Artefact 7: Tables for people to send telegrams to Prime Minister Trudeau, protesting the War Measures Act

Citation: McKee, SJ. Left- Telegrams protesting the War Measures Act. To Prime Minister Trudeau and Premier Schreyer. Sign Here. Right- We do NOT support FLQ. We do oppose the suspending of YOUR civil liberties. History Collection. Archives, Brandon University, 2017. https://cdn.historycollection.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Left-22Telegrams-protesting-the-War-Measures-Act.-To-Prime-Minister-Trudeau-and-Premier-Schreyer.-Sign-Here.-Right-We-do-22NOT22-support-FLQ.-We-do-oppose-the-suspending-of-22YOUR22-civil-liberties.22-fivedecadesofchange-.jpg.

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Controversy surrounding the War Measures Act was in large part due to the suspension of civil liberties. Many Canadians felt that the Act infringed on their rights that were protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. While some people took part in protests in Ottawa and Montreal, others such as the two men featured in this Artefact set up tables where protesters could send telegrams to the Prime Minister. The telegrams would serve as a form of petition in which they sought to have the War Measures Act lifted. However, it is important to note that Prime Minister Trudeau was supported in his decisions for the most part by Canadians outside of Quebec. For human rights activists however, they were outraged with the enactment of the War Measures Act which Trudeau had predicted they would be. It could be argued that those who supported him would not have been in favour of the Act had had their civil liberties suspended. Nonetheless, people in Montreal were subject to searches and seizures of personal property without a warrant, many of whom were innocent. It was through the decisions to enact such federal legislation that innocent Canadians were subjected to rights violations under the War Measures Act that mimicked those of the Quiet Revolution in the 1960s.

Bibliography:

Clément, Dominique. 2008. “The October Crisis of 1970: Human Rights Abuses Under the" War Measures Act.".” Journal of Canadian Studies 42 (2): 160–186. https://search-ebscohost-com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=40127224&site=eds-live&scope=site.