The premier and attorney general of Quebec, Maurice Duplessis, was a dictator who, according to Quebec historian Gérard Pelletier, inflicted upon the province “a twenty-year reign of lies, injustice and corruption, the systematic misuse of power, the sway of small minds and the triumph of stupidity.” Duplessis consolidated his political power by working hand in glove with Roman Catholic Cardinal Villeneuve.

Within days, Duplessis announced publicly a “war without mercy” against Jehovah’s Witnesses. But unwittingly he worked in our favor. How so? By directing that anyone distributing Quebec’s Burning Hate be charged with sedition—a very serious crime that would lead us out of the Quebec courts and into the Supreme Court of Canada. In his rage, Duplessis recklessly ignored that consequence. Then he personally ordered the cancellation of the liquor license of Frank Roncarelli, who had been our main source of bail. With no wine available, Brother Roncarelli’s fine restaurant in Montreal was closed in a matter of months, and he was financially ruined.

Duplessis’ Final Attack

Having no laws left to use against Jehovah’s Witnesses, in early January 1954, Duplessis introduced into the legislature a new law, Bill No. 38, which was described by the media as the ‘anti-Jehovah’s Witnesses law.’ It provided that those who suspected that any person intended to make a statement that was “abusive or insulting” could file a complaint without the need to provide any evidence. As attorney general, Duplessis could then get an injunction to prohibit the accused person from making any public statement. Once the injunction was issued against one individual, all members of that person’s church were equally prohibited from speaking. In addition, all the Bibles and religious literature belonging to that church would be seized and destroyed, and all of its places of worship would be closed until the case was decided, which might take years.

To prove that this law was aimed squarely at Jehovah’s Witnesses, we decided on a bold move—to send Duplessis himself a subpoena, compelling him to attend the trial and give evidence. I cross-examined him for two and a half hours. I repeatedly confronted him with his public declarations of “war without mercy on the Witnesses of Jehovah” and his statement that Bill No. 38 would be the end of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Quebec. Enraged, he attacked me personally: “You are a very impertinent young man!”

“Mr. Duplessis,” I replied, “if we were discussing personalities, I might have a few remarks of my own. But since we have business to attend to, would you please explain to the court why you did not answer the last question.”

Shortly before Duplessis died in 1959, he was ordered by the Supreme Court of Canada to pay damages to Brother Roncarelli for having illegally canceled his liquor license.

[Picture on page 20]

Duplessis kneeling before Cardinal Villeneuve

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Photo by W. R. Edwards