The War Measures Act During The September Crisis

Pierre Elliot Trudeau was the fifteenth prime minister of Canada. He had many accomplishments that benefited all of Canada which include the official language act of Canada where he made French and English the official languages, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom, and the liberalization of laws on abortion, homosexuality and the legalization of lotteries. These are only a few of the many accomplishments that Pierre Trudeau achieved for Canada while his position in Parliament that was important.

In further analysis, angry people are more likely to listen to militants and commit violent acts, building a tense environment for Quebec citizens to live in. According to CBC Digital Archives, in response to the FLQ and other revolutionary groups forming, “when innocent people became injured from terrorist attacks, the cry for police involvement became shrill.” (FLQ Backgrounder Web) It is evident in this statement that many separatists who resorted to acts of terrorism consequently stimulated anger and fear in Quebec. If the Quiet Revolution had not occurred and the feelings of separatism and rise of terrorist groups did not follow, fewer people would have been hurt by the violence, both directly and indirectly. All things considered, the encouragement of separatism also weakened English-French relations as Quebec left 30 large shared programs, though the other provinces did not have the right to do so. All things considered, “from the Quebec Act of 1774 to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Canada has protected the place of its French minority. If Quebec were to separate, that protection would be gone and the Francophone society would be assimilated by the wider world within a generation or two.” (Kheiriddin) In relation to this comment, many English Canadians viewed Quebec’s special status during the revolution as

Pierre Trudeau was the 15th prime minister of Canada. During his time as prime minister he changed a lot of Canadians lives for the better. He also, made history that will never be forgotten by past, present and future Canadians. Pierre Trudeau kept Canada united, avoiding Quebec to separate from Canada. Trudeau passed many the “Official Language Act” in 1969 making English and French Canada’s official languages. This act made government workers to offer services in both English and French. Trudeau passed many bills and acts, which adequately helped Canada to develop more as a nation. He abolished the death penalty in 1976 which didn’t make people die for the crimes they did or did not commit. He strengthened gun control laws so deaths by gun

“Just watch me” are the defiant words uttered by Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau in response to the Front de liberation du Quebec (FLQ), a Marxist group who captained Quebec independence through indiscriminate political violence. His words are not those of an iron-fisted strongman, despite how strong and undetailed his comments were at the time, but those of a calculated and well-versed leader, whose decisions came at the behest of prominent Quebec politicians. The FLQ instilled a decade of social violence in the streets of Quebec by systemically championing the struggles of French minorities who perceived unjust treatment in everyday life. Their qualms quickly evolved from protest to a Marxist movement, which incorporated

The Front de Libération du Québec, or the FLQ was the main group that was responsible for the October Crisis. This group of French Canadians were violent to reach their goals. FLQ members were trained by revolutionaries who supported Che Guevara, and some were trained by Palestinian commandos. They’ve committed 200 violent actions, have robbed banks, and participated in bombings. Not only did they commit those actions but they also kidnapped British Trade Commissioner James Cross and kidnapped Pierre Laporte. Laporte was found dead on October 17, 1970 which led to Prime Minister Trudeau broadcasting the FLQ manifesto and transporting five FLQ terrorists to Cuba to release James Cross. The government responded to this crisis by implementing the War Measures Act. This gave the government the power to take people’s civil rights away. They responded with the crisis using the War Measures Act as they believed that the people wanted to overthrow the Canadian government. French-English relations were greatly affected from the October

idea of turning Canada back to its original roots. He compares Harper's government system with Pierre Trudeau’s. Arguing about the struggles and failures of

The War Powers Act limits the power of the President of the United States to wage war without the approval of the Congress. The War Powers Act is also known as The War Powers Resolution. The purpose of the War Powers Resolution is to ensure that Congress and the President share in making decisions that may get the United States involved in hostilities. It prohibits the President from waging war beyond 60 days without the Congressional approval (MILNET: The War Powers Act of 1973). Authorization can be made in many forms such as a temporary waiver of the Act or via a Declaration of War (MILNET: The War Powers Act of 1973).

From the overthrowing of the Russian Tsar to the exile of the Nationalists, the world has been in a state where radical movements have been the main focus of citizens, even in democratic societies. The October Crisis was one of these extraordinary events that had occurred. It was a period of international and national revolutionary movements that used violent acts against constitutional measures. The 1970 October Crisis was a pivotal moment that had an undeniable and lasting impact on Canadians as it revealed the wisdom of Trudeau’s decision to enact the War Measures Act, demonstrated that the FLQ (a left-winged terrorist organization) was not a good representative of the French-Canadians, and it

Under the sweeping authority of the act, 465 Canadians were so rounded up. A day later, on Saturday October 17th, the body of Pierre Laporte was found stuffed in the trunk of a green Chevrolet. In Ottawa, government sources said the FLQ assassinated Laporte because War Measures was enacted. The tension that night was palpable. John Turner, the minister of justice, looked distraught. In his office, Trudeau ministers Gerard Pelletier and Jean Marchand were weeping openly at the death of an old friend and colleague. Early in December 1970, police discovered the location of the kidnappers holding James Cross. He was released after his FLQ captors were given safe passage to Cuba. Four weeks later Paul Rose and the kidnappers of Pierre Laporte were found in the corner of a country basement. They were tried and convicted for kidnapping and murder. The October Crisis was the first time in Canadian history the state itself, both in Ottawa and in Quebec City, was held to ransom by extremists and terrorists. It was also the first time, in peace time, that Ottawa invoked War Measures. It was a drastic step to take and one laced with very dangerous side effects. In the guilt-by-association atmosphere engendered by War Measures hysteria, the terrorism and extremism of the separatist FLQ tarnished all separatist movements in Quebec. Also, Rene

Soon after the outbreak of World War II, Trudeau began to study law at the Université de Montréal. Pierre was strongly against signing up to fight. Like most French Canadians at that time, he didn`t believe that it was just a war. Rumours about the Holocaust swirled around campus. Nothing could distract Pierre from his studies. A few months later, he heard a speech by Ernest Lapointe, who was Prime Minister Mackenzie King`s right-hand man and Quebec lieutenant. He promised the crowd that there would be no absolutely no conscription, or so Pierre thought.

In October 1970, Canada faced a pressing terrorist attack in Montreal, Quebec by a group known as the Front de Liberation du Quebec, or the FLQ for short. The group committed multiple attacks starting in 1963 that slowly escalated until the October Crisis, where they kidnapped two government officials and proceeded to murder one of them. The Canadian government responded harshly and rapidly. The prime minister of Canada, Pierre Trudeau, issued the War Measures Act which along with various things allowed the police and military full reign to arrest people and hold them with no explanation. The Canadian population was highly supportive of the government’s action believing that this extreme state repression would bring a finish to the October

Pierre Elliot Trudeau was arguably one of the most vivacious and charismatic Prime Ministers Canada has ever seen. He wore capes, dated celebrities and always wore a red rose boutonniere. He looked like a superhero, and often acted like one too. Some of the landmark occurrences in Canadian history all happened during the Trudeau era, such as patriating the constitution, creating the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the 1980 Quebec Referendum. However, it is Trudeau’s 1969 “white paper” and the Calder legal challenge which many consider to be one of his most influential contributions to Canadian history.

Once the Military Service Act was put in place, the problems began that made the Conscription Crisis of 1917 so significant. Almost immediately Quebec anti-conscription riots broke out all over Montreal. The province of Quebec was totally opposing the fact of serving in World War One. The fact that forcing young men to fight and die was thought to be an outrage in Quebec. Never minding the fact that the Canadian Corps was nearly in Complete English. During the riots nearly forty percent of the Québécois conscripted men did not report for their duty in the war. The views French-Canadian's between the majorities of the English Canadian's were basically utterly opposed to each other causing the relations between the two the lowest ever within Canadian history. In both the elections of 1917 and 1921 seventy percent of the Quebec Population voted liberal for the loss of trust from the conservatives due to this event. "The 1917 Election was the most bitter in Canadian history, viciously fought on both sides"- said

In the midst of the October Crisis Pierre Trudeau handled the time of terrorism well. In this essay one will see how Trudeau handled the crisis excellently by examining the first domestic use of the War Measures Act which led to improvements on the Act, ensuring that Quebec did not become its own independent country, and how Canada stood behind and supported Quebec and Pierre Trudeau through the acts of violence led by the FLQ.

In this essay, I will demonstrate that the Prime Minister is powerful and can cause many potential dangers by analyzing different elements inside and outside of our government over the period of different Prime Ministers throughout the Canadian political history.