Editing October Crisis (section)

==War Measures Act and military involvement==
[[File:Soldier-and-child-octcri.jpg|thumb|Canadian Forces stand guard in downtown Montreal. (Image: ''[[Montreal Gazette]]'' October 18, 1970)]]
{{More citations needed section|date=March 2021}}
When Trudeau was asked by [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] reporter Tim Ralfe how far he was willing to go to stop the FLQ, he replied: "[[Just watch me]]." Three days later, on October 16, the [[Cabinet of Canada|Cabinet]], under Trudeau's chairmanship, [[advice (constitutional)|advised]] the governor general to invoke the ''War Measures Act'' at the request of the Premier of Quebec, Robert Bourassa; and the Mayor of Montreal, [[Jean Drapeau]]. The ''War Measures Act'' gave sweeping powers of arrest and internment to the police. The provisions took effect at 4&nbsp;a.m. and, shortly after that, hundreds of suspected FLQ members and sympathizers were rounded-up. In total, 497 people were arrested, including union activist [[Michel Chartrand]],<ref name="DouglasChartrandObit">{{cite news |last1=Douglas |first1=Martin |title=Michel Chartrand, Fiery Labor Union Leader in Quebec, Is Dead at 93 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/world/americas/18chartrand.html |access-date=16 February 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 17, 2010}}</ref> singer [[Pauline Julien]] and her partner, future Quebec Minister [[Gérald Godin]], poet [[Gaston Miron]], Dr. Henri Bellemare, [[simple living]] advocate [[Serge Mongeau]], and [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] journalist [[Nick Auf der Maur]] and a junior producer.<ref name="Tetley2007">{{cite book |last1=Tetley |first1=William |title=The October Crisis, 1970: An Insider's View |date=2007 |publisher=McGill-Queen’s University Press |location=Montreal & Kingston |isbn=978-0-7735-3118-5}}</ref>{{rp|97}}

This act was imposed after the negotiations with the FLQ had broken down, and the premier of Quebec was facing the next stage in the FLQ's agenda.<ref name="insider">{{Cite book |title=The October Crisis, 1970 : an insider's view |last=Tetley |first=William |date=2007 |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |isbn=9780773576605 |location=Montréal [Que.] |oclc=716062232}}</ref>{{rp|88}}{{primary source inline|date=October 2020}}

At the time, opinion polls in Quebec and the rest of Canada showed overwhelming support for the ''War Measures Act'';<ref>{{cite web |url=http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/chronos/october.htm |title=Chronology of the October Crisis, 1970, and its Aftermath – Quebec History |access-date=April 13, 2008 |quote=There was widespread editorial approval of the action taken by the federal government; only Claude Ryan, in Le Devoir, condemned it as did René Lévesque, leader of the Parti Québécois. Polls taken shortly afterward showed that there was as much as 92% approval for the action taken by the Federal government.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/chronos/october.htm |title=Chronology of the October Crisis, 1970, and its Aftermath – Quebec History |access-date=April 13, 2008 |quote=In a series of polls conducted over the next few weeks, public support for the course of action undertaken by the Government of Canada continued to be overwhelming (72 to 84% approval rate). In a poll conducted on December 19 by the Canadian Institute of Public Opinion, Canadians indicated that their opinion of Trudeau, Bourassa, Caouette, and Robarts, who had all expressed strong support for the ''War Measures Act'', was more favourable than before, while their view of Stanfield and Douglas, who had expressed reservations for the act, was less favourable than previously.}}</ref> in a December 1970 [[Gallup Poll]], it was noted that 89% of English-speaking Canadians and 86% of French-speaking Canadians supported the introduction of the ''War Measures Act''. They respectively showed 6% and 9% disapproval while the remaining 5% of each population was undecided.<ref name="insider"/>{{rp|103}}{{primary source inline|date=October 2020}} Since then, the government's use of the ''War Measures Act'' in peacetime has been a subject of debate in Canada as it gave police sweeping powers of arrest and detention.

Simultaneously, under provisions quite separate from the ''War Measures Act'' and much more commonly used, the solicitor-general of Quebec requisitioned the military's deployment from the chief of the Defence Staff in accordance with the ''[[National Defence Act]]''. Troops from Quebec bases and elsewhere in the country were dispatched, under the direction of the {{lang|fr|i=unset|[[Sûreté du Québec]]}} (Quebec's provincial police force), to guard vulnerable points and prominent individuals at risk. This freed up police resources to pursue more proactive tasks in dealing with the crisis.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

The two named Canadian Forces operations were Operation Ginger (to mount guards on the Government of Canada buildings and significant residences outside of Quebec) and Operation Essay (to provide aid to Quebec's civil power).<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.archeion.ca/operation-ginger-and-operation-essay|title=Operation Ginger and Operation Essay|access-date=January 16, 2018|via=Archeion – MemoryBC – Aberta on Record}}</ref> The {{lang|fr|i=unset|[[Royal 22nd Regiment|Royal 22<sup>e</sup> Régiment]]}}, more commonly known as the "Van Doos", the most famous French-Canadian regiment in the Canadian Army, was deployed to Montreal to guard buildings. It was understood that deploying troops from English-speaking regiments in Quebec as an aid to civil power would be politically problematic. Throughout the operation, the Army made a point of deploying primarily French-Canadian soldiers to guard buildings in Quebec.<ref name="milhist">{{Cite book |title=A military history of Canada |last=Desmond. |first=Morton |date=1999 |publisher=McClelland & Stewart |isbn=9780771065149 |edition=4th |location=Toronto |oclc=44844868}}</ref>{{rp|257}} The {{lang|fr|i=unset|Royal 22<sup>e</sup> Régiment}} was based in Quebec City, but it was felt that having the "Van Doos" perform guard duty in Montreal, the largest city in Quebec, would be less likely to offend public opinion.<ref name="milhist"/>{{rp|257}} The Canadian Army saw no action during its deployment, which lasted until November 12. Only one soldier was killed when he tripped over his loaded rifle while on guard duty and inadvertently shot and killed himself.<ref name="milhist"/>{{rp|257}}

Outside Quebec, mainly in the Ottawa area, the federal government deployed troops under its own authority to guard federal offices and employees. The combination of the increased powers of arrest granted by the ''War Measures Act'', and the military deployment requisitioned and controlled by Quebec's government gave every appearance that martial law had been imposed. However, a significant difference was that the military remained in a support role to the civil authorities (in this case, Quebec authorities) and never had a judicial role. It still allowed for the criticism of the government, and the {{lang|fr|i=unset|[[Parti Québécois]]}} was able to go about its everyday business free of any restrictions, including the criticism of the government and the ''War Measures Act''.<ref name="insider"/>{{rp|88}}{{primary source inline|date=October 2020}}

Nevertheless, many Canadians found the sight of tanks outside the federal parliament disconcerting. Moreover, police officials sometimes abused their powers without just cause, and some prominent artists and intellectuals associated with the [[Quebec sovereignty movement|sovereignty movement]] were detained.<ref name="socialisthistory.ca">{{cite web |url=http://www.socialisthistory.ca/Docs/1961-/Quebec/October-2.htm |title=Socialist History Project – Socialists and the October Crisis, Part 2 |access-date=April 13, 2008}}</ref>

[[File:Robot des forces canadiennes lors de la crise d'octobre de 1970.jpg|thumb|Canadian Forces [[bomb disposal robot]] from the [[Canadian War Museum]], used during the October Crisis]]

The October Crisis was the only occasion in which the ''War Measures Act'' was invoked in peacetime. The FLQ was declared an unlawful association, which meant that, under the ''War Measures Act,'' the police had full power to arrest, interrogate, and hold anyone whom they believed was associated with the FLQ: "A person who was a member to this group, acted or supported it in some fashion became liable to a jail term not to exceed five years. A person arrested for such a purpose could be held without bail for up to ninety days."<ref>{{cite web|last=Belanger|first=Claude|url=http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/chronos/october.htm |title=Chronology of the October Crisis, 1970, and its Aftermath – Quebec History |work=History Prof.|publisher=Marianopolis College|access-date=January 26, 2014}}</ref> It is estimated that within the first 24 hours of the ''War Measures Act'' being put in place, police had mobilized to arrest suspects of the unlawful organization. The police conducted 3000 searches, and 497 people were detained.<ref>{{cite web|last=Tetley|first=William|title=The Importance of the Quebec "October Crisis, 1970" to the "Quiet Revolution" in the Province of Quebec (and the rest of Canada (ROC) as well)|url=http://www.mcgill.ca/files/maritimelaw/Quietrevolution.doc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303203749/http://www.mcgill.ca/files/maritimelaw/Quietrevolution.doc|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 3, 2014|publisher=McGill University|access-date=January 24, 2014}}</ref> 
 
The ''War Measures Act'' also violated and limited many human rights of people being incarcerated: "Everyone arrested under the ''War Measures Act'' was denied due process. [[Habeas corpus]] (an individual's right to have a judge confirm that they have been lawfully detained) was suspended. [[The Crown]] could detain a suspect for seven days before charging them with a crime. In addition, the attorney general could order, before the seven days expired, that the accused be held for up to 21 days. The prisoners were not permitted to consult legal counsel, and many were held [[Solitary confinement|incommunicado]]."<ref>{{cite journal|last=Clement|first=Dominique|title=The October Crisis of 1970: Human Rights Abuses Under the ''War Measures Act''|journal=Journal of Canadian Studies|year=2008|volume=42|issue=2|pages=160–186|url=https://historyofrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/pubs/article_JCS.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207025247/https://historyofrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/pubs/article_JCS.pdf |archive-date=2021-02-07 |url-status=live|access-date=December 16, 2023|doi=10.3138/jcs.42.2.160|s2cid=142290392}}</ref>
 
Several of those detained were upset by the method of their interrogation. However, most of those interviewed after had little cause to complain, and several even commented on the courteous nature of the interrogations and searches.<ref name="insider"/>{{rp|88}}{{primary source inline|date=October 2020}} In addition, the [[Politics of Quebec#Quebec Ombudsman|Quebec Ombudsman]], Louis Marceau, was instructed to hear complaints of detainees, and the Quebec government agreed to pay damages to any person unjustly arrested. On February 3, 1971, [[John Turner]], [[Minister of Justice (Canada)|Minister of Justice of Canada]], reported that 497 persons had been arrested under the ''War Measures Act'', 435 of whom had already been released. The other 62 were charged, of whom 32 were accused of crimes of such seriousness that a [[Quebec Superior Court]] judge refused them bail. Regarding Trudeau's invocation of the ''War Measures Act'', the Canadian historian [[Desmond Morton (historian)|Desmond Morton]] wrote: "It was unprecedented. On the basis of facts then and revealed later, it was unjustified. It was also a brilliant success. Shock was the best safeguard against bloodshed. Trudeau's target was not two frightened little bands of terrorists, one of which soon strangled its helpless victim: it was the affluent dilettantes of revolutionary violence, cheering on the anonymous heroes of the FLQ. The proclamation of the ''War Measures Act'' and the thousands of grim troops pouring into Montreal froze the cheers, dispersed the coffee-table revolutionaries, and left them frightened and isolated while the police rounded up suspects whose offence, if any, was dreaming of blood in the streets".<ref name="milhist"/>{{rp|257}}