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The October Crisis: Civil Liberties Suspended
Just watch me
Broadcast Date: Oct. 13, 1970
Canada looks more like a police state than a democracy eight days after the kidnapping of British Trade Commissioner James Cross. On Parliament Hill a reporter confronts Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau: "What is it with all these men and guns around here?" By calling in army tanks and men in full gear, Trudeau boosted national security. But the military's presence makes some Canadians feel a whole lot less secure. How far will the prime minister extend law and order? Just watch him.Though most people are familiar only with its punchline, CBC reporter Tim Ralfe's interview with the prime minister lasts seven and a half minutes. In this clip, Trudeau utters his most famous phrase about six minutes in.
Just watch me
• Three days later Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act, giving police the right to arrest and detain people on suspicion alone.
• The act, created in 1914 for cases of war or national emergency, was repealed in 1985.
• Trudeau also outlawed the Front de libération du Québec and told police to arrest those with "extreme-left" literature, posters, stickers or pamphlets.
• Eighty-five per cent of Canadians agreed with invoking the act.
• Cabinet documents later revealed that Trudeau originally didn't want to invoke the War Measures Act. Then-Indian Affairs minister Jean Chrétien advised him to "act now, explain later."
• Trudeau changed his mind when he discovered the FLQ had two tons of dynamite to blow up Montreal buildings.
Just watch me
Medium: Television
Program: CBC Television News
Broadcast Date: Oct. 13, 1970
Guest(s): Pierre Elliott Trudeau
Reporter: Tim Ralfe
Duration: 7:33
Last updated:
Oct. 8, 2010
Absolutely amazing, and great to see this interview in its entirety. I can't imagine a prime minister giving a reporter such time and access today.
Submitted by: Paul
Wonderful that a national leader would spend 7 minutes talking unscheduled on the steps, even at a moment of national crisis. Could it still happen today in Canada? (I do not think it would happen in my own country [UK] or the US [where I live].)
Submitted by: Anonymous