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FLQ October Crisis 1970 — Transcript

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0:18Montreal, October
0:211970.
0:24It is over 400 years since the French
0:26first came to Quebec.
0:30It is over 200 years since the English
0:32defeated the French here on the Heights
0:35of Abraham in Quebec City.
0:38It is over 100 years since Canada became
0:41a nation,
0:42a nation which encompasses Quebec.
0:45But Quebec's French-speaking population
0:47has persistently survived as a living
0:49Francophone culture,
0:51never forgetting that one day Quebec
0:54might become a separate French-speaking
0:56state free of outside domination.
1:00And nothing in Quebec has been more
1:02persistent than the entrenched Catholic
1:04Church,
1:05warding off assimilation while working
1:07with the English. The church supported
1:10Quebec politicians such as Premier
1:11Duplessis.
1:13Duplessis was an authoritarian, a
1:15defender of the status quo, a Quebec
1:17nationalist, and a determined friend of
1:19private industry
1:21who sold Quebec's natural resources to
1:23outside interests.
1:27Business flourished in English.
1:30Francophone Quebec remained rural,
1:32subjugated, and poor.
1:34But in the '40s and '50s, abused Quebec
1:37workers began to demand the basic right
1:39to strike. They were joined by
1:41intellectuals such as Pierre Elliott
1:42Trudeau, seen here in Bermuda shorts,
1:47and by organizers such as Michel
1:48Chartrand.
1:53Ranged firmly against the miners were
1:55the powers which controlled and
1:57exploited Quebec.
2:04Industrialization had come abruptly
2:06during World War II,
2:07and now it was sudden unionization.
2:10Here at Murdochville, the marching
2:12protesters were attacked from the
2:14hillsides by scabs hired to intimidate
2:16them.
2:17These early struggles aroused widespread
2:19sympathy throughout Quebec
2:21and in English Canada, which had
2:23witnessed similar bloody clashes in the
2:251920s.
2:34Here was the beginning of real social
2:37upheaval.
2:38The people of Quebec saw that change was
2:40within their grasp.
2:43Duplessis died in 1959, undermining the
2:46established powers and opening the way
2:48for a révolution tranquille.
2:52Under the Liberal Lesage, an
2:53enthusiastic Quebec burst forward to
2:56become part of contemporary North
2:57America.
3:0020th century progress moved out quickly
3:02from behind the traditional powers as
3:04education, industry, science, the arts,
3:07and the whole social climate in Quebec
3:09quickened, shaking off the cobwebs of
3:11centuries of isolation.
3:13Prompted by a certain René Lévesque, the
3:15provincial Liberals decided that it was
3:17time Quebec's resources be controlled by
3:19Quebec. The nationalization of
3:21electricity is the key issue in Lesage's
3:24second election. He wins easily and the
3:26state-run Hydro-Québec comes to life.
3:29At the same time, the Canadian nation
3:31comes under fire.
3:32The federal government's spending of
3:34Quebec's tax revenue,
3:36the imposition of the Queen's name on a
3:37government hotel in Montreal,
3:40and the federal presence in Quebec
3:41communications are all attacked, setting
3:44off the present wave of separatism.
3:47French is the language of over 80% of
3:49Quebec's population, and the separatists
3:52want Quebec to become an independent
3:53French-speaking nation.
4:00They feel that even written in French,
4:02English controls the money, the power,
4:04and the force.
4:06The Mounties are the federal
4:07government's police.
4:09They too are seen as evidence that
4:11Quebec is controlled from outside.
4:26The separatists are led by people like
4:28Barbeau,
4:30Dalmine,
4:32and Pierre Bourgault.
4:34Opposing the separatists is a group of
4:36Quebec federalists who have also fought
4:39hard and long for Quebec.
4:41Pierre Elliott Trudeau and his confrères
4:44believe in a strong and progressive
4:46Quebec within the Canadian
4:48Confederation.
4:49They worked alongside the separatists in
4:51the struggle against Duplessis,
4:53but now their activities and their
4:55ratings spark a crucial battle with the
4:57separatists which continues today.
5:05The president of the Canadian National
5:07Railways announced that there were not
5:09enough French Canadians qualified for
5:11senior management positions.
5:13Gordon's statement enraged the
5:15Francophone population, which for
5:17centuries had seen the best jobs always
5:19go to the English.
5:21The demonstrators served notice on
5:22Canada that Quebec will no longer put up
5:25with discrimination.
5:31In 1963,
5:33extremists turned to violence, marking
5:35the birth of Le Front de libération du
5:38Québec, the FLQ.
5:40The terrorists choose where Wolfe had
5:42thought himself victorious.
5:46Sometimes the FLQ's bombs were
5:48discovered and defused in time.
5:52But when this young man placed a bomb in
5:54a garbage can
5:56in this alley behind this army
5:58recruiting building, an old man called
6:00Wilfred O'Neil was blown up.
6:06O'Neil was given a military funeral,
6:08but none of the politicians came.
6:15The National Revenue Building,
6:17the RCMP headquarters,
6:19the Canadian National Railways,
6:21the Black Watch Armory,
6:23the Royal Canadian Air Force,
6:25the Queen Victoria Monument,
6:27a grenade shoe factory,
6:29the Paul Sauvé Arena,
6:31Dominion Textiles,
6:33Standard Structural Steel,
6:35Eaton's,
6:36Murray Hill,
6:37Chambly Transport, the Montreal City
6:40Hall,
6:41the Bank of Nova Scotia,
6:43the Quebec Ministry of Labour,
6:45the Canadian Army,
6:46the Montreal Stock Exchange, the Queen's
6:49Printer,
6:50the Château Frontenac,
6:52the Industrial Acceptance Corporation,
6:54Mayor Drapeau's residence,
6:56Loyola College,
6:58McGill University,
7:00the Bank of Montreal, and many others
7:02were bombed.
7:04In 7 years, six people were killed.
7:14But Walter Leja survived a direct blast
7:17while trying to defuse a bomb in a
7:19mailbox in Westmount.
7:22In 1964,
7:24the Queen came to Canada.
7:28She was welcomed by English Canadians as
7:30part of their heritage.
7:34But to many French Canadians, she came
7:36as a symbol of British domination.
7:39At a meeting of the separatist RIN
7:41party, the newly elected president,
7:43Pierre Bourgault, denounced her presence
7:45in Quebec.
7:51Reminded once again that in Canada the
7:53rights and traditions of the English are
7:55better protected than those of the
7:57French, the angry crowd took to the
7:59streets ready for anything.
8:01But it was not until the next morning
8:03that the protest hotted up.
8:05The separatists squared off against the
8:07police in what was to be known as Le
8:10Samedi de la matraque, the Saturday of
8:12the truncheon.
8:25The law and order minister of justice
8:27for the Liberal Party, Claude Wagner,
8:29denied that there had been any police
8:31brutality.
8:35The next year, the Commission for
8:37Bilingualism and Biculturalism stated
8:39that Canada was going through the
8:41gravest crisis in its history without
8:43even knowing it. I'm completely
8:45convinced that separatism will vanish
8:48if it is not com-
8:51understood
8:52in time.
8:53But I don't know exactly what is going
8:55to happen.
8:57But Prime Minister Pearson had known for
8:59a long time that separatism was a
9:01crisis, and one of his moves to hold
9:03Canada together was to persuade three of
9:05Quebec's most influential social leaders
9:08to join him in the federal Liberal
9:09Party.
9:14It seems to me important that all those
9:16who are capable of doing so in French
9:18Canada
9:19should work towards a solution to this
9:21problem,
9:22and also ensure
9:24a new Quebec presence in Ottawa.
9:30First of all, the Liberal Party, by
9:32reforming its structures and by
9:34beginning to democratize itself, has
9:36made itself acceptable.
9:38But above all, it is the only major
9:40political party at the present time
9:42which has expressed the desire and which
9:44has the means to find solutions to the
9:47problems which concern me most.
9:49And to find these solutions within
9:51realistic time limits
9:53other than those of personal choice.
10:02And I personally have reached the
10:03conclusion that this particular party
10:08is receptive to the type of ideas which
10:10I wish to put forward. I also felt that
10:13the type of activity I wish to engage in
10:15would be possible.
10:17At the other extreme were the
10:18separatists, Charles Gagnon and Pierre
10:21Vallières, the two leading FLQ
10:23polemicists.
10:25Sought by the Canadian police, they
10:27demonstrated outside the United Nations
10:29in New York, taking their cause to the
10:31world.
10:32They are quickly arrested by the
10:33Americans
10:35and then illegally returned to Canada.
10:38It will be over 3 years before they will
10:40be released on bail.
10:44In 1966,
10:45the separatist RIN party fields a slate
10:48under
10:49In 1966,
10:51the separatist RIN party fields a slate
10:53under Pierre Bourgault.
10:55Unexpectedly, the conservative vote puts
10:57an end to la révolution tranquille by
11:00re-electing Duplessis' old party, the
11:02Union Nationale, now led by Daniel
11:05Johnson.
11:06The separatists get 10% of the vote.
11:09The following year, Quebec is the star
11:11of Canada's Centennial, but some of the
11:14guests prove difficult.
11:16Charles de Gaulle, unlike the Queen,
11:19is enthusiastically welcomed by the
11:20Quebecois,
11:22but he antagonizes Canada
11:24by confusing his trip through Quebec
11:26with the liberation of France. He
11:28shortens his visit by encouraging
11:30separatism from the balcony of the
11:32Montreal City Hall.
12:00The general may have his own opinions on
12:02the Canadian Confederation, but the
12:04problem of the constitution of Canada
12:06will be resolved here in Canada. But in
12:08Canada, separatism is quickly becoming a
12:11respectable political movement. It
12:14spreads to the Quebec House of Commons,
12:16where a key member of the provincial
12:18Liberal Party, René Lévesque, publishes
12:21a manifesto
12:22demanding special rights for Quebec.
12:26This causes consternation amongst his
12:28fellow Liberals, such as Eric Kierans.
12:32Although hopes that the breach between
12:33the Liberals and Lévesque can be mended
12:35are expressed by Robert Bourassa. I was
12:37a bit encouraged this afternoon. I think
12:40the atmosphere was MUCH BETTER THIS
12:45LéVESQUE IS DROPPED BY THE LIBERALS AND
12:47HE FORMS HIS own independentist
12:49movement. But the next election is a
12:50federal election. Trudeau takes over as
12:53Prime Minister. Trudeau's platform is
12:55national unity, an end to separatism.
12:57Some people
12:59I think are afraid of the word
13:00confrontation. They think you can get
13:02more by giving in to extremists. I don't
13:06believe that. On the eve of the '68
13:08election, Trudeau goes to participate in
13:11Quebec's Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day
13:12celebrations.
13:14Pierre Bourgault and many of the other
13:16separatists there felt that Trudeau was
13:18a traitor to Quebec.
13:23Soon, bottles aimed at Trudeau begin to
13:26fly, hitting spectators in the crowd.
13:39The protesters' aim improves
13:42and the police charge blindly into the
13:44crowd.
14:03Watched on television by millions of
14:05voters, Trudeau angrily refuses to be
14:08chased away by the separatists.
14:12The police and the protesters battle
14:14below him
14:15while the parade goes on oblivious.
14:44Canadians from coast to coast are
14:46saddened by the spectacle of Quebecois
14:49fighting Quebecois.
14:59And the next day, supported by both
15:02French and English,
15:03Trudeau will win the election easily on
15:06a wave of Trudeaumania.
15:13English Canada makes it clear that they
15:16expect Trudeau to snuff out the
15:18separatists.
15:20But Lévesque and Bourgault join forces
15:23and the turbulent RIN disappears forever
15:26into the newer, bigger, more moderate
15:28separatist party, the Parti Québécois.
15:31As a Liberal minister, Lévesque had
15:33shown that he could run Quebec. Now a
15:35separatist and a socialist, he is
15:38elected leader of the new party
15:40and for the first time, the separatists
15:42become a credible alternative to the
15:44traditional parties.
15:46And things are moving on the union
15:47front, where more and more separatism
15:50and union strife are becoming
15:52interrelated. Montreal taxi drivers go
15:55out on strike protesting against poor
15:57pay, insecurity, and the anglophone
16:00Murray Hill monopoly over the lucrative
16:02hotel and airport taxi trade.
16:05Some of the drivers blockade the streets
16:08and they are arrested.
16:11But soon the police themselves are on
16:12strike.
16:15During the day, the abandoned streets of
16:17Montreal are peaceful while the police
16:20meet at the Paul Sauvé Arena.
16:25Like many other Quebec workers, the
16:27policeman's goal is income parity with
16:30English-speaking Ontario
16:32and Mayor Drapeau and his administrator
16:35Lucien Saulnier are cast as the
16:37villains.
16:44That evening, the unprotected city
16:46erupts into violence and looting. Old
16:49wounds are avenged and Mayor Drapeau's
16:51expensive restaurant, Le Vaisseau d'Or,
16:53is sacked.
16:56While a nervous Montreal stays behind
16:58closed doors,
16:59the workers and the capitalists clash
17:01head-on.
17:19Striking taxi drivers and some extremist
17:20sympathizers attack the Murray Hill
17:22garages.
17:23The property is defended by armed
17:25guards.
17:26Several people are injured and a
17:28plainclothes policeman is killed,
17:30mysteriously shot in the back.
17:35Two members of the FLQ, Marc Carbonneau
17:38and Jacques Lantô are wounded in the
17:39attack.
17:41It will not be the last time these two
17:43have something to do with the Canadian
17:44Army being called in to protect
17:46Montreal.
17:49Next, it is the postal workers
17:51protesting the federal government's
17:52treatment of the Lapalme drivers.
17:55The Lapalme drivers themselves stay on
17:56and on in Ottawa, a constant reminder to
17:59the House of Commons that all is not
18:01well with the workers of Quebec.
18:04And then there is the other great
18:05question,
18:06the survival of the French language and
18:08culture in Quebec.
18:10This issue draws support from many
18:12people who are not separatists.
18:15There are the huge Saint-Léonard and
18:16Bill 63 demonstrations.
18:19The French Canadians insist that if
18:21immigrants are allowed to speak English,
18:23the French language and culture will
18:25vanish into the ocean of
18:27English-speaking North America.
18:31The immigrants insist on having the
18:33right to choose their own language.
18:37In this crowd is another member of the
18:39FLQ,
18:40Paul Rose.
18:53And then Robert Shaw, a McGill
18:54University administrator, finds himself
18:57facing the McGill Français movement,
18:59which includes a number of anglophones.
19:01Four or five of those
19:06But many who are not revolutionaries
19:08sympathize because the rights of the
19:10English minority in Quebec have always
19:13been far better protected than those of
19:15the French elsewhere in Canada.
19:18And justice for the French majority has
19:20not always been sure, as Vallières and
19:22Gagnon know only too well. When they are
19:24finally let out on bail, Gagnon states
19:27through his interpreter, lawyer Robert
19:29Lemieux, that he will continue to work
19:31for
19:33realization of the independence of the
19:36people of Quebec. As are many of the
19:38artists and performers of Quebec.
20:27In 1970, the crucial provincial
20:30election, Cardinal divides the incumbent
20:32right-wing Union Nationale now under the
20:35shaky Bertrand.
20:37For the first time, the separatists have
20:39a chance to take power, so the federal
20:41liberals nervously throw their weight
20:42behind their provincial counterparts.
20:54Pierre Laporte
20:55and the other two liberal leadership
20:57contenders
20:58believe that Quebec should stay within
21:00the Canadian Confederation.
21:03Laporte, the most experienced politician
21:06in the race, insists that independence
21:08would mean economic disaster.
21:12Laporte does well,
21:14but the former law and order Minister of
21:16Justice, Claude Wagner, does better.
21:19And the young technocrat,
21:20Robert Bourassa, does best of all.
21:29Wagner resigns from the Liberal Party,
21:31but Pierre Laporte agrees to stay on as
21:34Bourassa's right-hand man.
21:37The federalist Creditiste enter the
21:39provincial election for the first time.
21:48The separatist Party Quebecois, with the
21:50convincing Levesque, is there for the
21:52first time, too.
21:54And I'd like to say we've got no lesson.
21:57Bertrand tries to hold back the waves of
21:59change,
22:01but the Parti Quebecois on the left and
22:03the Creditiste on the extreme right cut
22:06into his supporters from both sides.
22:10And the Union Nationale goes down before
22:12the well-organized liberals who take
22:14power easily with their slogan of Quebec
22:17back to work.
22:19The Parti Quebecois does well, although
22:22much less well than feared by English
22:23Canada. They win 24% of the vote, but
22:26this gives them only 6% of the seats.
22:29Levesque himself loses his seat, but
22:32seven others become the first members of
22:33parliament elected as separatists.
22:51Dear friends,
22:53don't forget that this is a defeat which
22:56feels like a victory.
23:01Many Quebecois felt that the Parti
23:03Quebecois had been cheated
23:06and that somehow the democratic process
23:08no longer worked in Quebec.
23:11In June, the Ministry of Defense was
23:13bombed and other acts of retaliation
23:16were expected from the violent
23:18extremists, the FLQ.
23:20But nothing major happened until Monday,
23:22October the 5th. The senior British
23:24Trade Commissioner in Montreal, James
23:26Richard Cross, is reported to have been
23:28kidnapped a short while ago from his
23:30Redpath Crescent home by as many as four
23:32armed men believed to be FLQ terrorists.
23:35First reports indicate the men arrived
23:37at the home in a taxi and said they had
23:38a birthday gift for Mr. Cross. When the
23:41maid refused to allow them into the
23:42house, they unwrapped the gift, which
23:44turned out to be a machine gun, and
23:46forced their way into the home. Mr.
23:48Cross was forced at gunpoint to enter
23:50the waiting taxi and it sped away from
23:51the scene. An intensive police search is
23:53underway for the kidnap victim and his
23:55abductors. We have received a communique
23:58from
23:59those who have
24:01kidnapped
24:03uh Mr. Cross, the representative
24:05commercial representative of the United
24:07Kingdom government,
24:09putting the authorities
24:11uh en demeure, asking them to comply
24:14with a certain number of demands within
24:1648 hours,
24:18which are
24:19to refrain from any police action,
24:22uh to publish in its entirety a
24:25manifesto
24:27uh from the FLQ movement,
24:30uh to
24:32uh free a certain number of alleged
24:35political prisoners
24:37and to put these uh political prisoners
24:40on a plane on its way to Cuba or
24:42Algeria. Clearly, these are wholly
24:45unreasonable demands,
24:48and their authors could not have
24:49expected them to be accepted.
24:52I need hardly say that this set of
24:54demands will not be met.
24:57The government and the liberation cell
24:58of the FLQ bargain on prime time in a
25:01deadly media debate for the life of
25:04James Richard Cross.
25:05A flow of communiques from the
25:07kidnappers is answered with a spate of
25:09televised appeals by the authorities. It
25:11is the case of an innocent individual
25:14who bears no responsibility whatsoever
25:18for our internal problems and who is
25:21held as hostage.
25:24It is the gravest form of blackmail
25:26which exists. It's a stalemate.
25:30Deadline after deadline passes.
25:32The governments are ready to explore all
25:36practical avenues out of this impasse.
25:39Proof is given that Cross is still
25:41alive.
25:43I urgently appeal to those who hold Mr.
25:45Cross that they allow their respect for
25:49human life to overcome their political
25:52aspirations, misdirected as they may be.
25:56They should realize that this manner of
25:58defending their cause can only bring
26:01about its eventual defeat.
26:04The FLQ specify the man they want to
26:06negotiate for them, lawyer Robert
26:09Lemieux. I suggest to you that the
26:10federal government is saying, "We want
26:14to negotiate, but it doesn't really want
26:16to do that. It just wants to buy time to
26:18have a shootout match with the FLQ at
26:21best and hope that they can have them
26:23surrender." And if that is not the case,
26:26we'll see
26:28uh from now until 12:00 what Mr. Sharp's
26:30position will be. The FLQ drops a number
26:32of its demands. In its turn, the
26:34government agrees to make public the FLQ
26:37manifesto. This manifesto sets out the
26:39FLQ's position. It is the only
26:41explanation given for what happened.
26:44To the surprise of the authorities, it
26:47was very sympathetically received by the
26:48people of Quebec,
26:50agreed with many of its eloquent aims
26:52and angers.
26:53For these reasons, it is a key to the
26:55crisis.
26:57Front de libération du Québec,
27:00manifeste. The FLQ manifesto.
27:04The Front de libération du Québec is not
27:06the Messiah, nor a modern-day Robin
27:08Hood.
27:09It is a regrouping of Quebec workers who
27:12have decided to use every means at their
27:13disposal to ensure that the people of
27:16Quebec assume control of their own
27:17destiny.
27:20The Front de libération du Québec wants
27:21complete independence for all Quebecers,
27:24united in a free society, purged forever
27:27of its clique of voracious sharks, the
27:29patronizing big bosses and their
27:31henchmen who have made Quebec their
27:33private preserve for cheap labor and
27:35unscrupulous exploitation.
27:38The Front de libération du Québec
27:41is not a movement of aggression, but a
27:43movement countering the aggression
27:45organized by high finance and the puppet
27:47governments in Ottawa and Quebec.
27:50The Brink's show,
27:51Bill 63, the electoral map, the
27:54so-called social progress tax,
27:57Power Corporation, health insurance,
28:00the Lapalme boys.
28:03The Front de libération du Québec
28:05finances itself through voluntary taxes
28:08levied from the very enterprises which
28:09exploit the workers,
28:11banks, finance companies, etc.
28:15A quote from René Lévesque, April 29th,
28:181970.
28:21Those wielding the money in the status
28:23quo, most of whom constitute the
28:25traditional tutors of our people,
28:27obtained the reaction they were looking
28:28for, a step back rather than the change
28:31for which we had worked as never before,
28:33and for which we shall continue to work.
28:37End of quote.
28:40At one time, we believed it would be to
28:42our advantage to channel our energies
28:44and our impatience, as René Lévesque put
28:46it so aptly, into the Parti Quebecois.
28:49But the liberal victory was a clear
28:50indication that what is called democracy
28:53here in Quebec has always been and still
28:55is
28:56the democracy of the rich.
28:58The liberal victory was nothing more
29:00than the victory of the election
29:01riggers, the Simard-Cotroni gang.
29:06As a result, we are through with the
29:09British parliamentary system.
29:11The Front de libération du Québec will
29:13no longer allow itself to be duped by
29:14the electoral crumbs which are
29:16disdainfully scattered in Quebec every
29:18four years by the Anglo-Saxon
29:20capitalists.
29:22A number of Quebecers have come to
29:24understand this and are ready to take
29:26action.
29:28In the coming year, Bourassa will have a
29:29rude awakening. 100,000 revolutionary
29:32workers organized and armed.
29:35Yes, there are reasons for the liberal
29:37victory.
29:38We live in a society of terrorized
29:41slaves, terrorized by the big bosses
29:43such as Steinberg, Clark, Bronfman,
29:45Smith, Nipon, Timmins, Geoffrion,
29:48Jean-Louis Levesque, Hershorn, Thompson,
29:50Nesbitt, Demers, and Kierans. Compared
29:53to this league, Rémi Paul, the whipping
29:55boy, Drapeau the dog, Bourassa, Simard's
29:57sidekick, and Trudeau the queer are mere
30:00peanuts.
30:01We are terrorized by the capitalistic
30:03Roman Catholic Church, even though this
30:05is becoming less noticeable. Who owns
30:06the stock exchange building? By the
30:08payments which must be made to Household
30:10Finance, by the publicity of the great
30:12consumer overlords, such as Eaton's,
30:14Simpson's, Morgan's, Steinberg's, and
30:16General Motors.
30:18Terrorized by the closed circles of
30:19science and culture, which make up our
30:21universities, and by their oppressive
30:23directors, Godbout and Doré, and Robert
30:25Shaw, their underling.
30:28There are a growing number of us who are
30:29aware of this society and of being
30:31subjected to its terrorist tactics, and
30:34the day will come when the Westmounts of
30:35Quebec will be wiped off the map.
30:38Workers in production, mines, forests,
30:41service industries, teachers, students,
30:43and unemployed workers, take what
30:44belongs to you, your jobs, your right to
30:47decide, and your freedom. And you, the
30:49workers at General Electric, you are the
30:51people who run the factory, you alone
30:53are the producers. Without you, there is
30:55no General Electric.
30:57Workers of Quebec, start today to
30:59recover what belongs to you, what is
31:01rightfully yours.
31:03You alone know your factories, your
31:05machines, your hotels, your
31:06universities, your unions. Don't wait
31:09for some kind of miracle organization.
31:12Start your revolution in your own
31:13neighborhoods, in your places of work.
31:16If you don't, usurping technocrats and
31:18others will replace the handful of
31:20cigar-puffing taskmasters,
31:22and everything will be as before.
31:24You alone can build a free society.
31:29We must fight,
31:31not as individuals, but as a group.
31:33We must fight until we achieve victory
31:35with all the means at our disposal, as
31:37did the patriots of 1837-38,
31:40the very ones whom our sacred mother,
31:43the church, couldn't wait to
31:44excommunicate, to better sell out to
31:46British interests.
31:48May all those throughout Quebec who have
31:50been contemptuously referred to as the
31:51lousy French and the alcoholics join
31:53ranks and fight against the enemies of
31:55justice and liberty,
31:57and stop the professional thieves and
31:59gangsters,
32:00the bankers, businessmen, judges, and
32:03corrupt politicians.
32:06We are the workers of Quebec, and we
32:08will fight to the bitter end.
32:09With the help of the people, we will
32:11replace the present enslaved society
32:13with a free and open society,
32:16functioning by and for itself.
32:18Our struggle can only be victorious,
32:21and emerging nation cannot be kept
32:22indefinitely in misery and contempt.
32:25Long live free Quebec, long live our
32:27comrades held as political prisoners,
32:29long live the Quebec Revolution, long
32:31live the FLQ.
32:36For humanitarian reasons, which need not
32:38be gone into, given the events of the
32:40past few days,
32:42we have read the FLQ manifesto in the
32:44hope of saving the life of the senior
32:46British Trade Commissioner, Mr. James
32:49Richard Cross.
32:52But Cross remains in the hands of the
32:53elusive FLQ.
32:55On Saturday, October the 10th, the
32:56provincial Minister of Justice, Jérôme
32:58Choquette, makes it clear that
33:01broadcasting the FLQ manifesto was one
33:03of the government's very last
33:05concessions. No society can accept
33:09that the decisions of its government
33:12and of its courts of law
33:14can be questioned or can be erased
33:19by the use of blackmail exercised by a
33:21group,
33:23because this signifies the end of all
33:26social order.
33:28As an ultimate concession to save the
33:32life of Mr. Cross,
33:34the federal government has instructed me
33:37that it is disposed to offer you safe
33:40conduct towards a foreign country.
33:43Choquette is heard by a new cell, and a
33:45few minutes later, while playing touch
33:47football here outside his house, Pierre
33:49Laporte, the Minister of Labor and
33:51Immigration, is kidnapped by the FLQ.
33:56For Laporte's mother,
33:58for his wife and family,
34:00no amount of relatives, friends,
34:02well-wishers,
34:03or police roadblocks can hide the fact
34:06that Laporte and his abductors cannot be
34:08found.
34:19Overnight, the FLQ is taken very
34:22seriously.
34:24Under tight security, Robert Bourassa,
34:27the young and inexperienced premier,
34:29moves his government to Montreal.
34:32Stories of hundreds of armed FLQ
34:34terrorists fighting in the streets,
34:36systematic kidnappings, and impending
34:39selective assassinations grow wildly as
34:42the country holds its breath waiting to
34:44hear what has happened to Pierre
34:47Laporte.
34:49Then communiqués from the new Chenier
34:50cell start pouring into CKAC, each
34:54angrily insisting on all of the original
34:56seven FLQ demands.
35:00No one knows if the two cells are
35:01connected in any way,
35:03and the man who had earlier taken a hard
35:05line against the Cross kidnappers,
35:08Pierre Laporte, now pleads for his life
35:10in a tragic letter to Robert Bourassa.
35:13But the government has rejected
35:15emotional decision. Two days after
35:17Trudeau's "Just watch me",
35:19Thursday, October the 15th,
35:25the Paul Sauvé Arena is filled to
35:27overflowing with angry Quebecois
35:30who put on an impressive display of
35:32separatist solidarity.
35:35English Canada is scared by the
35:37passionate buildup of support for the
35:39aims of the FLQ manifesto.
35:48Maybe the guys of the FLQ have succeeded
35:50in making us understand to a certain
35:52extent. We are going to organize
35:54ourselves intelligently, we're going to
35:55choose our own positions, AND WE SHALL
35:57OVERCOME.
36:37BUT THE CANADIAN ARMY IS ALREADY moving
36:39into Quebec.
36:40The Montreal and Quebec governments
36:42formally request that Ottawa take urgent
36:44action.
36:45At 4:00 a.m. that morning, Trudeau's
36:47government invokes the War Measures Act,
36:50claiming that there is a state of
36:51apprehended insurrection in Quebec.
36:55Unaware that the law of the land had
36:56changed while they were sleeping,
36:58hundreds of astonished and outraged
36:59people find themselves abruptly taken
37:01from their homes in the dead of night
37:03and imprisoned.
37:05These people are to discover that under
37:07the War Measures Act, they can be kept
37:09incommunicado, that they will not be
37:11able to be bailed out immediately, that
37:13they can be kept in prison for up to 90
37:15days without a trial,
37:16and that being a member of the FLQ has
37:19suddenly and retroactively become a
37:21crime, punishable by up to 5 years in
37:24prison.
37:27Bourassa explains why he made his
37:28request to Ottawa. Well, just yesterday
37:31you called in the Canadian Army. Again,
37:33you said at Quebec's request that it
37:36came to Quebec.
37:38Was that not enough to protect our
37:40democratic institutions as you mentioned
37:41in the National Assembly? They were the
37:43police action in order to find ways and
37:46in order to find Mr. Laporte and Mr.
37:48Cross.
37:50Obviously, they need some additional
37:52powers to be efficient. So, the Army was
37:55called to protect the population because
37:57there were a lot of public buildings
37:59which were unprotected and which need
38:01protection, but there were also the
38:03efficiency of the police action, and
38:05this was the reason why we decide to ask
38:07the federal government for to pass these
38:10to give this additional powers.
38:12How bad is the situation? If I can quote
38:14from your
38:16communiqué, you mention "renverser le
38:19gouvernement", overthrow the government.
38:21How far advanced Uh
38:23it was well known that there was a plan
38:26by a small group of people, but even if
38:29this
38:29How small group? Oh, perhaps a few
38:31hundred people, but they were strong
38:33enough to create a lot of trouble. They
38:36start with meeting violent meetings,
38:38after that, they had recourse to bombs,
38:41and now to kidnappings. So, we have to
38:43stop that because where it will finish.
38:46So, it's not a question of limiting the
38:48civil liberties of the people,
38:50it's a question of staying in the
38:52democratic system. The uh the total
38:54population of the almost total
38:56population in Quebec and in Canada are
38:59for democratic system, so we have to
39:01defend that will of the people.
39:04You mentioned three points, and earlier
39:06today your Minister of Finance mentioned
39:08four points: demonstrations, bombing,
39:09kidnappings, and selective
39:11assassination. Are you satisfied these
39:13terrorists were prepared to go that far?
39:16We have no clear indication that they
39:18were prepared to go that far, but
39:20obviously, clearly, we have no choice
39:23but to take no risk.
39:25They accomplished the first three steps.
39:28Why we should take risk that they will
39:30kill people?
39:31So, our clear duty was to stop that, and
39:34it was our obvious responsibility, and
39:37we assumed that responsibility. You
39:39spoke of a threat to democratic
39:41institutions again yesterday.
39:43Is it not possible that many people in
39:45this country will feel that the
39:46government itself has now carried out a
39:48threat to democracy in limiting civil
39:51rights so severely? It's not a question
39:54of limiting civil rights on a permanent
39:56basis. It's only a question of limited
39:59and part civil rights in order to
40:01protect the system, in order to protect
40:04the regime. This is exactly what we are
40:06doing. There is limits for tolerance
40:09when excessive tolerance is endangering
40:12is creating a serious danger for our
40:15democratic system.
40:19Thousands of soldiers, many of them
40:21monolingual English, cover Quebec.
40:24Elsewhere in Canada, everyone chooses
40:26their position. Most for, some against
40:30the government's drastic action.
40:32The premier of Ontario, John Robarts,
40:35had announced that Canada was in a state
40:37of total war.
40:39Certainly Canadians were unaccustomed to
40:42having soldiers patrolling their
40:43streets.
40:44But the biggest peacetime intervention
40:46of the army in Canada's history
40:48only forced the incredulous and
40:50depressed Quebec population to ask
40:52themselves once again
40:55what would Ottawa do if Quebec ever did
40:57vote for independence.
41:01The army did allow the police to get on
41:03with their desperate search for Cross
41:04and Laporte.
41:08Search warrants are no longer required.
41:11So all over Quebec, houses are broken
41:13into and searched. And possible clues or
41:17evidence are indiscriminately carted
41:19away.
41:21Uninformed, the opposition parties react
41:24as best they can. But uh now we have
41:26Tommy Douglas. Uh Mr. Douglas, you
41:28described this as Black Friday. Would
41:31you Would you care to elaborate? Well, I
41:33think it is Black Friday when
41:35uh government
41:37for the first time in history uh invokes
41:40the War Measures Act in peacetime and
41:43says there is a apprehended state of
41:46insurrection
41:47uh and deprives a great many people of
41:50their freedom and their liberty. This
41:52means that right now they police at any
41:55time can pick up any person who in their
41:58opinion is a member of an organization
42:01that is subversive and illegal. They can
42:04hold them for 90 days without bringing
42:05them to trial, without giving them any
42:07chance to prove their innocence. At the
42:09end of 90 days, they have the right to
42:11appeal to a superior court judge who
42:14then sets the date for their trial. Mr.
42:16Douglas, what would you suggest that the
42:17government do? They do give them
42:19extensive powers. Don't quarrel with
42:21that at all. But surely those powers
42:23should be granted by Parliament in a
42:25free country and not seized by the
42:27government under the pretext that we're
42:29faced with an insurrection.
42:30But in your view, the government has not
42:32justified a state of appre- What is it?
42:34A state of insurrection? Yeah,
42:36they claim it's a state of apprehended
42:37insurrection. Now, these these acts of
42:40sabotage by the FLQ been going on for
42:43six or seven years.
42:44And if the government needed more power,
42:46they could have asked for amendments to
42:47the Criminal Code anytime in the three
42:49years that Mr. Trudeau was Minister of
42:51Justice or in the two years that he's
42:52been Prime Minister. We would have
42:54granted such powers if the government
42:56could show us that the powers they have
42:57are not adequate and that the situation
42:59is such that it justifies additional
43:01powers. But they haven't come near
43:03Parliament for these powers. They've
43:04taken these powers unto themselves. And
43:06no Prime Minister and no cabinet in
43:08history of Canada has had the
43:09wide-sweeping powers in peacetime that
43:11this cabinet now has.
43:14Yes, Mr. Diefenbaker, the former Prime
43:16Minister. Mr. Diefenbaker, has the
43:17government convinced you of the need for
43:19these measures?
43:20After listening to the Prime Minister,
43:22I'm convinced that the government is
43:24simply
43:25not facing realities. That for over a
43:28year it has known of these these thugs.
43:32It's kept them either on the
43:34Radio-Canada
43:36or Chartrand has been around. He wasn't
43:39found until 4:00 this morning.
43:42Strange thing that these people who have
43:45been preaching revolution
43:48and the government has known of it
43:51are suddenly picked up when they could
43:53have been picked up a year ago on
43:56charges of sedition and convicted on the
43:59basis of the statements they were
44:00making.
44:00Are you saying then you're satisfied
44:02that they have in fact been picked up
44:03now? Well, I've been told they are and I
44:05believe anyone who said
44:07Would you approve that? You would
44:08approve that. No, absolutely. They
44:10should have done it a year ago and they
44:11wouldn't have had this revolutionary
44:12situation that permitted the kidnapping
44:14of these two innocent men. But it's a
44:16government that refused to act.
44:19I asked over and over again of the Prime
44:21Minister and the Minister of Regional
44:23Affairs
44:25about these Americans coming into Canada
44:27preaching revolution
44:28blood
44:30bloodshed, revolution and the answer
44:32given me was that's freedom of speech as
44:35long as they speak to selected groups.
44:38If they don't make it too public. Well,
44:40they found
44:41the opportunity to make it very public
44:43by using uh TV media across the country.
44:47They preached their doctrine of
44:50revolution.
44:52And what's happening now is
44:54we have the fruit of the family tree of
44:56the present government and its
44:58predecessor
44:59that adopted an attitude of
45:01permissiveness to obvious crime.
45:04It is still Friday, October the 16th,
45:07and the atmosphere in Quebec is far from
45:09permissive. As the arrests mount into
45:11the hundreds and the searches into the
45:13thousands.
45:15The soldiers police and the police
45:17search.
45:19Canada waits to hear why the War
45:21Measures Act has been invoked for the
45:23first time in peacetime and why the
45:25Canadian Bill of Rights is suspended.
45:28That evening, Canadians from coast to
45:30coast listen while the actions of his
45:32government are explained on national
45:34television by Prime Minister Trudeau.
45:38Let me turn now to the broader
45:39implications of the threat represented
45:42by the FLQ and similar organizations.
45:46If a democratic society is to continue
45:49to exist it must be able to root out the
45:53cancer of an armed revolutionary
45:55movement that is bent on destroying the
45:57very basis of our freedoms.
46:00For that reason, the government
46:03following an analysis of the facts,
46:05including the requests of the government
46:07of Quebec and of the city of Montreal
46:09for urgent action
46:11decided to proclaim the War Measures
46:13Act.
46:14It did so at 4:00 a.m. this morning in
46:17order to permit the full weight of
46:19government to be brought quickly to bear
46:22on all those persons advocating or
46:24practicing violence as a means of
46:26achieving political ends.
46:29At the moment, the FLQ is holding
46:31hostage two men in the Montreal area,
46:34one a British diplomat, the other a
46:37Quebec cabinet minister.
46:39They are threatened with murder.
46:43Should the government give in to this
46:44crude blackmail
46:46we would be facing the breakdown of the
46:48legal system and its replacement by the
46:50law of the jungle.
46:52The government's decision to prevent
46:54this from happening
46:56is not taken just to defend an important
46:59principle.
47:00It is taken to protect the lives of
47:02Canadians from dangers of the sort I
47:04have mentioned.
47:06Freedom and personal security are
47:09safeguarded by laws.
47:11Those laws must be respected in order to
47:14be effective.
47:16The criminal law as it stands is simply
47:19not adequate to deal with systematic
47:22terrorism.
47:24The police have therefore been given
47:26certain extraordinary powers
47:29necessary for the effective detection
47:31and elimination of conspiratorial
47:34organizations
47:36which advocate the use of violence.
47:39These organizations
47:41and membership in them
47:43have been declared illegal.
47:46The powers
47:48include the right
47:51to search and arrest without persons
47:54without the necessity of laying specific
47:56charges immediately
47:58and to detain persons without bail.
48:03These are strong powers.
48:05And I find them as distasteful as I am
48:07sure you do. Let me say at the end that
48:11I am as repelled by the activities of
48:13these terrorists as any other Canadian.
48:17In a society such as ours terrorism is
48:20an ugly and unnecessary cancer that we
48:23must do everything to eliminate.
48:25Everything that is except change
48:28the very nature of our free society that
48:31we are trying in fact to protect.
48:34In the process of defending freedom we
48:36must not destroy it.
48:38In the process of protecting democracy
48:41we must reduce to a necessary minimum
48:43any departure from democratic
48:45procedures. I want to make it clear that
48:48action is necessary
48:50and that the government must have the
48:52necessary power to deal with this small
48:54group of ruthless men. The information
48:57we do have showed a situation of
49:00criminal acts and criminal conspiracy in
49:03Quebec. But there is no information that
49:05there was an intended or apprehended or
49:08planned insurrection which alone could
49:11justify invoking the War Measures Act.
49:14The next day Saturday, October the 17th
49:17with over 300 people already in prison
49:20organized public reaction gets underway
49:22in Quebec.
49:23The civil rights groups defy the War
49:25Measures Act and meet at the University
49:28of Montreal.
49:29They condemn the government's action.
49:32And all over Quebec students meet to
49:35protest and to organize walkouts.
49:41The University of Quebec closes down,
49:43followed by most of the other
49:44universities in the province.
49:47While some French Canadians hide from
49:49the police,
49:50the government suggests that a number of
49:52prominent English Canadians leave Quebec
49:54for their own safety.
49:57But most people nervously lie low at
49:59home and follow the events as best they
50:02can
50:03on radio and television.
50:06That afternoon, Saturday, October the
50:0817th, the government has agreed to fly
50:11the kidnappers to Cuba should they give
50:13themselves up. An airplane waits on the
50:15tarmac at Dorval.
50:17But it is too late.
50:19That evening, the airways are filled
50:21with stories of death.
50:25A few moments ago, we received
50:26confirmation that the bodies of Mr.
50:28Laporte and Mr. Cross have been
50:30discovered.
50:32The newsroom at Telemedia is trying to
50:34obtain more information, which will be
50:35passed on to you in a few minutes.
50:40Is there any mention of Cross? It's not
50:42confirmed. Okay.
50:56Network music.
51:07We should like to remind listeners once
51:08again that 11:10 p.m. exactly, close to
51:12Saint Hubert Airport, that the car which
51:15was used 1 week ago to kidnap Pierre
51:17Laporte in front of his home on
51:19Robitaille Street at Saint Lambert was
51:21formally identified.
51:25The Quebec police force is on its way to
51:27Rawdon, where the body of Mr. James
51:29Richard Cross is said to have been
51:31discovered.
51:33He is the second hostage who was
51:34kidnapped a little over 2 weeks ago.
51:37Mr. Cross is the senior British Trade
51:39Commissioner.
51:40Several Montreal radio stations have
51:42already announced the death of Mr.
51:43Cross, but no official police
51:45confirmation has been received yet. At
51:47exactly 12:25, or rather at 0:25, or 25
51:51minutes after midnight, the trunk of the
51:53car was finally opened and the body of
51:55Mr. Laporte was discovered,
51:57covered in blood.
51:59CKAC Telemedia, first with the news.
52:03We'll be back in a few moments.
52:05Omer Maltais, Telemedia, Montreal.
52:46Laporte's body is in this car, found by
52:48two journalists, one of whom was Claude
52:50Lachance.
52:53And then we called the police,
52:56who took about half an hour to get here.
53:01Did you expect to discover the body?
53:04Yes.
53:05Yes, because uh
53:08knowing the FLQ, they never lied in the
53:10communiques.
53:11Finding the car with the license number
53:13which they had indicated,
53:16it was 90% sure that there was something
53:18in it.
53:20And it had to be the body of Laporte. We
53:22didn't expect to find any dynamite.
53:26Uh I was about 100 ft from the car, 75
53:30ft from the car,
53:31because the police wouldn't let us come
53:33near, especially as there could have
53:34been dynamite.
53:36We didn't know what was in the trunk.
53:38All the police told us was that there
53:39was something very heavy in the trunk of
53:41the car.
53:43And they opened it and the policeman who
53:46opened the trunk,
53:49he was from the bomb disposal unit.
53:54And they opened the trunk and they said
53:56that there was indeed a man in the
53:58trunk. We tried to get closer, but the
54:00police wouldn't let us. All we could see
54:01was some white clothes with bloodstains
54:03on them.
54:06And then a few minutes later,
54:08uh the men from the identification squad
54:12arrived
54:13and they removed the clothes and we
54:15recognized the body of Laporte. I saw
54:18him because when he was taken out of the
54:20trunk, I caught a glimpse of his body
54:22very, very briefly. He was wearing a
54:24sweater, a small sweater,
54:27pushed to here.
54:29His wrists were wrapped in bloodstained
54:30towels.
54:32I couldn't see his face, but they told
54:34me that his cheeks were very swollen and
54:37that he had blood on his nostrils here,
54:39on the nose and the mouth.
54:44The communique said
54:47The communique said, I can almost quote
54:48it, "Faced with the arrogance of the
54:51federal government
54:53and of its lackey Bourassa,
54:56the FLQ decided to take action.
55:00Mr. Pierre Laporte,
55:02Minister of Unemployment and
55:05Assimilation, was assassinated this
55:07evening at 18 minutes past 6:00
55:11by the DIE cell
55:14and in brackets, the 22nd Regiment.
55:18You will find the body in the trunk of a
55:20green Chevrolet
55:24bearing license number 9J2420.
55:30The Front de libération du Québec, we
55:32shall overcome.
55:34And there was some indication of where
55:37the car was parked,
55:39a sort of little sketch of the
55:40surrounding area.
55:42And a bit lower, it was written,
55:44"Warning to all the capitalists in
55:46Quebec."
55:49Uh how does it go exactly?
55:52"Let everyone be on his guard" or
55:54something like that. I forget the last
55:56sentence, but it goes something like
55:57this. "And from now on, this is the way
56:00things are going to be."
56:03Now,
56:04this very evening, it's clear that the
56:05Silent Revolution is dead.
56:08I have the impression that the real
56:09revolution is beginning, that some sort
56:11of civil war is stirring in Quebec and
56:12that something extremely serious just
56:14happened. A lot of stupid things are
56:16going to happen from now on. People will
56:19perhaps be tempted to kill
56:20indiscriminately.
56:22And I wish to the people of Canada
56:25to remain united in this ordeal.
56:34With deep
56:36shock and
56:38consternation, I believe that all
56:40Canadians have learned of the death of
56:42Mr. Pierre Laporte,
56:45who was
56:47so cowardly assassinated
56:50by a band of murderers.
56:54And I can't help feeling
56:56as a Canadian a deep sense of shame
57:00that this this cruel and senseless act
57:04should have been conceived in cold blood
57:07and executed
57:10in like manner.
57:11And I want to express to
57:14Mrs. Laporte and to Mr. Laporte's family
57:17the very
57:19deep
57:20regrets of the Canadian people, of the
57:22Canadian government,
57:24and our desire as Canadians to stick
57:27together in this
57:30very sorry moment of our history.
57:32What can you tell us, Mr. Bourassa,
57:34about the kind of people you're dealing
57:35with? I can't tell you anything more.
57:37Thank you, Mr. Bourassa.
57:49Sunday, October the 18th,
57:52a sermon is given by Laporte's old
57:54friend, the mayor of Montreal, Jean
57:57Drapeau.
57:58Is it a warning
58:00addressed to all those who hold public
58:04office
58:06that they will not only be suppressed
58:09or assassinated,
58:12but that it will be done in the most
58:14cruel manner.
58:20If there is
58:22a lesson
58:25that we should accept,
58:29if there is a message,
58:32and I'm sure
58:34that this
58:36must have been the last thought
58:38of Pierre Laporte,
58:41it is that his sacrifice
58:47should not have been consented in vain.
58:54That all men holding public office
58:58should have the courage
58:59to continue.
59:04Those responsible for this crime will be
59:07found and will be dealt with in the calm
59:09and dispassionate atmosphere of Canadian
59:12courts.
59:14The FLQ
59:16has sown the seeds of its own
59:18destruction.
59:20It has revealed
59:22that it has no mandate but terror,
59:26no policies but violence, and no
59:29solutions but murder.
59:32If you could emphasize that part of the
59:34press, you know, that we're not making a
59:35deal.
59:36You know, it's not a time for politics.
59:38Well, I'll follow your questions and
59:40maybe Well, what I'd rather do is No,
59:41no, I'll do it myself. Yeah. Do a 60 for
59:44me.
59:45How long do you want to I want a 60
59:48second.
59:52No, I understand. I can't do that. No.
59:55How long? Well, I don't know, but if you
59:57want 60 seconds, get it from somebody
59:59else. I I don't want airtime. I couldn't
1:00:01care less about goddamn airtime.
1:00:03No, no, it's not airtime.
1:00:04Look, I'm not going to distort things.
1:00:06No, no, don't don't distort things.
1:00:07The hell with that. Okay, all right.
1:00:09This thing is No, no. No, no, we'll do
1:00:11it your way. We'll do it your way.
1:00:13This thing is
1:00:15Look, goddammit, we're not a soap opera.
1:00:17I know that.
1:00:17And we're not a soap advertisement. If
1:00:19you want that, get it somewhere else.
1:00:21Well, we're not looking for that, you
1:00:22know. Well, you are with 60 seconds.
1:00:25Well,
1:00:26guy dies,
1:00:28our opinion, oh, [ __ ] Yeah, go ahead.
1:00:40Okay. You running? Yeah.
1:00:43Wait.
1:00:43Could you express your view on that
1:00:46which you have expressed already today
1:00:48for us, please?
1:00:48Yes.
1:00:50Well, basically, speaking for the Parti
1:00:52Québécois, but also
1:00:54in
1:00:55conjunction
1:00:57with people from the
1:00:59unions, the CEQ, CNTU, the FTQ, and
1:01:03the teachers union.
1:01:05And also with individuals like Mr.
1:01:07Claude Ryan of Le Devoir and others,
1:01:10we agreed on some basic positions. First
1:01:12of all, that
1:01:13as everybody knows, we
1:01:16we
1:01:17find
1:01:18some something completely intolerable in
1:01:21Mr. Laporte's
1:01:23barbaric execution by
1:01:25people who have no sense of humanity and
1:01:28who don't reflect Quebec. We have our
1:01:30share of terrorists,
1:01:32active or potential, as every civilized
1:01:34society has, but
1:01:36they don't reflect Quebec. If they did
1:01:38really reflect anything valid in Quebec,
1:01:40I'd get away from here so fast I would
1:01:42never never come back.
1:01:44On the other hand,
1:01:46there's also this fact that
1:01:48the government in Quebec
1:01:51and in Ottawa have been using this
1:01:53hardline of
1:01:54la raison d'état, you know, the decision
1:01:58of
1:01:59not negotiating. They've already
1:02:02They have a share of responsibility.
1:02:04They've already ended up with the death
1:02:06of one of the two hostages. So, we hope
1:02:08to God, and we repeat it, we said it a
1:02:10few times before
1:02:12in the groups that were we formed, and
1:02:15we have no nothing political in this. I
1:02:17don't know if anybody wins or lose in
1:02:19this damn thing. I know everybody loses
1:02:20something.
1:02:22We we just want to insist again that
1:02:23this line, this rigid line, we think was
1:02:26wrong.
1:02:27We we know they believed in Ottawa when
1:02:30they dictated it that it was right, but
1:02:32I think they've proved now, at least
1:02:33they should have approved that it
1:02:35from a human point of view, from
1:02:37something very much more essential than
1:02:39just clamping down, they were wrong. So,
1:02:42we hope to God that they'll think
1:02:45they reconsider if need be, and they'll
1:02:46think more now than anything else about
1:02:49saving the one man, Mr. Cross, who
1:02:52apparently is still alive.
1:02:54And again, we ask
1:02:56with no illusions now, but anyway, that
1:02:59if there's any sense of honor left or
1:03:01can be
1:03:02revived in the guys that were the
1:03:04kidnappers, that for the love of God,
1:03:06they give up.
1:03:07There's no logic This is not illogical.
1:03:10The most The only consistent clear thing
1:03:12in our attitude over the last few days
1:03:14has been
1:03:15that governments and at the other end,
1:03:18the extremists, find some common ground
1:03:21to save human lives. And whatever
1:03:23happens, we also insist
1:03:25that Quebec, on account of this, there
1:03:28is a blood on Quebec. We all We all
1:03:30share it. We have to get rid of it.
1:03:32We have to deplore what happened. But on
1:03:35the other hand, let no one think,
1:03:37wherever he is, outside Quebec or inside
1:03:39Quebec, that this is enough to make us a
1:03:42a sort of cell, a collective cell, of
1:03:44repression.
1:03:46We we'll fight, if we have to, against
1:03:48anyone who wants to use this climate now
1:03:52to more or less, you know,
1:03:55tie up Quebec in impotence.
1:03:59We're still going to develop, and we
1:04:01hope we take a lesson out of this that
1:04:03makes our society more aware of the
1:04:06price of human life and of making it
1:04:08livable. But that's our responsibility,
1:04:11and no one should think this is an
1:04:13excuse to make Quebec a a jail.
1:04:17It is still not known what happened
1:04:19during Laporte's last week.
1:04:21Now Laporte is dead,
1:04:23and the carefully guarded young Premier
1:04:24Bourassa,
1:04:26the other powers, and the public in huge
1:04:28numbers come to pay their last respects
1:04:31to the second most powerful politician
1:04:33in Quebec.
1:04:46Monday, October the 19th,
1:04:49the mysterious house where Laporte was
1:04:51held by the Chenier cell of the FLQ. The
1:04:54window through which he apparently tried
1:04:56to escape. The garage which must have
1:04:58concealed Laporte's arrival. The room
1:05:00where Laporte is supposed to have been
1:05:02killed
1:05:03are found by the police
1:05:05two days too late.
1:05:10Laporte's funeral is held on Tuesday,
1:05:12October the 20th.
1:05:14The Church of Notre Dame is surrounded
1:05:16by hundreds of well-armed soldiers.
1:05:19Madame Laporte had asked for a simple
1:05:21funeral,
1:05:22but the ceremony becomes a state
1:05:24occasion.
1:05:28Watched by huge crowds, the powerful
1:05:31show their support for the government.
1:05:41Pierre Laporte came close to being the
1:05:43Prime Minister of Quebec.
1:05:45He was the most experienced minister in
1:05:48Bourassa's cabinet.
1:05:50He had been a minister in Lesage's
1:05:52cabinet during la révolution tranquille.
1:05:57He had had a long public career
1:05:59in both journalism and politics.
1:06:04He was 49 years old when he died.
1:06:15Why exactly the kidnappers decided to
1:06:18proceed with the killing of Pierre
1:06:19Laporte may never be known,
1:06:22but one thing was clear,
1:06:24that the men in charge of Canada and
1:06:26Quebec were not going to let personal
1:06:28emotions interfere with the running of
1:06:30the country.
1:06:34Cause of death,
1:06:35asphy- acute asphyxiation by
1:06:38strangulation
1:06:40by means of a bond.
1:06:42This bond could be a small chain,
1:06:46uh
1:06:46which Mr. Laporte had around his neck,
1:06:50and which was still in place at the time
1:06:52of the postmortem.
1:06:55The The marks traced of the
1:06:58strangulation was all around the neck,
1:07:01uh except at the back of the neck, where
1:07:05it appeared that it had been twisted.
1:07:09Liberation cell of the FLQ sends this
1:07:11photograph of Cross to prove that he is
1:07:13still alive.
1:07:19While the frantic searches continue, a
1:07:21new movement to save Cross's life gets
1:07:23underway.
1:07:24The three major trade unions in Quebec
1:07:27sympathize with the social aims of the
1:07:29FLQ and oppose the War Measures Act.
1:07:32They overcome their long-standing
1:07:33differences and band together,
1:07:36and both the union leaders and the
1:07:38leaders of the Parti Québécois urge the
1:07:40government to give in to the demands of
1:07:42the FLQ to save the life of James
1:07:45Richard Cross.
1:07:48But those in power hold fast as Montreal
1:07:50prepares for a municipal election, an
1:07:53election many felt should have been
1:07:54postponed.
1:07:55The atmosphere is one of confusion,
1:07:57fear, and distrust, which lends itself
1:07:59to the campaigning of frightened voters.
1:08:01Two opposition candidates are arrested
1:08:03under the War Measures Act, and both
1:08:05Mayor Drapeau and Jean Marchand claim,
1:08:08incorrectly, to have discovered a link
1:08:10between the FLQ and the only serious
1:08:13opposition facing Drapeau, FRAP.
1:08:16When a movement invites
1:08:20that kind of speaker, and when all the
1:08:22members that are attending the meeting,
1:08:243,000 of them apparently, according to
1:08:26the papers,
1:08:28are shouting the letters F L Q,
1:08:31F L Q,
1:08:33I don't think that we need much more
1:08:35evidence to say that there is more than
1:08:39just a moral sympathy.
1:08:42And when you give these kind of powers
1:08:45to local authorities, you no longer know
1:08:48what use or abuse they're going to make
1:08:51of those powers. This is what troubles
1:08:53us. And you've already had examples of
1:08:55it. You've had an example in city of
1:08:57Vancouver, where the mayor of that city
1:08:59says we can use these powers to clean
1:09:01out the hippies and the draft dodgers.
1:09:03Uh you have a statement by the chief of
1:09:05police in one city on the prairies who
1:09:06said a lot of people that if you wanted
1:09:08to pick up, this would be a good time to
1:09:10do it. And now the growing suspicion, as
1:09:12pointed out by for instance, Ron Haggart
1:09:15in the
1:09:16the Toronto Telegram last night, that
1:09:20it looks very suspiciously like uh
1:09:24the uh
1:09:26regulations and these sweeping orders uh
1:09:30are going to be used in the province of
1:09:32Quebec on the one hand to clean out FRAP
1:09:36which is opposing Mayor Drapeau and then
1:09:38the other hand to get rid of the
1:09:40separatists
1:09:41who have incurred of course the
1:09:43displeasure of both
1:09:45Mr. Choquette the Attorney General and
1:09:47Mr. Marchand.
1:09:49No, we have no interest in the Montreal
1:09:51election. This is up to the citizens of
1:09:53Montreal to choose their
1:09:55their
1:09:57counselors and their mayor and we don't
1:09:59want to intervene at all in this.
1:10:01fact is you have already intervened sir
1:10:02by what you said. No, I didn't say that
1:10:04all members of the FRAP organization are
1:10:07members of the FLQ or anything of the
1:10:08kind. I just said that the FRAP as a
1:10:11body took a position which gave us some
1:10:14kind of moral guarantee to the FLQ.
1:10:16That's all. But when I said that it was
1:10:19a front, I think it went too far and
1:10:21this is the only thing I want to
1:10:22correct. As far as the rest is
1:10:23concerned, well, let's wait after the
1:10:25municipal election and
1:10:27What organization was going to create
1:10:28chaos in and around the Montreal
1:10:30election bombings?
1:10:31Well, these are the things that we're
1:10:32going to clarify that I hope in a few
1:10:34days. This is an attempt to stampede the
1:10:37voters by
1:10:40a smear tactic,
1:10:42guilt by association. You take an
1:10:44organization and you without any
1:10:47advancing any proof without producing
1:10:49any evidence, you damage
1:10:52by aligning it in the public mind with
1:10:57an organization that has just been
1:10:58declared by order in council to be an
1:11:01illegal organization.
1:11:03To no one's surprise, Drapeau wins
1:11:05easily winning every one of THE 52
1:11:07SEATS.
1:11:12THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE who with their
1:11:15votes have prevented democracy from
1:11:18suffering yet another even more serious
1:11:21blow.
1:11:23I also wish to thank all those in the
1:11:26provincial and federal governments who
1:11:29understood that our system of government
1:11:32for which so many of our people gave
1:11:34their lives in battles overseas
1:11:38was in danger here.
1:11:47And who came forward to help this regime
1:11:50resist not only the known revolutionary
1:11:53attacks, but also the attempts to
1:11:56constitute a provisional government
1:11:59which would preside over the change from
1:12:02constitutional power
1:12:04to revolutionary power.
1:12:15Few people realized that Drapeau meant
1:12:16that there was a plot to overthrow the
1:12:18government of Quebec and replace it with
1:12:20a provisional government.
1:12:26Drapeau's far-fetched accusation is
1:12:28angrily denied by the prominent people
1:12:30implicated including editor Claude Ryan
1:12:33and the whole affair is buried by
1:12:35Bourassa. I give you the reasons why I
1:12:38have to acted to avoid more troubles.
1:12:41There is no question of provisional
1:12:43government being involved in my
1:12:45decision. I was told about that about
1:12:47the possibility of such a thing, but I
1:12:50did not take that very seriously.
1:12:52By now, the several police forces have
1:12:55managed to figure out the names of most
1:12:57of the kidnappers and their descriptions
1:12:59and pictures are papered across Quebec.
1:13:03Bernard Lortie was the first Laporte
1:13:05suspect captured.
1:13:08Lortie was caught here on Queen Mary
1:13:10Road.
1:13:12But Paul and Jacques Rose and Francis
1:13:14Simard
1:13:15managed to escape by hiding in a
1:13:18cupboard behind a false wall while the
1:13:20police searched the apartment.
1:13:23As the weeks passed
1:13:25a few people in English Canada finally
1:13:27began to protest the loss of civil
1:13:29liberties and to question the need for
1:13:31the War Measures Act. It's a direct
1:13:34attack
1:13:35upon liberty.
1:13:37IT'S A DIRECT ATTACK
1:13:39UPON FREEDOM.
1:13:42BUT THE VAST majority of the population
1:13:44continues to support the Prime Minister
1:13:46and his government's actions.
1:13:49The few people who do oppose the War
1:13:51Measures Act are far from popular.
1:14:16For the hundreds who were imprisoned
1:14:17here in Montreal's Parthenais Jail,
1:14:19Canada is indeed a land of force.
1:14:22Montreal's original Thursday night
1:14:24request is defended by Drapeau. The
1:14:27public order was very much in danger and
1:14:30on that Thursday morning
1:14:32we were really upset
1:14:34and had it not been with the arrival of
1:14:37the the army, the Canadian army
1:14:39to reassure the population and we know
1:14:42now how unanimous the population is
1:14:45about the presence here of our Canadian
1:14:48army, well, it would have been the the
1:14:51open revolution. Every country that has
1:14:54had its freedoms and liberties curtailed
1:14:59has been told in advance that this was
1:15:01being done for their protection and it
1:15:03was only on a temporary basis.
1:15:05My position has to be that unless I can
1:15:08get convincing evidence
1:15:11that
1:15:12the government is faced with an
1:15:15insurrection
1:15:16then I am naturally
1:15:18not going to exceed
1:15:21willingly
1:15:22to surrendering the basic freedoms of
1:15:25the people in this country.
1:15:28The government failed to provide any
1:15:29more evidence convincing or otherwise.
1:15:34Early in December, a trail of clues
1:15:36leads to northern Montreal.
1:15:47Soldiers throw a huge cordon around the
1:15:49suspected street and the world knows
1:15:52that at last Cross has been located.
1:16:11The Liberation Cell of the FLQ
1:16:13negotiates with the authorities claiming
1:16:16that they are well armed and that they
1:16:18have a huge quantity of dynamite.
1:16:20After several nervous hours, the
1:16:22authorities agree to fly the kidnappers
1:16:24and their families to Cuba in exchange
1:16:27for the life of the man who has been
1:16:29held captive in this duplex, James
1:16:31Richard Cross. We backed out in the
1:16:34street. Cabanaud was so excited he
1:16:36scraped the side of the car against the
1:16:39wall and had to go back in again, come
1:16:41out again.
1:16:43And there we were out in the sunlight
1:16:45which I now saw first time 60 days.
1:16:57We then had the most terrifying ride
1:16:59through the streets of Montreal
1:17:01surrounded by police and I was really
1:17:04afraid we were going to have an accident
1:17:05because that the door of the car wasn't
1:17:07very secure. Lantoine was trying to hang
1:17:09on to him and I was trying to hang on to
1:17:11him because I was afraid if we had an
1:17:13accident and there was dynamite in the
1:17:14car,
1:17:15we'd all blow up.
1:17:25Hidden by the newspapers, a Cross, the
1:17:28negotiator, lawyer Lemieux,
1:17:31and Lantoine, Cabanaud, and Langlois of
1:17:34the FLQ.
1:17:38A tired but happy Cross waits in the
1:17:41Canadian Pavilion chatting with relieved
1:17:43politicians.
1:17:45His airplane has been ready since before
1:17:47Laporte was killed.
1:17:50Cross's kidnappers
1:17:52some members of their families
1:17:54and an old television set are flown to
1:17:56Cuba and then Cross is freed.
1:18:01Marc Cabanaud
1:18:04Yves Langlois
1:18:08Jacques Cossette-Trudel
1:18:10and Jacques Lantoine are all now said to
1:18:13be living in Cuba.
1:18:15And James Richard Cross is reunited with
1:18:17his family in England.
1:18:21As the year of 1970 comes to a close,
1:18:24this house near Saint Luc, 20 miles from
1:18:27Montreal becomes the scene of the last
1:18:29drama.
1:18:30At the end of a tunnel in a cave where
1:18:33Paul and Jacques Rose and Francis Simard
1:18:36trapped by the police they quickly gave
1:18:38themselves up asking only that the
1:18:41people still detained under the War
1:18:43Measures Act be released on bail.
1:18:46Bernard Lortie
1:18:49Francis Simard
1:18:52Jacques Rose
1:18:55and Paul Rose
1:18:57will battle with a legal system which
1:18:59they claim is imposed foreign and
1:19:02without jurisdiction in their country,
1:19:04Quebec.
1:19:07For Canada
1:19:09the arrests the kidnappings, the killing
1:19:13and the removal of civil liberties
1:19:15have come as a sad and costly loss of
1:19:18innocence.
1:20:15Mhm.

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