The Crisis Of The October Crisis

In Canadian history, nationalism and sovereignty tend to be common themes prevalent since Confederation. A well-known example of this in Quebec was during the Quiet Revolution which strengthened the need for change through Premier Lesage’s reforms and in turn, developed a strong sense of nationalism in Quebec. In contrast to beliefs that the rapid modernization of the Quiet Revolution had a positive impact on Quebec, it rather had a negative impact on Quebec and its citizens and identity. The three consequences which arose in Quebec as a result of the revolution are the encouragement of separatism, the elimination of traditional values and roles and the establishment of powerful bureaucratic control. Quebec’s attempt to be more like the

For some time, many Quebecois had faith in the FLQ, believing the group would speed the process of separation from Canada; however the FLQ’s loyalty to these beliefs is questionable. Ultimately, it was perceived that the FLQ’s only goal was to give Quebec its justice; they wanted to see them united in a free society. On the other hand, during the October Crisis, they had not been able to prove that. When the FLQ kidnapped British diplomat James Cross, it publicized 7 demands, of which only one concerned French-Canadians, pertaining to fairer working conditions which was later dropped (Tetley, 2007). The rest concerned the FLQ themselves: publication of the Manifesto (a public declaration of policy and aims), the name of an informer, $500,000 in gold, the release of 23 jailed terrorists, and to transport them to either Algeria or Cuba (Knowlton, 1990). A goal of Quebec’s at the time, the protection of the French language, was a cause that preoccupied much of the nation, but was not a particular concern for the FLQ. In fact, the 1970 Manifesto was written in and proclaimed in informal French and “Fringlish” (Knowlton, 1990). The FLQ’s dedication to their cause is doubtful. FLQ believed that they weren’t going to get caught, hence their slogan “Independence or death” (Brown, 2011). However, when justice prevailed, the members chose exile rather than martyrdom. This made it clear that the FLQ’s dedication

In 1995 the PQ Government led by Parizeau again flirted with the idea of "sovereignty association". The No side squeaked out a marginal victory. ""À la prochaine fois!" (Until next time!) promised René Lévesque after the 1980 Quebec referendum. Fifteen years later, on Oct. 30, 1995, Quebec and the rest of Canada faced that "next time" as Quebecers decided whether to separate from Canada. Though they voted to stay by the narrowest of margins, the referendum provoked questions about Canadian identity and Quebec's place in Confederation."

Canada faced dramatic changes through the decades of the 1960’s and 1970’s, but in particular the province of Quebec. In 1959, Quebec Premier Maurice Duplessis died, this marked the beginning of the Quiet Revolution. Duplessis was the Union Nationale leader and the party had controlled Quebec for decades until shortly after Duplessis’ death, a provincial election was held where the Liberals, led by Jean Lesage, had won the vote. The Liberals started moving away from the Catholic ideologies, traditions were being shifted and a transformed society was taking over the province of Quebec. Lesage was famously quoted in 1962 “There is no doubt in my mind; it’s now or never that we must become masters in our own home.” which became the Liberals

This period of massive reform that overtook Quebec was given the name: “The Quiet Revolution.” It did not only cause division within the nation, but als, rifts within Quebec itself. The province was an unstable society “where rapid changes [had] occurred, but which [had] not absorbed [those] transformations at an equal rate.” Groups formed on both sides of arguments concerning separatism, maintaining French culture, and social classes within society. People felt lost while everything was changing so quickly and so drastically; defined, opinionated, and unwavering groups began to emerge. Some of these were terrorist groups who felt very strongly about the path that Quebec should be taking, and were unafraid to impose their beliefs on others.

For most Quebecers, November 15, 1976 serves as a memorable date that triggered an array of effects that have come to define today’s Quebec. The date marks the Quebec general election in which the Parti Québécois (PQ) led by René Lévesque, defeated the Quebec Liberal Party, led by Robert Bourassa (Gossage & Little, 2012, p. 265). The victory caused many repercussions and reforms in rural zoning, auto protection, and laws on political party funding (Dickinson & Young, 2008, p. 333). Most notably, the triumph left federalists feeling powerless, particularly in Quebec’s English-speaking community, who were very concerned about the possibility of Quebec independence. Moreover, the bringing in of the Charter of the French Language (Bill 101) on August 26, 1977 contributed to the enlarging strain in Quebec’s English-speaking community (Gossage & Little, 2012, p. 266). As a result, a great deal of research has been made on the intense psychological transformations felt by Quebec’s English-speaking communities following the historic election.

origins of Quebec autonomy through separation. Going back to the election of Jean Lesage and

Probably the worst enemy out of all the wars in history: zombies. It goes by many names: The Great Panic, The Crisis, The Walking Plague. All of these refer to the terrible zombie war, formally known as World War Z. The book is composed of a whole bunch of different interviews from an anonymous man. The anonymous man, the Interviewer, travels the world and interviews people from around the world about these experiences in the war.

The 10-year time period, from 1976 to 1985, is one of the most turbulent periods in Canadian history. In this period there were many historical moments that led Canada to be “reinvented as a modern nation-state.” In the first place “growing nationalist sentiment in” Quebec substantially changed the political map in Canada. For the first time the Parti Quebecois, led by Rene Levesque, was elected in Quebec in November, 1976, which raised tensions in relation to Quebec’s independence and thus ultimately resulted in Quebec’s Sovereignty Referendum in 1980. In response to that, Pierre Trudeau’s Liberals tried to “[push] ahead with constitutional reform,” and in the end achieved Canada’s new constitution, the Canada Act in March 1982, “ending

Lastly, the October Crisis benefitted and affected Canadians in many different ways and is still known today as a big era of Canadian times. At the time it has affected Canadians in Québec as well as the prime minister Pierre Trudeau. First of all the left wing parties of Quebec lost a lot of support and they did not become its own independent country (Katlin, 2012). This Crisis was Canada's first real terrorist attack and because of it, the government learned more to prevent the same events from occurring in the future. The Crisis caused many Canadians to lose support for the FLQ which was the political-left wing party after the kidnappings and various attacks (Katlin, 2012).

Active since 1963, the Front de Liberation du Quebec’s (FLQ) violent actions in October 1970 cost Canadians citizens their rights and freedoms in an attempt to establish Quebec as a separate nation. Prior to Canada becoming a nation and to this date, Quebec has engaged in a tense relationship with English Canada and harbours longstanding resentments over language, religion and multiculturalism. Throughout the 1960’s, the province underwent profound change during the Quiet Revolution and Quebec nationalism soared. During this time, the FLQ organized several bombings and riots. The culmination of the FLQ’s actions in 1970 is referred to as the “October Crisis” which translated into the kidnapping of British Trade Commissioner James Cross and the murder of Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte. The October Crisis also represents Canada’s only encounter with domestic terrorism and the third time the War Measures Act was invoked. The decision to invoke the War Measures Act was a controversial one made by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa since it imposed national martial law. Upon examination of the FLQ’s actions during the October Crisis, the response from the federal government and the impact on Quebec nationalism and the rest of Canada, it is apparent that the government handled the October Crisis tactfully and was correct to invoke the War Measures Act.

Noël argues, that the defeat of the referendum and a high deficit, that required fiscal austerity to resolve it, led old and new social actors in Quebec to mobilize and work with the Quebec government to introduce new social policies. The quiet revolution, to Noël, was less about catching up to the rest of Canada than it was about removing the traps of inequality and mistrust of the state that had prevented social progress. The creation of a welfare state in this context of strong government intervention and rising equality created a Quebec society was more accepting of equality. However, the Quebec model did not develop until after the 1995 referendum. Bouchard was faced with austerity measures

Throughout the sixties there were tons of bombings, running 200 in all but from 1969- to 1970 is where things got very intense. This series of events is called the October crisis, in which the FLQ took British trade commissioner James Cross hostage. The FLQ demanded the release of 23 whom they called”political prisoners” as well as a publication of their manifesto, a plane to Cuba or Algeria, and half a million dollars. They gave the government 24 hours to give in to their demands. The government rejected their ultimatum, but offered to negotiate. Five days after the first hostage-taking, the Chenier cell kidnapped Pierre Laporte, the minister of immigration. Under the war acts measure over 450 people were arrested, including 150 members of

In early 2000s, most private and public budgets in the U.S. were funded through local and sovereign debts. In this regard, staggering mortgage industry, weak fiscal policies, and unscrupulous financial investors principally contributed to the 2008-2009 financial crises. Due to surging inflation and accumulated interests, most borrowers failed to payback their loans due to continued bankruptcy. Consequently, interest rates in various countries were adjusted to balance the demand and supply of the circulating money. In economics, any increase in the price levels concurrently increases demand for money, which means that supply and demand for money did not balance in various economies during the 2008-9 crises.

From the mid 20th century up until the modern day, the world experienced a surge of globalization that consequently led to a period of “unprecedented peace and prosperity” (Adelman and Delatte 2015). This period was able to come to fruition mainly because of the newfound ease of communication individuals and organizations faced; ideas and capital were spread farther, quicker, and with more ease than ever before. However, with the global web of interconnectivity growing more complex as time passed, it became evident that society was experiencing an inverse effect. As more actors began to involve themselves in an international integration, the ability to cooperate was declining. In their article, The Crisis of our Crises, Jeremy Adelman and Anne-Laure Delatte focus on this inverse effect, and the response (or, lack thereof) of policymakers to deal with the crises that emerge from it. The argument that Adelman and Delatte presents in their article in favor of an integrative approach to international crises is certainly plausible due to the fact that globalization is viewed as a function of political economy, and liberal policy that facilitates cooperation in both politics and economics is necessary in order to maintain the prosperity that the world has seen in the last 60 years.