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Home · War & Conflict · Civil Unrest · Oka stand-off begins

Oka stand-off begins

Broadcast Date: July 11, 1990

No one is prepared for what happens next. Quebec police in riot gear storm the barricades. There are clouds of tear gas and a hail of bullets. After 15 minutes of mayhem, the police retreat as quickly as they attack. The strike claims the life of 31-year-old police officer Marcel Lemay. In the confusion and chaos, each side claims the other side shot first.

Oka stand-off begins

• Five years after the standoff, a coroner's report into the shooting death of Marcel Lemay concluded that the shot was fired by a Mohawk warrior. But the report failed to identify the killer and no one was charged with Lemay's murder.

• Corporal Marcel Lemay was the only casualty in the Oka Crisis. His wife was pregnant with their second child at the time of his death.

Oka stand-off begins

Medium: Television

Program: The National

Broadcast Date: July 11, 1990

Guest(s): Ellen Gabriel


Host: Peter Mansbridge
Reporter: Neil MacDonald, Paul Workman

Duration: 8:01

Last updated:
July 14, 2009


End of list




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