Albert Campbell District Blog

On October 16 and beyond, take a moment to remember
the 1970 October
Crisis and the first peacetime implementation of the War Measures Act
in Canada on October 16, 1970 following the kidnapping of British Trade
Commissioner James Cross
and Québec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte on
October 5, 1970 and October 10, 1970 respectively by the Front de libération du Québec
(FLQ). On October 16, 1970, Québec Premier Robert Bourassa requested
that the government of Canada give the government of Québec powers to “apprehend and keep in custody” individuals. The
Canadian government responded by invoking the War Measures Act in peacetime for
the first time in Canadian history, resulting in the suspension of habeas corpus
(or the right to be released from unlawful detention) all across Canada. On
October 17, 1970, Pierre Laporte was killed by the FLQ.

Canadians across the country were concerned about
safety and security in light of what was occurring in Québec during the October Crisis. The implementation of the War
Measures Act proved immensely popular in both Québec and the rest of Canada at the time. However, there were
those who were concerned that the Canadian government under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau
overreacted in using the War Measures Act which set a dangerous precedent in suspending
civil liberties. The main focal point outside of Québec opposing the implementation of the War Measures Act in
response to the October Crisis was the New Democratic Party, 16 of whose 20 Members
of Parliament at the time, including then-party leader Tommy Douglas
and then-deputy leader David
Lewis, opposed the measure because the Act, whose intent
was to be used in wartime, applied all throughout Canada and not just in Québec since it was federal law, and
that there might be temptation for law enforcement agencies outside of Québec to take advantage of the
situation. Douglas and the NDP were vilified for their stand at the time but
others who supported the War Measures Act in October 1970 later expressed
regret at doing so and praised the courage of Tommy Douglas, David Lewis and
others in opposing the War Measures Act on principle, such as then-Progressive
Conservative Leader Robert Stanfield. Eventually, the War Measures Act was
repealed and replaced by the Emergencies Act
in July 1988 during the Progressive Conservative government mandate of Prime
Minister Brian
Mulroney.

The invoking of the War Measures Act to deal with
the October Crisis engenders much debate to this day. What do you think? Not
sure? Then consider borrowing items from Toronto Public Library collections to
learn more and decide for yourself:

Identity
crisis & the rise of Quebec: Canada in the 20^th century [1953 to
1982] / Link Byfield, 2009. Book. Adult Non-Fiction. 971.064 BYF

Byfield’s book includes an excellent synopsis of the
October Crisis on pages 156 to 162 inclusive.

The
October Crisis, 1970: an insider's view / William Tetley, 2006. Book. Adult
Non-Fiction. 971.40409 TET

The
author, an international law professor, served in the Québec government’s cabinet when the October Crisis occurred.
Using information from sources now available as well as his own diary, he
discussed the Québec
government’s decision-making process, and emphasized that all but sixty of
those individuals who were apprehended by the authorities were released.

Trudeau's
darkest hour: War Measures in time of peace, October 1970 / edited by Guy
Bouthillier and Édouard Cloutier, 2010. Book. Adult Non-Fiction. 971.404 TRU

Contributors to this book included Margaret
Atwood, Tommy Douglas, Don Jamieson, Eric Kierans, Peter C. Newman, Brian
Moore, and Desmond Morton.

Consider the following documentaries in
DVD format on the October Crisis:

Action,
the October crisis of 1970 [DVD] / Robin Spry et al.; National Film Board
of Canada, 2006, [1973]. DVD. Documentary. Adult Non-Fiction. 322.42097 ACT

This 1973 documentary used news film and
live footage in detailing the October 1970 events involving political terrorist
groups such as the FLQ as well as providing an overview of the independence
movement in Québec, and
analyzed the reaction of political leaders to Canadian military intervention in
Montréal during
the crisis.

Also available in French as:

Les
événements d'octobre 1970 [DVD] / Robin Spry et al.; National Film Board of
Canada, 2006, [1974]. DVD. Documentary. French Adult Non-Fiction. 322.42097 EVE

Black
October [DVD] / Terence McKenna et al.; Canadian Broadcasting Corporation,
2000. DVD. Documentary. Adult Non-Fiction. 322.42097 BLA

This documentary recalled
the course of events that comprised the 1970 October Crisis, including
interviews with James Cross, Pierre Trudeau, and members of the FLQ who were
involved in the kidnapping of James Cross and Pierre Laporte.

Crise
d’octobre [DVD] / Guy Gendron et al.; Tout le monde en parle (Television
program); Société
Radio-Canada, 2010. DVD. Documentary. French Adult Non-Fiction. 971.404 CRI

This DVD contains two
episodes of Société Radio-Canada’s French language program “Tout le monde en
parle” that discussed the 1970 October Crisis on September 23-24, 2010. (1.
L'engagement (23 sept. 2010) — 2. Le dénouement (24 sept. 2010).)