“QUEBEC’S BURNING HATE”

Something had to be done to relieve the great pressure on the faithful Witnesses in Quebec. So, a special assembly was held in Montreal on November 2 and 3, 1946. On hand were N. H. Knorr, then president of the Watch Tower Society, and the Society’s legal counsel from Brooklyn, H. C. Covington. Brother Knorr’s concluding talk was entitled “What Shall We Do?”

There was excitement in the air as an expectant and thrilled audience heard Brother Knorr give the answer by reading to the public, for the first time, the now historic document “Quebec’s Burning Hate for God and Christ and Freedom Is the Shame of All Canada.” It was a sizzling tract! In stern and measured tones, Knorr proclaimed, like a message of doom, Jehovah’s indictment of the corrupt administration of the Province of Quebec. The pamphlet was a straightforward, hard-hitting statement of facts that have never been disputed.

Brother Knorr announced that on November 15, 1946​—only 12 days later—​a free distribution of this tract would begin across Canada and would continue for 16 days. This was a clarion call for action!

FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM IN QUEBEC

With the ban over and World War II drawing to close, in 1944 the time was ripe for renewed Kingdom-preaching activity in Quebec. The premier of the province was Maurice Duplessis, a wily and unprincipled politician who worked hand in glove with the Catholic clergy. Duplessis has been described by a historian as “a demagogue determined to keep the province comfortably safe and backward and corrupt.”

At that time there were fewer than 300 Witnesses in all of Quebec. As soon as their evangelizing activity resumed in the Montreal area, “nuisance” charges began to be laid against them under local bylaws. By the end of 1944, there were approximately 40 such cases. The number of prosecutions increased rapidly in 1945, and the eyes of the whole country were drawn to the fight in September 1945, when Catholic mobs attacked the Witnesses at Châteauguay and Lachine. But this small band of intrepid Christians stood firm against such attacks.​—Jer. 1:19.

By the end of 1945, the number of legal cases had piled up to over 400. But the end was not in sight. Toward the end of 1946, there were over 800 cases pending in the courts in Montreal, Verdun, Outremont, Lachine, Quebec City, Sherbrooke and other centers! These legal cases and constant arrests were a tiring harassment of Jehovah’s people. There is a human side to such proceedings, as you can imagine. It was not easy to bear the arrests, tensions, pressured delays, humiliation, loss of jobs, and continuing frustration.

“QUEBEC’S BURNING HATE”

Something had to be done to relieve the great pressure on the faithful Witnesses in Quebec. So, a special assembly was held in Montreal on November 2 and 3, 1946. On hand were N. H. Knorr, then president of the Watch Tower Society, and the Society’s legal counsel from Brooklyn, H. C. Covington. Brother Knorr’s concluding talk was entitled “What Shall We Do?”

There was excitement in the air as an expectant and thrilled audience heard Brother Knorr give the answer by reading to the public, for the first time, the now historic document “Quebec’s Burning Hate for God and Christ and Freedom Is the Shame of All Canada.” It was a sizzling tract! In stern and measured tones, Knorr proclaimed, like a message of doom, Jehovah’s indictment of the corrupt administration of the Province of Quebec. The pamphlet was a straightforward, hard-hitting statement of facts that have never been disputed.

Brother Knorr announced that on November 15, 1946​—only 12 days later—​a free distribution of this tract would begin across Canada and would continue for 16 days. This was a clarion call for action!

DUPLESSIS ANNOUNCES “WAR WITHOUT MERCY”

Rapidly, the pamphlet “Quebec’s Burning Hate” was spread across the country, including Quebec. Now the legal battle really began in earnest. Publicly, Duplessis announced “War Without Mercy on the Witnesses of Jehovah.” Instead of 800 legal cases, we soon had 1,700. Duplessis dusted off the old law of sedition and, in a short time, there were over 100 of these charges. The whole country again began watching the struggle in Quebec.

On December 4, 1946, Duplessis, in his rage, threw a legal boomerang that came back and hit him. He unjustly canceled the liquor license of the restaurant owned by Frank Roncarelli, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. This attack on a man’s livelihood roused the business community right across Canada. Everyone could see that an unprincipled dictator was in control in Quebec. A large protest meeting was held by prominent citizens of Montreal.

While the country was still sizzling with outrage over the arbitrary action of Duplessis, another boomerang was thrown by Recorder Jean Mercier, a Roman Catholic judge in Quebec City. On trial before Mercier on December 17, 1946, was special pioneer John Maynard How, accused of disturbing the peace, a simple bylaw charge. Recorder Mercier, however, completely lost control of himself. Headlines screamed, “Judge Lashes Jehovah’s Sect. Says Deserve Life Terms.” One story explained: “Mercier said orders had been issued to Quebec police to arrest every known and suspected witness of Jehovah on sight and pledged his court to continue a relentless purge of all sympathizers.”

The man making these statements was a judge thought to be fair and impartial. The behavior of men like Duplessis and Mercier was proving how accurate​—in fact, understated—​were the accusations appearing in the pamphlet “Quebec’s Burning Hate.” Typical of the press reaction were the titles of the following editorials:

The Dark Ages Return to Quebec (The Toronto Star)

What a Judge! (The Ottawa Journal)

Return of the Inquisition (The Globe and Mail, Toronto)

The Stench of Fascism (The Gazette, Glace Bay)

Instead of retreating from the fray, Jehovah’s Witnesses released a second broadside, a pamphlet entitled “Quebec, You Have Failed Your People!” This answer to Duplessis’ false charges was distributed in January 1947, and this time the distribution took place at night to avoid the continuing arrests of God’s people by the Quebec police.

Parallel with this excitement was a very hot legal battle in the City of Quebec. The small pioneer group there​—Laurier Saumur, John Maynard How, Gerald Barry and Russell Herbert Headworth—​faced such a rapid-fire series of proceedings in and out of Recorder Mercier’s court and in and out of prison that the newspapers dubbed it “The Battle of the Writs.” All this activity kept feeding the press, so that Quebec stories became a daily part of the news across the country. Many honest-hearted people admired the intrepid stand of Jehovah’s Christian witnesses.

In February 1947, four of the special pioneers from Quebec City​—three of whom were out on bail—​went to Ithaca, New York, to become students in the ninth class of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead. While they were at Gilead, the case of Laurier Saumur and Gerald Barry was taken to the Supreme Court of Canada. But the Court refused to hear the case on a technical ground. As a result, Laurier Saumur had to leave Gilead School in June, before graduation, and go back to jail in Quebec City to complete his sentence. This dismissal by the Supreme Court put us back into the courts of Quebec with, by that time, over 1,700 cases pending.

Faithful Gerald Barry, whose case was also in the Supreme Court, died in May 1947. He had been a pioneer since 1908 and had begun serving in Quebec in 1924. Truly, he was like those described by the apostle Paul, in saying, “the world was not worthy of them.”​—Heb. 11:38.

WHY NOT SHARE IN THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM?

By now you certainly are aware of the courage and determination displayed by Jehovah’s people in the Province of Quebec. But it seems that this is a good place to tell you about two natural and spiritual sisters in their late teens. They had heard of the persecution of their fellow believers in Quebec​—how many of them had been mobbed, beaten and imprisoned—​and had begun to think: “We have our youth, strength and health; why, an assignment like that would be ideal for us, as we want to have a real share in the fight for freedom along with the brothers already there.”

So it was that on May 1, 1946, two young pioneer girls, thrilled at the prospect of being assigned to serve in Quebec, found themselves in Montreal. One of them, Victoria Dougaluk, wrote some years ago:

“It wasn’t long before we were experiencing what we had at one time read about. My sister was arrested and taken regularly to the juvenile court and was a regular attendant at the recorder’s court, so much so that the judge one day informed me that I was the biggest nuisance that had ever come into the place. We had many opportunities of witnessing, not only to the court personnel but to other prisoners. A great bond of love grew up between the brothers who shared prison experiences; one occasion I specially recall: Several of us had been brought in together and as the bail would come through, the oldest, or those with families at home, were released first. In the end two of us remained. Six days passed, we not knowing when our turn would come. Finally bail came through, but only for one. The French sister with me said, ‘Two or nothing’; so gave up her immediate freedom to stay on with me. This was appreciated more than words could express. Eventually Jehovah’s witnesses came to be very much respected for their fight for freedom, as all attempts to discourage us failed. Their efforts to deaden our zeal made us all the more determined to carry on and find the sheep in that area.”

BACK TO SEDITION CHARGES!

With the aid of Jehovah’s spirit, and with such love, faith, loyalty and determination, God’s people in Quebec faced the foe. And the enemy had not given up the fight. The heat of exposure in the pamphlet “Quebec’s Burning Hate” sent Duplessis looking for more weapons of threat and oppression. In addition to the swarm of bylaw cases, he resumed the old standby of seditious libel charges. Over 100 such charges were laid against 50 Witnesses. These cases were instituted at Sherbrooke, Amos, Montreal and St-Joseph-de-Beauce. For evidence, the prosecutors relied on the two pamphlets “Quebec’s Burning Hate” and “Quebec, You Have Failed Your People!”

The first sedition case tried was that of Aime Boucher, a sincere, mild man of small stature who lived in the hills south of Quebec City, on a farm that he cultivated with oxen. Brother Boucher was poor in this world’s goods but rich in love and faith. His trial was heard at St-Joseph-de-Beauce in November 1947 before Justice Alfred Savard, a former law partner of the late Minister of Justice Lapointe, who had instituted the ban of 1940. Justice Savard was extremely hostile and made a very prejudiced address to the jury. Of course, there was a conviction.

The Quebec Court of Appeal supported the conviction and the case was appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada. That Court first ordered the case back to Quebec for a new trial, but Jehovah was with us and an unprecedented rehearing was granted. The Court reversed itself after a second argument and ordered a complete acquittal. Since there was no incitement to violence, the pamphlets of Jehovah’s Witnesses could not be seditious. Hence, every single sedition charge laid by Duplessis had to be dismissed. Not one conviction was maintained. Jehovah had vindicated his people!

The Boucher decision was probably the most important legal victory Jehovah’s people have won in Canada. It broke the back of the Church-State attack on the liberties of Jehovah’s Witnesses and all other Canadians. Also, it modernized the law and made obsolete all the standard definitions of sedition in this land. All the lawbooks had to be changed! Dean Bowker, head of the University of Alberta Law School, stated: “A judgment like Boucher v. The King is worth a dozen declarations of the right of free speech.”