But it refused to free FLQ prisoners. “It’s hard for a young person today to imagine there was a time when a lot of young people, a lot of publications, believed a revolution was possible in North America,” Comeau said in a phone interview. While he’s faced criticism for portraying his family in too positive a light, he believes that the lesson of the film is that violence is a symptom of a deeper problem, and also largely avoidable. In October 1970, two cells of the separatist Front de Libération du Québec (FLQ), a revolutionary organization promoting an independent and socialist Quebec, kidnapped British Trade Commissioner James Cross and Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte. The page you are looking at will not be updated. The film focuses on the family of Paul and Jacques Rose, two members of the Front de Liberation du Quebec convicted for the kidnapping and murder of then-Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte, in 1970. Quebec politician drops plan for tribute to late FLQ member. CBC asks people on the street what they think of the kidnappings. Canada could see ‘grotesque’ spike in coronavirus cases after holidays: expert, ‘Matter of great concern’: Scientists find microplastics in human placenta for 1st time. The October Crisis (French: Crise d'Octobre) occurred in October 1970 in the province of Quebec in Canada, mainly in the Montreal metropolitan area. An English Canadian caller to CBC Radio's Double Take thinks francophones are a fairly privileged bunch. • Laporte was chosen because he signified the Liberal Party's right-wing ideals. Wife of British diplomat emotionally discusses her husband's kidnapping. Rose said that while he doesn’t condone the actions of his father and uncle, he understands better why FLQ members would turn to violence, especially when faced with political and police repression, including a ban on protesting. Armés de fusils, les membres du FLQ s’arrêtent au domicile de Pierre Laporte, sur la rive sud de Montréal, et le forcent à monter sur la banquette arrière de leur voiture. Paul Rose, leader of the FLQ's Chenier cell, which kidnapped Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte In 1970, the FLQ numbered some 35 people, loosely organized and divided on priorities. Comeau says Laporte, as a progressive Quebec politician and a former journalist, should never have been a target, but at the time he felt it was part of the revolution. Pierre Laporte’s funeral is held at Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica. On October 10, Quebec Justice Minister Jérôme Choquette announced that he refused to accede to the requests of the Liberation cell. James Cross, now back in England, talks to the press about…. He said his main role in the FLQ was providing material support and, eventually, writing press releases to be distributed to the media. The separatist, socialist Front de libération du Québec had begun setting off bombs in 1963, waging a campaign of terror that by 1970 had resulted in five deaths. On Oct. 17, 1970, a week after he was being kidnapped by the terrorist group Front de Libération du Québec (FLQ) during the October Crisis, Laporte… By this date, police have conducted 1,628 raids under the War Measures Act. “As of the death of Pierre Laporte, the sympathy was completely dropped. How are other candidates progressing? Separatist group permitted to speak at the University of Montreal. Robert Comeau, then a young university professor, says he was seduced into helping the FLQ by the romantic ideals of revolution that were prevalent in countries such as Algeria and Cuba in the 1960s. Want to discuss? Il est député de Chambly de 1961 à 1970 et occupe durant ses mandats, différentes fonctions ministérielles au sein des gouvernements Lesage et Bourassa. It expressed many of their concerns. Now he feels differently. The Journal recaps the crisis and examines what it meant for Quebec nationalism. Members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Deputy Premier Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cross. The act was put into effect following the kidnapping of British diplomat James Cross and Quebec labour minister Pierre Laporte by the FLQ. Ten years later, this CBC Radio clip reveals that Laporte was murdered, probably accidentally strangled, a week later. FLQ terrorist convicted of killing cabinet minister Pierre Laporte has died Open this photo in gallery: Former FLQ member Francis Simard gestures during a news conference in … Trudeau used Lalonde to stay on top of developments in Quebec. “It was a very, very depressing time. But the group also gained some popular support for its political positions calling for an independent Quebec. Softwood Lumber Dispute, Breaking the Ice: Canada and the Northwest Passage, The Confederation Bridge: P.E.I. Get a roundup of the most important and intriguing national stories delivered to your inbox every weekday. “In history, we can’t predict,” he said. The kidnappers murdered Laporte and negotiations led to Cross's release. Paul Rose, prominent figure in Quebec history and October crisis, has died. Entrevue avec le fils de Pierre Laporte « Quand mon père est mort, les gouvernements ont gagné et le FLQ a perdu » La famille de Pierre Laporte, depuis 50 ans, a choisi la discrétion. “It was the most depressing time in my 20 years in federal politics,” said Lalonde, who in 1970 was an adviser to then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau and later ran for office and served in Trudeau’s cabinet. A brief list of terror plots involving Canada. Laporte's death would mark the beginning of the end of the FLQ as sympathy abruptly shifted away from the group. • The FLQ Manifesto called for Quebec's non-democratic separation from Canada, brought about by acts of terror. Fifty years later, the events of the 1970 October Crisis, including the abductions of Laporte and British diplomat James Cross and the federal government’s decision to suspend civil liberties by invoking the War Measures Act, remain a dark period in the country’s history, with repercussions still being felt today. Elections: Colourful Characters, Pivotal Points, Northwest Territories: Voting in Canada's North, P.E.I. There was no more sympathy,” he said. The body of Pierre Laporte, with Premier and Mrs. Robert Bourassa kneeling before it, lies in state Monday, Oct. 20, 1970 in the Montreal courthouse, attended by … Halloween Across the Years, The Wrongful Conviction of David Milgaard, Pushing Past Borders: Canada & International Drug Trafficking, A Lost Heritage: Canada's Residential Schools, An Inuit Education: Honouring a Past, Creating a Future, Who Cares For Our Kids? Lalonde says the crisis convinced Trudeau of the importance of creating the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and contributed to the creation of new emergency measures legislation that was subject to it. Pierre Laporte was at home in the Montreal suburb of St. Lambert, throwing a football with his nephew on the front lawn, when a group of men drove up in a … Has Confederation Been Good for Newfoundland? Suspected FLQ kidnappers are on their way to Cuba. . His body was discovered in the trunk of a car tonight. ”It always happens in a way you can’t imagine, and never at the time you think.”. French Canadian nationalists from the FLQ (the Front de libération du Québec) had abducted British diplomat James Cross five days earlier, and now a Quebec minister. Robert Lemieux discusses urgency of crisis on day of first kidnapping. Pierre Laporte, né le 25 février 1921 à Montréal et retrouvé mort le 17 octobre 1970, est un avocat, journaliste et homme politique québécois. doctor working in COVID-19 ward, Trump has been told to wait on vaccination — here’s why. 1970: FLQ kidnaps Pierre Laporte The Story In broad daylight, kidnappers with machine guns pull up to Quebec immigration and labour minister Pierre Laporte's front lawn in Saint-Lambert. 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Manifesto read on-air in Montreal on Radio-Canada. The FLQ's message has made its way across the country. “At the moment it happened, we were convinced we were in a bit of a war,” he said. Read more: Ten years after the October Crisis a report finds the labour minister was unintentionally murdered. The National traces the steps leading up to the crisis. Canada looks more like a police state than a democracy eight days after the kidnapping of British Trade Commissioner James…. “Pierre Laporte was an important figure in our history and there is no doubt that the people who kidnapped him did not know his importance,” says former felquiste Robert Comeau. While he’s glad the incident proved that Canadians have little tolerance for political violence, Comeau says some of the issues raised during the crisis remain unresolved. Two FLQ members -- Paul Rose and Francis Simard -- were eventually convicted of murder in Laporte’s death and sentenced to life behind bars, although they were released in 1982. Faced with this refusal, the Chénier cell kidnapped the Minister of “Unemployment and Assimilation of Quebecers”, Pierre Laporte. The FLQ members responsible for the kidnapping have never discussed the details, but later admitted and accepted their responsibility for the death of Pierre Laporte. CBC Archives has a new look: Please go to cbc.ca/archives to access the new site. L’enlèvement du ministre Pierre Laporte par le Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) en 1970 a été un tournant décisif dans la crise d’Octobre; sa mort, le paroxysme. Comeau does not believe there is any attempt to justify the actions of the perpetrators. Three principal stages can be identified in the federal aggression of 1970. “When the government doesn’t respect youth, when it takes away an outstretched hand, when it stops them from demonstrating, it creates outbursts,” he said in an interview. In his film, “Les Rose,” he explores his father and uncle’s upbringing in a poor suburb of Montreal, at a time when men were expected to work in “miserable” conditions in factories where they had few educational opportunities and were humiliated for speaking French. Elections, 1952-2005, N.B. Pierre Laporte's body is taken from the trunk of 1968 Chevrolet on Oct. 18, 1970. A francophone caller to CBC Radio's Double Take is frustrated with English Canada. The crisis deepened five days later when another FLQ cell kidnapped Pierre Laporte, the Quebec labour minister. MONTREAL — At age 91, Marc Lalonde still remembers the shock he felt on Oct. 17, 1970 when Pierre Laporte’s body was discovered in the trunk of a car at an airport south of Montreal, a week after he had been kidnapped by a cell of the FLQ. He was also motivated by a sense of anger over the economic discrimination against francophone Quebecers, whom he saw as a nation needing to break free from colonial rule. How The East Was Won: Nova Scotia Elections Since 1949, How the West is Won: B.C. Rose’s son, Felix Rose, released a documentary about the family over the summer, born out of what he said was his attempt to reconcile how the “gentle” father he knew could have been involved in a man’s death. In a recent opinion piece in La Presse, Laporte’s niece and nephew criticized what they said was a lingering “adhesion of certain Quebec nationalists to the actions of the felquistes,” calling it “an apology for terror.”. Peter Daniel of CBC News reads a translation of a long letter from Pierre Laporte addressed to the Premier of…, Yesterday, kidnappers with machine guns pulled up to Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte's home and shoved him into the backseat…. Members of the Front de Libération du Quebec (FLQ) kidnapped the cabinet member Pierre Laporte and the British Trade Commissioner James Cross. The above picture of the body of Quebec labour minister Pierre Laporte in the trunk of a car was one which shocked the normally-aplomb nation to its core. The FLQ, a terrorist organization founded in the early 1960’s, was a paramilitary faction of the Quebec sovereignty movement that conducted over 160 violent attacks between 1963 and 1970. Depuis janvier 1971, la SQ sait précisément lequel des felquistes a causé la mort de Pierre Laporte, mais elle n’a jamais pu l’accuser directement. Quebec’s “national question,” as he calls it, still lingers, despite two referendums in 1980 and 1995. Two FLQ members — Paul Rose and Francis Simard — were eventually convicted of murder in Laporte’s death and sentenced to life behind bars, although they were released in 1982. Armed kidnappers force British Trade Commissioner James Cross into a taxi as he leaves his Montreal home for work. . He’s happy that period in Quebec’s history “didn’t last long.”. Soldiers carrying machine guns raid homes of suspected FLQ members. (CP PHOTO/Peter Bregg) 1970. (Note: Footage in French only.). Liberal Justice Minister John Turner defends Trudeau's contentious War Measures Act. 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Macdonald: Architect of Modern Canada, The Long Run: The Political Rise of John Turner, Trudeaumania: A Swinger for Prime Minister, Electing Dynasties: Alberta Campaigns Since 1935, Friendly Rivalries: Manitoba Elections Since 1966. Laporte’s death had political repercussions for Quebec, as well as tragic consequences for his family, who lost a beloved father, husband and uncle. Elections: Liberal Landslides and Tory Tides, Showdown on the Prairies: A History of Saskatchewan Elections, Territorial Battles: Yukon Elections, 1978-2006, The 'Other Revolution': Louis Robichaud's New Brunswick, Equality First: The Royal Commission on the Status of Women, Pot and Politics: Canada and the Marijuana Debate, Sue Rodriguez and the Right-To-Die Debate, Trudeau's Omnibus Bill: Challenging Canadian Taboos, Voting in Canada: How a Privilege Became a Right. Photo by Montreal Star/Photo-Canada Wide. The incident escalates what becomes known as the October Crisis. L’élément déclencheur de cette crise fut l’enlèvement d’un chargé d’affaires anglais par le FLQ, James Richard Cross et puis l'enlèvement de Pierre Laporte, alors ministre du Travail dans le gouvernement Robert Bourassa, et qui est assassiné [23]. He has read the accounts of Laporte’s family and long ago stopped believing in violent acts as a means to an end. In response, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invoked the only peacetime use of the War Measures Act. Related Stories Timeline: Notable dates in Canada’s history. 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After the FLQ manifesto was broadcast in October 1970, Québecers felt uplifted. • Laporte was murdered Oct. 17, the day after the federal government applied the War Measures Act. From 1963 to 1970, the FLQ claimed responsibility for more than 85 bombs, killing six people. While Lalonde describes the October Crisis as a “tragedy for Quebec,” he believes some positive elements came from it. The prime minister explains why he thinks military rule is necessary during the October Crisis. A famed reporter and parliamentary correspondent for the newspaper Le Devoir from 1945 to '61, he was one of Quebec Premier Maurice Duplessis' fiercest opponents, writing a book, The True Face of Duplessis. While he doubts young Quebecers will resort to bombs and kidnappings, he says it’s impossible to say another crisis could never happen. Fact file: What is Bill 101? 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Paul Rose, during an interview while serving time in prison for the murder of Pierre Laporte – October crisis / FLQ. October 10: Quebec labour minister Pierre Laporte is kidnapped by members of the FLQ's Chénier cell. Read more: Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte has been found strangled. Both he and Comeau say Laporte’s death instantly ended any support for the FLQ, which disbanded almost immediately afterwards, and there have not been any political kidnappings since. At age 91, Marc Lalonde still remembers the shock he felt on Oct. 17, 1970 when Pierre Laporte’s body was discovered in the trunk of a car at an airport south of Montreal, a week after he had been kidnapped by a cell of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ). In broad daylight, kidnappers with machine guns pull up to Quebec immigration and labour minister Pierre Laporte's front lawn in Saint-Lambert. everything else,” Lise and Claude Laporte wrote in the Oct. 5 article. Marina Smyth explains – Oct 15, 2020, Don’t break the rules during Christmas, pleads B.C. Read more: ‘A tragedy for Quebec’: Pierre Laporte’s death remembered 50 years later, Je Me Souviens is marking the 50th anniversary of the October Crisis with a virtual exhibition told from a soldier’s perspective. Canada has approved 2 coronavirus vaccines. Read more: Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte was murdered 50 years ago Saturday by FLQ kidnappers. • The Quebec government refused to accede to all FLQ demands. 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Ten years later, it is revealed that the labour minister was one of many diplomats targeted for the abduction. October 16 at 4:00 a.m.: The War Measures Act goes into effect. He said he knew only a handful of people in the organization, which he believed to be much bigger than it really was. The Quiet Revolution turned bloody in 1963. It did agree to broadcasting the FLQ Manifesto on Radio-Canada, and guaranteeing the kidnappers safe passage anywhere in the world. 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But we had to face it.”, Until Laporte’s body was found, Lalonde said, Trudeau and other members of the federal government had still believed they would be able to negotiate with the FLQ, which Lalonde refers to as an “ultra-nationalist group.”, Read more: