FLQ: The Anatomy of an Underground Movement by Louis Fournier (review)

426 THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW Muchof thisstoryhasbeentoldbefore,bothin Rowe's History ofNewfoundland andLabrador andin Smallwood's ownself-serving tomes.The assessments of Smallwood's friendsandenemies, towhichRowedevotes achapter, arepolite andguarded, nothing likethecolourful language thatJohnCrosbie andothers musthaveusedtodescribe thecontroversial premier.Such testimonies dolittle toaltertheSmallwood image forgood orill.Nordoes theammunition aimedat the 'myths'always hit its mark. It is not enoughto offer the impressive credentials of Smallwood's cabinetto dispelthe accusation thatthe premier surroundedhimselfwith lackeysor to cite construction specifications to demolish rumoursthattheTrans-Canada Highwayisnotuptoscratch. Onthe issue ofresetdement, Roweisonfirmerground,pointingtothelonghistory of outportconsolidation prior to Confederationto put the government's programin perspective. It isunlikelythatRowe's carefully craftedarguments willspike revisionists guns.Nevertheless, it isusefulto havesucha lucidNewfoundland Liberal perspective in print.Thisperspective becomes particularly intriguing whenit isfocused onOttawa.Rowesuggests thatDiefenbaker's decline waspossibly precipitated bytheChieFs flat-footed treatmentof Newfoundland overTerm •9 and the Woodworkers' strike;that Smallwood wasprobablythe first politician to recognize Trudeau'spotentialasnationalleader;and that the AtlanticDevelopmentBoard wasestablished by Jack Pickersgill. If these contentions are true, then Canadianhistoriography is in seriousneed of revision. Rowe wasaSmallwood loyalist, somuchsothathewithdrewhisbidforparty leadership in 2969whenSmallwood capriciously re-enteredthe race.This musthavebeena difficulttimefor Rowe;yethe reveals littleof hisfeelings about theeventorotherdifficultmoments inhislongtenureinNewfoundland politics. Thisistoberegretted, notbecause Smallwood's career isunworthy of defence,but because Rowehasa fascinating careerin hisownright. An accountof growingup in outport Newfoundland,his experiences as an educator, civilservant, politician, senator, andauthorwouldtellusmoreabout the 'Smallwoodera' than the retellingof its legislative achievements. It is hopedthatFrederickRowewillmakehimselfthesubject of hisnextvolume. MARGAR•.'r CONm•t) AcadiaUniversity FLQ:TheAnatomy ofanUnderground Movement. •.outsgOURN•.a Translated by •.t)wAat) B•x'r•.a.sc Press•984. Pp. 373, illus. If Canadianswere askedwhat they remember mostvividlyaboutrecent Canadian history, a majority wouldrefer mostlikelytotheemergence ofthe terroristmovement in Quebecduringthe •96os.More precisely, theywould recallclearlythe OctoberCrisisof •97o when two Front de Lib6rationdu REVIEWS 427 Quebeccells,in separate raids,kidnappedthe Britishtradecommissioner, JamesCross, and the Quebecministerof labourand immigration,Pierre Laporte, whowas killedbyhiscaptors whentheauthorities refused torelease all of theFLQ 'political' prisoners jailed for previous offences. Yet,if asked aboutthe origins,development, and evolutionof the FLQ,mostCanadians wouldbeableto reconstruct onlythe vaguest of outlinesandmentiononlya handfulof theterrorists involved, perhaps PierreValli•res,theRose brothers, and FrancisSimard. Readersnow have at their disposala handy referenceguide. Louis Fournier,a veteran journalistwhowasthefirstpersonto broadcast the•Q Manifesto overtheairwaves ofcIO, C,hasputtogether adetailed chronology of theg•Qfrom itsbeginnings in •96• until itsdemisea decadelater.Relying heavily onthreegovernment reports released in •98•, theDuhaine andKeable reports commissioned bythe•,QandtheMcDonaldReportcommissioned by Ottawa,as well as interviewswith g•Q participants,informers,and police investigators, Fournier has unravelledthe fascinating story of the g•Q movement. The readermustbeforewarned.Thisisnotan analytical history. Insteadof a careful analysisof the causesand consequences of the FLQ movement, the author providesa detailedrendition,organizedin a strict chronological structure, of eachand everyactivityand of eachand every personality involved directly orindirectly inthemovement duringthedecade •96•-7•. Despite thismyriadofdetails, acertainnumberof insights canbegleaned fromacareful readingofthetext.First,whatismadeclearisthatpriorto•966 manyof the originalparticipants in the g•Qhad beenradicalized by their activities in theleft-of-centre separatist movement of Pierre Bourgau!t, the Rassemblement pourl'ind/•pendance nationale. LittlewonderRen/•L/•vesque nevertrustedtheR• militants.Second, Fournierdemonstrates moreclearly than hasbeenthe caseuntil now that the Qu/•b•coisrecourseto terrorism, viewed asanecessary and'valid'tooltoobtainpolitical andeconomic objectives unattainable viathe existingpoliticalinstitutions, wasinfluencedstronglyby terroristactivities and ideologies emanatingfrom Algeria, Cuba,Vietnam, Ireland,theBasque Country,andtheUnitedStates. The tragicironyin allof this is that •Q members,in drawing upon theseforeign ideologues of terrorism,wereaccentuating the very colonialism theydespised and were struggling toeradicate fromtheQuebec society. Beginning in •966, onceValli•resand Gagnonemergedasthe resident ideologues of the•Q, themilitantsbeganto stress thesocialist aswellasthe nationalist objectives of theirliberationstruggle. Consequently, themovement beganto attractmore and more working-class individualswho had fewer personal andsocial constraints against the useof violence to achieve desired objectives. Fournier,unfortunately, makes noattemptto providea collective 428 THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW social-psychological profileof thesemilitantterrorists. Whatmotivated these youngmen?In thememoirs ofoneofLaporte's kidnappers (Pour enfiniravec October, Stank•,•982),Francis Simard,afterspending tenyears injail, declares thatheremains proudof whathe did andclaims hehasabsolutely noregrets. The increasedradicalizationof Quebec'sthree labour movementsafter •967 precipitated considerable FI•(•violence directedagainst various corporations ,foreignandFrench-Canadian, involvedin bitterlabourdisputes with theiremployees. Whatisalso quiterevealing about theperiodleading uptothe OctoberCrisisof •97o isthe degreeof sympathy and supportthe Fi•(•was getting fromvarious quarters in Quebec. Thissupport wasbestsymbolized by theMouvement pour lad•fense des prisonniers politiques auQuebec whichcomprised suchluminariesasPaulineJulien, GastonMiron, and G6rald Godin. Both Ren6L6vesque andClaudeRyancondemned thewanton acts ofviolence but agreed withthe'serious injustices' thathadprovoked...