What they said. What they meant.

Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.

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Oral Questions

Canadian Identity and Culture

A debate about funding for Canadian culture, where Liberal ministers praised their own funding announcements while Bloc Quebecois MPs accused the government of capitulating to American tech giants and failing to secure web streaming levies. The discussion was peppered with personal insults, linguistic corrections, and unrelated tangents, while sidestepping the core issue of how much taxpayer money should go to cultural subsidies at all.

Official Hansard ↗

Hon. Steven MacKinnon

Liberal
“I want to change the subject to the Bloc's political problems. I hope it distracts from our real issue.”
Our translation 80% shorter

Hon. Marc Miller

Liberal
“I want to talk about all my spending on culture instead. I don't want to talk about your grievances with America.”
Our translation 76% shorter

Hon. Marc Miller

Liberal
“I'm filling time with kind words and saying nothing anyone could pin down later.”
Our translation 61% shorter