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It’s not clear whether the disconsolate expressions are a holdover from the election results, or the result of meetings that appear to have produced little

First off the bat should be an end to the extreme partisanship that has turned the national debate into a contest of endless insults. A good place to start would be in the House of Commons, where question period has long since ceased serving as a means to extract useful information from the government. Only the participants themselves can do this, and if they can’t, or won’t, it might be time to find other ways to hold them accountable. For instance, the House could take a lesson from some professional sports, where coaches and players are required to stand before cameras after every contest and answer direct questions from members of the media. Current scrums are not obligatory and easily skipped. Requiring the prime minister and cabinet members to publicly explain themselves on a regular basis might go a long way to forcing them from their memorized talking points, practised insults and lengthy non-answers. If they’re not up to it, voters should have the opportunity to see it.

Photo by REUTERS/Patrick Doyle

The shoddy treatment we dole out to veterans also failed to crack the bickering, back-biting and insult-tossing that passed for electioneering. Canada’s leaders love to profess their admiration for those who risk their lives for their country, yet fail them in so many ways outside the photo-ops and staged ceremonies. Once their service to the country ends, vets are left largely on their own in dealing with the enormous difficulties that can arise from transitioning back to civilian life. They still struggle with the financial hit they took when the Harper government ended their lifelong pension benefit in favour of a one-time payoff. Trudeau’s Liberals promised to reverse that mistake but came up short. Veterans complain they are forced to struggle against an inert civil service and resistant government for the benefits they have been promised and richly deserve. How is it that a government that treats deficits so casually, and has money for camping subsidies, can’t find the funds to honour men and women who have given so selflessly on behalf of the country?