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The Front De Liberation Du Quebec

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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.
Through the FLQ’s violent history, the kidnapping of James Cross and the murder of

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