What they said. What they meant.

Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.

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Government Orders

Government Business No. 13—Proceedings on Bill C‑22

A bill to give police and intelligence agencies more power to get information from telecommunications companies without a warrant. The government shut down debate on the bill despite concerns from many parties about privacy and civil liberties.

Official Hansard ↗

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal
“I'm going to pretend we're doing something by talking a lot about crime and safety. I want my opponents to look bad for not supporting our bills. I'll throw in some random old quotes to make my point. The other party just wants money - they don't really care about crime. Our government is trying to make communities safer, but the other guys keep stopping our bills. It's not fair!”
Our translation 96% shorter

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal
“I'm filling time by reading old fundraising emails from another party. Wow, those are some emails. I wish I could talk about something else. Why won't the other party vote for our bill? Our bill is good. Their party is bad. It's not their fault though, it's their leader's fault. Let's all do what our own leader wants instead.”
Our translation 85% shorter

Fraser Tolmie

Conservative
“I think the Liberal Party is bad. It changes too much. It does things I don't like. I want my friend in the Liberal Party to say if he agrees with me.”
Our translation 70% shorter

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal
“I want to brag about how popular our leader is. People at the doors tell me they like him more than your leader. That's why we got so many votes last time.”
Our translation 75% shorter

Ryan Turnbull

Liberal
“My political friends support my government's laws. Conservatives blocked other things I want passed.”
Our translation 89% shorter

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal
“My job is to make the other side look dumb and bad. I'm filling time with criticism of how the other side wastes time.”
Our translation 88% shorter

Claude DeBellefeuille

Bloc Québécois
“You're shouting too loud and it's hard to listen to you. And you forgot to mention that many people are worried about part 2 of this bill. The government won't negotiate with us. Why won't you split the bill?”
Our translation 77% shorter

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal
“I want you to think collaboration means the bill is good. I say there were a lot of meetings. I say there were a lot of discussions. I say ministers met with people. I think that should be enough for you.”
Our translation 69% shorter

Rhonda Kirkland

Conservative
“You say you want to collaborate but you always say no. If the bill is good it should withstand scrutiny. The government knows the bill is flawed so it's silencing debate.”
Our translation 81% shorter

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal
“I want you to think the other party is unreasonable. It's their fault we can't pass my bill.”
Our translation 88% shorter

Michael Coteau

Liberal
“I want to put the Conservatives on the spot to answer why they voted a certain way. It will make them look bad.”
Our translation 64% shorter

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal
“A senator went for a walk and some people in a truck yelled at her, which was sad. So now everybody else must change what they're allowed to say.”
Our translation 79% shorter

Claude DeBellefeuille

Bloc Québécois
“I'm tired and want to go on break soon. Tonight I mostly want to thank my staff and talk about how hard we work. Also, changing my riding's name to Vallée-du-Haut-Saint-Laurent is fine, even if it won't sound as nice.”
Our translation 90% shorter

Martin Champoux

Bloc Québécois
“I don't like hearing other people talk. Someone said their age. I'm telling on them.”
Our translation 84% shorter

Claude DeBellefeuille

Bloc Québécois
“I want to complain about my committee experience. I don't like that the government didn't listen more to my ideas. I believe they had already made up their mind. It's hard to pass amendments when the government has a majority. I am upset that they moved closure. It made me feel like they didn't value my input. I wish we had more time. The witnesses and interpreters worked hard.”
Our translation 97% shorter

Rhonda Kirkland

Conservative
“I want the Privacy Commissioner here. The Liberals said no. That's suspicious.”
Our translation 93% shorter

Claude DeBellefeuille

Bloc Québécois
“I'm disappointed we didn't get to hear from the journalists' group. The government didn't seem very interested in exploring this bill thoroughly. I wanted to hear more expert testimony about possible threats to journalists and whistleblowers. It's too bad we couldn't invite them because the study period was too short.”
Our translation 74% shorter

Martin Champoux

Bloc Québécois
“I want to look good by complimenting my colleague's hard work. But I'm really asking whether Canada should become a surveillance state like other countries. Should we have cameras on every street corner? Should we be more willing to invade people's privacy and personal data? Should we forget our principles and be more like countries that don't respect their citizens' privacy? I want to talk about safety versus privacy trade-offs. I'm not sure which way we should go.”
Our translation 58% shorter

Claude DeBellefeuille

Bloc Québécois
“I want to look smart and agreeable. Cyber-threats are scary. The government must spend more on cyber-security tools. I support police and cyber-security. I want to look reasonable about privacy.”
Our translation 82% shorter

Elizabeth May

Green
“I want to compliment her. We agree. I think it's strange the government is rushing this without witnesses. Why?”
Our translation 80% shorter