War Measures Act
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The ''War Measures Act'' (french: Loi sur les mesures de guerre; 5 George V, Chap. 2) was a
statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...
of the
Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...
that provided for the
declaration of war A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state (polity), state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the signing of a document) by an authorized party of a nationa ...
,
invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity aggressively enter territory (country subdivision), territory owned by another such entity, gen ...
, or
insurrection Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
, and the types of emergency measures that could thereby be taken. The Act was brought into force three times in
Canadian history The history of Canada covers the period from the arrival of the Paleo-Indians to North America thousands of years ago to the present day. Prior to European colonization, the lands encompassing present-day Canada were inhabited for millennia by ...
: during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
,
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and the 1970
October Crisis The October Crisis (french: Crise d'Octobre) refers to a chain of events that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cr ...
. The Act was questioned for its suspension of
civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...
and personal freedoms, including only for Ukrainians and other Europeans during Canada's first national
internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...
operations of 19141920, the Second World War's
Japanese Canadian internment From 1942 to 1949, Canada forcibly relocated and incarcerated over 22,000 Japanese Canadians—comprising over 90% of the total Japanese Canadian population—from British Columbia in the name of " national security". The majority were Canadi ...
, and in the
October Crisis The October Crisis (french: Crise d'Octobre) refers to a chain of events that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cr ...
. In 1988, it was repealed and replaced by the ''
Emergencies Act The ''Emergencies Act'' (french: Loi sur les mesures d'urgence) is a statute passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1988 which authorizes the Government of Canada to take extraordinary temporary measures to respond to public welfare emergencies, ...
''.


First World War

In the First World War, a state of war with Germany was declared by the United Kingdom on behalf of the entire British Empire. Canada was notified by telegraphic despatch accordingly, effective 4 August 1914, and that status remained in effect until 10 January 1920. The ''War Measures Act, 1914'', was subsequently adopted on 22 August 1914 to ratify all steps taken by Canada from the declaration of war, to continue until the war was over. Sections 2 to 6 of the original Act in particular provided for the following:


Extent of authority under the Act

The Act conferred broad authority, and was even held by the
Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
in ''In re Gray'' to include the power to amend other Acts by way of regulation. Noting that the British
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
, in ''R v Halliday'', had held in 1917 that the ''
Defence of the Realm Act 1914 The Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) was passed in the United Kingdom on 8 August 1914, four days after it entered the First World War and was added to as the war progressed. It gave the government wide-ranging powers during the war, such as the p ...
'' possessed similar wide powers with respect to the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
,
Chief Justice of Canada The chief justice of Canada (french: juge en chef du Canada) is the presiding judge of the nine-member Supreme Court of Canada, the highest judicial body in Canada. As such, the chief justice is the highest-ranking judge of the Canadian court sy ...
Sir Charles Fitzpatrick declared:


Internment during First World War and afterwards

Canada's first national internment operations of 1914–1920 involved the internment of both genuine POWs and thousands of civilians, most of them Ukrainians who had come from western Ukrainian lands (Galicia and Northern Bukovina) then held by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Branded as "enemy aliens", they were stripped of what little wealth they had, forced to work for the profit of their jailers and subjected to other state-sanctioned censures, including disenfranchisement under the ''
Wartime Elections Act The Canadian ''Wartime Elections Act'' was a bill passed on September 20, 1917 by the Conservative government of Robert Borden during the Conscription Crisis of 1917 and was instrumental in pushing Liberals to join the Conservatives in the formati ...
''. A campaign begun by the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association in 1985 aimed at securing official acknowledgement and symbolic restitution for what happened succeeded in 2005, following passage of the ''Internment of Persons of Ukrainian Origin Recognition Act'', which resulted in the establishment of the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund. With the advent of the
Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
in 1917, additional regulations and orders were added to make the membership in a number of organizations, including
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
and
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
organizations, forbidden. Immigration from nations that were connected directly or indirectly with the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Germany was stopped and natives of these countries (
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
,
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
) were classed as enemy aliens under the Act. These enemy aliens were required to carry identification with them at all times and forbidden from possessing firearms, leaving the country without permission, or publishing or reading anything in a language other than English or French. Thousands of these enemy aliens were also
interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
in camps or
deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...
from Canada. It was not until the labour shortage in Canada became dire that these interned individuals were released into the workforce again in an attempt to boost the economy and the war effort.


Second World War

In contrast to the previous war, by virtue of the
Statute of Westminster 1931 The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that sets the basis for the relationship between the Commonwealth realms and the Crown. Passed on 11 December 1931, the statute increased the sovereignty of the ...
, Canada instituted its measures separately from the United Kingdom. A state of apprehended war was declared on 25 August 1939, and the
Defence of Canada Regulations The ''Defence of Canada Regulations'' were a set of emergency measures implemented under the ''War Measures Act'' on 3 September 1939, a week before Canada's entry into World War II. The extreme security measures permitted by the regulations ...
were implemented under the Act. A state of war was declared with Germany on 10 September 1939. The extreme security measures permitted by the Defence of Canada Regulations included the waiving of habeas corpus and the right to trial, internment, bans on political and religious groups, restrictions of free speech including the banning of certain publications, and the confiscation of property. S. 21 of the Defence of Canada Regulations allowed the Minister of Justice to detain without charge anyone who might act "in any manner prejudicial to the public safety or the safety of the state." The government soon interned fascists and Communists as well as opponents of
conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
. The regulations were later used to intern Japanese Canadians on a large scale as well as some
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
and
Italian Canadians Italian Canadians ( it, italo-canadesi, french: italo-canadiens) comprise Canadians who have full or partial Italian heritage and Italians who migrated from Italy or reside in Canada. According to the 2021 Census of Canada, 1,546,390 Canadians ...
who were viewed as
enemy aliens In customary international law, an enemy alien is any native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured an ...
. In 1940, the more complex nature of organizing the war effort required the ''
National Resources Mobilization Act The ''National Resources Mobilization Act, 1940'' (4 George VI, Chap. 13) was a statute of the Parliament of Canada passed to provide for better planning of a much greater Canadian war effort, both overseas and in military production at home. Sco ...
'' to be adopted as well, and many subsequent regulations were brought into force by virtue of both of these Acts. In 1943, the
Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
, in the ''Chemicals Reference'', ruled that Orders in Council made under the Act were equivalent to an Act of Parliament, as Rinfret J observed: (Citations omitted.) This authority was cited later in support of decisions taken in the '' Reference re Persons of Japanese Race''. The Act's effect was further clarified in the ''Wartime Leasehold Regulations Reference'', which held that regulations instituting rental and housing controls displaced provincial jurisdiction for the duration of the emergency. As Taschereau J (as he then was) noted: The Act was in force until 31 December 1945, after which the ''National Emergency Transitional Powers Act'', 1945 was in force until 31 March 1947. In 1947, the ''Continuation of Transitional Measures Act'', 1947 was enacted, maintaining certain wartime orders and regulations, and stayed in place until 30 April 1951.


Treatment of Japanese Canadians

The attack on
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
in 1941 led to Canada declaring war against Japan on 8 December 1941. An already established racial bias towards
Japanese Canadians are Canadian citizens of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Canadians are mostly concentrated in Western Canada, especially in the province of British Columbia, which hosts the largest Japanese community in the country with the majority of them living ...
was transformed into full anti-Japanese thoughts and behaviour by Canadian citizens, who saw Japanese Canadians as spies for
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. This fear towards Japanese Canadians led to the quick restriction of their rights and freedoms: * On 17 December 1941, persons of Japanese descent were required to register with the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
. * On 29 January 1942, a protected area was declared by Government Notice within British Columbia. * On 24 February, the
Defence of Canada Regulations The ''Defence of Canada Regulations'' were a set of emergency measures implemented under the ''War Measures Act'' on 3 September 1939, a week before Canada's entry into World War II. The extreme security measures permitted by the regulations ...
were amended to restrict Japanese Canadians from owning land or growing crops. * On 26 February, a notice was issued instituting curfews on Japanese Canadians in the protected area of British Columbia, and restricting them from possessing motor vehicles, cameras, radios, firearms, ammunition or explosives. * On 4 March, regulations under the Act were adopted to forcibly remove Japanese Canadians from the protected area. As a result, 12,000 were
interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
in interior camps, 2,000 were sent to road camps and another 2,000 were forced to work in the
prairies Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
at sugar beet farms. In December 1945, three Orders in Council were issued to provide for the expulsion of Japanese nationals and other persons of Japanese origin, whether or not they were British subjects (either natural born or naturalized). Although the
Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
gave a mixed ruling on the matter, the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Augus ...
declared all of them to be valid. Following various protests among politicians and academics, the orders were revoked in 1947.


Control of the wartime economy

At the beginning of the war, the
Wartime Prices and Trade Board The Wartime Prices and Trade Board is a former Canadian government agency, established on September 3, 1939, by the Mackenzie King government, under the authority of the ''War Measures Act'', in the Department of Labour responsible for price con ...
was created with a wide mandate to regulate all matters dealing with the necessities of life, rental and housing controls, import and export controls, and wage and price controls. In 1942, its responsibilities were expanded to include the reduction of non-essential industrial activities in order to maintain minimum requirements only for civilian goods. The Act was also used to create the
Wartime Labour Relations Regulations The ''Wartime Labour Relations Regulations'', adopted under the ''War Measures Act'' on 17 February 1944, were introduced in Canada during World War II by the government of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. Drafted loosely on the American ...
in order to control strikes and lockouts and keep wartime production going. While the regulations were initially restricted to industries under federal jurisdictions and companies directly involved in the war effort, provision was made for the provinces to co-opt into the scheme (which all eventually did). As labour unrest was widespread at the time, a system of compulsory conciliation was brought into effect, and no strike or lockout could occur until: * a collective agreement had expired, * an attempt had been made to negotiate a new agreement, * compulsory conciliation had been undertaken, and * fourteen days after the conciliation period had elapsed. There was, however, frustration on the part of the unions which felt that the government tended to not care about the issues the unions were trying to bring to light. The regulations continued after the war's end until 1948, where they were replaced by similar legislation at both the federal and provincial levels.


Postwar history

In 1960, the Act was amended by the '' Canadian Bill of Rights'', in order to ensure that: * actions taken under the Act were deemed not to be infringements of the latter statute, and * proclamations to bring the Act into force were subject to abrogation by both the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
and the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
.


The October Crisis

In 1970, members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped British diplomat
James Cross James Richard Cross (29 September 1921 – 6 January 2021) was an Irish-born British diplomat who served in India, Malaysia and Canada. While posted in Canada, Cross was kidnapped by members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) durin ...
and
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
provincial cabinet minister
Pierre Laporte Pierre Laporte (25 February 1921 – 17 October 1970) was a Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician. He was deputy premier of the province of Quebec when he was kidnapped and murdered by members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ ...
, who was later murdered. What is now referred to as the
October Crisis The October Crisis (french: Crise d'Octobre) refers to a chain of events that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cr ...
raised fears in Canada of a militant faction rising up against the government. Under provisions of the ''
National Defence Act The ''National Defence Act'' (NDA; ; ''LDN'') is an Act of the Parliament of Canada, which is the primary enabling legislation for organizing and funding the military of Canada. The Act created the Department of National Defence, which merged th ...
'', the
Canadian Armed Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...
were deployed to assist the police. They appeared on the streets of Ottawa on 12 October 1970. Upon request of the Quebec government with the unanimous consent of all party leaders in the Quebec National Assembly, troops appeared on the streets of Montreal on 15 October. At the request of the
Mayor of Montreal The mayor of Montreal is head of the executive branch of the Montreal City Council. The current mayor is Valérie Plante, who was elected into office on November 5, 2017, and sworn in on November 16. The office of the mayor administers all c ...
, Jean Drapeau, and the Quebec provincial government, and in response to general threats and demands made by the FLQ, the federal government declared a state of apprehended insurrection under the ''War Measures Act'' on 16 October. This was done so that police had more power in arrest and detention, in order to find and stop the FLQ members. The use of the Act to address the problem presented by the FLQ was well supported by Canadians in all regions of Canada, according to a December Gallup Poll. However, there were many vocal critics of the government action, including
New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...
leader
Tommy Douglas Thomas Clement Douglas (20 October 1904 – 24 February 1986) was a Scottish-born Canadian politician who served as seventh premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961 and Leader of the New Democratic Party from 1961 to 1971. A Baptist min ...
, who said, "The government, I submit, is using a sledgehammer to crack a peanut." While the Act was in force, 465 people were arrested and held without charge but were eventually released. The response by the federal and provincial governments to the incident still sparks controversy. There was a large amount of concern about the act being used, as it was a considered to be a direct threat to
civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...
, removing rights such as ''
habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...
'' from all Canadians. This is the only time that the Act had been put in place during peacetime in Canada. Critics, such as
Laurier LaPierre Laurier L. LaPierre (November 21, 1929 – December 16, 2012) was a Canadian Senator, professor, broadcaster, journalist and author. He was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. Fluently bilingual, LaPierre was best known for having bee ...
, accused Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's move to suspend ''habeas corpus'' as more of a reaction to the separatist movement in Quebec by criminalizing it. The Act's 1970 regulations were replaced by the ''Public Order (Temporary Measures) Act'' in November 1970, which subsequently expired on 30 April 1971. In October 2020, Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-François Blanchet asked PM Justin Trudeau to apologize for the Canadian Government's invocation of the Act.


Replacement

In May 1981, the Emergency Planning Order was passed, which assigned responsibilities for planning to meet the exigencies of different types of emergencies to various Ministers, departments and agencies of government. In 1988, the ''
Emergencies Act The ''Emergencies Act'' (french: Loi sur les mesures d'urgence) is a statute passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1988 which authorizes the Government of Canada to take extraordinary temporary measures to respond to public welfare emergencies, ...
'' was passed, and the ''War Measures Act'' was repealed as a consequence.


See also

*
Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Canada Jehovah's Witnesses experienced religious persecution in Canada during World War II because of their evangelical fervour and objection to compulsory military service. In 1940, Jehovah's Witnesses were banned as an illegal organization under the ''W ...


References


Further reading

*''Trudeau's Darkest Hour: War Measures in Time of Peace'', Baraka Books, Montreal, 2010, 212 p. .


External links


Text of Act

"War Measures Act Debate Oct 16, 1970" from the Douglas-Coldwell Foundation

Internment Camps in World War I and World War II in British ColumbiaUkrainian Canadian Civil Liberties AssociationCanadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund
{{October Crisis Canadian federal legislation Emergency laws 1914 in Canadian law October Crisis Repealed Canadian legislation World War I legislation