Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Canadian Troops In Canadian Cities

Ah the Sturm and drang the crying and wrenching of hair. The Conservatives and Bloggin Tory's are all aghast at the Liberal attack ad about Harper filling our cities with armed military units. The Canadian Army in Canada's cities.

An image taken from one of the Liberal attack ads on Conservative Leader Stephen Harper.

Something about insulting the military. Oh give it a break. Its a great ad. It's exactly what Harper said so he left himself open to this attack.

The Liberals had the good sense to pull the ad, not before it got run in Quebec though. And now it runs for free on the news day in day out. Dumb Conservatives.

Instead of complaining about it here is what the Conservatives should have done, run their own ad that reminded Quebecois about the times the Liberals used Canadian troops in Quebec. In peace time. In Canada. In Canadian cities.

Standoff at Oka

In March 1990, Mohawks warriors at Kanesatake set up a blockade over disputed land with the municipality of Oka. In August, Canadians soldiers were called in to serve at the standoff.
In March 1990, Mohawks warriors at Kanesatake set up a blockade over disputed land with the municipality of Oka. In August, Canadians soldiers were called in to serve at the standoff.

It's a scene of hysteria, pandemonium and high tension as more than 2,500 soldiers descend upon Oka. People prepare for the worst as the army advances to the main barricade at the edge of the sacred Mohawk territory. Images of tanks and soldiers in full combat fatigue fill TV screens. A dramatic stare-off between a Canadian soldier and a Mohawk warrior known as Lasagna come to symbolize the gulf between the two sides.




The October Crisis: Civil Liberties Suspended
In October 1970, tanks roamed city streets and soldiers in full battle gear raided homes in their hunt for "terrorists." They were looking for the Front de libération du Québec; French Canadian nationalists who abducted a British diplomat and a Quebec minister. Some felt like they were living in a police state. How far would Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau go? "Just watch me," he said. Three days later he invoked the War Measures Act and a nation waited with civil liberties suspended.

Soldiers on the streets of MontrealIn 1970,a crisis rocked Canada the likes of which had never before been seen or even imagined. A state of siege existed. There were kidnappings of prominent individuals. One was murdered. The War Measures Act was invoked for the first time in peacetime. Soldiers were in the streets, a very un-Canadian scene. The Prime Minister spoke of an, “apprehended insurrection”. Some saw freedom fighters where others saw terrorists. There were immense repercussions for the FLQ, (Front de liberation du Quebec) the independence movement, the Parti Quebecois, and the federal-provincial relations. In short, the October Crisis of 1970 signaled Canada’s coming of age as we left behind forever our innocence and naivete.

Children gather and stare at a sight they have never seen before - armed Canadian soldiers on the streets of Montreal.








Tags











at

1 comment:

  1. AJSomerset6:37 PM

    It's not what Harper said.

    Harper proposed to create new reserve units ("territorial battalions") stationed in major cities. They would be stationed there because that's where the reservists are.

    That was the proposal. The Liberals have coloured it as a proposal to put armed soldiers on the streets, which it was not.

    ReplyDelete