October Crisis Essay Essay Sample - New York Essays.
On October 16 the federal government, acting on Quebec’s request, declared that an “apprehended insurrection” existed in Quebec and invoked the War Measures Act. This was Canada’s emergency law, developed back in World War 1, which gave the government and the police special powers in a time of crisis, suspending most normal civil liberties.
In an attempt to revisit and stimulate debate on the long-term ramifications of the October Crisis, the following essay examines the crisis from a unique perspective: human rights. The literature on the crisis, particularly in English, is dominated by political histories and testimonials, as well as assumptions surrounding the public's response to the use of emergency powers.
Trudeau And The War Measures Act History Essay. Although in recent years Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s decision to implement the War Measures Act during the October Crisis of Nineteen Seventy has been marred with criticism and opposition, during the Crisis itself, few of his contemporaries disagreed with his decision to invoke the Act.
This essay will focus on three areas of importance in protecting our country’s safety during the October Crisis of 1970: the protection of high profile politicians that were in danger from the FLQ, the placement of military officers in Quebec City, Montreal, and Ottawa ;and the federal government’s implementation of the War Measures Act.
The next two essays were written to mark anniversaries — the tenth anniversary of Pierre Trudeau’s invocation of the War Measures Act in 1970, and the sixtieth anniversary of Canada’s imprisoning eight communists in 1931. In both cases, men and women were jailed not because of anything they’d done, only because of their political beliefs.
Letters from the Quebec authorities requesting the War Measures Act. Text of the War Measures Act. Public Order Regulation, October 1970. Justice Minister John Turner’s explanations in the House of Commons regarding the War Measures Act. Trudeau’s televised statement on the War Measures Act. Reaction of the FLQ to the War Measures Act.
The quickest and most effective way of terminating this terrorist organization (FLQ), was invoking the War Measures Act. Almost immediately action was taken, and peace was restored within days. “The War Measures Act Regulations on October 16, 1970 was the immediate cause of the end of the violence.” (Tetley, 2006) The War Measures act had ended FLQ-terrorism.