What they said. What they meant.

Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.

Recent debates

8 latest topics

Oral Questions

Canadian Identity and Culture

A debate about protecting Canadian culture and taxing web giants, which quickly devolved into the Bloc Québécois accusing the Liberals of abandoning Quebec culture and climate change efforts, while the Liberals claimed the Bloc votes against investments in culture and clean energy. A lot of back-and-forth bickering, but not much substance on how to actually support Canadian arts and culture in the digital age.

Official Hansard ↗

Christine Normandin

Bloc Québécois
“The Prime Minister wants to help big American companies instead of protecting Quebec culture. That's bad! He's giving up a lot of tax money and letting foreign companies like Netflix avoid paying fees that even Europe charges them. Why does the Prime Minister care more about keeping Donald Trump happy than standing up for Quebec?”
Our translation 44% shorter

Christine Normandin

Bloc Québécois
“The Prime Minister cares more about big foreign companies than about Canada. He won't stand up to Netflix and Amazon. He won't act on the environment because he likes oil companies. He won't regulate pesticides because he likes foreign chemical companies. Is that what he means by strong?”
Our translation 48% shorter

Martin Champoux

Bloc Québécois
“The Prime Minister gave up French culture in a trade war. That is like Churchill cutting funding for the arts. Quebec's language and culture are important and should not be bargaining chips.”
Our translation 66% shorter