“Some of these soldiers are people that have fought hard and long,” the president said. “You know, we teach them how to be great fighters, and then when they fight, sometimes they get really treated very unfairly.”

One New Democrat MP from Victoria has been quite frank about wanting to expunge the criminal records of those convicted under the old cannabis laws — and he intends to table a bill to achieve that as soon as the substance becomes legal on Oct. 17.

People convicted of minor offences would pay less than those guilty of serious crimes when applying for a pardon under a scenario being studied by the federal parole board.