“I don't like the Conservative plan. It won't work. Their plan costs a lot. How will they pay? The debt is already too high. What will they cut? Who will they tax?”
What they said. What they meant.
Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.
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Business of Supply
A debate on a Conservative motion to lower fuel prices and costs of living. The Conservatives said the government isn't doing enough to help Canadians struggling with high gas prices and inflation. The Bloc accused both the Liberals and Conservatives of being too pro-oil. The Liberals touted their existing affordability measures and accused the Conservatives of failing to support them.
“You speak English well. But your gas tax holiday helps the rich more than the poor. Why did you decide to favor the rich?”
“I want to look good too. I'll explain why my party is voting against this motion. It's mostly because we don't like oil and gas companies or the Conservatives and Liberals who support them. The motion might make the deficit bigger and let oil companies raise prices more. I'm repeating this over and over to make it look like a really long speech. I don't like that a temporary gas tax cut helped rich people more than poor people. The Conservatives want to add billions more to the deficit by cutting gas taxes even more until 2026. I think the rich have enough already. Why should we help oil companies more when their stocks are already up 50% this year? It's sad that the other parties want to help those CEOs instead of real people.”
“I think the government's program is deceptive. They just changed the name and now pretend it helps with groceries. That's dishonest. I agree with my party that the carbon tax hurts poor people most. The government shouldn't trick people like that.”
“The Conservatives and Liberals both defend oil and gas companies. The Conservatives criticize Liberal deficits. But they propose a measure that makes deficits even worse! Why are Conservatives now bigger spenders than Liberals? Why do they want to run larger deficits?”
“I want to pile on: conservatives always help oil companies. It costs taxpayers a lot and they don't care. Liberals spend lots on oil too. But Conservatives are even more eager to spend big helping oil companies. They never help ordinary people.”
“I want you to admit Quebec got nothing out of that carbon tax deal. We sent money out to the rest of Canada and got nothing back. Admit that!”
“The Liberals are doing what the Conservatives want, but even more. The Conservatives have no real ideas left, so they can only make weak noises and look useless. I really enjoy pointing this out.”
“I agree our grocery benefit is a good targeted program. I want to say the real bad targeting is on oil companies and pipelines. Oil companies get too much. Did the Prime Minister give them money on purpose because he owns shares? His deficits help rich corporations the most.”
“I'm not an economist. But I think when we cut gas taxes, companies just kept the money as profit and raised prices again. Why are gas prices rising when our oil isn't from the Strait of Hormuz? Gas companies shouldn't raise prices unless they have to.”
“I think oil companies are just out to make a buck. When we tried to cut gas taxes, they just took the money and kept prices high. It doesn't matter if oil gets more expensive somewhere else in the world, they'll always find an excuse to raise prices here. Giving tax cuts just helps the companies, not drivers.”
“I like working with you. But I don't like everything the government does. The government is spending less money on public transit. That's bad. The government is spending money on oil companies. That's really bad. Spending money on oil companies is worse now than under Harper. That's very bad.”
“I want to control prices. Oil companies might raise their prices. That makes me sad. I want the government to control who benefits from lower taxes. Only some people should get lower taxes. Not everyone should get lower taxes. Especially rich people. I don't like that they might use more gas.”
“You say you want to help people afford gas. But your plan would make the deficit even bigger. How can you say you care about the deficit when you want to spend $5 billion to help oil companies instead of people?”
“You say Conservatives are right-wing, but I think Liberals are right-wing too. I think a tax cut helps the rich and oil companies. Oil companies didn't really lower prices. I think they just kept the money.”
“I want to correct the record. Calling the Conservatives far right is wrong and cheapens our language. The two parties are not the same. Look, the Liberal government does many similar things to the Conservatives. If the Conservatives are far right then I think you could say the Liberals are far right too.”