The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday edition that Canada suffers from a deficit in mnemonic capital -- our collective institutional memory. Guest columnist Lawrence Mussio writes that we are programmed for managing difference, not driving transformation. Every structural reform triggers veto points that have been perfected over the course of 150 years. Prime Minister Mark Carney must reprogram this institutional DNA while racing against time. Provincial absences threaten everything. The Alto High Speed Rail project promises Toronto-to-Quebec City connections in four rather than eight years, creating 51,000 jobs. Without buy-in from Ontario and Quebec, however, it risks becoming an infrastructure orphan -- federally announced but locally blocked through permits, zoning and political resistance. History shows Canada's leaps, including Confederation, CP Rail and St. Lawrence Seaway, required vision plus tactical flexibility. Today's challenge is whether inclusive nation-building can match global competition's pace. Without shovels in the ground within 12 months, Ottawa's gravitational inertia will collapse these initiatives back into Canada's eternal bargain: grand visions compromised by immediate political necessity.