. One trillion dollars left Canada. That is the most money that has ever left Canada in history. That's $25,000 for every person here. Do you think that's okay?”
“Do you think it's okay that a trillion investment dollars left Canada while you were in charge?”
“You are dodging my question about investment fleeing Canada. I'm pinning the blame on you personally. Do you accept responsibility for a trillion dollars leaving Canada on your watch?”