“I hope my new job has to do with the FLQ.”
“It does. Frankly, we’re all worried the threat is growing. The bombings and bank robberies are increasing. The RCMP has jailed twenty-three terrorists but has got nothing out of them.
“Where do I come in?”
“By default, you’ve become our expert on International Terrorism. Speaking frankly, we were looking for an older, more experienced officer for the job, but we couldn’t find anyone who knew anything about the subject. Your messages out of Bogota and Havana are the only credible reports anyone has seen on FLQ activity abroad, and the only indication it’s planning a big operation in the near future. For that reason, the Task Force wanted you back as soon as possible to fill in the blanks in our knowledge base. We don’t know, for example, whether the FLQ is in any way affiliated with a network of Latin American terrorists.”
“Or whether a network of Latin American terrorists in fact exists.”
“Or whether they’re smuggling arms, ammunition, and bomb-making equipment into Canada for the FLQ.”
“At least we know Cuba won’t be involved.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. They’re masters of ambiguity — saying one thing but doing something else when it suits their purpose.”
I thus returned to my old ninth floor office to focus this time only on questions of international terrorism. A week after I started work, Harvey Lieberman knocked on my door and came in. I expected him to chew me out — to say I’d let the CIA down — but he didn’t. “Don’t feel bad,” he said. “You weren’t our only man in Havana.” He went on to make some vague remarks about the members of Club Hemingway which made me think Paulo Verde and maybe Guillaume Montpetit were doing some freelance work for the CIA. He then let me know the real reason for his visit — he wanted back his camera and the copy of Jane’s Weapons of the World.
“You don’t need them anymore,” he said, “and neither will the person who’ll replace you as deputy ambassador. The folks at Langley have cancelled the program.” I gave him his camera but had to tell him I’d left his copy of Jane’s in Cuba.
Then at eight in the morning on October 5, 1970, a beautiful fall day in Montreal, four heavily armed individuals, disguised as deliverymen, kidnapped American consul-general Nicholas Peabody from his house in the English-speaking Montreal neighbourhood of Westmount. I was eating breakfast when I heard the news on the radio, and I raced from my central Ottawa apartment to the Daley Building to follow developments. Longshaft’s door was open as I hurried by, and he waved me in to join him as he watched the television news.
“This is probably the big operation the FLQ has been promising to pull off,” he said. “In a few minutes the Task Force will be meeting in the operations centre. I’ll do the chairing and you’ll be the note-taker.”
A reporter covering the story came on the air to say the Che Guevara cell of the FLQ had issued a communique in which it took responsibility for the kidnapping. The document also contained a political manifesto and the following list of conditions and a warning.
The government must allow CBC television to read the political manifesto live on air.
The police must end its search for the kidnappers.
All imprisoned members of the FLQ must be freed and sent to Cuba.
Five hundred thousand dollars in gold bullion must be given to the freed prisoners.
Failure to read the communique live on air by midnight would lead to the execution of the consul general.
“That doesn’t give us much time,” Longshaft said, as he got up to leave for the operations centre. But before he could get out the door, Mary stopped him to say External Affairs Minister Hankey wanted to talk to him. He was on the line. When I tried to leave, Longshaft told me to stay. “Listen in to the conversation and take notes. You’ll have to do the follow-up anyway.”
I picked up an extension and listened as the agitated minister wanted to know what Longshaft was doing about the kidnapping. Longshaft said the Task Force would meet in a few minutes to decide what advice to give the government. “I can tell you now, however, that we’ll be recommending the FLQ demands be rejected out of hand. Canada follows a long-standing policy of never giving in to the demands of hostage-takers. It’s a policy we adopted at the urging of the Americans years ago.”
“But this time the victim is an American consul general,” the minister said.
“Yes, being American and a consul general turns it into another sort of problem. Our American friends will want us to bend the policy.”
“What can I do that’s useful while you bureaucrats deliberate?”
“Why don’t you call in the American ambassador to say how sorry you are that Peabody’s been kidnapped.”
“I’ll do that and tell him we’re doing everything in our power to get him back unharmed.”
“That would be reassuring.”
“And I’ll hold the line on giving in to the FLQ.”
“That would make our lives easier. I’ll send a Foreign Service officer by the name of Luc Cadotte to your office to take notes on your discussion. The Task Force will need them.”
It was only a mile from the Daley Building to the East Block of Parliament where Hankey had his office. By walking fast, I made it to the entrance in fifteen minutes, in time to see the chauffeur-driven Cadillac of American Ambassador Thomas Swift IV pull up at the entrance to the East Block. The grandson of a businessman who made his fortune smuggling booze across the border from Canada during Prohibition, Swift lived on inherited wealth. In Washington, he was the man you went to if you needed someone with deep pockets to bankroll Republican candidates for congressional office. In due course, the President named him ambassador to Canada. In Ottawa, he was known as the great snob who spoke to nobody other than his wife, the prime minister, carefully chosen members of Cabinet, certain captains of industry, his Presbyterian minister, and Longshaft — whom he apparently met in Europe during the war.
On exiting the back door of his car, he brushed by me, ignoring my attempt to greet him, walked by the duty commissionaire who tried to stop him, and went up the stairs to the minister’s office. The minister’s private secretary knew who he was and opened the door to let him in. I followed close behind with notebook and pen in hand.
After the customary greetings, Hankey opened the discussion. “I want to assure you the police are doing everything in their power to find your consul general.”
“I expected nothing less.”
“Kidnappings of diplomats are rare in Canada. This is the first one I’ve heard of.”
“I know that, but a host country is responsible for the safety of all foreign diplomats on its soil, Peabody included. Canada let us down.”
“The RCMP is the finest police force in the world and always gets its man.”
“Minister, those are just words. The United States wants action.”
“I know that, but I called you here as a courtesy to let you know how sorry we are as the police go about their business.”
“But surely you knew something like this could happen. The FLQ has been saying for years it’s prepared to kill and kidnap to set up a Cuban-style government in Quebec. If you don’t believe me, just look at the communiqués it issues after each terrorist attack.”
“I don’t think anyone could have imagined they’d target an American diplomat.”
“Especially one who’s a friend of the president.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“He’s not just any ordinary consul general. He comes from a prominent New England family and was a major financial supporter of the president at the last election. He thought he’d be sent to Ottawa as ambassador but lost out to me.”
“I wasn’t aware of that — never even met him.”
“You should have made the effort. If you had, you’d be able to put a face to the person the FLQ is threatening to kill.”
“Our Task Force looking into its list of demands as we speak.”
“You’ve only got to midnight.”
“I know, but it wants us to free its members in jail and send them to Cuba. It would set a bad precedent if we did that.”
“Is it still Canadian policy never to give in to terrorists? Never to negotiate, never to make concessions.”
“It is, and that’s your policy too, isn’t it? Are you suggesting we do otherwise with Peabody?”
“No, not at all. It’s just that the United States is the leader of the free world. Speaking personally, I think we should be exempt from rules applied to others.”
“Speaking personally, I’m convinced the kidnapping is a FLQ publicity stunt. It’ll release your man safe and sound in a few days.”
“Speaking officially, I hope you’re right.”
After Swift left, saying he would see himself out, Hankey told me to stay and asked me what position I held in Longshaft’s bureau. After I said I was the resident intelligence analyst for international terrorism, he asked if I thought the kidnapping was a publicity stunt. “Or do you think the FLQ will murder Peabody if we don’t give in by midnight?”
“They’d kill him without hesitation, but they won’t call it murder. They’d call it revolutionary justice.”
“But that wouldn’t be the Canadian way. Our way is elections, dialogue, compromise, things like that.”
“The FLQ doesn’t accept the Canadian way. The ideals of Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and all the revolutionary leaders of Latin America going back to Bolivar are their way. They’ll kill Peabody for sure if we don’t give in. What we have to decide is whether we can accept the damage to our relations with the Americans if we stick to our principles.”
“But they’re the ones who pressured us into adopting this no-concessions policy.”
“As Ambassador Swift indicated, they consider themselves exempt from the rule. They’re the people on the hill. The chosen ones. The ones who have a God-given duty to save the world from rogue states and terrorists. The rules are different when applied to them.”
“I think I already know the answer — but what will happen if we don’t give in and Peabody is killed?”
“The Americans are our largest trading partner and the most important member of NATO.”
“Okay, I get the point. Now a final question — you’re not obliged to answer — how do we square the circle?”
“Authorize the CBC to read the manifesto. The people of Quebec won’t rise up in rebellion when they hear it, but don’t give in on the prisoners, at least not yet.”
Nobody ever told me if my advice to Hankey influenced on the government’s decision. But that evening, just before the midnight deadline, a CBC news anchor came on the air. “For humanitarian reasons,” he said, “to save the life of United States Consul General Nicholas Peabody, the CBC is interrupting its regular programming to read the following political manifesto from the FLQ:”
The Front de libération du Québec is neither the Messiah nor a modern day Robin Hood. It is a group of Quebec workers who are determined to use every means possible to ensure that the people of Quebec take control of their own destiny.
The Front de libération du Québec wants total independence for Quebeckers, united in a free society and purged for the good of the clique of voracious sharks, the patronizing big bosses and their henchmen who have made Quebec their private hunting ground for “cheap labour” and unscrupulous exploitation.
We live in a society of terrorized slaves, terrorized by the big bosses. We are terrorized by the capitalist Roman Church, we are terrorized by the closed circles of science and culture which the universities and their monkey see, monkey do bosses.
Factory workers, miners, and loggers; service-industry workers, teachers, students, and the unemployed, take back what belongs to you, your jobs, your determination and your liberty.
Workers of Quebec, take back today what is yours, take back what belongs to you. Only you know your factories, your machines, your hotels, your universities, your unions. Don’t wait for some miracle organization.
Make your own revolution in your neighbourhoods, in your places of work. If you don’t do it yourselves, other technocratic usurpers and so on will replace the handful of cigar smokers we have now, and everything will have to be done over again. Only you are able to build a free society.
We are the workers of Quebec and we will fight to the bitter end. With the help of the entire population, we want to replace this slave society with a free society, operating by itself and for itself, a society open to the world.
Long live free Quebec!
Long live our imprisoned political comrades!
Long live the Quebec revolution!
Long live the Front de libération du Québec !
The next morning, the Che Guevara cell issued a statement saying it hadn’t executed Peabody because the government had allowed the CBC to read its political manifesto. However, it kept up the pressure by vowing to kill its hostage if its other demands were not met by noon, Saturday, October 10. That brought Swift back to Hankey’s office. I was there as the note-taker.
“This time I’ve come with instructions from the State Department,” he said, pulling out a diplomatic note and reading it to the minister.
The Government of the United States presents its compliments to the Honorable Government of Canada and would like to express its concern that Consul General Peabody has not yet been freed from his captors. In this regard, it draws to the attention of the Honorable Government of Canada the provisions of Article 29 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations to wit: “The receiving state shall treat him with due respect and shall take all appropriate steps to prevent any attack on his person.”
It further advises that his Excellency, Thomas Swift IV, has been empowered to make certain proposals to the Honorable Government of Canada to bring to a speedy conclusion this unfortunate incident.
The Government of the United States of America avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the Honorable Government of Canada the assurances of its highest consideration.
“What’s this about? Why a note? ” Hankey said, placing it on his desk.
“Washington doesn’t think Canada is taking its concerns seriously, and wants to remind you of your international obligations.”
“And your proposals?”
“We want you to exchange Peabody for the FLQ prisoners. It’s been done before. Brazil just did a deal with terrorists to exchange political prisoners for two kidnapped ambassadors.”
“Is that right, Cadotte?” Hankey said, pulling me into the discussion.
“That’s right, sir,” I said. “One was a German and the other American.”
“I thought you were opposed to negotiating with terrorists,” Hankey said to Swift.
“We are, but we sometimes let other countries do the negotiating for us. In Brazil the initiative worked out well. We got our man back and the terrorist kidnapping of diplomats has ended.”
“Is that right Cadotte? The kidnapping of diplomats in Brazil has ended?”
“You can take my word for it, Minister,” Swift said. “You don’t have to ask the note-taker.”
“Mr. Cadotte is the government’s expert on international terrorism, and I trust his knowledge and judgment.”
“The ambassador is right sir,” I said. “There’s been no kidnapping of diplomats since the exchanges of prisoners for ambassadors last year. But that’s because the Brazilians now kill the political prisoners they pick up and dump their bodies into the sea. There are no prisoners to exchange and the terrorists know that. Other Latin American governments do the same thing.”
“That’s barbaric,” Hankey said. “We’d never condone such behaviour.”
“It gets worse,” I said. “The Brazilian secret police — and the other Latin American secret police services — torture their prisoners before they dump them into the sea. They then arrest the individuals identified under torture by the original group of terrorists, torture
them and dump them into the sea — starting a new cycle of arrest, torture, dumping into sea, arrest, torture, dumping into sea ad infinitum. Don’t forget the countries of Latin America don’t care about human rights.”
“That was very interesting but irrelevant,” Swift said. “The United States wants you to free the FLQ prisoners in exchange for the life of Peabody — and to do it well before the new deadline. Naturally, if asked, we would say the decision was taken by Canada without consultation with the United States. We can maintain our public no-concessions policy that way. The Brazilians agreed when we suggested a similar cover story for the release of our man in Rio de Janeiro.”
If Swift thought the Canadian government would change its no-concessions policy by putting pressure on the minister, he was to be disappointed. On October 9, on the eve of the deadline set by the FLQ, the minister of Justice of Quebec made the following statement of principle.
No society can accept that the decisions of its government and of its courts of law can be questioned or erased by the use of blackmail exercised by any group because this signifies the end of all social order.
The Task Force now expected the worst. To maintain its credibility, the FLQ would have to kill Peabody or launch another spectacular operation. On Saturday, October 10, on another cool sunny fall morning in Montreal, three men and a woman pulled up in front of the home of Hubert Jolicoeur, Quebec’s minister of tourism. They entered his house, dragged him out, forced him into their car at gunpoint and drove away. Within an hour, their communiqués began to arrive at radio and television stations across the city. The kidnappers identified themselves as members of the Patriot cell. In language even more hysterical and theatrical than that used by the Che Guevara cell in its communiqués, they said Jolicoeur would die if their imprisoned comrades were not put on a plane to Cuba by October 15.
A week of frantic activity began. The Quebec government fled to Montreal from Quebec City to take refuge, with its senior officials, in a heavily guarded skyscraper. The Federal government brought in the army to guard public buildings in Quebec and Ottawa. Soldiers with rifles stood at the doors of Parliament. There was even a guard posted at the entrance to the Daley Building. Bodyguards were assigned to anyone in a position of authority.
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