What they said. What they meant.

Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.

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Bail and Sentencing Reform Act

A long bill to modestly toughen some criminal sentencing and bail rules. In debate, the Liberals moved to limit discussion, accusing the opposition of stalling. The opposition accused the Liberals of ducking debate on the bill and ignoring Senate amendments.

Official Hansard ↗

Hon. Sean Fraser

Liberal
“You didn't ask a question. Your party is only delaying my bill. But many people agree with me. We should pass the bill now. Stop talking about other things.”
Our translation 83% shorter

Elizabeth May

Green
“I don't like rushing bills. Don't rush this bill. And don't ignore me.”
Our translation 91% shorter

Hon. Sean Fraser

Liberal
“I want to pass this bill right away. People want it. Don't delay my bill.”
Our translation 91% shorter

Christine Normandin

Bloc Québécois
“I want to say something about a loud voice.”
Our translation 81% shorter

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal
“I only care about my Winnipeg North voters. The Prime Minister made a promise. We must keep our promise. Conservatives keep stopping us. I'm tired of them stopping us. Bill C-14 is popular. Conservatives might even like it. We need to pass our crime bills. We promised in the election.”
Our translation 60% shorter

Hon. Sean Fraser

Liberal
“We could pass Bill C-14 now. Or we could not. But if we pass Bill C-14, my government says we would be listening to our communities. My government says it would reduce crime. My government says it would help Canadians.”
Our translation 82% shorter

Connie Cody

Conservative
“I want longer debate on Bill C-14. I want the government to add amendments that put in stronger laws against crime. I want the government to stop limiting debate. I say the government is keeping Canadians less safe.”
Our translation 60% shorter

Hon. Sean Fraser

Liberal
“I want the protecting victims act to pass now. I want the Conservative party to stop delaying bail reform. I say the Conservative party is being a hypocrite. I say the solutions in the bill are widely agreed on.”
Our translation 73% shorter

Dave Epp

Conservative
“The Conservative party wants the Liberal party to stop stifling debate at the health committee. I say the Liberal party is being a hypocrite. I say the Liberal party uses procedural tools to avoid debate.”
Our translation 56% shorter

Hon. Sean Fraser

Liberal
“I'm filling time and not answering the question.”
Our translation 96% shorter

Kelly DeRidder

Conservative
“I'm voting against this bill because it makes mandatory minimums optional. The government is shutting down debate to silence us and lie about our position.”
Our translation 79% shorter

Hon. Sean Fraser

Liberal
“I'm saying you voted against many good things because you disagreed with one part of the bill. Perfection is the enemy of good. Don't lie about your vote.”
Our translation 82% shorter

Eric Melillo

Conservative
“You made a crime wave. Canadians want fixes. They want them now. We wrote a bill to lock up bad guys. You voted it down. But now you agree it's urgent. So stop talking and do something.”
Our translation 73% shorter

Hon. Sean Fraser

Liberal
“I didn't like your bill. It had problems. Some ideas were okay. We used those. We made our bill bigger. It does more. Police told us to. Other parties too. Everyone helped. Even you. I think your bill was bad. But you helped make this good. Now stop complaining. You're slowing it down. We need to pass this.”
Our translation 76% shorter

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal
“Six months ago I begged you to pass a different bill quickly. It was very popular. Look I was even nice about it! But you evil Conservatives blocked it anyway. Here we go again. Now you're the ones blocking bail reform forever. It's your fault it isn't law yet. So how about it minister? Don't you agree we should force this thing through again already?”
Our translation 46% shorter

Hon. Sean Fraser

Liberal
“You're right, they did block our last bill. I warned them. They delayed it for months, and they didn't listen. But now we're trying again. Pass our new bill today, so it becomes law before summer. If you delay again, you're the ones stopping us from fighting crime.”
Our translation 72% shorter

David Bexte

Conservative
“You Liberals caused this mess. For 11 years, you mismanaged everything. Now you suddenly want to rush. We kept offering you good ideas and you ignored them all. Now the Senate put in bad amendments with loopholes. If you really want to fix crime, take out those loopholes so the bill actually works. Then maybe Canadians can finally have safe streets again after all your delays.”
Our translation 42% shorter

Hon. Sean Fraser

Liberal
“You say there are loopholes from the Senate amendments, but I don't see any. One amendment just improves data collection and reporting on bail. We're even giving provinces money for that. Another amendment delays some youth justice changes, but that's because Ontario's Conservative government asked us to. They need time to get ready for the changes. You call these 'loopholes' but I disagree. The amendments are reasonable. If you see real loopholes, tell me exactly what they are.”
Our translation 40% shorter