Events That Led To The October Crisis Of 1970 In Quebec

Reign of Trudeau Canada has 23 different Prime Minsters that was in charge of Canada since 1871, but all of these men did not have a positive effect on Canada, while they were in office. Pierre Elliot Trudeau, the 15th Prime Minster of Canada was an exception. For 15 years of being Prime Minster, Trudeau was a great Prime Minster because he united a country which was historically divided and ushered it in a unique bilingually identity. During his time in the office, Trudeau made great advancements in social, political and cultural spheres of Canada.

In the duration of WW1 and WW2, French speaking Canadians were against being conscripted because they felt that there was no point in Canada fighting European wars. Whereas English speaking Canadians supported conscription, mostly to help out Britain in the battles. There was a choice here to either side with the English and conscript people or to side with the French and not go through with it. Canada went through with conscription. This proved to French Canadians that the Canadian government would support the English population whenever there was any form of a debate.(Legare, 2017, 1).

The Canadian Government was not justified in its treatment of Japanese Canadians during the 1940’s as the government acted due to fear and prejudice rather than factual evidence. They were not a safety issue as it was proven even at the time that there was no security threat, the government itself realized it was not acceptable, and the fact that the injustice continued even after the war was over and a security threat was not even possible Although at the time there was a strong anti-Japnese sentiment which was heightened by propaganda, there were still high-level officials who believed in facts on why the treatment was unjustified and unacceptable in opposition to the government. The RCMP who were very concerned regarding the safety of the country found no evidence after conducting a search on Japanese Canadians. Stuart Wood, a RCMP commissioner, stated in a confidential letter, “ We have had no evidence of espionage or sabotage among the Japanese in British Columbia” (Wood).

Shay’s Rebellion “What country before ever existed without a rebellion?” a quote from Jefferson in document C. Throughout the history of the United States many conflicts and protests have occurred. One of these was Shay’s rebellion and it was caused by the government not paying war veterans their money after fighting in the war. This made the protesters threaten the court that they are going to raid the armory and many people consider them rebels for this. Although many people thought the farmers or war veterans were rebels, nevertheless they are truly freedom fighters because they stood up for what was right, kept the government aware of needs, and were not treated fairly.

6 Almost every Revolution in history has been initiated by a distinct and abrupt sparking event. This sparking event often splits into two distinguishing features. The first spark is the ideology, and the second is the consolidation of that ideology through violence. The idea of this sparking event is evident In the latin root of the word revolution, “revolutio”. Literally translated a revolution is “ turn around”, an abrupt reaction.

In all, four unarmed civilians were killed and dozens injured. English and French Canada hadn 't been so divided since Louis Riel was hanged in 1885. When the war ends, the fallout of the conscription issue would continue long after. For many years the Conservative Party, which had brought in conscription, will find it hard to get votes in Quebec.

The Reign of Terror In September 1793 to July 1794, the Reign of Terror killed over 40,000 people in France using the guillotine a machine that made it a simple way to execute a mass amount of people. The Reign of Terror was led by no other than , Robespierre. He was trying to form a new government but instead caused thousands of people to be massacred. Ultimately, The Reign of Terror in France was not justified because the threats did not require it, the methods were too extreme and It did not support the ideals of the revolution.

To call this era of drastic change the ‘Quiet Revolution’ is a vivid, and yet, paradoxical description. The Quiet Revolution was a time of intense socio-political and socio-cultural change in Quebec, which extended beyond Quebec’s borders because of its influence on contemporary Canadian politics. As a result of the effects of the changes that occurred during this Quiet Revolution, most Quebec provincial governments since the early 1960s have maintained political and social orientations based on the core concepts developed and implemented during the Quiet Revolution. As such, there is no doubt that the Quiet Revolution had a significant impact in Canadian History. This impact can be characterized by the prelude to the Quiet Revolution; the demographic evolution of Quebec; the social educational reforms that were put in place; the economic reforms and their impact; the rise of nationalism; and finally, the cultural changes that occurred.

In October 1970, a Quebec minister and a British diplomat were kidnapped by the FLQ. First on October 5th, the members of FLQ kidnapped British Trade Commissioner James Cross. Then on October 10th they kidnapped Pierre Laporte the minister and deputy premier. The group name FLQ stands for Front for the Liberation of Quebec. (Front de libération du Québec).

In August 1955, FLN members (predominantly Muslim), attack colons or European immigrants. They were successful in the sense that they killed 123 colons. The attack started at noon, in Phillipville. The FLN had informed the local muslims that an Egyptian force had landed on the coast and soon the French would be expelled from Algeria. Armed with clubs and sticks, axes, knives and pitchforks, the Muslim peasants chanted “Jihad!

With a state of insurrection in Canada caused by the infamous terrorist group, the Front de Liberation du Québec (FLQ), it is believed that the invocation of the War Measures Act during the October Crisis of 1970 was justified. In 1970, Canada was in a state of apprehended insurgence attributable to the acts of the notorious Quebec terrorists known as the FLQ. From 1963 to 1969, the ethnically delimited terrorists fought tirelessly to create a revolution and instigate public hate crime within Canada, however the groups most climactic incident was the kidnapping of British diplomat James Cross and Quebec Minister of Labour, Pierre Laporte in the October Crisis of 1970 (Torrance, J., 1988). Both men were captured at gunpoint, whilst authorities received a list of ransom demands to be filled in exchange for the lives of the hostages. With political upheaval, public resistance and immense fear in a state of proclaimed ‘apprehended insurrection’, on October 16 1970, the formidable War Measures Act was invoked by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to eliminate all FLQ members and supporters (Bélanger, C., 2000).

Our government claims that as humans we are innocent until proven guilty, however this is not the case as we are locking up these unfortunate people upon their arrival. Human rights commission released that what the government was doing is illegal. Our nation in response focused not on the mistreatment of these innocent beings but instead asked for the resignation of the human rights commissioner, Gillian Triggs for shedding the truth of what is really

Today, Canada is seen as a multicultural and peaceful nation that has evolved over the course of history. This great nation would never have been possible without the impact that former Prime Minister, Lester B. Pearson left on this country. His achievements and insights profoundly affected and shaped Canada’s nation. First, peacekeeping is an important part of Canada’s heritage and a reflection of its fundamental beliefs that Pearson implemented after dealing with world changing situations and winning a Nobel Prize. Also, his contributions as a liberal leader as well as the flaws and controversy with Diefenbaker did in fact define this country.

A drastic approach some Quebeckers took happened during the October Crisis. It began on October 5, 1970, with the kidnapping of James Cross, a British trade commissioner in the city of Montreal, Quebec. This was carried out by a radical separatist group, Front de Libération du Québec, often shortened to FLQ. Later Pierre Laporte, the Minister of Labour, was kidnapped also. With these acts of terrorism plaguing Quebec, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau enacted the War Measures Act.

On July 14, 1789, Parisian revolutionaries and mutinous troops stormed the Bastille, a state prison and a detention center located on the east side of Paris. They captured 250 barrels of gunpowder and found 7 prisoners inside the bastille. Prisoners inside the Bastille weren’t there because of murder or theft, they were there for political crimes things such as talking bad about the state, people that were imprisoned in the fortress were Authors and Political pornographers. What led up to this event was due to the doing of Louis XIV, a leader who led the country to corruption with the weight of taxes on the third estates and food shortages. The day before the storming of the bastille mobs July 13, mobs stormed the Paris arsenal and armories