The “political” recourse of a prisoner of October 1970 to have the courts invalidated the War Measures Act, five decades later, was rejected out of hand by the Superior Court of Quebec. “The courts must not be used in political debates,” recalls Judge Sylvain Lussier.
Gaétan Dostie, arrested during the police raid of 1970, and the organization Justice for the prisoners of October 70, had turned to the courts last year to “seek legal support for their demands which are of a political nature. », Summarizes the judge. The former candidate for the leadership of the Parti Québécois Frédéric Bastien also supported the initiative.
Their objective was to have the proclamation established under the War Measures Act and to declare a “systematic violation of fundamental rights” of some 500 people arrested and detained and 30,000 people searched.
“The only use of a favorable judgment would be to be able to put pressure on the government, to obtain an apology,” argues Judge Lussier.
However, many reasons justify the rejection of this prosecution at a preliminary stage, according to the magistrate, who allowed the request for rejection of the Attorney General of Canada.
First, the appeal was not brought within a reasonable time. In addition, the questions raised are now “theoretical”, since the contested texts have not been in force for 30 years. “It is not the role of the Superior Court in 2021 to clarify the state of domestic law in 1970,” said Judge Lussier.
“We must ask ourselves if the Superior Court is the appropriate forum for a debate between historians. To ask the question is to answer it, ”added the judge.
According to the judge, authorizing the prosecution of Gaétan Dostie would also require significant judicial resources, while the “result would not put an end to the controversy that this episode in our history will probably arouse for a long time to come”.
“The legitimate debate that remains about the legality and legitimacy of the actions taken by governments in October 1970 has long been in the historical and political arena. The courts should no longer be questioned there, ”argues the judge.
The magistrate ends by recalling that his judgment of 35 pages bears “no negative inference” as to the legitimacy of Mr. Dostie’s fight to obtain redress for himself and for all those who were imprisoned without charge in 1970.
“No negative conclusions should be drawn as to the seriousness of the trauma he says he suffered. But it is no longer for the Court to judge ”, he concludes.