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Originally Posted by Bob Biter
...I'd like to touch upon something said in the "Questions for Canadians" thread concerning the so-called "Night of Long Knives". I was aware that this referred to the WWII-era purge by Hitler on his own forces, but this is the expression I was taught in school, which goes to show that what is said in history class depends heavily on who's teaching! Of course, it's appalling to associate two very different circumstances under the same name, but at that time Quebec as a nation felt betrayed, while the rest of Canada probably considered us a bunch of spoiled children.
Certainly, political rhetoric had a lot to do with the fanning of flames on both sides, but the basic pathos was there. Were Quebec politicians and journalists too heavy-handed when they used "La nuit des longs couteaux"? Most likely. Did Trudeau choose the right method to end negociations by tip-toeing with other premiers in the middle of the night? Probably not. However, since I wasn't there, I don't know which side is exaggerating, if either actually is.
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The rhetoric of Bouchard that many people heard during the '95 referendum has been shown to be false and misleading, but is also the source where many people learned of 'the night of the long knives'. This was rather well shown in a (granted political) open letter to Bouchard from Trudeau that was published in every large canadian newspaper. Bouchard reponse was lackluster. I don't know if it is case of better political writing and my westren upbringing, but I was sold--and it is no small task for Trudeau to have sold me on anything. A brief search online hasn't turned up the letter, but I do have a newspaper clipping somewhere- unfortunatly I think it may be in a storage trunk in my parent's basement.
Trudeau out manouvered both Levesque and the other seven.
Background: The 'Gang of Eight', the premiers including Levesque were presenting a solid front, dealing together vs the Federal Gov't. In '80, the federal gov't made a mvoe to Patirate unilaterally without the support of the provinces. Conservative Joe Clark spearheaded the opposition to this. April '81, Levesque, Premier of Quebec, signed an agreement that stated that Quebec had no veto and was equal to other provinces. But that solid front was a problem for patriation (our own constitution seperate from Britain), because of a Supreme court ruling regarding the % consent required to do so.
Levesque was in a tough spot. He has signed the Accord of the Eight, which didn't give Quebece a veto, and wanted Canada to patriate but not under the terms that he and the other premiers had just determined to be fair. Trudeau was is a tough spot because the country wanted to patriate, but needed a substantial support of the premiers to do so. Patriation wasn't going to happen on federal terms without the support of the provinces, and patriation wasn't going to happen on based provincial terms without the support of Quebec. The only thing standing in the way of patriation of Canada was from the a province that wanted to patriate from Canada.
Trudeau gave Levesque a way out. They met in private on Nov 4th 1981 and Trudeau offered a referendum to Levesque. He accepted before noon, and the Accord of the Eight was broken. The other seven were in dissaray when they learned that Levesque no longer supported the Accord signed seven months prior. Trudeau, with support of then Justice Minister Chretien, arranaged an extensive meeting (begining in the evening of the 4th and going into the early morning of the 5th) with the remaining 7, who agreed to support patriation. The process was then started with Britain and we got our Charter of Rights and Freedoms and our Constitution on April 17, 1982.
Of course, this is still a souce of problems from the Quebec perspective. Meech Lake, Charlottown, '95 referendum, etc. We can later get into the notwithstanding clause.