Summary Of Pierre Elliott Trudeau's War Measures Act

Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s War Measures Act Statement
Pierre Elliott Trudeau served as the 15th Prime Minister of Canada, from 1968–1979 and 1980–1984. His charismatic personality dominated the Canadian political scene, one that had never been witnessed before. On October 5th, 1970, British trade commissioner, James Cross was kidnapped in Montreal by members of a terrorist group called, the Front de Libération du Québec or FLQ (The Canadian Encyclopedia). Soon after, provincial cabinet minister Pierre Laporte was kidnapped. This crisis led Prime Minister Trudeau, on October 16th, 1970, to declare through a televised broadcast, the only invocation of the War Measures Act during a time of peace in Canadian history. The War Measures Act gives sweeping
When speaking about the two kidnapped victims, James Cross and Pierre Laporte, Prime Minister Trudeau uses pathos saying: “To the victims’ families they are husbands and fathers. To the kidnappers their identity is immaterial” (Trudeau par. 7). This appeals to the close ties between the victims and their families, which allows the people in the audience to relate this experience to their own family members. They begin to imagine a scenario in which these actions could have occurred to someone in their own lives. Also, using words such as: “two innocent men” (Trudeau par. 1), “in their grip you or me, or perhaps some child” (Trudeau par. 7) and “the nightmare to which they (the wives) have been subjected” (Trudeau par. 17) further enhances an emotional response from the audience. It convinces them that the actions being taken by the Canadian Government are for the good and are only occurring to help these innocent people and their families. Prime Minister Trudeau also uses the Aristotelian appeal logos to persuade his audience with logic and reason. He begins to describe all the kidnappers’ demands, in return for the two men: “they want their grievances aired by force in public” (Trudeau par. 8), “They also want money. Ransom money” (Trudeau par. 10) and lastly, “they demand the release from prison 17
The use of the word society is repeated on numerous occasions, such as: “I am confident that those persons who unleashed this tragic sequence of events with the aim of destroying our society and dividing our country will find that the opposite will occur. The result of their acts will be a stronger society in a unified country” (Trudeau par. 37). The repetition of the particular word in this statement demonstrates the unity of the country and how the entire Canadian population should stand together against the terrorists. This, “democratic society” (Trudeau par. 4), one that cannot be destroyed, provides hope to the audience and allows them to further comprehend the extent to which agreeing and supporting the government’s actions is important. When the Prime Minister repeats the word society, he is trying to evoke a feeling of unity and is also trying to bring together a country that might disagree with him. The repetition allows him to try and convince the citizens that he is prioritizing their best intentions and that the War Measures Act is the correct solution. The word government is also repeated over 30 times, to describe to the audience what the authorities are doing as well as to show that the Canadian government is trying to help its own citizens. Pierre