What they said. What they meant.

Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.

Recent debates

8 latest topics

Government Orders

Main Estimates, 2026-27

A bill to implement parts of Budget 2025, including changes to tax rules, increased defence spending, and various other measures. During debate, while the Liberals highlighted positive economic indicators and the importance of investing in space and aerospace industries, the Conservatives, Bloc, and NDP raised concerns about wasteful spending, budget cuts to science and research, unethical corporate bailouts, fraud, and the government's circumventing of local input and legislative processes.

Official Hansard ↗

Dan Albas

Conservative
“I don't want to talk about your thing. I want to talk about my thing. The government is taking your money and giving it to a private company. The company is making big profits. A year ago, they almost went bankrupt. Seniors are almost bankrupt too. But the government bailed out the private company, not seniors. That's what I want to talk about.”
Our translation 62% shorter

Ned Kuruc

Conservative
“I want the government to release all documents about this deal. They are leasing land for too much money. It used to be $13,500 a year. Now it's $20 million a year. That's a lot more. Canadians deserve to know why.”
Our translation 59% shorter

Dan Albas

Conservative
“The government isn't being transparent. They say they're solving a problem, but they haven't really said what the problem is. I want the national defence committee to make them hand over documents about this deal.”
Our translation 62% shorter

Michael Barrett

Conservative
“The government is spending a lot of money on this spaceport deal. I want to know if they got a good deal for taxpayers. The government has not answered simple questions about it. I want the government to show that they handled the money properly, but they have not.”
Our translation 95% shorter

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal
“I want the government to spend your money on space programs in Atlantic Canada. I'll call you shameful for not wanting to spend more money.”
Our translation 83% shorter

Michael Barrett

Conservative
“You're asleep at the switch. I want Canada to launch into space by itself, and you just give money to Liberal friends. I'll call you out and demand receipts before you spend more.”
Our translation 75% shorter

Burton Bailey

Conservative
“This deal is fishy. I think taxpayers are getting a bad deal. I want the member to explain how that much extra spending is worth it.”
Our translation 59% shorter

Michael Barrett

Conservative
“I want the government to show results for spending $200 million. I'm worried this is just a handout to a private company. I need details. I want to support space plans but I won't vote yes just because it sounds nice.”
Our translation 77% shorter

Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe

Bloc Québécois
“I want the government to take money away from oil and gas and give that money to forestry. I like forestry. I don't like oil and gas. I think oil and gas is bad for the planet. I want to punish that industry.”
Our translation 65% shorter

Michael Barrett

Conservative
“I want the government to spend less on rewarding their friends and more on forestry, natural resources, and the military.”
Our translation 76% shorter

Yves Perron

Bloc Québécois
“I don't like the government having power to ignore the usual rules. I think it's undemocratic for the government to keep giving itself the power to override laws. I want the government to spend less time forcing bills through quickly and more time listening to opposition parties.”
Our translation 97% shorter

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal
“I think the government is doing a lot to help people with the cost of living. We are spending money on programs to make food and fuel cheaper. I want the other party to admit that our government is doing a good job.”
Our translation 63% shorter

Yves Perron

Bloc Québécois
“The government should stop giving tax breaks to oil companies. They are vultures. I want the government to spend more money on stimulus and old age security instead.”
Our translation 86% shorter

Gérard Deltell

Conservative
“The previous prime minister made a bad decision to change the train project. The government is taking farmers' land in Mirabel and doing it very badly. I want you to say how bad it is for farmers when the government takes their land.”
Our translation 63% shorter

Yves Perron

Bloc Québécois
“The government took a lot of land for an airport and people had to buy it back at high prices. Now the government might take too much land again for the train. This will be very bad for people in my area. The government should not take more land than it needs.”
Our translation 71% shorter

Alexis Deschênes

Bloc Québécois
“Thank you for your interesting points. I notice the government keeps passing laws to get around other laws. The government wants to give more power to some ministers. I want to know, what bad things could happen from this?”
Our translation 51% shorter

Yves Perron

Bloc Québécois
“That is a risk. You could make decisions. During COVID some Conservatives wanted votes to end air travel rules. We said we're not doctors. We wanted rules to say 'with the consent of public health authorities.' The danger is uninformed people will make decisions under pressure from lobby groups. They will approve products used on land. Later, children and grandchildren pay the price. It is serious.”
Our translation 48% shorter

Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe

Bloc Québécois
“I want the government to spend a lot of money and attention on my region. We're not satisfied with what we have now. We have a project to bring military reserves to our region. It can create jobs and help the economy. The government should do this to meet its own goals. The government also needs to help the forestry industry more. People in my region work hard in forestry. The government gave lots of money to oil and gas but not enough to forestry. It's shocking the government won't do more to help workers in this important industry. The government doesn't understand what these workers are going through.”
Our translation 93% shorter

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal
“I want to say the government understands what people are going through. We are spending money on many industries already. But let's talk about something else now. The government is spending a huge amount of money on armed forces and Arctic sovereignty. Does the Bloc party support all this spending in northern Canada? Let's talk about that big number instead of the difficult things you brought up.”
Our translation 48% shorter

Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe

Bloc Québécois
“The softwood lumber industry is in trouble. That's making people lose their jobs. I want the government to bail them out like they bailed out the auto sector. I also want a military unit in my riding.”
Our translation 79% shorter