We saw this past week our centuries-old constitutional machinery at work, the Governor General swearing in a new first minister and his cabinet. Perhaps the most mellifluous phrase in that long history of law and custom is the “Royal Prerogative of Mercy.” A constitution without mercy is a cold thing, unworthy of the aspirations of a noble people.

“The Royal Prerogative of Mercy originates in the ancient power vested in the British monarch who had the absolute right to exercise mercy on any subject,” explains Canada’s parole board, “based on the understanding that the Canadian justice system is not infallible.”