What they said. What they meant.

Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.

Recent debates

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Oral Questions

Public Safety

A bill to expand government and police power to access and gather data during investigations. The Conservatives accuse the bill of risking a surveillance state and criticize the Liberals on crime. The Liberals say the Conservatives are delaying the bill and cite support from police.

Official Hansard ↗

Frank Caputo

Conservative
“I want to pass the part of the bill I like. The other part has problems. The government should stop rushing and answer our questions.”
Our translation 77% shorter

Hon. Ruby Sahota

Liberal
“I want this bill to pass quickly. This bill would help combat crime and protect Canadians. If this bill was law already we might have less crime.”
Our translation 70% shorter

Rhonda Kirkland

Conservative
“I want to sound like I support law enforcement. But this bill will create a surveillance state. The government wants more control. Why won't the government work with us to make the bill better? I think the government is ramming this bill through.”
Our translation 47% shorter

Hon. Ruby Sahota

Liberal
“You don't care. I want to protect children. I think it is very bad the Conservatives won't pass my bill.”
Our translation 66% shorter

Dane Lloyd

Conservative
“Violent crime is up under you. Your policies are soft. They put repeat violent offenders back out on bail instead of in jail. Gutted mandatory minimums. Canadians want tools for cops to catch the bad guys and lock them up. Not more surveillance overreach on everybody else. I support half this bill, not all of it. Approve the first part fast, but we need privacy changes on the rest. You won't listen. You'll ram the whole thing through without fixes.”
Our translation 30% shorter

Hon. Sean Fraser

Liberal
“I want to cheer for new laws. These laws spend money and add rules. I say this makes things safer.”
Our translation 84% shorter