What they said. What they meant.

Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.

Recent debates

8 latest topics

Oral Questions

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

A wide-ranging bill to amend Canada's immigration and border control laws. The debate focused on a small aspect of the bill related to extending health benefits to failed asylum claimants. Conservatives argued this is a waste of taxpayer money and that failed claimants should not be entitled to these benefits. Liberals countered that the costs are going down and the benefits are limited and temporary. Other significant aspects of the bill were not meaningfully discussed.

Official Hansard ↗

Dan Mazier

Conservative
“I want to make the government look soft on crime. Rejected refugees shouldn't get nice health perks. Bad people get more than good people.”
Our translation 73% shorter

Hon. Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“I want to dodge your negative example. Our spending helps vulnerable people. It's not as much money as you think. Ignore the bad stuff.”
Our translation 65% shorter

Dan Mazier

Conservative
“You wasted money on someone with a violent past who shouldn't be here. Canadians are paying for this guy's fancy health care. That's wrong. Admit it already.”
Our translation 69% shorter

Hon. Lena Metlege Diab

Liberal
“Canadians need to know we passed a law to spend less on health care for some refugees. Look at the savings!”
Our translation 69% shorter

Burton Bailey

Conservative
“The government lost track of 30,000 rejected asylum claimants. These people are breaking the law. They get better health care than Canadians. It costs too much. The government should stop this.”
Our translation 68% shorter

Hon. Gary Anandasangaree

Liberal
“People are doing their jobs. We're removing ineligible people. We'll keep doing that.”
Our translation 85% shorter