OTTAWA, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s former justice minister David Lametti has announced he is leaving politics just two days after a court ruled that the Trudeau government was “not justified” in invoking the Emergency Act (EA) against the 2022 Freedom Convoy.
On January 25, Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) and former justice minister David Lametti announced his resignation from Parliament to join a law firm just days after Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley ruled that the enactment of the EA to end the 2022 Freedom Convoy violated Charter rights.
“The last six months have been very difficult,” Lametti told Radio-Canada.
“It is therefore with a certain sadness that I leave a dream position,” Lametti wrote in a letter to his constituents. “I have continued to do my best to fulfill my duties as an MP. It’s been a difficult time on a personal level.”
Lametti was justice minister since 2019 and worked to enforce the EA which was enacted to shut down the 2022 Freedom Convoy protest that flooded Ottawa during the peak of COVID-related mandates. The popular protest featured tens of thousands of Canadians calling for an end to the mandates by camping outside Parliament Hill.
Measures taken under the EA included freezing the bank accounts of Canadians who donated to the protest, an action now deemed unjustified by the court.
During his time in office Lametti helped pass several bills, including pushing for increased euthanasia under Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) program and banning so-called “conversion therapy” for gender-confused individuals.
Trudeau had removed Lametti from his position as justice minister during a massive cabinet shakeup in July of 2023. During this turnover, Trudeau removed seven people, including some un-popular COVID-era ministers, from their posts.
Following this, Lametti continued to serve as MP for LaSalle, Émard, Verdun regions in Quebec. He will officially resign from his position on January 31.
Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre responded to Lemetti’s resignation, saying, “Trudeau’s former Justice Minister RESIGNS. He leaves behind him a record of Charter violations, censoring free speech, illegal use of the Emergencies Act & crime policies that have unleashed waves of violence.”
BREAKING: Trudeau’s former Justice Minister RESIGNS
He leaves behind him a record of Charter violations, censoring free speech, illegal use of the Emergencies Act & crime policies that have unleashed waves of violence.
More proof Trudeau is not worth the cost and crime.
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) January 25, 2024
“More proof Trudeau is not worth the cost and crime,” he concluded.
Lametti’s resignation is not the first piece of drama to flow from the Liberal Party since the Emergencies Act ruling.
Earlier this week, Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) Ken McDonald seemed to call for a review of Trudeau’s leadership, before quickly backtracking the next day.