“I've talked to committees about the government's housing programs lots of times. I'll go again in the future too. This bill will let us spend lots of money on the provinces for housing. It's so simple! If you don't want to spend this money on housing, then you should vote no.”
What they said. What they meant.
Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.
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Government Business No. 11—Proceedings on Bill C-26
A bill to give $1.7 billion to provinces and territories to somehow boost housing supply. The Liberals insisted this was simple and speedy while the Conservatives lamented the lack of time to properly study or debate the bill at any stage. The Liberals blamed previous governments and touted action in Ontario to eliminate the HST.
“I think debate should continue because skipping it cuts out both MPs' speeches and Canadians' own input at the committee. The government should want to hear from Canadians to get those diverse views.”
“Attacking the other party looks better than answering the point. I'm filling time with kind words and saying nothing anyone could pin down later. Let's just pass the bill and give out the money.”
“This housing crisis is your fault. I told you so. Your plan spends $1.7 billion with no accountability. Stop dodging my question. Explain how you'll measure if the new money is spent well.”
“I want to bait conservatives into saying no, so I can paint them as voting against 'giving people a break'. My bill bribes Ontario with federal cash. If Ontario cuts its sales tax, I want federal taxpayers to pay them back for it.”
“I want to talk about the other party instead of the bill. They aren't doing their job in committee. I don't like them talking about other things. They are just trying to hurt people, not help Canadians. I want the government to be able to deliver on something really popular.”
“I want you to rush this bill through quickly. I promise it will help new homebuyers. The government just needs to approve more spending fast. Look, we spent money in Ontario and more people bought houses! That proves it works.”
“I want to look fiscally responsible by opposing more spending. I need you to look like you haven't done your job. I want you to admit this money won't build many actual homes. Then maybe I can say we should debate it to death instead.”
“I say nice things about giving money in Ontario. I want everyone to think this plan will build many homes. I don't want to say how many though. I just talk about a market coming alive. I want you to think a more alive market means more homes. I hope most voters won't notice I never said how many actual homes this will build.”