QUEBEC BECOMES A BATTLEGROUND

Trouble was escalating in Quebec, with arrests and harassment of Jehovah’s people by the powerful combination of the Catholic Church and her political ally, Premier Maurice Duplessis. In June 1945 I began full-time preaching work in Montreal, a principal city in Quebec. The very first time that I went witnessing from door to door there, I was arrested. It was an indication of things to come.

The battle of Quebec was on, and what a battle! Premier Duplessis promised to drive Jehovah’s Witnesses from the province; he announced “war without mercy on the Witnesses.” The whole power of the State was arrayed against us. The province was engulfed in a tidal wave of unreasoning animosity. I personally was arrested over one hundred times.

One prominent Canadian newspaper described the persecution as the “return of the Inquisition,” and said: “The persecution of the religious sect known as Jehovah’s Witnesses, now going on in Quebec Province with enthusiastic official and judicial sanction, has taken a turn which suggests that the Inquisition has returned to French Canada.”​—Toronto Globe & Mail, December 19, 1946.

When calling to speak about the Bible, I would often be greeted with a shouted tirade of the latest accusations that the householder had heard from the parish priest or had read in the French newspapers. It was not unusual to be arrested two or three times in one day, and there would be repeated and interminable court appearances. These were especially troublesome for family men who would lose many days’ work and, at times, their jobs. But if the authorities had not learned about the endurance of Jehovah’s Witnesses, they were about to have firsthand proof.

To avoid having family men arrested, I’d use diversionary tactics. When a police car arrived, I would go directly to the cruiser to engage the officers in conversation, thus giving the family men working nearby a chance to leave. Of course, my own number of arrests kept climbing.

In September 1945 there were two terrible riots at Châteauguay, a small town west of Montreal. Catholic mobs attacked meetings of Jehovah’s Witnesses being held on private property, while police stood idly by. I was viciously kicked and beaten. One of the mobsters got hurt too​—he hit me so hard on the back of the head that he broke his wrist. I was black and blue all over, and for a few days I walked with difficulty and pain.

We struggled to find bail money to keep out of jail; we struggled to wait at doors through tirades of false accusations, hoping at the end to make a few kind remarks and break down prejudice; we struggled to avoid mobs; we struggled to protect family heads from arrest; we struggled to keep up the spirits of our Christian brothers and sisters; we struggled to rent places to hold meetings​—property owners were scared by the ‘witch hunt’; we struggled to prevent children from being expelled from school; we struggled to arrange home education for those expelled; we struggled to bury our dead, as priests, in some cases, tried to stop Jehovah’s Witnesses from being buried.

Being one of Jehovah’s Witnesses wasn’t easy in those days, but it was faith-strengthening. What a marvelous spirit of faith, love and determination was shown by all the Witnesses! Their experience was like that of the apostle Paul, who said regarding his hour of testing: “The Lord . . . infused power into me, that through me the preaching might be fully accomplished.”​—2 Tim. 4:17.

Indeed, we were helped and encouraged many times, and in unexpected ways. Soon I had the refreshment of conducting twenty-two Bible studies. One was unusual.

When standing on the street corner offering The Watchtower and Awake!, I was approached by a lady. Since she was illiterate, the publications were of no help to her, so I obtained her address and arranged a return visit. A Bible study was started immediately and was conducted two or three times a week. Not only did she eagerly absorb the Bible truths, but she also learned to read. Laura Chabot became a stalwart witness of Jehovah despite the heat of persecution, and has remained one for over thirty years. Over the years she has conducted Bible studies with some forty-five persons who are now Witnesses.

Very soon a small congregation was formed in Quebec City, and we began holding regular congregational meetings. But the peaceful conditions did not last. Soon the priests began using the pulpits and the Catholic press to blow up a storm of hatred. A series of arrests and convictions followed.

The local Recorder (Judge) Jean Mercier announced that the police were instructed to “arrest on sight every known or suspected Witness.” Suddenly, the persecution in old Quebec became coast-to-coast news. This caused a backlash from the rest of Canada, scandalized that a supposedly impartial judge would be so unjust.

During 1946 and 1947 there were so many convictions, writs, appeals and legal proceedings in Quebec City that the press called it “the battle of the writs.” All together I spent four months in prison on the usual nuisance charges of “disturbing the peace,” “peddling without a license,” and so forth.

I was invited to the ninth class of the Bible School of Gilead, but I was still in prison when it was time to register in February 1947. Thankfully, I was released on bail just in time to start the course. However, before the term was completed, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected my appeal and bail was canceled.

Sadly, I had to leave the wonderful Christian association at Gilead and return to prison in Quebec. The School’s registrar sent my examination papers to the jail, where I answered the questions and mailed them back for grading. Thus it was possible to complete the course, though I was not present on graduation day.