“I want to cue up my MP friend to attack the government. I want him to say it is very bad that Liberals pretend everything is fine. I want him to say costs and recession are a real danger.”
What they said. What they meant.
Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.
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Business of Supply
A bill to remove some federal barriers to interprovincial trade and labor mobility. During discussion, the Conservatives claimed Canada's economy is struggling and broken while the Liberals said it is doing quite well. Members cited various economic statistics to argue their side, with the Conservatives focusing on a technical recession and the Liberals pointing to record low unemployment and rising wages.
“Liberals ignoring our economy will cause a brain drain to the US. High taxes make our top skilled workers leave for the US. Many top earners already left Canada. It's bad that high taxes and low pay push skilled people away.”
“I'm here to say our economy is fine and the government is competent. We're spending a lot of money on housing and infrastructure. Also, we're giving people some tax credits and grocery money. But we'll still try to save some money too. Other countries have it worse.”
“I want to attack my opponents by portraying them as uncaring and out of touch. I will use anecdotes about hardship to create an emotional appeal to voters.”
“I want to make my government look good by listing many programs we created. I will not engage with the substance of the struggles you mentioned.”
“The government's spending numbers are fishy. Different numbers from different times make the government look bad. A budget update a month ago said one thing. Now the budget officer says the deficit is billions higher. It's like a teenager who can't say what he did with your money. They can't be happy just because a little bit is left. I want you to admit this is bad management.”
“The economy looks bad if you only glance at it. Consumers are buying more stuff. The bank says good things are happening. I'm going to use their quotes to gloss over the bad parts. Maybe next quarter will be better.”
“I'm a Liberal. Praise our budget. Tell everyone how great our spending is for the economy.”
“I support spending more money. The economy is bad so the government should spend money to fix it. Anyone who disagrees is just scaring people and being unhelpful.”
“The government keeps announcing new things to fix problems, but the problems are just getting worse. Canadians don't trust the government's promises anymore because they can see for themselves that the promises don't match reality. The government needs to admit it can't just announce its way out of trouble.”
“I am speaking in favour of multiple bills that increase criminal penalties, restrict bail, and create new criminal offences. I want to convince you that my party is tough on crime.”
“Canada is the only G20 country in a recession. The numbers are bad. The government keeps spending and making excuses. It's their fault. I want the government to stop spending so much. They should cancel their expensive programs. Canadians are struggling. My riding is struggling. I want lower spending and more growth.”
“I want you to say if you support our spending on job training programs for young people. Forget what you said before. Do you support this spending or not?”
“I'm telling a sad personal story about young people who can't find jobs. I want you to feel bad for them. Young people need more help from the government.”
“The other party spends too much on oil companies. That's bad. I think it's very bad. I want voters in my riding to get some of that money instead.”
“The government taxes businesses too much. That makes it hard for young people to find jobs. I want the government to stop forcing businesses to pay so much and controlling them so much.”
“The Liberals keep saying they saved money. I don't see it anywhere. They spent way more than they said they would. It's been 11 years of bad ideas. We need them to stop spending so much.”
“The government keeps saying it saved money. But there's no savings at all. They're hiding how much all their promises will really cost. It's going to be way more expensive than they admit.”