Were trudeaus actions right? If yes? Why? Specific gains? If no, why not, what else should he have done?
The October Crisis of 1970: Human Rights Abuses Under the
War Measures Act
Dominique Clément
Journal of Canadian Studies/Revue d'études canadiennes, Volume
42, Number 2, Spring 2008, pp. 160-186 (Article)
Published by University of Toronto Press
A short guide to the articles about the FLQ crisis:
Pierre Trudeau, “1968-1974: Power and Responsibility,” from Trudeau: Memoirs, Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1993, 130-152.
- This is a selection from Prime Minister Trudeau’s own memoirs, in which he defends his decision to use the war measures act.
Rene Levesque, “Apprenticeship” and “Je Me Souviens,” from Memoirs, Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1995, 161-167, and 242-251.
- This is two short sections of the memoirs of the leader of the Parti Quebecois in 1970, Rene Levesque. Remember the complicated position he is in – he support separatism, but obviously opposes the actions of the FLQ.
Eric Kierans, “Resignation,” from Remembering, Toronto: Stoddart, 2001, 178-184.
- Eric Kierans was a cabinet minister in the government of Pierre Trudeau in 1970. He provides a viewpoint from the government side, but one that does not necessarily agree with the actions of the government.
Dominique Clement, “The October Crisis of 1970: Human Rights abuses under the War Measures Act,” Journal of Canadian Studies, 42,2 (2008), 160-186.
- Clement is an historian, and this is an academic article that discusses the broad abuses of human rights that occurred across Canada while the War Measures Act was in effect.
Were trudeaus actions right? If yes? Why? Specific gains? If no, why not, what else should he have done? (3 pages long) Are you willing to sacrifice your freedoms to prevent terrorism? Do you trust the government to decide for you? Why or why not (half a page or 1 page) the questions above is what the proff wants us to answer, i will attach the readings for you that he wants us to use can i please get it soon so i can take it to him to proof read it you can also add your own sources
Were trudeaus actions right? If yes? Why? Specific gains? If no, why not, what else should he have done? Are you willing to sacrifice your freedoms to prevent terrorism? Do you trust the government to decide for you? Why or why not
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Trudeaus Actions
The actions by Pierre Elliott Trudeau to invoke the War Measures Act were coined from a series of events that led to the two kidnappings of British trade commissioner, Cross Richard and Pierre Laporte, Quebec’s labour minister and the government's senior Cabinet minister, by the Front de Libération du Québec (FLQ) members in Quebec province in October 1970 (Levesque, 1995). The kidnappers were threatening to kill Cross if the Canadian government did not release 23 prison inmates charged in Canada with Front related crimes. The FLQ cited that those inmates were political prisoners, and also wanted their manifesto to be read on the Canadian national television.
These are some of the situations that resulted to the implementation of War Measures Act meant. This implementation meant that Trudeau had endowed on himself the power to arrest and hold in jail indefinitely anyone he wished, but without charging them with any crime (Trudeau, 1993). The implementation of this law also gave Pierre Trudeau the powers to;
Censor, control and suppress publications, communications, maps, writings, photographs, and plans.
Arrest put into custody exclusively and deport non-citizens.
Control the ports, harbours and territorial Canadian waters as well as the movements of vessels.
Have control over transportation by air, land or water and the transportation of persons or things.
Control over trade, production, importation, exportation, and manufacture.
Control, Appropriation, forfeit, and disposition of property and their usage thereof.
The question of whether implementation of War Measures Act by Trudeau was the right thing to do has been the subject of hotly debated subject in the history of Canada today. A Gallup poll that was taken in 1970 December revealed that an average of 87.5 % of both the English-speaking Canadians and French-speaking Canadians supported the implementation of the Act. Notwithstanding, there are a minority of people who expressed their voices against the usage of this law (Clément, 2008). The event has been perceived as both duly necessary and unjustified on the other hand. However, according to my opinions, Trudeau did not do the right thing as he gave himself so much power such as has been listed above.
The positive thing is that Trudeau did not use the totalitarian power that the act gave him. However, Trudeau used the powers in (b) above extensively where 497 individuals were arrested of which only 62 of them were released without charges. Prominent leaders, such as Robert Stanfield, René Lévesque and Tommy Douglas opposed the step by Trudeau to invoke that law because they thought that the action was an excessive exercise of power (Kierans, 2001). Such criticism was reinforced by unfolding of events after the implementation where the police officials were accused of abusing their powers and detaining prominent artists and intellectuals without cause.
Many of those people who were arrested were associated with the sovereignty movement, which makes me conclude that the real reasons for Trudeau’s invoking the War Measures Act c...