October Crisis
Pierre Laporte's Funeral | Copyright Dominique Clément / Clément Consulting
Documents regarding the federal government’s use of the War Measures Act in 1970. It also gives materials relating to the response from human rights activists as well as an array of external links to documents concerning the crisis.
The October Crisis was one of the most stunning political events of the post-war period. For the second time in Canadian history the powers of the War Measures Act were employed to suspend Canadians’ civil liberties in peacetime. The following primary documents are related to the activities of the Front de libération du Québec and debates surrounding the implementation of the War Measures Act.
http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.Belanger/quebechistory/docs/october/index.htm
The Marianopolis website on Quebec history has an excellent database of primary documents regarding the October Crisis, which include
- The original demands of the FLQ.
- The FLQ Manifesto.
- Letter from Pierre Laporte to Robert Bourassa.
- Letter from Pierre Laporte to his wife.
- Statement by Robert Bourassa regarding negotiations, 15 October.
- Trudeau’s “Just watch me” interview.
- Letters from the Quebec authorities requesting the War Measures Act.
- Text of the War Measures Act.
- Public Order Regulation, October 1970.
- Justice Minister John Turner’s explanations in the House of Commons regarding the War Measures Act.
- Trudeau’s televised statement on the War Measures Act.
- Reaction of the FLQ to the War Measures Act.
- Editorial by Claude Ryan on the War Measures Act.
- Statement by René Lévesque on the War Measures Act.
- Statements by T.C. Douglas, leader of the New Democratic Party, on the War Measures Act.
- Radio message of Mrs. Cross to her husband and the FLQ.
- Public Order Temporary Regulations, November 1970.
- Robert Bourassa on the October Crisis.
- A radical interpretation of the October Crisis.
To complement his book The October Crisis, 1970: An Insider’s View, William Tetley provides numerous primary documents in English and French on his website:
- Appendix C: The Events Preliminary to the Crisis (in chronological order – 1960 to 5 October 1970) – English text.
- Appendix D: The Crisis Per Se (in chronological order – 5 October 1970 to 29 December 1970) – English text.
- Appendix E: The Aftermath to the Crisis (in chronological order – 1 January 1971 to 2002) – English text.
- Appendix F: General Contestation in Quebec Society (1960-70) – English text.
- Appendix G: Editorial of Jean-Paul Desbiens in La Presse (6 October 1970); Jean-Paul Desbiens, Four Years Later – French texts and English translations.
- Appendix H: The Manifesto of the FLQ (6 October 1970) – French text and English translation.
- Appendix I: Newspaper Opinions (13-17 October 1970).
- Appendix J: The Petition of the Sixteen Eminent Personalities (14 October 1970) – French text and English translation.
- Appendix K: Letters of Drapeau, Saulnier, Saint-Aubin, and Bourassa (15-16 October 1970) – French texts and English translations.
- Appendix L: Proclamation and Regulations of 16 October 1970 under the War Measures Act and the War Measures Act – French and English texts.
- Appendix M: Actions of Students, Dropouts and Professors after the Proclamation of 16 October 1970 and Commentary – English text.
- Appendix N: Legal Opinion to the Parti Québécois Lawyer Pothier Ferland – French text and English translation.
- Appendix O: Minutes of the Parti Québécois National Council (18 October 1970) – French text and English translation.
- Appendix P: Article of W. Tetley in Le Devoir (4 November 1970) and his reply, 18 October 2003, to letter of Guy Bouthillier and Robin Philpot (Le Devoir, 24 October 2003).
- Appendix Q: The Saga of Carole de Vault – English text.
- Appendix R: Article in the Beaver (October-November 2000) – English text.
- Appendix S: Letter of Claude Castonguay, La Presse (4 May 2001) – French text.
- Appendix T: Last Lunch with Trudeau – English text and French translation.
- Appendix U: Riel’s Revolutionary Bill of Rights (1885) – English text.
- Appendix V: Excerpts of the Montreal Annexation Manifesto (20 September 1849) and Signatories.
- Appendix W: Declaration of Independence of Robert Nelson (1838) – French text.
- Appendix X: List of FLQ Members, Supporters or Sympathizers and Members of Related Organizations – English text.
- Appendix Y: The Roles of the Participants in Retrospect – English text.
- Appendix Z: The Place of the Crisis in Quebec and Canadian History – English text.
- Appendix ZZ: Abbreviations of Citations of Texts and Authors Referred To – English text.
Action: The October Crisis of 1970, directed by Robin Spry.
Black October, directed by Terence McKenna.
Les événements d’octobre, 1970, directed by Robin Spry.
October 1970, a CBC mini-series 2010.
Les ordres, directed by Michel Brault.
Reaction: A Portrait of a Society in Crisis, directed by Robin Spry.
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