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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








Oka stand-off begins.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: July 14, 2009.
[Page consulted on Feb. 13, 2012.]