55th Anniversary of the Proclamation of War Measures
October 16, 1970

Police Powers Used to Unjustly Imprison Hundreds During 1970 “October Crisis”

Youth fill Paul Sauvé Arena in Montreal in support of Quebec national liberation on the eve of the declaration of the War Measures Act in October 1970.

This October 16 marks the 55th anniversary of the proclamation of the War Measures Act by Pierre Elliot Trudeau and his Liberal government. On this occasion, the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) salutes all those who were unjustly imprisoned and persecuted on that occasion and all who fought militantly in defence of democratic rights and freedoms and all those who, to this day, continue to uphold the right of Quebec to self-determination, up to and including secession if the Quebec people so decide.

This year’s anniversary comes at time the government of François Legault has with ill-intention tabled Bill 1, the Quebec Constitution Act, 2025, which he characterized as the culmination of all the measures his government has taken and is thus the “law of laws” in Quebec. Far from defending the Quebec’s right to nationhood, let alone the fundamental rights of the people of Quebec, this law enshrines the kind of impunity unleashed against the people 55 years ago.

This anniversary comes at a time Quebeckers along with the working class and people in the rest of Canada and Indigenous Peoples are vigorously fighting for the claims they are by right entitled to make on society and the rights of all. This includes first and foremost the right to exercise their own sovereignty in a manner they see fit based on their right to be as decided by the peoples, not the Canadian state and its constituent parts. The Legault government’s ill-intentioned and bogus constitution is a cheap attempt to perpetuate the Anglo-Canadian institutions within Quebec. It follows the modus operandi of the oppressive Anglo-Canadian state, by putting Quebec in the service of U.S. imperialism and joining in acts of state violence based on racism, anti-worker and anti-communist ideology in the name of the people of Quebec. It is a provocation of the first order with the executive usurping powers of the National Assembly in the name of high ideals. This is precisely the modus operandi to usurp power used by Pierre Elliot Trudeau in 1970 when he declared the War Measures Act.

CPC(M-L) rejects this use of police powers today as it did in 1970 when it vigorously participated across the country in organizing Canadians to oppose the use of the War Measures Act and arbitrary measures and the violence of the state. In Quebec, Party members organized without letup against state violence and attacks and for the freedom of the political prisoners.

Army on the streets of Montreal October 15, 1970, the day before War Measures Act is invoked.

Victims of the persecution under the War Measures Act in 1970, and the special measures taken before and after, included many CPC(M-L) members as part of the no less than 497 Quebeckers who were unjustly arrested and imprisoned and 36,000 people who were the subject of an unreasonable search because of their independentist political allegiance.

Of note is the fact that the list of persons imprisoned under the War Measures Act has never been made public. Journalists and historians who have looked into the events estimate that between 500 and 1,000 arrests were made, and between 10,000 and 15,000 warrants served.

What is known is that an Interpol warrant was issued at the time for the arrest of the Party’s leader Hardial Bains against whom several assassination attempts, frame-ups and other acts of political persecution were also organized under the CIA’s Operation Chaos, including depriving him of citizenship for 30 years.

Three public commissions of inquiry subsequently held (Duchaine, Keable and McDonald) found a total lack of justification for the adoption of such extreme and unprecedented measures as the suspension of civil rights at a time of peace. Today, 55 years later, Legault’s bogus constitution makes legal a perpetual suspension of civil rights in the name of protecting Quebec democracy. It is very pathetic but the fact that the current system called democratic rule gives his government the power to enact such laws is dangerous indeed, as was the case 55 years ago.

It should be remembered that the records of the October 14-15, 1970 Trudeau cabinet meetings revealed that the federal caucus of ministers was perfectly aware that the police would arrest hundreds of innocent people without expecting to find the two hostages which the Front de Libération du Québec (FLQ) was said to have taken.

The full extent of the wrong-doing of the Canadian state and its agencies at the time of the proclamation of the War Measures Act and surrounding events have still to come to light. Far from ending the use of the police powers to act with impunity, this has now become the new normal, not only for the Government of Canada but also the Government of Quebec whose new “law of laws” is an affront to everything the peoples of this country venerate. To this day, the Canadian state criminalizes conscience and dissent but on a perpetual basis. Through sleight of hand it tramples democratic rights and freedoms in the mud, all in the name of high ideals.

On this occasion, let us honour all those unjustly imprisoned during the 1970 “October Crisis,” their courage and that of their spouses, parents, children, friends and colleagues who were caught in the maelstrom.

A Red Salute to all who continue to fight for the rights of all under all conditions and circumstances.

Attempts by both the Carney and Legault governments to usurp decision-making powers must be condemned. Under the constitutional arrangements imposed on Canada and Quebec in 1867, governments are “legally” entitled to usurp the people’s right to decide their own affairs, and Legault seeks to enshrine this in perpetuity in his new bogus “constitution.”

Freedom by Marcel Barbeau, monument to those persecuted Under War Measures Act.

On October 16, 2010, a commemorative monument in honour of those unjustly imprisoned during the 1970 October Crisis was erected in Montreal outside the premises of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society. The idea of the monument entitled Freedom, by painter and sculptor Marcel Barbeauis is simple, said René Bataille, then-President of the Fondation Octobre 70 which raised the funds for the monument and presided over its inauguration: “Freedom is imprisoned during the October Crisis. The bird on the sculpture represents Quebec. It is imprisoned. However it would not take much for it to fly off and be free.”

When the monument was inaugurated, the late Bernard Landry, former Premier of Quebec, said:

“We have a duty to remember and express gratitude towards those who were the victims of an injustice which has brought shame to Canada.”

“Does a democracy brutally send 500 people to prison without charge, without them having broken the law? This is not forgotten and must not be forgotten. Abuse of power is always possible,” Landry said.

“Surely we all know that the best way of honouring those unjustly imprisoned is to bring the country’s project to term,” he concluded.