In Canada, the most powerful tool to camouflage failure is not the manipulation of the words but the manipulation of the structures.

Unless they have been living on another planet, the provincial and federal politicians who are debating the upcoming legalization of marijuana must be familiar with the omnipresence and the reach of the underground market. And they must know that half-hearted measures tend to yield costly failures.

We have made important progress, but our work must continue. We need to create a future where key areas for nature are clearly identified and protected. This includes completing our systems of national and provincial parks, creating large-scale wildlife corridors and developing local natural heritage networks. Canada must also lead the world in Indigenous and community conserved areas, particularly in our north where we have an opportunity to protect some of the planet’s last true wilderness.

Patronizing veterans is the salient problem, not the solution. Sadly, new Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O’Regan appears ready to reinforce, not resolve, the VAC cultural mess.

The upcoming fall session will be the start of the high stakes, high risk, gloves off combination of policy and politics that we junkies love.

It all sounds too good to be true, and it is. While some good is inevitable if some $2-billion or more is to be spent over five years, despite the fact that the productivity of research spending has fallen significantly, the extravagant language that is so typical of the current government is hugely misleading.

Rookie Conservative MP John Nater has written a paper on the Thursday Question, owns bound copies of Hansard, and is working on a PhD on government caucus meetings. ‘I completely accept it as nerdy,’ he says.

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland also has a new press secretary, while Status of Women Minister Maryam Monsef has bade farewell to hers.

‘Of course people are getting tired. It’s only natural. But they’re willing to do it, and they know why they’re here,’ says NDP Whip Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet.