I was outraged when Rona Ambrose, the federal minister of health said she was outraged at the unanimous decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in the case of medical marijuana holding not just smoking, but eating or drinking pot to be legal for medical reasons. In other words medical pot can be consumed in different ways.

For the purposes of full disclosure I already support legalisation, regulation and taxation of pot just as it is now available in many US states such as Colorado. But my outrage at Ambrose, a federal minister of the Crown has nothing to do with my position on the legalisation of marijuana. It has to do with the fact that her criticism of the Court, although in keeping with the abysmally low standards set by her boss Prime Minister Harper, goes far beyond any previous Conservative government attack on the independence of judiciary.

Our system of government rests on the convention that judiciary and government are independent of each other. Part of that convention dictates that any government or any minister of any government can change the laws if they don't like the rulings of the judiciary, but a minister of the Crown or the government has no business criticising or attacking the judiciary.

Ambrose's fulminations of outrage at the Supreme Court fly in the face of our constitutional moorings and conventions. Her expressed outrage is a supreme example of her and Harper government's contempt for the foundation our democracy. Any other Prime Minister would have immediately fired Ambrose. He/she would have remembered Mr. Justice Thomas Berger honourably stepping down from the bench in BC after he had criticised the Trudeau government's policy. Berger, an honourable man of integrity did the right thing. But this whole Conservative government is probably going to pot. If not, will Attorney General Peter McKay whose job it is to defend the constitution and the independence of the Court publicly ask Ambrose to apologise to the Court? Will Harper do his duty and fire Ambrose? Will Rona Ambrose do the honourable thing even if Harper won't make her do it: Resign? Resign! For the sake of democracy and its foundations, resign!!