“I already told you: we're out of the hotel game. We'll still funnel money to cities for welcome centers, though.”
What they said. What they meant.
Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.
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A bill to make many changes to Canada's immigration and border control laws. During debate, Conservatives asked questions about specific cases and raised concerns about fraud, while the Liberal minister responded but often discussed unrelated topics like Canada Summer Jobs and praised a Liberal colleague.
“The federal government sends money to provinces and cities because they run the shelters. Yes, that includes reception centers and transitional housing.”
“I'm filling time with kind words and saying nothing anyone could pin down later.”
“I don't want to answer directly. I'll point you to some documents instead.”
“I won't say how many hotels. We gave the money to cities instead. We call it something else now.”
“I don't know what your problem is. We give money to municipalities for asylum claimants because they need it. Would you rather have people on the streets? We're helping and we brought in a bill. There's lots of stuff.”
“I want to look like I'm doing something without giving any specifics.”
“I want to avoid the question and just repeat that our government really cares a lot about French.”
“You already know Quebec immigration rules don't come from us. I'm not saying anything else.”
“I'm filling time by saying nice things about French. I am not saying anything new.”
“Thank you for your question about Quebec's immigration challenges. Quebec is a nice place and the people there make their own choices.”
“You're worried about asylum seekers costing too much. I already said Quebec got lots of money for it. And anyway, refugee claims are way down.”
“I don't want to answer that question. I'll just repeat something nice about language and Quebec instead.”
“I don't want to answer anything specific. I will just repeat some nice things about immigration and the economy instead.”
“I want taxpayer money to help my preferred people. Lots of programs and numbers show I'm working hard!”
“I want more taxpayer money for my programs. I like it when money comes to my city. Money must keep coming for my people and my programs.”
“I like my friend. I think she does a good job. I want more people to come here and study. I want to make that easy. It will help us later.”
“I want to make it look like we are putting clear rules in place.”
“I want to minimize the number of new Canadians. Many apply, but I will not say how many will actually get citizenship.”
“I'm saying the bill has good rules for who gets to be a citizen, and it keeps out the kinds of citizens I want to keep out.”