Unjust Implementation Of The War Measures Act During 1970
The Unjust Implementation Of The War Measures Act During 1970 The Canadian government headed by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, misinformed and jeopardized the liberty of its Canadian citizens by implementing the War Measures Act during the October crisis of 1970. The guidelines, which bound the Canadian government from declaring the War Measures Act, were disregarded by the implementation of the Act in 1970. According to the War Measures Act itself, the government may only employ it to “confer certain powers upon the Governor in Council in the event of War, Invasion, or Insurrection. ... com) The blunt assessment of the situation that occurred in October of 1970 is contained in notes from a meeting in London on Nov. 26, 1970, between Mitchell Sharp, then Canadas external-affairs minister, and Sir Alec Douglas-Home, his British counterpart. ... The document also adds that John Cross (British Ambassador kidnapped by the FLQ) himself formed the opinion during his 59-day ordeal, that the FLQ hardly represented a coherent threat. ... In his October 16, 1970 letter to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau asking Ottawa to grant police extraordinary powers, Premier of Quebec Robert Bourassa declared that his government was "facing a concerted effort to intimidate and overthrow the government and the democratic institutions of this province through planned and systematic illegal action, including insurrection.