What they said. What they meant.

Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.

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Government Orders

An Act to Authorize Certain Payments to be Made out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund

A bill to give $1.7 billion of taxpayer money to provinces for building housing supply. During discussion the Conservatives criticized the lack of results and accountability from previous spending and programs, while the Liberals and Bloc defended the bill and spoke about unrelated events in their ridings.

Official Hansard ↗

Hon. Gregor Robertson

Liberal
“I want this bill to pass so the government can spend money to improve housing supply.”
Our translation 56% shorter

Jennifer McKelvie

Liberal
“I'm filling time with kind words and saying nothing anyone could pin down later. I want to spend $1.7 billion on housing. I think the feds should send the money to provinces and let them figure out what to do. I want this bill passed quickly so government can look like it's taking action.”
Our translation 95% shorter

Greg McLean

Conservative
“You admit this bill will spend $1.7 billion. We already spent a lot of money and got empty condos that don't fit what people want to buy. Those empty lots will get built when it makes economic sense, not because we throw money at it. The 'crisis' is just an excuse to spend taxpayer money on development companies. I see no reason to think this new spending will magically solve everything.”
Our translation 46% shorter

Jennifer McKelvie

Liberal
“We have a big housing plan. This bill will give money to provinces and cities. The bill will make it cheaper to build houses by lowering taxes and fees on new homes. The bill will also make rules the same everywhere and help builders work faster.”
Our translation 58% shorter

Sébastien Lemire

Bloc Québécois
“I want the government to explain who is in charge of housing programs. They say it is Build Canada Homes but now they say it is CMHC. I think it is a problem that they are not giving useful answers within 30 days.”
Our translation 68% shorter

Jennifer McKelvie

Liberal
“I'm excited taxpayers will give Build Canada Homes more money and power to pick housing projects. More grants, loans, guarantees and equity! This agency will be great.”
Our translation 75% shorter

Dominique O'Rourke

Liberal
“I want to cheer for a multicultural festival in my riding. Then I want to pressure you to rush through a new homebuying subsidy. Let's hand out money quick, so people can buy new homes right away and we can keep building lots more. We need to hurry! Never mind what it costs taxpayers.”
Our translation 61% shorter

Jennifer McKelvie

Liberal
“I want to say there's good news for people buying new homes. The home buying subsidy will be backdated, so it's like we're giving people money they already spent. We're not stopping with that subsidy. We want lots of other big taxpayer-funded housing projects too. We want to work with you to get shovels in the ground quick.”
Our translation 45% shorter

Caroline Desrochers

Liberal
“I just want to say nice things about my friends here today.”
Our translation 56% shorter

Caroline Desrochers

Liberal
“I want this bill to pass so the government can claim it is helping families. I will list many spending programs to make us look good. They know the housing market varies but still want to make the federal government the hero. Conservatives should not criticize our spending. They don't really care about affordability!”
Our translation 96% shorter

Jeff Kibble

Conservative
“You are short hundreds of thousands of homes. How do you explain that failure for all the money you spent?”
Our translation 70% shorter

Caroline Desrochers

Liberal
“I ignored your calculation, repeated talking points instead, and hope you won't notice my government is failing to meet its housing targets.”
Our translation 76% shorter

Sébastien Lemire

Bloc Québécois
“I demand you meet your 30-day deadline. If housing organizations must wait months and get bounced around between offices, that's a failure you should fix.”
Our translation 77% shorter

Caroline Desrochers

Liberal
“Build Canada Homes isn't even a real thing yet. We're still waiting for the Senate. But once it exists, we promise it'll be great. We'll work closely with everyone and I'll personally stay in touch. You can trust us.”
Our translation 51% shorter

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal
“I want to cheer for our deal with Ontario because it's good for housing buyers and the construction industry in Ontario.”
Our translation 76% shorter

Caroline Desrochers

Liberal
“I want this bill to pass so the government can claim it is helping families.”
Our translation 85% shorter

Jamie Schmale

Conservative
“I'm trying to argue that my party cares about affordability more than yours. I don't like the government's grocery plan. I want the government to hurry up and get more housing built.”
Our translation 67% shorter

Caroline Desrochers

Liberal
“I want to defend my party and attack the other party. I think the other party votes against bills I like. I don't think the other party supports their arguments.”
Our translation 59% shorter

Jeff Kibble

Conservative
“This bill is a blank cheque for the Minister of Finance. It gives him $1.7 billion to spend however he wants, with no conditions and no requirement to report back. This is not a housing plan. We need real conditions, reporting, and oversight to make sure every dollar is used to build homes, not just make announcements.”
Our translation 97% shorter

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal
“I want the bill to pass so the government can spend $1.7 billion and claim it is getting homes built. I'll announce a plan with Ontario's Progressive Conservative government to make it sound like this is working.”
Our translation 68% shorter