Artefact 3: Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau announcing the enactment of the War Measures Act

Citation:  

National Archives of Canada. On October 16, 1970, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invoked The War Measures Act after a radical Quebec separatist group kidnapped British trade commissioner James Richard Cross and Quebec minister of labour Pierre Laporte. Pictured here Trudeau making a statement after the release James Cross, December 1970. CBC. 2001. https://www.cbc.ca/history/histo_en_fichiers_ep/a_493.jpg.

Label:

In a press conference after invoking the War Measures Act on October 16, 1970; Prime Minister (PM) Pierre Trudeau famously said “just watch me”, when asked how far he would go in a response to the FLQ’s kidnapping of Pierre Laporte. His response was not to be taken lightly as for the first time since World War Two the War Measures Act came into use. The actions taken by the Canadian PM and his government have been called into question countless times. The Act, though successful in its uncovering and capturing of FLQ members, alienated many Canadians as it put a pause on their civil liberties. This suspension allowed for searches, seizures and arrests without a warrant. Thus, calling into question why Trudeau felt that the FLQ crisis was such a volatile insurrection that the Act needed to be invoked. Many Quebecois felt that their rights had been infringed upon by the government, leading to protests against the Act in its entirety.

Bibliography:

Munroe, H.D. 2009. “The October Crisis Revisited: Counterterrorism as Strategic Choice, Political Result, and Organizational Practice.” Terrorism and Political Violence 21 (2): 288-305. https://doi.org/10.1080/09546550902765623.