What they said. What they meant.

Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.

Recent debates

8 latest topics

Oral Questions

The Economy

The economy was debated in the House of Commons, with Conservatives highlighting food affordability issues and a recession in Canada. Liberals pointed to various government programs and spending they claim will help Canadians with the cost of living. The debate featured typical partisan sparring, with the Conservatives calling out the government's economic record and the Liberals defending their policies and criticizing the Conservatives' record and positions.

Official Hansard ↗

Rosemarie Falk

Conservative
“The Prime Minister spent a million dollars of your money on airplane food. Many Canadians can't even afford food. He made life more expensive for you. I want the Prime Minister to stop wasting money.”
Our translation 62% shorter

Hon. Buckley Belanger

Liberal
“I want to change the subject to something my party did for canola. Why didn't you support it? I'm filling time by asking you questions instead of answering yours.”
Our translation 57% shorter

Hon. Buckley Belanger

Liberal
“Why didn't you give us billions of dollars? You did nothing!”
Our translation 61% shorter

Rosemarie Falk

Conservative
“There is scurvy because of you. The Prime Minister said affordability is great. You are the only leader who caused a recession. Your record is bad: lots of inflation, red tape, and policies that make things cost more. It's not global stuff. It's your choices that are too expensive. When will you stop making everything cost more?”
Our translation 44% shorter

Hon. Buckley Belanger

Liberal
“I want Conservatives to visit my region more. You vote against my benefit programs. I won't listen to you about helping my region. I want to help all Canadians forever.”
Our translation 71% shorter

Gabriel Hardy

Conservative
“Families can't afford food. The government is spending too much. It's causing a recession. Does the prime minister plan to keep making shiny speeches and ignoring this problem?”
Our translation 77% shorter

Hon. Nathalie Provost

Liberal
“We gave Canadians a grocery benefit. The government is helping people buy food. Canadians will keep working on the economy with us.”
Our translation 60% shorter

Gabriel Hardy

Conservative
“Ignore the grocery benefit and foreigners' advice. The real problem is the recession the Liberals caused. I want the Prime Minister to fix that.”
Our translation 75% shorter

Hon. Nathalie Provost

Liberal
“I want to talk about our big spending announcement instead of the recession. We will spend $1 billion of taxpayers' money on food infrastructure. That will show Canadians we want to help.”
Our translation 59% shorter

Rachael Thomas

Conservative
“The Prime Minister should feel bad because Canadians are struggling. He spent money on fancy airplane food but Canadians are using food banks. He caused the recession. He should admit he was wrong and change his policies.”
Our translation 68% shorter

Hon. Patty Hajdu

Liberal
“I won't defend our luxury spending. Instead I'll attack you. Why do you vote against our spending programs? I think our spending is good. You should want to spend more money too.”
Our translation 55% shorter

Rachael Thomas

Conservative
“You keep distracting from the real problem. Canadians' lives are worse and this government doesn't care. You're living it up while children and seniors suffer. I want you to admit your policies are failing. Stop ignoring Canadians' struggles.”
Our translation 63% shorter

Hon. Patty Hajdu

Liberal
“I'm going to talk about helping each other because it sounds good. I don't want anyone to ask why more kids are going hungry under my government. Let me change the subject to nice Canadian values.”
Our translation 61% shorter

Tamara Kronis

Conservative
“You caused the only recession and now you're off at a fancy summit while people line up at food banks. It looks bad that you spend so much on your own food when Canadians are struggling to eat and live. I want you to admit your policies caused the problem.”
Our translation 59% shorter

Hon. Jill McKnight

Liberal
“Look at me, I'm cheerleading for my government's spending and military buildup. I want you to believe it's good for the economy and for defense, but I'm not going to get into any pesky details or tradeoffs.”
Our translation 43% shorter