page two

 

The Other Press

Friday, Oct. 24, 1980

 

War Measures Act ‘unnecessary’

Vancouver--Suspension of
civil liberties under the War
Measures Act was a ‘‘totally
unnecessary’’ attempt by.
Pierre Trudeau to discredit
and squash the Quebec in-
dependence movement.

So says Pauline Jewett,
who resigned her seat as a
Libucal backbencher during
the crisis because of her
opposition to the act.

**I genuinely believe it was
possible the prime minister

did have it in mind to link
separatists with the FLQ,’

Jewett recently said in an
interview. ‘‘It looked as if
{the federal government)
seized an opportunity to get
after the separatists as well.’’

Many Quebecers have in-

sisted since the invocation of
the act that it was intended to
discredit the legitimate sep-
aratist movement instead of
aiding in the finding of i
u

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Quebec kidnappers.

Jewett paints a hectic pic-
ture of a Liberal caucus who
had Pierre Trudeau’s decision
unceremoniously forced upon
them. While the cabinet’s
solidarity was prominently
mentioned in the media, she
says the actual situation was
somewhat different.

Jewett said she questioned
eabinet ministers about the
act and was surprised by the
number of reactions like that
of then postmaster general
Eric Kierans.

‘‘He, like the others, was
not entirely happy,’’she says
of Kierans, ‘‘but Trudeau
was being very insistent that
his word be followed.’’

Jewett harshly criticized
Trudeau’s use of the act
within days of its invocation.
As a Carleton University poli-
tical science professor, she
openly condemned the prime
minister’s actions during a
public forum at the univer-
sity.

The other side of the coin
within the caucus was repre-
sented by the likes of then
regional economic affairs
minister Jean Marchand, who
told Jewett he was ‘‘absol-
utely convinced’’ of the act’s
necessity.

“He thought it was a crisis
of enormous dimension,’’:
she says now. ‘‘He thought
that Quebec would fall apart
and that separatists were
almost as bad as the FLQ.’’

‘In retrospect I think he was
proved wrong.”’

At the time, Marchand told
the House of Commons ‘‘the
FLQ will only be satisfied
with one solution - and that is
when this country is
destroyed.’’

The Trudeau government
promised it would introduce
new legislation less sweeping
than the War Measures Act

for future emergencies, but
the prime minister never
mentioned it again, says
Jewett.

“Jewett claims that Trudeau
had enough legal instruments
within the ‘Criminal code to
penalize seditious behaviour
without invoking the act,
which has been in the book
since 1914. Nothing more
was needed than to keep the
army on the alert to protect
against violence, she adds.

The War Measures Act
invocation in peace time, is a
“*real blot’’ for those who feel
strongly about Canadian civil
rights; says Jewett.
Although about 85 per cent of
Canadians supported Tru-
deau’s use of the act in an
emotional wave 10 years ago,
““nowhere near that’’ would
support him now, she says.

Use of the act in 1970 is the
one glaring exception in
which protection of Canadian
tights were abrogated, says
Jewett. Today, a freedom of
information act is needed to
make the government ac-

countable for its actions, she
adds.