The war measures act
On July 24, 1967, the president of France, Charles De Gaulle raised his hands into a "V" for "Victory." Then he spoke the words that startled a nation: " Vive le Quebec libre!"- "Long live free Quebec." These four words planted the idea of Quebec independence from Canada. During the year 1970, Quebec was in a state of war. The Front de Liberation du Quebec (FLQ), a separatist group, was terrorizing the province and assaulting its residents. Frequent letter bombings, in October 1970, the kidnapping of James Cross and the murder of Pierre Laporte were all contributing factors that forced the government to act against this chaos in Quebec, The government of Canada, had no choice but to invoke the War Measures Act during this crisis. The FLQ were extreme separatists who wanted Quebec to be independent of English Canada, despite the cost. They used violence to gain attention for their cause. In downtown Montreal, where most of the wealthy English-speaking people lived, the terrorists launched numerous attacks. Under the slogan: "Independence or Death," the FLQ repeatedly placed bombs in mailboxes and letters in Quebec. The FLQ were entitled to exercise their opinions, but they did not have the right to imp
During the riot, the FLQ turned their threats into realities when they murdered Pierre Lapote. As a result of Laporte's death, the FLQ lost their sympathizers because people were horrified of the extent of their actions. James Cross was found and released because the government had negotiated with the terrorists. In 1861, John A. Macdonald had had said, "Whatever you do, adhere to the Union. We are a great country and shall become one of the greatest in the universe if we preserve it; we shall sink into insignificance and adversity if we suffer it to be broken." This leads to the question; What will happen to Macdonald's dream of a single nation "from sea to sea?" Will Canada remain united, or is it destined to beak apart? The answer lies within our future and with time it will be revealed. The premier of Quebec, Robert Bourassa, requested from the federal government that federal troops should help police in a massive search for the kidnapped men. Prime Minister Trudeau took his own actions on the crisis. He assisted in sending in Canadian Military and for the first time, in peacetime he invoked the War Measured Act. This act is usually used in times of war and involves taking away the civil rights of Canadians. Trudeau felt that if the government did not invoke the Act, the province of Quebec would face critical unrest.
Some common words found in the essay are:
James Cross, Measured Act, Measures Act, Macdonald Whatever, Quebec FLQ, De Gaulle, FLQ French, French Canadians, English Canada, Act Statistics, war measures, war measures act, measures act, war measured act, war measured, measured act, james cross, death flq, invoking war, quebec flq, kidnapped flq, release flq,
Approximate Word count = 955
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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