Artefact 1: Newspaper Hawker with newspaper announcing use of War Measures Act
Bregg, Peter. Boy with War Measures Act Newspaper, Photograph. Canadian Press. October 16, 1970. https://www.historymuseum.ca/teachers-zone/lost-liberties/october-crisis/paperboy-for-the-ottawa-journal-announcing-invocation-of-the-war-measures-act/
Artefact Label:
This artifact shows a young newsboy holding up a newspaper that announces the federal government's decision to approve the use of the war measures act as a means to deal with the FLQ. As the Federal government became more desperate to find a solution to the ongoing violence the FLQ was enacting throughout Quebec, eventually drastic measures were taken to deal with the issue at hand. So on October 13th, 1970 Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act, which suspended the civil liberties of Canadians allowing the government to detain anyone suspected to be connected to the FLQ without due process. This decision was and still is considered to be extremely controversial, as while many Canadians felt that it was necessary to quickly end the crisis, others felt as if it violated the rights of Canadians and the use implementation of the War Measures Act in this scenario was a gross overstep of federal power.
Sources:
Tetley, William. The October Crisis, 1970 : An Insider’s View. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2007. https://search-ebscohost-com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat03710a&AN=alb.7228079&site=eds-live&scope=site.