Justice served.David Lametti, the Liberal minister responsible for the unconstitutional invocation of the War Measures (Emergencies) Act in 2022 has resigned.In his resignation letter released on Thursday, Lametti said he will be resigning his post and his seat effective January 31, almost two years to the day he invoked the legislation to disperse the trucker convoy in Ottawa.“Anyone who goes into public life does so to make positive change for their communities and for their country. I am proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish as part of a progressive government.”As for imposition of martial law? Lametti said he has no regrets, referring to the protests as an “occupation” by hostile forces.“I served as Minister during an extraordinary time: a pandemic, an occupation of border crossings and downtown Ottawa necessitating the invocation of the Emergencies Act. I am proud of the role I played in each of these situations. The pandemic and the occupation required balancing the protections of the Charter with the rule of law and the health and safety and economic well-being of citizens.”.In an interview with the CBC airing on the weekend, Lametti reportedly said he supports the government’s decision to appeal the ruling declaring the move unconstitutional And said he was confident it will be upheld on appeal."I believe that we had minimal impairment of rights for a short period of time," he said. "And what about the rights of citizens of Windsor and Ottawa and auto workers and people in other parts of the country, in Coutts, whose rights were being trampled on by these illegal occupations?".But he also said he supports modifying it in its present form to clarify what circumstances are considered appropriate for its use."We need to have an act that's usable. We need to have a standard that reflects current reality," he said..Lametti, who was first elected in the Liberal wave of 2015, represented the riding of LaSalle-Émard-Verdun served in a variety of parliamentary secretary roles before being named minister of justice after the firing of Jody Wilson-Raybould in 2019.He was dropped from cabinet last summer for no apparent reason and replaced by Arif Virani in a move that caught many by surprise..La Presse reported that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered Lametti a job as embassador to Spain but that he refused. Instead he’ll be joining a Montreal law firm to focus on indigenous rights..As for the rights of those accused in his purge of Ottawa streets?Tamara Lich, who is presently facing trail for her role in the protests said she was ”giddy” in her own Twitter (“X”) missive.“I mean, can this week possibly get any better?
