OTTAWA — When David Lametti met David Milgaard in his office a few years back, he pulled a copy of The Tragically Hip's "Fully Completely" album off a shelf and asked Milgaard to sign it.
The song "Wheat Kings" was inspired by the wrongful conviction that kept Milgaard falsely imprisoned for 23 years, starting when he was a teenager.
"He called David his hero when he was a student," recalled James Lockyer, a Toronto-based lawyer who helped found the organization Innocence Canada, which works to exonerate people like Milgaard.
"He had a photographer come in and take multiple photographs with him and David in his office … I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's framed one.
"I saw how visibly affected he was, and it visibly affected me to see that."
As justice minister, Lametti introduced legislation earlier this year as justice minister that seeks to establish a long-fought-for independent commission to review cases where a miscarriage of justice is suspected.
His attention to that issue will be part of his legacy, Lockyer said.
"He has advanced the cause of the wrongly convicted immensely."
Lametti was one of seven people dropped from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet during a shuffle on Wednesday.
His removal — not only from the role of justice minister and attorney general, which he held since 2019, but from cabinet altogether — has left many Liberals scratching their heads.
"It's sort of disappointing to see him go," said Daniel Brown, president of the Criminal Lawyers' Association.
"There was a lot of things that the Liberal government had talked about doing for many years, including sentencing and bail reform and creating a process to address wrongful convictions in Canada, and Mr. Lametti accomplished that."
Trudeau has not shed light on his decision. When he was asked about it on Thursday while touring a sawmill in Newfoundland, he thanked Lametti for his work and said the Montreal MP remains a valuable part of the Liberal team.
Lametti also took to social media to announce to his constituents that he intends to run in the next federal election, whenever it happens.
He taught law at McGill University before being elected in 2015.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 27, 2023.
Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press
