The Impact of October Crisis of Canada - Essay Example

The impact of October crises in Canada The October crisis in Canada in 1970 is a historical event that is viewed as one of the most violent incidents in the history of Canada. It started with the kidnapping and killing of two top government officials by the Front du Liberation de Quebec (FLQ) revolutionary movement of Quebec. In response, the government engaged in military action in order to eliminate this movement. This resulted to the arrest and death of many individuals. This action has become a subject of criticism as various analysis present varying opinions regarding the action taken by the government. All in all, the effects of this war had many negative implications for the people of Canada, and especially Quebec. This article reviews the impact of this in Canada and mainly Quebec. On 5thOctober 1970, James Cross, who was a British diplomat, was kidnapped in his residence at gun point. In a few hours the members of FLQ movement admitted to the abduction. They demanded for the release of their own members who were convicted for murder and violence. The justice minister of Quebec denied these demands. On the same day the Quebec minister of labor and immigration, Pierre Laporte, was kidnapped and later killed. This triggered the government to deploy the Canadian armed forces to assist the local police in manning Canada. They also declared the “apprehend insurrection” under the war measures act. The state of emergency declared a ban against the FLQ movement and detention without charges were authorized (Tetley, 2006). The Quebec nationalists started the FLQ movement in 1963 as measure to initiate a spirit of unity in Quebec. The Quebec people comprised of individuals who used French as their first language. This spirit of nationalism was historical from the time France had colonized the region of North America which is currently referred to as Quebec. In Quebec the majority of the people were French speakers as compared to their number in the rest of Canada. As a result, they viewed themselves as a secluded minority. This feeling to a large extent propelled this group to establish a movement that would sensitive to their democratic rights. For instance, their remuneration was lower than that of the British people. In the province of Quebec, the English Canadian earned 40% percent higher than all other ethnic groups (Monrue, 2009). This strengthened the desire to form an entity to fight for their survival as the government had failed to provide the same. This was the origin of this revolutionary movement (Tetley, 2006). The FLQ was started by three individuals; Georges Schoeters, Raymond Villeneuve and Gabriel Hudon. Their motto was “revolution for the people by the people” conveyed in their manifesto of 1963. Their aim was to fight all colonial symbols and institutions such as police, the media services, and all enterprises that discriminated against the French speakers. From this time, they carried out various raid attacks including the bombing of the army recruiting Centre in Montreal. The terrorist group grew despite of the great opposition from the government and many members of Quebec. By 1970, the group had detonated over 95 bombs, killing people and causing severe damage to properties. The government had taken about 23 members of this group into prison for terrorist actions, including murder (Smith, 2006). The kidnapping of James Cross and Pierre Laporte was the climax of the terrorist threats. After the government refused to honor their demands to have their prisoners released, they killed Laporte and told the police where to find him. The Canadian prime minister decided to act. He was ready to go an extra mile to reinstate the situation and eliminate the FLQ movement. The War measures Act saw 224 people arrested and put in prison for 90 days without trial. However, this was not enough to stop the FLQ. They issued more threats if their demands were not fulfilled. According to the Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, there was a beginning of “a parallel power” which could not be tolerated by the state (Bouthillier&Cloutier, 2010). In an interview, he stated that it was in order keep law and order by getting rid of those committing violence against the society (English, 2009). Consequently, the government stationed military reinforcements in Quebec. Six thousand troops backed up the police lining up the whole street and guarding the government buildings with an aim to protect the society against further attacks from the LFQ movement members. Searches were conducted in all offices. The police were allowed to break into the buildings and residences of the suspected members of this movement. They searched for files that could provide the list of registered members of the movement. In addition, there was a massive arrest all over Canada. Those in custody were only questioned but there were no trials. In fact most of the arrests were released eventually without any form of trial (Smith, 2006). The implication of the state of War measures act has received criticism from many analysts. There was evidence of suppression of human rights during this crisis period. First, the civil rights of the people were overridden. The police and army stormed into people’s residents and searched without any prior notice on the search or even a warrant. This was a contradiction to the law of the land. This was caused fear and panic among the people (Shane, 2009). This received a lot of criticism from the majority of the public. Nevertheless, the attitude of most of the nationalists was positive towards the so enacted measure. This was an evidence of the bias against the French speakers in the state (Munroe, 2010). Also, unlawful arrest was evident. After the institution of the War measures Act, the mobilized police detained about 497 people, who were viewed as suspect terrorists and their supporters. Examples of individuals arrested are Robert Remieux and Charles Gagnon. The arrests were conducted without trial, which is against the law. According to the law, arrested individuals should be taken to court within 7 days. This was not the case during this period. Most of those arrested at this time spent about 21 days in remand without being taken to court. This has received a lot of criticism as violation of human rights. Again, the arrested people were denied any form of legal process. They were not allowed to contact their lawyers or any legal counsel, which is against their right (Canadian Human Rights History, 2009). The media services also suffered during this crisis. Prominent media staff and journalists were arrested and interrogated. A good example is the CKAC radio host Louis Fournier. The reporters were cautioned against making some subtle comments against the War act measure. The government order media services to abstain from presenting a critical perspective of the act. Those who did not comply such as Michel Bourdon of Radio Canada were suspended for insubordination (Clément, 2008). Most scholars’ have presented a critical judgment particularly to the pressure and repeated attempts of intimidation of the Prime minister and his colleagues in the media. Also affected were teachers who were banned from discussing the topic with their students (Munroe, 2009: 2010). In conclusion, it is clear that the October Crisis in Canada in 1970 was triggered by the LFQ movement which was started to fight for the minority French speakers who were disadvantaged in various capacities such as employment. The government viewed this as terrorist revolution that required immediate abolishment. The government action was strict to the people of Quebec, and more so to the entire population of Canada. Consequently, the government overreacted by establishing measures that conflicted the law and denied individual and media of their human rights. Despite their success to eliminate the violent movement, this act resulted in a historical crisis that affected the entire of Canada. References Bouthillier, G & Cloutier, É. (2010). Trudeau's Darkest Hour: War Measures in Time of Peace October 1970. Montréal: Baraka Books.  Canadian Human Rights History. (2009). The October Crisis. Retrieved from: < http://www.historyofrights.com/events/flq.html> Clément, D. (2008). The October Crisis of 1970:Human Rights Abuses Under the War Measures Act. Retrieved from: http://www.historyofrights.com/PDF/article_JCS.pdf English, J. (2009). Just Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau: 1968-2000. Canada: Alfred A. Knopf. Munroe, D. (2009). The October Crisis Revisited: Counterterrorism as Strategic Choice, Political Result, and Organizational Practice. Retrieved from: http://olympiasummeracademy.org/2012/readings/Cycle_C/Munroe_October%20Crisis.pdf Munroe, S. (2010). October Crisis Timeline: Key Events in the October Crisis In Canada. Retrieved from: < http://canadaonline.about.com /cs/octobercrisis/a/octobercrisistl.htm> Shane, H. (2009). The October Crisis - The Canadian Response to Terror. Retrieved from: Smith, D. (2006). The October Crisis. Retrieved from: Tetley, W. (2006). The October Crisis, 1970 : An Insiders View. Ontario: McGill-Queen's. Read More