Carney gives Trudeau-era minister behind Emergencies Act cushy UN role
Despite a record of controversy, former Trudeau-era justice minister David Lametti is back in the public service after Prime Minister Mark Carney appointed him as Canada’s new ambassador to the UN
Despite a record of controversy, former Trudeau-era justice minister David Lametti is back in the public service after Prime Minister Mark Carney appointed him as Canada’s new ambassador to the United Nations in September.
Lametti officially took up the post on Tuesday. The former Montreal MP will represent Canada at the UN, replacing Bob Rae, who held the position for five years.
Lametti served as minister of justice and attorney general from 2019 to 2023, stepping into the role after the dismissal of Jody Wilson-Raybould. She was removed from cabinet after resisting political pressure in the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin—an episode that triggered one of the most damaging ethics scandals of the Trudeau era and led to high-profile firings within the Liberal government.
As attorney general, Lametti defended the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act to end the 2022 Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa, the first time the legislation had ever been invoked.
The decision was later ruled unlawful by a Federal Court judge, raising renewed concerns about civil liberties and government overreach.
His time as justice minister also drew scrutiny over the ideological tilt of federal judicial appointments.
Among Lametti’s appointees was Ontario Superior Court Justice Renu Mandhane, who recently disqualified a loaded illegal firearm as evidence in a case against a Black driver, ruling that Peel police had engaged in racial profiling.
A separate case involving Federal Court Justice Avvy Yao-Yao Go has also sparked criticism after she granted a stay of deportation for an Indian non-citizen with multiple criminal convictions, citing his wife’s ADHD as a determining factor.
Opponents have cited both rulings as emblematic of a judiciary shaped by progressive ideology under Lametti’s oversight.
Lametti lost his seat in the 2023 federal election but remained active in legal and academic circles.
His official appointment comes two months after Carney announced the appointment of fellow Trudeau-era minister, Chrystia Freeland, as special representative for the reconstruction of Ukraine.