“I want to attack the out-of-touch claim that Canadians have never had it so good. The average net worth increasing could just mean a few very rich people got richer. Many typical households are actually deep in debt and struggling with bills.”
What they said. What they meant.
Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.
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The Conservatives moved a motion criticizing the government's economic record. They claimed Canada has the only economy in recession in the G7, the worst household debt, the worst housing costs, and the second highest unemployment. But most of the debate consisted of MPs speechifying about their own qualifications, bragging about their ridings, sparring over procedure, and accusing each other of lacking substance. Very little time was spent actually discussing and debating the specific economic issues raised in the motion.
“I don't want to cut all oil subsidies. I want the government to stop adding more regulation that prevents oil projects. That would help the economy more than subsidies.”
“I want to blame the Liberals for the middle class suffering. Canada used to be the most prosperous and now people have too much debt. I think the government must be the reason.”
“I want to blame the Liberals. They became government in 2015. Everything was good before then. Anyone could succeed if they worked. The Liberals destroyed that. They spent too much.”
“The Liberals are out of ideas. The Liberals said Bill C-5 would get things built. We passed it. But no projects got approved. Now the Liberals want a 'sovereign wealth fund.' But it's not a real fund. It has no money. The Liberals will borrow money and call it a 'fund.' It's a debt fund. It will cost $750 million a year just on interest. Now the Liberals want more consultations to 'speed things up.' They're clueless. Why won't they pass our sovereignty act? That would actually get projects built.”
“You say we just want sound bites. But I have facts. 113,400 jobs lost. People can't put food on the table. Two negative quarters means recession. Statistics Canada said it, not me. Stop attacking us and explain your thinking.”
“You shouldn't ask me that. I want people to notice the Prime Minister isn't here to answer questions.”
“Canada is the only G7 country in recession. The Prime Minister won't talk about it. He finally spoke today but made excuses. He said it was only a technical recession. There's no such thing. Two quarters of shrinking is a recession. He said we can't just look at one thing. Okay, let's look at more: 112,000 jobs lost, 45,000 more unemployed since he took office, second-highest unemployment in the G7. It's because of his policies. We need to cut taxes, red tape, spending. Conservatives will fix this.”
“I think Canadians are tough. They endure our government's bad results. I want the economy to lead the G7 in good ways, not bad ways. I don't like our government leading in household debt, expensive housing, and fast-rising food costs. I don't like our government having the first economy in recession.”
“I want to say the other party steals our ideas. But they don't use them. They only talk about it. They spend and borrow too much. They add rules that make it hard to build things. They say they will change but don't. I wish they would use our ideas for real.”
“The other party's actions have caused a recession. Food Banks Canada gave us bad grades in many areas. One in four Canadians don't have enough food. Our party has better ideas to fix this. Can you talk about those ideas?”
“The other party's actions have caused a recession. Many Canadians don't have enough food. Food banks are running out. Think of the real people harmed by this. If the Prime Minister cared, he would answer a question about it.”
“The government is spending too much and growing the economy too little. They have added bureaucracy and red tape instead of cutting it. To grow the economy, we need to get rid of the anti-energy policies and let people build things again.”
“I'm tired of hearing the same bragging points over and over. This government has been in power 10 years, not one. And things aren't so great. Unemployment is up. Debts and deficits are at record highs. More Canadians need food banks than ever before. In Edmonton, even our veterans are lining up at two food banks! That's the real legacy of a tired, corrupt government that's been in power too long.”
“The Prime Minister made promises and didn't deliver. A deal is the best thing for Quebec businesses. This government failed them.”
“The Liberals say things are growing in Canada. There is growth, all right. Inflation is up. Unemployment is up. Food bank usage is up. Business investment is down for the fifth quarter in a row. The government needs to fix this.”
“I want tax reform and regulatory reform. The current environment is driving away investment. The government needs to stop pretending its announcements are helping and actually fix the problem.”
“I want to repeat the same question as before. If businesses aren't investing, the economy won't grow. There have been five quarters of negative growth already. How will the economy grow if this keeps up?”
“The member is right. The economy in Canada is shrinking, but not in Mexico. Mexico relies on the U.S. even more than we do, and they're doing fine. Mexico doesn't have a Liberal government holding it back like we do.”
“You brag about research funding but you cut funding for agriculture and weather research in Saskatchewan. What about the people you are leaving behind?”