War Measures Act

“Just watch me”. One of the most popular quotes in all of Canadian history and was said by Canadian Prime Minister, Pierre Elliott Trudeau. His legacy, attitude, and work transformed Canada and still continues to do so. Trudeau was the Prime Minister of Canada, from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Pierre Trudeau changed Canada’s social-political ideology. Canada is now known to be a diverse, multicultural, bilingual and inclusive nation largely as a result of his work. Pierre Elliott Trudeau also believed in an equal Canada for all, he is primarily the one to introduce rights and freedoms to the citizens of Canada. While some view Pierre Trudeau as impulsive, for enforcing the War Measures Act, Trudeau enacted this for the protection of Canadian citizens against radical extremist and his actions were more rational than impulsive for the situation that had suddenly occurred. Pierre Trudeau was one of Canada’s greatest Prime Minister’s, who’s impact fundamentally changed the course of the nation by introducing multiculturalism, for introducing the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and for paradoxically upholding democracy by strong action during the October Crisis.

With a state of insurrection in Canada caused by the infamous terrorist group, the Front de Liberation du Québec (FLQ), it is believed that the invocation of the War Measures Act during the October Crisis of 1970 was justified. In 1970, Canada was in a state of apprehended insurgence attributable to the acts of the notorious Quebec terrorists known as the FLQ. From 1963 to 1969, the ethnically delimited terrorists fought tirelessly to create a revolution and instigate public hate crime within Canada, however the groups most climactic incident was the kidnapping of British diplomat James Cross and Quebec Minister of Labour, Pierre Laporte in the October Crisis of 1970 (Torrance, J., 1988). Both men were captured at gunpoint, whilst authorities received a list of ransom demands to be filled in exchange for the lives of the hostages. With political upheaval, public resistance and immense fear in a state of proclaimed ‘apprehended insurrection’, on October 16 1970, the formidable War Measures Act was invoked by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to eliminate all FLQ members and supporters (Bélanger, C., 2000). The War Measures Act, previously invoked during World War I and II, had extreme powers, whereby individual liberties were restricted and several Parliamentary powers were given to the federal cabinet, thus allowing Canada to make quick decisions during wartimes (Bélanger, C., 2004). The War Measures Act invocation initiated the death of

There were many events that led to the October crisis of 1970 in Quebec. There are differing opinions about the actions of Front de Liberation du Quebec (FLQ) with some in favor and some against them, but in my opinion any step that may put lives of civilians in danger and lead to hostage situation and anarchy should be stopped to protect innocent citizens of the country. in light of this the war measure act requested by the them premier of Quebec and supported by the then prime minister Trudeau was a necessary step in curbing terrorism and threat to human lives.

Pierre Trudeau is definitely one of Canada’s most successful Prime Ministers. He was able to bring Canada together by implementing the Official Language Act resolving the October Crisis and repatriating, creating Canadian Constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedom.

Enemy aliens of the first World War were the Ukrainian, Germans, Italians and Austrian/Hungary, during the second World War the Minister of Justice declared that anyone who acted in a prejudicial manner that affected one’s safety could be detained; therefore, Canadian citizens and enemies could be interned. The Ukrainians and Japanese’s were treated the The Canadian government passed laws that revoked the rights of enemy aliens to vote, work in specific places, and the right to teach their native language in schools, excluded them from conscription, leaving no rights and liberties. Enemy aliens were perceived as untrustworthy and a threat to others, this made people scared and put many innocent people in internment camps, “Even if they were not strictly Prisoners of War, civilian internees were generally treated according to international POW standards.” (Patricia E. Roy 2013). Sometimes there was no evidence of that a prisoner committed a crime or showed disloyalty but were merely discriminated because of where they came from. There were an estimated 40 camps located around Canada that held 30,000 to 35,000 prisoners. People were forced to leave their homes The living conditions of internment camps were very poor, dieses ridden, dirty and overcrowded. People lost their homes, belongings, money and never got them back, people endured

Robert Borden was Prime Minister during the first World War. He was born on the 26th of June, 1854, in Grand-Pré Nova Scotia. Robert Borden was a Canadian lawyer and politician before he served as the eighth Prime Minister of Canada. He was elected twice on October 10th, 1911, and again in 1917. He retired on July 10, 1920, and was the third Nova Scotian to hold this office. Borden died in Ottawa due to congestive heart failure on June 10th, 1937. Without Borden’s crucial efforts during World War I, Canada would have never been an independent power.

Encouraged only by English Canadians, riots broke out across Quebec. The act was unevenly administered and there were many who opposed it. It helped drive Borden’s Union government but drove most of his French Canadian supporters into opposition, as they felt alienated by this attempt to force their participation into imperial

1. What legislation did the provincial government propose? Why did it invoke the notwithstanding clause?

Today, Canada is seen as a multicultural and peaceful nation that has evolved over the course of history. This great nation would never have been possible without the impact that former Prime Minister, Lester B. Pearson left on this country. His achievements and insights profoundly affected and shaped Canada’s nation. First, peacekeeping is an important part of Canada’s heritage and a reflection of its fundamental beliefs that Pearson implemented after dealing with world changing situations and winning a Nobel Prize. Also, his contributions as a liberal leader as well as the flaws and controversy with Diefenbaker did in fact define this country. Lastly, Pearson created the Canadian identity by unveiling the new flag, bringing equality with

Many different themes have defined Canada: war and peace is one of those themes. World War I and World War II defined Canada as it grew into a powerful middle power. War created a strong economy and strengthened the women’s movement, however it strained the ties between French and English Canada. Canada’s peacekeeping missions helped define it as a strong peacekeeping force and built national pride. Canada has been defined by its contributions at home and abroad in WWI, WWII, and peacekeeping.

When one thinks of a terrorist attack, Canada is not usually the first one to come to mind. Canada is usually regarded as a very peaceful country. But Canada was not always peaceful internally; in fact it had raging internal battles with the French wanting independence. A drastic approach some Quebeckers took happened during the October Crisis. It began on October 5, 1970, with the kidnapping of James Cross, a British trade commissioner in the city of Montreal, Quebec. This was carried out by a radical separatist group, Front de Libération du Québec, often shortened to FLQ. Later Pierre Laporte, the Minister of Labour, was kidnapped also. With these acts of terrorism plaguing Quebec, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau enacted the War Measures Act. This was the only time ever to be ever done so during a time of peace. This action is very controversial even to this day. The enactment of the War Measures Act was not justified because it removed civil rights, increased fears and very little communication between parties.

“Let us be French, let us be english, but most importantly let us be Canadian.” This is a quote by John A. Macdonald from about 150 years ago and he was the first Prime Minister of Canada and had a political career which spanned for almost half a century. He also set a legacy that keeps our country together and united. One of the major events that happened that I will discuss is responsible government because it was a big part of history, was important to the people and it was an executive or Cabinet that would be dependent on the support of an elected assembly. But even before responsible government was created there was a lot of conflict between the British and the French which led to a few important events. These important events had an

The constitution attempts to evenly distribute powers between the executive and legislative branches of the federal government by providing the president or the commander-in-chief the power to control and supervise the military upon approval by congress, who have the power to declare war and to support the armed forces. The subject of debate regarding the act is whether the president has the authority to send military troops to war without congressional approval. The way the war powers act was written makes it difficult to decipher approximately how much power is the president privileged in the war-making process. According to the constitution congress have the powers to authorize war by formally granting letters that verify and confirm the

1. How effectively were returning Canadian soldiers reintegrated into society? How does this compare to American troops following WWI? Be specific.

The June 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by the Serbian Black Hand Group, caused Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia. As their allies got involved this conflict grew into World War I (WWI). This event wasn’t the real cause of the war, it was just the spark that started it. Most people would say the causes were imperialism, nationalism, alliances and militarism.