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One, two.

One, two.

Wanted: Paul Rose.

Age 27,

6 feet tall, 210 pounds.

Occupation: teacher.

He is Canadian,

and speaks French.

Distinguishing features:
cataract in left eye.

It's not nice to film someone
without permission.

It's a violation. You know that?

PAUL ROSE
MY FATHER

Say something.

You know about you. That's enough.

MY VOICE, FÉLIX, 13 YEARS OLD

Tell me something personal about yourself.

I'd like to sleep in.

When we were young,

did Paul worry about discussing
his political past with us?

I think he didn't know how.

It was more about that.

And finding the right time
to talk about it.

I think he told you very little.

I remember you coming to me
on my birthday,

saying, "Andrée, guess what?

My cousin just told me
my dad kidnapped a cabinet minister,

then killed him."

Your reaction was to turn away.

The minute I said something,
you turned from side to side.

ANDRÉE BERGERON
MY MOTHER

Then you said, "No way. My dad..."

You said, "My dad wouldn't hurt a fly.

No way he did that."

Félix missed his dad.

THE ROSES

A FILM BY
FÉLIX ROSE

Terrorist Paul Rose has died.

A few hours after the announcement,

PAUL ROSE'S FUNERAL
LONGUEUIL, MARCH 2013

Quebec Solidaire MNA Amir Khadir
said he plans

to table a motion in the National Assembly
to honour Paul Rose,

pay tribute to him.

Radio X

Enough.

Enough of this madness.

Clearing the name of a killer,

a felon, a terrorist... like Paul Rose!

He was our big brother.

We would've needed him forever.

Paul's still with us.

JACQUES ROSE
MY UNCLE

He's still very much with us.
Paul will never give up.

And the October Crisis was...

The main point was solidarity.

We all thought:

They'll never divide us.

They can put us in prison, in dungeons,

but... we'll always stand united.

We held out as the Patriots did,
until the bitter end,

burned in churches...

We understood...

What he understood most
was the suffering of Quebecers,

throughout our history.

Our family is working-class.

Jean-Claude recounted it earlier.
We're from Saint-Henri.

We then moved on... to Jacques-Cartier.

And it was tough. Jacques-Cartier was...

Life was hard for kids our age.

I remember my mother,

as we'd go off to school,

as we'd walk out the door,

VILLE JACQUES-CARTIER
(LONGUEUIL), MARCH 1966

she'd say, "Hold hands.

Stick together."

On our way to school: "Stick together.
There's strength in numbers.

Hold hands. Stand strong."

- Dang. I'd like to know--
- There you are.

Are names written on the back?

- You're right there.
- That was the best teacher I ever had.

ME, FÉLIX

- You're right there.
- Yeah.

Yeah, I was about nine then, huh?

- Yeah.
- Eight or nine.

What was it like,
growing up in Jacques-Cartier?

Growing up...
It was a working-class neighbourhood.

A rough neighbourhood.

Everyone was struggling,

trying to survive...

back then,

with hens... not in a henhouse,
but in the house.

Kids slept on the floor... Y'know?

I remember this family of thirteen.

They lived in a basement.

More like a storeroom.

Now, that was hard.

Mom actually took in these kids.

They'd sleep over,
because in the fall and winter,

they all had the flu, the sniffles.

She took in the youngest, the last-born,
the youngest two or three.

She looked after them.

They slept over.

We didn't have much, either.
Just a small gabled house.

Dad had paid $3500 for it.
It was unfinished.

He first insulated it for the winter.

But he couldn't get by, all the same.

That's what drove her to despair.

She fell into a depression then,

because she had to
confront all these paradoxes:

her family versus the...
crushing poverty around her,

people really...

...practically dying as a result,
as some did.

Some kids didn't make it and...

she witnessed that.

I remember you telling us
about the Great Depression,

as you were knitting.

VOICE OF PAUL ROSE ADDRESSING
HIS MOTHER CLANDESTINE

RECORDING FROM HIS PRISON CELL

Recounting how you ate bananas.

I don't remember how you put it,

"One day, bananas, bread and butter;

then butter, bread and bananas;

then bread, butter and bananas..."
Something like that.

Maybe the other way around.

But everything you went through
during the Depression,

working in the textile industry.

All the tactics used to...

...save a bit of money,
provide for your family.

Sharing all that...

You taught us that by confiding in us.

With a great deal of love and humour.

She then slowly got better on her own.

It took a couple years for her to realize...

...she didn't have the means,
she had to find another way.

She had to focus on the children,
educate them,

make sure they didn't suffer the same fate.

And how did your dad deal
with your mom's depression?

He didn't.

Dad didn't understand, y'know.

He worked 12-hour days
and came home late at night.

Tell me about the Redpath refinery.
You mentioned it earlier.

How were the working conditions?

It was hell.

Jeez. Paul and I went there.

When Paul came of age, at 16...

I was 14.

At 16, for Dad...

His whole family had worked there.
His dad,

Grandpa Rose, got all his boys hired,
a whole generation.

At 16, in his mind, you worked.

You had enough schooling and...

- So he took you there.
- He took us both there,

to show us the ropes,
meet the English bosses...

When we saw the place... Dang.

It was a wake-up call.

We thought: "I don't want to work there."
I came home and said,

"Mom, I never want to work there."

Same for Paul. We were almost in tears.

We were so...

First, it was over 100 degrees inside.

That's, what, about 35 Celsius?

And, jeez, there were big tanks...
as big as this house,

with a metal catwalk.

Railings... There was sugar everywhere.
You can't imagine.

It was suffocating.

You could barely see the sun. Just barely.

He slept there one night and told my mom
this one guy had slept on a sack,

and his ear was chewed by a rat.

Dad found him the next morning.
His neck was streaked with blood.

You must be exhausted,
getting your ear chewed.

The guy was really beat.

I tell you. Mom was always scared.

- It must've been low-paying, too.
- Yes. It was hell.

Starvation wages.

Working for nothing.

People worked for nothing then.

That's how they made... their fortune.

The system today, the upper-class,

got rich off our parents.
At their expense.

We rebelled. They...

They got nothing from us.

Damn straight.

But our parents were at their mercy.

They took advantage.

They were doing "good."
They paid them $20 a week,

and said, "They'd be jobless otherwise,
worse off."

That's always the case.

You there?

Got it?

We had an army tent. It was huge.

We spent our summers there.
The whole family came.

My dad only joined us on his two weeks off,
but we'd spend two months there.

So those are some of my earliest memories
of my brothers.

CLAIRE ROSE
MY AUNT

I learned to swim when I was four,
maybe earlier.

They'd take me into the water and stay close.
I loved it.

Jacques taught me a lot.

Swimming, riding a bike, all that.

As for Paul, I remember him...

being quieter.

He was reserved.

He wasn't as outgoing as Jacques.

They were polar opposites.

But it balanced things out, y'know?

It was a good thing.

I remember when Paul started...

...teaching at Gérard-Filion High.

He used to call it...

"The Henhouse."

There were underprivileged kids...

...they used to call them
"retards" or "crazy" back then.

That's how it was. Today...

SUZANNE ROSE
MY AUNT

it's much more...

politically correct.

And he made these cartoons.

Then Paul would say, "Click."

He'd show them the cartoons.

PAUL ROSE'S SCHOOL ANIMATION PROJECT
GÉRARD-FILION SCHOOL, FALL 1967

Impressive, huh?

We were impressed,

watching that. Wow!

The spider looks nasty, though.

Ugly.

Paul took care of those kids.

He wanted to get them out of this quagmire.

To do so, he had to get them outside.

The administration refused,
thwarting him at every turn.

So Paul had to stage protests of sorts...

...to make the administration understand
this couldn't go on.

Ultimately, I think he quit.

That roadblock...

He had every intention of breaking through.

I had trouble at CN, too,

because everything was in English.

You had to oil the engine
and, of course, "oil" was in English.

So I took it upon myself, as they say...

I translated every sign into French.

Every sign.

First they said it was dangerous.

Said people might get water and oil confused.

Pour water into the oil, oil into the water,
and so on.

They asked me to remove them.

I said, "No. Why should I?"

I said that I did it.

I was well within my rights.

Bilingualism had just
become official in Canada.

Coast to coast.

"You can always fire me.

But I can fight back, too."

Within an hour, they got another guy
to take the signs down.

I was gone within the week.

We got out because of Mom,

who started working when Dad said,

"The kids are going to work."

We would've ended up like them
if we hadn't...

...stayed in school.

At age 22, 23...

...I was militant.

I didn't go to bars or...

...run around...

No. That was our focus.

What was happening in Quebec was our focus.

Everyone.

We rested in jail.

MAKE CHANGE WITH THE P.Q.

Paul was always an activist.

He knew how to talk to people.

And make people realize
there was a problem and how we'd fix it.

That meant getting involved.

Taking to the streets, marching...

...for your rights.

Paul had...

...a gift.

So it started with Bill 63.

He was heavily involved in that.
In Saint-Leonard, too.

He was a tireless activist.

A bunch of kids suddenly ended up in school.

Before that... it was out of reach.

And all the sons and daughters
of working men and women ended up there.

VOICE OF PAUL ROSE

That was a real awakening,

compared to our parents' generation.

In the early '60s, the first to go

to university
graduated five, six years later,

went back to their communities

to share their knowledge.

That was the very foundation
of citizen committees.

Some were doctors,

mathematicians,
who helped people with their taxes and so on.

They really gave back to the community.

Of course, this led to politicization.

But really free in that sense.

Giving back.

And for us, it was like...

a united front.

And that sort of put an end to

the raids on those
famous workers' committees.

For instance,
when the one in St. Henri was raided,

everyone's membership card was taken,

then the police took all the files,

and tossed them outside.

This kind of ridiculous repression...

opened our eyes.

Because we knew it was over.

The tried-and-true didn't work anymore.

I started to feel somewhat ashamed,

because watching the news on TV,

ROSE ROSE
MY GRANDMOTHER

politicians giving nice speeches, talking...

I'd say, "Isn't he something?"

Paul, my husband, enjoyed watching that.
My husband's name is Paul, too.

My son would say, "Mom! You don't get it!
The man's a pig!

He's not doing this
for us, but for the rich."

He started explaining.

He studied political science and stuff.

He understood all that better than we did.

So I said, "Hang on..."

I started looking into it.
He said, "Mom,

bring a couple of
women along so it looks legit.

We'll go to Saint-Lambert."

Some schools only flew the Canadian flag,
though they're in Quebec.

He said, "We'll take down the Canadian flags,
replace them with ours.

If it's just us, we'll get clobbered.
But with older women..."

I went. There were a dozen carloads, in all.

Women, neighbours, all kinds...
We thought it'd be fun.

So we went.

We weren't arrested. They
took down our plate numbers, harassed us.

We told them: "You're so lame.

My goodness, you're traitors.
This is Quebec."

We told them. They were somewhat ashamed,

but said, "Ah... But still."

I thought that was all we could do.

Paul had a printer.

We helped him print bull's-eyes,
all kinds of things...

Like, on June 24,
we printed thousands of bull's-eyes,

meaning something would happen
on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day.

Something definitely happened.
He got one hell of a beating.

We saw it on TV. I said, "My goodness.

He's there. He'll definitely take a beating."
He was gone three days.

We watch.

We watch the... time go by.

VOICE OF PAUL ROSE ADDRESSING
HIS MOTHER CLANDESTINE

RECORDING FROM HIS PRISON CELL

Letting it run through us...

...like a great river,

like the St. Lawrence River.

Running free inside us.

Like the Gulf.

As wide as the Gulf.

I saw this between the winds
blowing inside me.

SAINT-JEAN-BAPTISTE DAY
MONTREAL, JUNE 24, 1968

Trudeau, throughout his term in office...

...always put Quebec "in its place,"
as he said.

All the separatists in Quebec...

PIERRE ELLIOTT TRUDEAU
PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA

...he riled us up.

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day,
our national holiday...

...took place a few days
before the federal election.

It was another kick in the teeth to Quebec.

He wanted to prove to the country
he could put French-Canadians in their place.

He should never have been there. Never.

The cops charged in on horseback,
on foot...

...and on motorcycles.
They stormed in.

Bottles were flying.
People threw rocks,

whatever they could get their hands on,
at the grandstand.

When Bourgault was arrested,

when the cops rushed in and arrested him,
things really blew up.

I just made it over a fence.

They started chasing me,

but I outran them.

I jumped up, leaped
over the fence in no time.

I left the others behind.

They were peering through the fence.

Paul was hit on the head.

When the horses charged in,

he fell and was caught.

At the police station, it was bedlam.

Officers were trained for this by...

the big guns, who came in--

maybe the RCMP...

But they were saying, "Those bastards.
They killed another one, guys. Get 'em."

In our cell,

there were three kinda scrawny guys,

and they were punched and kicked.

Big guys like me were pretty safe
when they were outnumbered.

When there were five or six outside,
then it was fine.

So, eventually,

you get sick of being a punching bag.

Democracy...

...was a joke back then.

It feels, seeing this footage
and hearing first-person accounts,

like back then, separatists were despised.

- Like they were...
- Absolutely.

- ...scum.
- Absolutely.

It was unnatural.

Like I said, we pooled our money,

and bought... small vans,

small trucks, minivans, y'know?

We figured Gaspésie
would be a good start.

We drifted...

...from Montreal to Gaspé.

VOICE OF PAUL ROSE ADDRESSING
HIS MOTHER CLANDESTINE

RECORDING FROM HIS PRISON CELL

In small waves and big.

That's it.

PERCÉ
GASPÉSIE, SUMMER 1969

We rode with the wind.

Fresh air.

That's it.

Percé was the beginning of a dream...

we all shared... and set in motion:

to open youth hostels in Quebec.

The town refused to give us permits.

Why?

Because we were too young,
there were too many young people around.

It was too noisy,

and local merchants weren't happy.

What kind of tourists were there?

Mostly Americans.

And naturally,
young people came by to chat with us.

We'd tell them: "Set up your tent."

We had land.

Fishermen started coming over.

They wanted to meet us, meet young people,

spend evenings with us,
chat about this and that.

So Ti-Loup would come by--

- He was a fisherman?
- Yeah, Ti-Loup was...

a local fisherman...

a real character.

SÉVERIN LANGLOIS (TI-LOUP)
FISHERMAN

A couple times,
he came by the Fisherman's House,

threw, like, 15 fish down on the table.

That was the irony.

The irony in Percé was that the town
didn't want us there.

They only cared about tourism...

...and merchants.

Meanwhile, we were...

in the countryside, and locals came by...

...to eat and drink with us at night.

All kinds of people came by:

older folks with their kids...

They came to chitchat.

They came with their kids to check it out.

They'd gather there and have a lot to say.

Y'know, young adults, 18-22.

We always have plans, something to say...

...dreams.

Talking about change,
about the next generation;

about us, the rising generation;

and how things must change.

It was kind of a cultural hotspot.

What was happening there...

I think everyone should experience that
at least once.

Because it was a "school." One where...

we talked at length about political issues.

It was a crash course.

It was incredible.

We learned so much...

about politics and Gaspésie.

Still, we joked around a lot,
had a lot of laughs.

Artists came, as well.

So we also learned
about the Quebec art scene,

ultimately,
because so many artists came through there.

You couldn't avoid becoming politically aware
and involved.

We didn't come here to protest, but to relax,

and give young people with little money
a place to chill.

They turned us down.

So you can't blame us for protesting.

Protesting is a response.

It's not revolution. There's a difference.

In a revolution, you have to organize.

So protests are in response to real problems.

Paul was always thinking.
Whenever I saw him,

I could see the wheels in his head turning,
turning, endlessly turning.

Paul always led the way.

He earned it.

He did, because he could see how exploited...

...both fishermen and Quebec were.

It's that fishermen are left in the dark.

They make $3000 a year.
And they have to pay off their boats.

There's also a lack of industry support here.

Particularly, in the fishing industry,
transport... There's no market.

I don't want any trouble.

As long as they don't make any,
I don't want any trouble.

But they better not make...
not one move.

ANDRÉ MÉTHOT
MAYOR OF PERCÉ

They'll be kicked out of town so badly...
They'll never come back again.

It's appalling,
having to mix with those filthy bums!

It's understandable for people to panic
when... the underclass comes along.

So they think these people
will drive tourists away,

hurt them financially.

The town wanted you gone.
How did they go about it?

They ended up literally blasting
us with hoses, sending in firefighters,

and other people
hired to handle the situation.

Henchmen.

When I was blasted in the stomach,

I fell on my ass and slid all the way--

I hid behind the piano,
as they blasted away.

They went nuts.

Some people were actually injured
and ended up at the hospital.

Paul was punched in the face,
they jumped him first.

They took him in.

He was released the next morning.

When he got back, we set off again.

Then we marched all the way
to the town hall.

Reporters then ran with it.

It made headlines across Quebec.

I feel the waves.

And the strong winds.

The strong winds inside.

A wind...

...no one can tame.

This great drive,

this great fervour within us.

I feel it.

In you, too.

Together, we'll create a hurricane.

All the repression -
almost worse than in the city -

we experienced there,

led us to believe...

we really had to get organized
and take action.

How did you meet Francis Simard?

FRANCIS SIMARD
FLQ ACTIVIST CIRCA 1970, CHÉNIER CELL

Francis was part of RIN, as was Paul, and...

he was a fighter, you know?

Just like Paul and me and Bernard.

Bernard was young then. He was 19.

BERNARD LORTIE
FLQ ACTIVIST CIRCA 1970, CHÉNIER CELL

He was always there

to help us out,

introducing us to people he knew there.

We thought, "Jeez...

this guy belongs here.

He's at home here," y'know?

That's how we met Bernard.

The FLQ was founded in the sixties.
In '63, when the first bombs went off.

What was your vision of the FLQ then?

QUEBEC LIBERATION FRONT
1963-1971

The first wave of the FLQ,
I wasn't really involved.

At first,
bombs were planted in mailboxes and such.

Then this guy set off a bomb
at the Montreal Stock Exchange.

Then it got political.

Pierre-Paul received
124 concurrent life sentences.

PIERRE-PAUL GEOFFROY
FLQ ACTIVIST CIRCA 1968-1969

That was a wake-up call.

You weren't opposed to violence then?

No. There were never any casualties
from Pierre-Paul's attacks.

They were always
well thought out.

And when the bombs exploded,
there was no one around. It wasn't just--

- A lot of people were injured at the MSE.
- Yes.

- Some 20 victims.
- Yes. When a bomb goes off...

eardrums...

take a beating.

We had to target the powers-that-be.

That became the goal.

Using other means, because...

to hit the right target.

We thought, "The rules of democracy...

when we call the shots,
maybe we'll believe in them.

But right now,

they're made by cheaters.

So, we'll play by the same rules.

We'll form a revolutionary movement,

then kick them out."

It was our duty...

...with democracy dead...

...to make sure

the tyrants were overthrown.

You don't let them rule.

Télémag, October Crisis,
interview with Paul Rose,

reel 21, take 21, sound 9.

- Framed.
- Framed.

PAUL ROSE INTERVIEW WITH MARC LAURENDEAU
COWANSVILLE PRISON, SEPTEMBER 1980

Paul Rose, it is the tenth anniversary
of the October Crisis.

What did you hope to accomplish
when you started this ten years ago?

Well, back then, democratic rights...

...were suspended.

There was Drapeau's anti-demonstration bylaw.

Also, the Brinks "show."

Which hindered the electoral process.

Also...

the raids on citizen committees.

Pardon me.

Which were well-established...

...political,
consciousness-raising institutions.

This infringement
of the democratic process...

...eventually led us to conclude...

...that we had to find another way.

So to answer your question...

Our goal was not to seize power,
as we implied--

What, then? It wasn't a coup?

No. Actually,
we were politically opposed to that.

Leave that to the military
and the Canadian army.

There was the Brinks stunt

a few days before the election.

What's the Brinks stunt?

Three Brinks trucks crisscrossed Montreal,

collecting bags of money from banks,

followed by the media,

and a Montreal-police
motorcycle escort.

These Brinks trucks drove to Dorval.

It was all planned out, before the election.

And they persuaded Quebecers
that if the PQ won the election,

all safe havens, all the money,
all capital would leave the province.

So we decided,

by mutual agreement,

to take covert action, to plan this.

How did you fund this?

By stealing, quite simply.

Stealing. There wasn't...

Credit cards, too.

We bought things with credit cards:
batteries,

anything, TVs...

We'd go to Woolco,

to Rossy or whatever,

then sell the stuff to small-time gangsters
in Longueuil.

That's when we decided...

to start requisitioning funds...

for the organization.

They called them hold-ups,
but we called them mandatory donations.

Simple, huh?

How did the hold-ups go down?
Who did what?

You just walked into banks with guns
and took money?

How'd you go about it?

We didn't want to scare people.

We simply said, "This money will go toward...

the revolution.

We're asking you to do your part.
Don't be afraid. You won't get hurt.

We just want money.

Money we need to
bring about change in Quebec."

They didn't think twice.

They froze, of course.

We were armed, after all.

But...

nothing ever happened.

We bought a farm...

for about $60,000.

We paid cash.

There were outbuildings,

SAINT-ANNE-DE-LA-ROCHELLE FARM
ESTRIE, FEBRUARY TO JUNE 1970

training grounds,

which we set up, as well as a maple grove...
in the woods.

We could train there,

because the idea
was to engage in military training.

MILITANT TRAINING OF FLQ MEMBERS
PALESTINIAN CAMP IN JORDAN, JUNE 1970

We drew inspiration from Ireland and...

the Tupamaros, Algeria...

National liberation movements
engaged in armed struggle.

That was the final solution
when democracy failed.

Paul Rose, you, along with Jacques Lanctôt,

were one of the leaders,

the head of an FLQ cell.

Yet you were said to take
a wait-and-see approach. Why?

First, I'll address your initial statement.

"One of the leaders" is a point on which...

I disagree, and I think
my comrades do too.

Yet you're described as the leader of a cell,
and Lanctôt--

- By who?
- --the leader of the other.

Who?

By members of the group.

Yeah?

Listen, there were leaders,

but there's a difference
between "leader" and "head."

"Head" is a rank. We were opposed to that.

It was even something we fought against,

because we still believed

in democracy, in terms of decision-making.

All our decisions were made democratically.

Interesting. The--

Indeed, I was sometimes outvoted.

Lanctôt was a member of the FLQ.

Paul met him and said,
"Listen, we have a farm...

in Saint-Anne-de-la-Rochelle...

If you want to join us,

it's off the grid and all,
and we're organizing already."

The idea was...

...to set up a "people's prison," too.

Nobody wanted screw-ups at that level.

And the only way was

to bury a dumpster at the back of the farm,

with a secret entrance, where...

...hostages could be held.

And something did go wrong.

We hit the Caisse populaire
at the University of Montreal.

There were three people: André Roy,
my brother, François, and Morency.

JACQUES LANCTÔT
FLQ ACTIVIST CIRCA 1970, LIBERATION CELL

They were busted in a cottage in Prévost.

That was a blow, because they were people--

There was my brother - we were close -
and André Roy, a good friend.

So they were interrogated.
"What were you doing there?"

Money was found, probably from the hold-up.

And one of them...

...had, in his pocket

directions to
Saint-Anne-de-la-Rochelle.

To the farm.

So, one morning,
we saw two plain-clothes cops coming.

We had just enough time to hide.

They were suspicious, but...

...they left.

We didn't hesitate.
When we got out, it was over.

It was a setback.
We'd worked on that farm for eight months,

setting it up and turning it into

a place where we could hold hostages,

several hostages, in decent conditions.

HOUSE ON ARMSTRONG STREET
SAINT-HUBERT, MARCH TO OCTOBER 1970

We rented the house on Armstrong.

I rented it with Paul, under an assumed name,
posing as a couple.

A hideout after committing robbery.

VOICE OF LISE BALCER

We'd also talked about maybe kidnapping...

Because Jacques Lanctôt was there,

and he was eager to stage a kidnapping.

Who was your target?

On the political front,

we wanted to take on American imperialism
and British colonialism.

VOICE OF PAUL ROSE

The economic domination and exploitation
of Quebec,

epitomized by American diplomats.

Then there's the colonial history of Quebec,

"political" oppression in Quebec:

a British legacy.

So with these two individuals,

our bases were covered.

We held a meeting and voted.

That's how we split into two cells.

One in favour of taking action,
the other of waiting.

Still, it was suicidal to stage
such kidnappings and no more.

Because this then led to ultimatums

that could prove dangerous for...

...the hostages.

We were in more of a hurry
because my brother was in jail.

That was certainly a factor.
So he may have been right.

FRANÇOIS LANCTÔT

FLQ ACTIVIST CIRCA 1970,
BROTHER OF JACQUES LANCTÔT

Paul was a strategist and took the long view.

I was more impetuous
and more anxious.

We said, "Well, if that's how it is,

we'll do our best to stay out of your way."

They then started to plan things out,

to really look into it,
and we parted ways.

- So it was, like, a split--
- It was a split.

I was outraged, but Paul said, "No.

Solidarity first.

We can't be seen...

...infighting."

Lanctôt never understood that.
He did later on,

but it was too late.

When he realized who we were.

How serious we were.

When we entered James Cross's house,
we'd had ski masks made,

handmade masks.

But we forgot to put them on.

So our faces weren't covered.

HOUSE OF BRITISH DIPLOMAT JAMES CROSS
WESTMOUNT, OCTOBER 5, 1970

Of course, when they were shown mug shots,
James Cross's wife,

as well as the maid at the door,
immediately ID'ed us.

I later found out
Paul and Jacques had left town.

VOICE OF LISE BALCER

I think they went to the States,
because they thought:

"We're not ready to do anything."

- Why did you stop--
- I was tired.

It was tough. At some point,

always watching your back,

always fearing arrest...

It was very stressful.

I'd had enough.

We went to the States to get weapons -

VOICE OF PAUL ROSE

more weapons -

and money.

Why go with your mother and sister?

To cross the border problem-free.
We took a cheap car to check things out.

And to convince them to wait too,

to get back and say, "Look...

...we can get weapons there
for the organization.

Hang tight."

Did your mom know
that was the purpose of your visit?

No.

Mom had always wanted to travel.

Now we were driving across the States,
all the way to Texas, the Gulf.

That's it. She came along.

And how did you find out
Lanctôt's cell had kidnapped Mr. Cross?

We found out on the way.

Really by chance,
while looking for a French radio station.

We crested the top
of a hill, then suddenly...

"Workers of Quebec, from this day forward,
take back what is yours,

READING OF THE FLQ MANIFESTO ON CKAC RADIO
OCTOBER 7, 1970

what belongs to you.

Only you know your factories, your machines,
your universities, your unions.

Start your own revolution
in your neighbourhoods,

your places of work.

If you don't do it yourselves,
other technocratic usurpers and the like

will succeed the handful of cigar-smokers
we know today,

and it will be back to square one.

We are the workers of Quebec
and we'll fight to the bitter end.

We want to replace, with all citizens,

this slave society with a free one,

operating by and for itself,
a society open to the world."

"Our struggle can only be victorious.

A conscious people cannot be kept in misery
and contempt for long.

Long live free Quebec!
Long live our imprisoned political comrades!

Long live the Quebec revolution!
Long live the Quebec Liberation Front!"

We were all for the release
of 23 political prisoners,

for reinstating Lapalme postal workers.

We were all for that too.

Aside from the $500,000,
we supported the manifesto.

But the $500,000

was their way of saying: "Okay...

...we're not asking for anything;
it's a political act.

It's funding for our organization.

Then we'll organize."

We said, "No, if you take political action,
try to do it once it's known."

But when we got back, there was a crisis:

only the British diplomat had been kidnapped.

JAMES CROSS
BRITISH DIPLOMAT

It could then easily...

...be interpreted as a purely ethnic issue.

When we got back...

...from Texas,

we had to find

a place to go.

We went back to Armstrong Street.

There, we awaited the outcome
of the talks, the negotiations...

...with Justice Minister Choquette.

We were all prepared, thinking, "Well...

if he doesn't agree to the cell's demands...

...we'll have to up the ante."

At 6 p.m.,
we were all sitting in front of the TV,

watching...

Choquette speak.

We stopped watching before the end

of his press conference.

We went and kidnapped Pierre Laporte.

Why choose Pierre Laporte

as a hostage?

To start, we'd planned to kidnap

diplomats on Nuns' Island.

That was the plan, because we knew...

We'd been tailing them.

And when it became clear
that the government wouldn't give in

to the demands set out
in the Operation Liberation communiqué,

we planned to go to Nuns' Island,
but we didn't,

because it would've been
too much of a security risk.

Bridges were under surveillance
after the first kidnapping.

It then occurred to us that Pierre Laporte
was perhaps a better target.

PIERRE LAPORTE
DEPUTY PREMIER OF QUEBEC

He was Deputy Premier,

therefore acting premier
if the premier was absent.

VOICE OF PAUL ROSE

So he acted on his behalf.

That was one factor.

Another factor was that...

...Pierre Laporte had taken a hard line
during negotiations,

saying the issue of political prisoners
was not up for negotiation

with the Liberation cell.

Four of us drove up to his house.

He was outside

PIERRE LAPORTE'S HOME
SAINT-LAMBERT, OCTOBER 10, 1970

playing football with his son.

We pulled up and said, "Get in.
This is a kidnapping.

It's no joke."

We had him lie down in the backseat.

Then we took him to Armstrong Street.

The alarm was soon sounded,

because along the way,

Longueuil was a ways away from St. Hubert...

Because Armstrong Street...

The house was next
to the St. Hubert air-force base.

So we had to go
through military installations.

We just managed to get through.

"The Chenier Finance Cell has just kidnapped

Quebec's minister of unemployment
and assimilation, Pierre Laporte.

The minister will be executed Sunday night,
at 10 p.m.,

READING OF FLQ COMMUNIQUÉ
OCTOBER 11, 1970

if the ruling authorities
do not respond favourably

to the seven demands issued,
following the kidnapping of Mr. James Cross."

What were the detention conditions
of Mr. Laporte?

Well, detention conditions...

We removed his ski mask in the bedroom,
but when we went in, we were masked.

Then we'd put on his mask
to take him to the bathroom.

To eat.

He wasn't manhandled.

Conditions weren't terrible,

but they were detention conditions,
which we all endured.

How was your relationship with your hostage?

Was it somewhat friendly, conciliatory,
or downright hostile?

No, there was no hostility...

...toward the hostages.

We did have respect for someone
in a tough situation.

We didn't try, for instance, to grill them,
or ultimately...

- Browbeat them?
- Yeah, that kind of thing. Not true.

Everything Pierre Laporte wrote
was of his own free will.

He wasn't prompted.
I give you my word.

"My dear Robert,

LETTER FROM PIERRE LAPORTE
TO PREMIER ROBERT BOURASSA

First, this is surely the most
important letter I have ever written.

Second, I am in good health
and am being treated well.

My life is ultimately in your hands.

If only it was that simple
and my sacrifice would bear fruit.

But this is a well-organized uprising

to obtain the release of political prisoners.

After me, there will be a third,

a fourth and a fifth.

If all politicians are protected,
they will strike elsewhere.

Better to act now and avoid
a pointless bloodbath and panic."

They really cracked down.

Bridges were closed.

They were obviously buying time

and wanted this
to end in a bloodbath.

He was hung out to dry by his cohorts.

VOICE OF PAUL ROSE

That was what really got to me.

They flat-out refused.

Especially, the federal government.

His last ally, Bourassa,

was pleading with the feds.

In all that...
I really felt for him,

in that respect.

We saw them coming: the planes...

the army moving in...

We were surrounded.

It was apparent.

We couldn't imagine...

...the army coming into Quebec...

...not to protect families,

but Westmount.

And all the rich.

That's why they were here.

They were never seen in St. Henri
or Point St. Charles,

or working-class neighbourhoods.

Troops then showed up on Armstrong Street.

They drove up to our place
and asked questions next door.

You have to understand it's action-reaction.
It's do or die.

VOICE OF PAUL ROSE

Politicians reacting to communiqués,

the feds reacting,

the Quebec government...

It all happened so fast.

At that time, I don't remember eating.

"This is the last communication
from the Chenier Finance Cell

to the ruling authorities.

Again, if by 10 p.m. tonight, both
administrations do not respond favourably

to the FLQ's seven demands,

Minister Pierre Laporte will be executed.

Pierre Laporte will be released
within 24 hours if you cooperate fully,

meeting the seven demands
of Operation Liberation.

The slightest hesitation from the authorities
will prove fatal to the minister.

It is a major concession on our part
to return him alive and well.

Don't push it.

We shall overcome.
Quebec Liberation Front."

Did you ever suspect he'd joined the FLQ?

No way!

No, it was news to us too.

SUZANNE ROSE
MY AUNT

A TV news bulletin.

We were eating.

When they said "most wanted,"

then their names...

We got up to watch.

We saw Paul, Jacques...

...Francis, Bernard.

We were staggered.

My mom, too.

I looked at her. She was totally...

She was speechless. We were dumbstruck.

At a loss for words.

Everything came to a standstill.

It was a bombshell.

Then came the phone calls.
The phone ringing off the hook.

God! It was nonstop.

Until the raid.

We heard a bunch of doors closing.

There was a helicopter,

and they'd set up a roadblock
with buses at either end of the street.

They arrested us.

Lisacek was there.

A psycho.

He wanted to catch them.

CLAIRE ROSE
MY AUNT

He said he'd cut off their balls.

He said, "Go upstairs,"
then put a machine gun to my mom's head.

ALBERT LISACEK
POLICE OFFICER WITH THE SÛRETÉ DU QUÉBEC

"Go upstairs. And if anyone fires,
I shoot the lady."

And my mom, a tough cookie,

looked at me, gun to her head,

and said, "Don't worry, Claire.
It'll be fine. There's nothing upstairs.

You know that. Don't worry."

She was reassuring me,
because I was clearly worried.

Unbelievable. She had the gun to her head.
That was my mom.

Cops swarmed the house
and turned the whole place upside down.

It was mayhem.

Then they took us in -
myself, Lise and my mother -

and left 11-year-old Claire home alone.

I was interrogated for maybe ten hours, easy,

but I didn't know anything.

They said, "Tell us what you know,

because your mother won't make it.

She won't make it through.

According to the War Measures Act,
we can hold you indefinitely."

They interrogated me at night,
because it's disruptive, disorienting.

You want to sleep.

So you talk. It's supposed to make you talk.

But I slept. I'm a good sleeper.
So I slept eight hours a night.

They said, "We'll give her coffee."

They did, but it puts me to sleep.

But they interrogated Lise at night.

That's it.

LISE ROSE
MY AUNT

They wouldn't let her sleep.
She barely ate, and they beat her.

They had her strip every time,
abused her, spit on her.

I went to see her at Parthenais Prison.
She'd lost so much weight.

And she had... not bruises,

but scrapes,

because they kept raising her head,
drawing blood.

But that's enough, because it's too painful.

Had you expected Prime Minister Trudeau
to deny your demands?

First, we didn't expect him
to invoke the War Measures Act, for one.

- You didn't.
- No. We didn't even know

such an archaic act existed,

one that dates back to 1914, to WWI.

Paul had gone to deliver a communiqué,
and was tailed, in the Montreal subway,

by two police officers.

Paul had spotted them right away.

He went to Longueuil to see friends.

Old friends. He stayed with them...

for a couple of days.

He then saw the same two guys,

in a little Volkswagen,

parked near the house.

Paul was sure he was under surveillance
and couldn't just leave.

But he didn't want his friends
to be incriminated.

So he dressed up as an old man.

He even battered his face -
like a boxer -

with a brick.

He hit himself here and there in the face...

...to change his appearance.

And he put on a trench coat,

used a cane.

He walked out the door, right past them.

They had no clue.

Did he stay in touch?

Yes, he was in constant communication.

But he couldn't come back.

No way. He would've exposed us.

ENACTMENT OF THE WAR MEASURES ACT
OCTOBER 16, 1970

Since dawn, hundreds of arrests have
been carried out in Montreal, Quebec City,

Rimouski, Hull and Chicoutimi.

Under the War Measures Act,

the police were finally able
to step up the search

for Mr. Laporte and Mr. Cross.

We let him watch the news.

He could see they were closing in
and that he was in danger.

He became depressed.

He got up and threw
himself through the window.

We finally managed to get him back inside.

He had a few lacerations.

He was badly injured.

Here is the unabridged text

of the handwritten communiqué:

"The arrogance of the federal government
and its lackey Bourassa,

OCTOBER 17, 1970

and their obvious bad faith,

has forced the FLQ to take action.

Pierre Laporte,

minister of unemployment and assimilation,

was executed at 6:18 tonight

by the Dieppe, Royal 22nd, cell.

You will find the body
in the trunk of a green Chevrolet

at the St. Hubert base.

The exploiters of the Quebec people
had better watch out.

Why take a hard line this time?

We had no choice.

There's a reason we took the car
with Mr. Laporte's body...

...to the St. Hubert air base,

when the army was all around.

We wanted to send a message:
"You killed him."

When you read the communiqué,

it clearly states
the FLQ executed Pierre Laporte.

That was a mistake on our part,
the Front's part.

Because we'd kidnapped him.

We're totally responsible.

If we hadn't kidnapped him,
he'd still be alive.

STATE FUNERAL OF PIERRE LAPORTE
MONTREAL, OCTOBER 20, 1970

We never wanted a man to die in our fight.

But it happened.

We're all responsible

for what happened.

We were devastated, but...

...we took responsibility.

And we still do.

It was a wake-up call for Quebecers.

Until Laporte's death,
most people applauded the FLQ's actions.

The manifesto...

They could relate.

But when Laporte died...

As opposed to that as we were...

Quebecers are a peaceful people.

Some would call it an accident;
others, a murder.

But why did you all decide
to keep that to yourselves?

Emphasis had to be put on
the reason for the act.

We said, "No.

It's the Front's business. Period."

RELEASE OF JAMES CROSS
MONTREAL, DECEMBER 3, 1970

How did you react when the Liberation cell
released James Cross

in exchange for safe passage to Cuba?

We thought, "We've come full circle.

They're off to Cuba, too.

To hassle Fidel Castro."

We tried everything we could to stay home.

If we were to get caught,
we'd get caught in Quebec,

not elsewhere, on the run, outside Quebec.

We then headed to...

...Queen Mary Road.

We had to be crazy...

...to leave the apartment,

what with our faces all over the papers,
the news, everywhere.

And in case of a raid, if one went down,

we'd turned a closet into a safe room.

I basically designed and built it.

I knew how.

Tell me, from the beginning,
how did the raid go down?

They came, banged on the door.

Paul was already there.
Francis had come up, too.

QUEEN-MARY STREET APARTMENT
MONTREAL, OCTOBER 17 TO NOVEMBER 6, 1970

I just made it into the safe room.

Bernard just made it into the other closet,

- in which there were clothes.
- But he couldn't fit inside.

There was enough room,
but it was filled with clothes.

He hid in the back, but...

he was caught.

They brought him in,

then they dusted the place for prints
and everything.

We could hear them talking.

Then one cop told another,
"Padlock the door.

We'll get something to eat."

We said, "Let's get out of here. Now."

We hid out in a barn.

We lived there, in the bitter cold,

...until late November.

BARN IN SAINT-BONAVENTURE
CENTRE-DU-QUÉBEC, NOVEMBER 8 TO 23, 1970

Then, we left. Michel Viger picked us up.

We got into his car, a station wagon.

MICHEL VIGER
FARMER AND SEPARATIST

He'd set it all up,

like he was moving.

We were all huddled on the floor
all the way to St. Luc.

Since everyone was being investigated
across Quebec,

we figured they'd come here too.

We dug an underground tunnel
from the well to the house.

HOME OF MICHEL VIGER
SAINT-LUC, NOVEMBER 23 TO DECEMBER 27, 1970

We made a hole under the furnace.

The tunnel ended
about 20 feet from the house.

HIDDEN TUNNEL, A TRUE MASTERPIECE

The first raid was a bust.
They never found us.

They were sure we were hiding there,

but thought we might've left or something.

Then they left.

ONCE AGAIN -
THE ROSES WEREN'T THERE...

The next day, they all showed up.

The SWAT team was there too.

They told Michel they had dynamite,

that they'd blow up his house.

Michel then gave us up.

They removed the bricks behind the furnace
and found us.

Then Lisacek, the brave one,

stuck his head in to look inside.

When he did,

he saw me with the battery...

...and holding sticks of dynamite.

We'd made sticks of dynamite
with an old broomstick.

Back then,

brown paper bags were used for groceries.

We rolled the paper around the stick,
and smeared it with butter.

It looked just like a stick of dynamite.

Paul slipped out and said, "Listen...

we're staying right here.

Get out of here, 'cause we're leaving.

We'll blow the place up."

He backed off right away.

He was scared to death.

Paul said, "We're not coming out
without an outside witness.

Go get Dr. Ferron,

so he can bear witness to what happens."

We asked Ferron for the political prisoners,
as we called them,

to be released immediately.

After we surrendered,
they had to be released.

The cops agreed to Ferron.

That was the agreement.

So we came out,

after the police chief gave his word.

Then they loaded us, one by one,

into police cars and took us to Parthenais.

But our surrender never led to the release
of political prisoners.

They broke their promise.

They too, as a rule,

VOICE OF JACQUES FERRON WRITER
AND PHYSICIAN IN VILLE JACQUES-CARTIER

were opposed to violence.

Violence sickened them.

But they deemed it necessary to...

take direct action.

To move history forward.

A stagnant history.

So much so that one could say
that in French Canada...

there was no history.

History had to be revived.

There had been no peace treaty since 1760.

A truce was called,

but we are still at war.

The Roses told me so.

So there's a truce.

And we are a peaceable people

only because this peace
is still under threat

by the lack of a peace treaty.

That was the October Crisis.

A clash of emotions.

A bunch of people in prison.

And many kidnappings.

Some 500 people were kidnapped.

And pushed around, and beaten.

The authorities really showed
their true colours.

I think the October Crisis
accomplished that, too:

unmasking these people.

Who are now resurfacing
in a roundabout way.

Queen's Bench Court,

Montreal District.

VOICE OF PAUL ROSE

Sixth floor, provincial-police headquarters.

PRISON THEATRE PROJECT RE-ENACTMENT
OF HIS TRIAL WITH A FELLOW INMATE

Judge Marcel Nichols.

Defendant Paul Rose.

I must say that I consider this court,
and every other Quebec court,

to be a colonial court,

a front for the establishment,

established by force,

maintained by force of arms and money.

I do not recognize this court's right
to try any citizen.

Personally, I consider this a battle.

I believe I can only be tried
after independence,

after the people of Quebec are free.

I have retained Mr. Lemieux
as my sole defence attorney here, in Quebec.

STORM OF THE CENTURY
MARCH 4, 1971

I believe this is an ambush,

incarcerating him,

knowing full well he would defend
political causes.

Judge.

Do not use this court as a political forum.

- Paul Rose.
- It will be.

For real.

I take a revolutionary oath.

I believe that working-class people,

the people of Quebec,

have an oath on another level.

That's all.

Judge.

I won't hear any more of this.

Paul Rose.

It's crystal clear to me.

Yep.

It's really vague, huh?

I was there and didn't understand a thing.

Some people testified that Paul wasn't there.

According to the coroner's report.

Paul was immediately charged
with murder and tried,

and - given the current climate -
he was convicted.

They used Paul, claiming he obstructed
justice, undermined the justice system.

At one point, the judge looked up
as Paul was speaking.

So Paul said, "Don't bother.
Heaven can't help you."

"Out."

It was just a joke. But he was banished.

So he was judged in absentia,
which is illegal,

because he was sequestered.

He should've had a retrial.

They wanted to convict them quickly,

because it was expensive and
they wanted this settled once and for all.

Paul was kicked out for contempt of court.

So the guy couldn't even fight back.

I was there to testify, then leave.

Women weren't allowed to serve on a jury.

When I got on the stand, I said,
"If women are too stupid to be jurors,

I'm too stupid to testify."

In the courtroom were seven women
of the Quebec Women's Liberation Front.

Their cue was when I said,
"This is discrimination,"

they would get up,
and walk over to the jury.

And shout, "The law is bullshit!"

When they heard that,

it was sheer chaos.

The judge said, "Contempt of court.
One month."

Three of the women shouted,
"We're still being raped!"

"Two months!"

So they went straight to jail
for contempt of court.

Arresting women...!

People couldn't believe it.
"What the hell is this?"

So that was a very powerful statement.

Five months later, the law was amended.

So it worked.
Women were allowed to serve on juries.

Jury selection began.

A very important process that partly
determines if you're found guilty or not.

A couple of potential jurors
couldn't be questioned.

They naturally asked intelligent questions

to determine whether potential jurors
were biased.

But when the guy can't ask them,
the Crown gets to do it. Imagine.

"Are you biased or not?"
Guy says, "Unbiased."

"Okay, you're in."

It took all of 15 minutes for Paul's trial.
The Crown picked the jury, huh?

What's more, one juror was Laporte's tailor.

He was on the jury,
as was a friend of 20 years.

A notary.

The jury was selected,

through these proceedings,
which makes the court of appeal what it is,

it makes us resilient
and able to hold fair trials.

Trial conditions for each defendant
in keeping with the times,

and current political beliefs.

Mr. Rose, what do you expect
from the court of appeal today?

Nothing.

It's important to know
that the FLQ killed Pierre Laporte,

the FLQ is responsible
for Pierre Laporte's death.

When I say the FLQ, I mean the Chenier cell.

Remember that.

Still, you blame yourself,
even though you didn't do it.

- We're all to blame. The courts--
- You blame yourself most.

No, we all take responsibility.

Court judgments are one thing.

The Queen's Bench Court's judgment is,
as well.

We don't call that justice anyway.

But we, as militants,

are united,

and that's what matters most to us.

We didn't do what we did
for personal reasons.

So, then, why would some of us
be guiltier than others,

in terms of "justice"
or for the Queen's Bench Court.

As for the rest, it's tabloid fodder.

Some might be into that, but not us.

We felt really helpless
in the face of this situation.

We were at a loss.

How did your parents feel about the trials?

They had complete faith in their children.

In my mother's mind...

...they hadn't killed Mr. Laporte.

They hadn't committed the ultimate act.

How did the family react
when he was convicted?

It was proven he wasn't there.

Yet we understood that in solidarity...

...Paul would never say otherwise.

So, they'd made a pact.

And we accepted that.

It broke up the family. Like it or not.

All of a sudden, your family of five...

Now Paul, Jacques and Lise were gone.

We lost family.

It tore us apart.
It was a family tragedy.

Say what you will.

Lisacek was the lead detective.

And my mother told me
he'd held a gun to her head,

grabbed her from behind.

He was called to testify at my trial.

At one point,
he approached the defendants' box.

He got too close to me.

I shot to my feet.

He never saw me coming.

They always said I slapped him,
but it wasn't a 'slap.'

I punched him hard.

So hard, he fell...

...to his knees, right in front of me.

He reached for his holster,

drew his .45 and aimed it right at my face.

He said, "I'll be
judge, jury and executioner."

The guards jumped him.

A gun in the courtroom.

Every guard in the room tackled him.

I looked at him like, "Damn."

We rebelled against detention conditions
at Parthenais, 'cause they were inhumane.

Then they charged in,

breaking down the doors
and into the cellblocks.

They beat everyone,
clubbed us to the ground.

I clearly remember four of them tackling me,

dragging me by the arms and legs...

through all the debris on the ground.

I was unconscious, on a cell floor,

face all swollen.

They rushed me to

Notre Dame Hospital, next door.

Mrs. Rose, any news
about your son's condition?

Not yet. I'm worried, of course.

I'm his mother, after all.

- Have you tried to see him?
- Of course.

I went to Parthenais as soon as I could.
Five guards were waiting at the gate.

When I came in - they know me -
they immediately said,

"You can't go upstairs. We're on lockdown.
No visitors."

The government responded with brutality.

When it comes to the little guy,
they beat him down.

ROBERT LEMIEUX LAWYER

Whether it's newspaper strikers or inmates.

Piddling French-Canadians get beat down.

That's the story of our life, sir.

What will you do?

Whatever it takes to see him.

By any means necessary.

He's my child, after all.
If they have children, they'll understand.

Fortunately,
Robert Lemieux was always there for us.

He was our guardian angel.

'Cause Robert Lemieux always took care
of Paul and Jacques, even before this.

He even did time, too, as a result.

So when he found out they'd been arrested,
he called my mom,

said he'd take care of it pro bono.

In any case, we had no money.

But he offered anyway.

The first trial was for murder, right?
The first indictment.

The first was kidnapping.

Eleven of the 12 jurors voted to acquit me.

We found out later, because
a juror had called Robert to tell him.

The judge wanted to know who,

but Robert refused,
claiming attorney-client privilege.

Once again, he was
found in contempt of court -

from the bench, no less!

He then ordered the guards,
"You two, arrest that man!"

COURTHOUSE
MONTREAL, MAY 24, 1972

Everyone stood up.

It was bedlam.
The guards were overwhelmed.

Two of the four grabbed Robert.

As the judge looked on,

he started to worry for his safety.

Some were up in arms,
jumping over the bench...

Once again, the judge got out on my side.

He was heading straight for me!

Then he turned around

to go hide in the back.

When he turned around,
I put my hand on his head like this,

trying to grab him by the hair
to prevent him from leaving.

The bastard was making a run for it.

And I was left holding his wig.

I looked at it and thought,
"No wonder I was scared."

I thought I'd scalped him!

I dropped it.

I saw him in the hallway.
He'd opened the door,

then run off, his robe flying.

This has to stop and we intend to fight.

And throwing lawyers in prison
for eight days

won't stop us from fighting.

A month or two later,

the trial resumed,
with the same evidence.

There were no additional charges,
so we pled not-guilty again - and bam! -

I was acquitted.

Acquitted of illegal
confinement and kidnapping.

This isn't over, Paul.
I wouldn't want to be on the Supreme Court.

- Tell him--
- That means...

this fight is starting to shine a light
on the great darkness.

Mrs. Rose, did you think this day would come?

I did. Because I was sure.

But, not so soon.

Would you say it's a miracle?
What do you think of all this?

I'm delighted. And I think it's progress.

Because people are starting
to realize it's possible.

They must be retried.

Those whose trials are underway.
Those of Paul Rose and Francis Simard.

That of Bernard Lortie, which is pending.

My only hope, as the Patriots said,

is for "a jury of my peers,

a jury of real Quebecers."

But you knew they'd lay other charges?

- 'Course.
- You expected it?

Sure. Of course.

They'd already charged us.

I was acquitted of murder.
Now it was "accessory after the fact."

I was convicted for aiding and abetting Paul.

When you were indicted, what did you do?
Did you go?

I didn't appear for trial.

You were easily recognizable.
How did you just disappear?

I was in a working-class Italian neighbourhood.

I'd dyed my hair black,

VILLE-ÉMARD
JUNE 3, 1974

gotten some fake ID.

Benito Angelini. That was my new name.

I stayed there for four months.

Why didn't I appear? Because
the court of appeal is total bullshit.

They filed charges against my lawyer.

They deprived me of my lawyer.

They think I'll fall for it,

and play their game.

In prison, we ran into some friends.

Guys from the old Jacques Cartier 'hood.

They were considered criminals, of course.

They thought, "I have the right to
live, dammit. I'll get money where I can."

They committed armed robbery.

It wasn't politically motivated, but...

...they had a social conscience, dammit.

Those guys knew their station.

We never had problems inside.

Those guys were always good to us.

And we were lied to.
We were put in the hole,

told it was for our own safety.

"We can't put you in general population.

You'll get killed."

I spent 26 months in a cell...
"for my own safety."

It's constant betrayal...

To the bitter end!

So we became close to those guys.

We had no choice but to...

...see the conditions they were in.

So we fought.

We kept fighting as best we could
on the inside.

Paul did, too. We were apart.

Paul was far away.

He was at Saint-Vincent-de-Paul,
I was at Saint-Anne-des-Plaines.

We were kept apart.

It was policy...

...in all penitentiaries

to keep brothers together.

Not Paul and me.

I saw Paul five years
after I was incarcerated.

And under extraordinary circumstances.

Really extraordinary.

So much so that...

...we had nothing to say to each other.

ELECTION OF THE PARTI QUÉBÉCOIS
NOVEMBER 4, 1976

Paul's in good spirits,

he's a healthy man.

And he has a rich inner life.

But those in prison...

...with no ideals must really struggle,

because conditions are inhumane.

You established the Information Committee
for Political Prisoners.

What is its main objective?

FOUNDING OF THE CIPP

Improving conditions for our children.

COMMITTEE FOR INFORMATION
ON POLITICAL PRISONERS JULY 8, 1976

Making sure they're treated with respect, humanely.

We're not asking for their release,

but for humane conditions,
like those of all other prisoners.

According to the document you just published,

these people are considered
political prisoners

even though they're not
labelled as such.

Absolutely. Because even their response,
when prisoners ask for things is,

"Your allegiance to the FLQ
makes you a special case."

So they're misfits.

Mom visited us.

She visited Paul at Saint-Vincent-de-Paul,

and me at Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines.

If something happened inside,
it would make the papers the next day.

When prisoners are beaten, nobody knows.

But now word got out.

The prison was on their radar.

I call all political prisoners "my children."
Everyone.

CIPP EVENT
MONTREAL, JUNE 14, 1978

That's what you taught us.

True freedom.

That which is shared with everyone.

VOICE OF PAUL ROSE ADDRESSING
HIS MOTHER CLANDESTINE

RECORDING FROM HIS PRISON CELL

Not ours alone.

But that which we share with others.

That which we fight for
to share with others.

They can put us behind bars all they like,

but they can't crush our spirit.

Eventually, they'll have to...

free us.

I said it was a wake-up call for the people.
We're under the yoke of colonization.

VOICE OF ROSE ROSE
CALL-IN SHOW HOSTED BY MARC LAURENDEAU

- So they killed Pierre Laporte?
- They didn't.

Then why did your sons kidnap him?

Let's bring this to order.

To get back to the issue
of political prisoners--

No, not "political."

You're in favour of harsher conditions.

You mentioned concentration camps--

Besides, why...

dig a tunnel to escape
if they weren't guilty of something?

Ma'am, when you're being hunted down
and the police shoot at the wrong man,

which happened during the October Crisis,

you run like hell.

I figure that if I go to prison tomorrow,

it's because I committed a crime.

- But you'll be treated--
- I was detained and hadn't done anything.

You want political prisoners
to be treated more harshly.

Of course!
The punishment should fit the crime.

I'm proud of my sons.

I hope yours can someday fight for others,
not just for themselves.

- Freeing Quebec doesn't justify murder.
- Okay, ma'am--

What, did Mrs. Rose think
her sons would save Quebec?

Together for a free Quebec!

I'd sometimes listen on the car radio.

It was no picnic. I mean,

she was really something.

But sometimes she'd come home at night
with tears in her eyes.

She'd hold it in.
She couldn't break down on TV or whatever.

But she'd tear up. She was sad.

She didn't hold back as much.

She'd sometimes blow her nose and such.

It was concern.

Losing her kids was always a concern.

You don't know what will happen.

How are things here at Archambault?

What are detention conditions like?

You see, the guys are tired of trifles,

kiddy pools, TVs...

and all that.

We'd trade that any day
for normal human interaction.

Meaning?

First, being able to see our loved ones -

our wives, children,

friends for unmarried inmates.

To have physical contact.

Whereas now,
we only get four face-to-face visits,

with a table between us.

It's a climate of isolation.

Both psychological and emotional.

When the hunger strike started,

when Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines joined in...

...things got serious.

Because in the two maximum-security prisons,

more than 800 Quebec inmates
went on a hunger strike.

It was a pretty volatile situation.

Demands ranged from toilet paper...

...to detention conditions, to food...

...to university.

Prison isn't just about confinement.

If you cut off contact with
the outside world, you create monsters.

We got everything we asked for in the end.

After that, it was like...

Prison was a whole new place.

SAINT-JEAN-BAPTISTE DAY
COWANSVILLE PRISON, JUNE 24, 1979

There's a force of inertia of sorts here,

or in all prisons,
that must be shaken up.

Routine is comforting, less demanding,

but working in a more dynamic environment
can be more rewarding too,

for both the staff and inmates themselves.

How can we go back to reality,

when, for X number of years,

all we've done is sit,

eat three square meals and sleep?

We're cut off from reality.

The festive atmosphere here
over the last 11 days is great.

To hope this becomes...

...a systematic change...

JEAN-PAUL LUPIEN
COWANSVILLE PRISON WARDEN

...in prison life in the future...

...is wishful thinking.

Still, we have to see what comes of it.

It's no better if we get out
filled with hatred.

When I got there,
I recognized him immediately.

He was wearing a headband,
which he'd made with a white rag.

He often served on inmate committees,
as head of the committees.

He helped inmates a lot.

When they wanted a day pass,

when they went through...
I don't know...

When they applied for parole and so on,
he helped them out.

He brought in a lot of performers too.

It was really important to him to have shows.

Dances too. Paul loved dancing.

He learned folk dancing with them.

I was studying at the University of Montreal.

I was 19.

I wanted to be a criminologist.

For starters, at university,

what's great is that professors
gave students firsthand experience

ANDRÉE BERGERON
MY MOTHER

and strongly advised us
to do prison internships.

Can you talk
about how you and Paul got together?

Was it love at first sight?

No. I'd say no.

I think he...

He always said it was for him.

But at 19,
you don't fall in love with Paul Rose.

And he was 35.

But he was lovable.

He definitely had a gift.

He'd written me a letter saying,
"I'd like us to be pen pals."

So I said, "Okay. It might be fun."

I wasn't sure. I thought, "Oh, God."

But I think he was patient enough...
until finally,

it was love.

But love, in prison,

you never know where it'll lead.

The only moments of intimacy we shared

were when we watched movies
and fondled each other.

So, eventually, I did visit him.

Yes, I wrote to him,

saying I felt something for him too.

That's how it started.

Damn.

It can wait, dammit.

- Huh?
- It can wait.

- No, I need to get this out.
- Yeah?

- Yeah.
- Yeah, a little comforter.

- How you doing?
- Got something for you. Look.

It's from an artisan inside. Beautiful.

Here.

I'll be getting actively involved
in the CIPP.

We really hope they'll get out.

My brother, Pierre-Paul,

and Schirm...

How long have you been inside?

It's been 50 months.

How does it feel to be out?

It's really hard to put into words.

I'm feeling... elated.

Really.

It's a rebirth... quite simply.

TRIBUTE TO THE PATRIOTS OF 1837
SAINT-DENIS-SUR-RICHELIEU, NOVEMBER 23, 1979

Paul had been asking for parole since 1977.

REMNANT OF 1837 SIEGE ON A CHURCH
SAINT-EUSTACHE

It was taking so long.

Every six months, parole was denied.
It was taking forever.

I'd say that by '79...

...disappointment set in,

because he really thought he'd get paroled,
but he hadn't yet.

That really got to him,

because all his plans
had to be put on hold.

And I think they denied him parole
at that time...

...because of the upcoming referendum
on Quebec sovereignty.

I think they were scared to release him
before the referendum. It was a big deal.

Another issue was
his life plan on the outside.

They didn't really approve of his plans.

The parole board clearly focused on,

"What are your plans?"

I think we're now ready,

VOICE OF PAUL ROSE CLANDESTINE
RECORDING FROM PAROLE HEARING

as Gilles Vigneault says,
to build a country.

We have a country to build
and that's what I intend to do.

What would you do first?

- First?
- You've clearly given it some thought.

First, get a Bachelor of Sociology.

Then a Master's in Regional Planning.

A Master's-- No, listen!

Some professional students
stay in school forever.

At your age?

Listen, our taxes pay for that.

Good for you. I'll pay. I can earn a living.

- You're dreaming.
- I can earn a living,

then pay my taxes.

And pay for school.

I worked my whole life
to get a Bachelor of Political Science.

I worked as a longshoreman, in restaurants...

I worked at the LaSalle Hotel Friday nights
until Monday morning as an elevator boy,

then started classes at 8:45 a.m.,
at St. Mary's.

I'm not interested in getting a piece
of paper, but in learning about Quebec.

First, studying economic conditions,
seeing what can be changed.

And working for change.

I don't intend to do it alone,
but if it doesn't happen now,

founding a political party for workers.

A party promoting the interests of workers.

There's no such party in Quebec at present,
and this tool,

this democratic tool may be crucial,
in my opinion.

I want to work to that end.

But until then, as I said,

I want to learn the fundamentals.

Ever think of working
for a company instead?

- At your age.
- I have a job.

You have to work for a living.
You chose politics. Useless.

Others go snowmobiling in their spare time.

No, but others go snowmobiling.
Education seems to bother you.

It's not about-- No, as I said,
ever consider doing something else?

You want to go into politics.
It's not my place to judge or object at all.

That's what drives me.

Understanding Quebec.

So you are interested in politics.

No, I'm interested in Quebec.

He could also educate inmates about Quebec.

I remember, in 1980,

he fought for inmates
to vote in the referendum.

It was a first.

REFERENDUM ON QUEBEC SOVEREIGNTY
MAY 20, 1980

He told all the inmates what was going on.

Giving people the right to vote,
even in prison,

was important to him.

The "yes" side won at Cowansville prison
that year.

All this happened around the same time:

applying for and being denied parole;

losing the referendum and all...

But Paul wasn't bitter.

It was like, "Let's roll up our sleeves
and start over."

That was his mindset, really.

Some people fight for independence
for a long time.

Together, you and I have formed a committee

for the release of an inmate
we consider a political prisoner,

The Paul Rose Committee.

The public isn't aware of this.

And might prefer it that way.

Because people might feel...

GILLES VIGNEAULT SINGER

...pangs of guilt, too.

It's annoying.

The less you know, the better.

A hundred years of resistance here.

You need a hard-core group
to found a country.

It's not for wimps.

When everyone knows each other in Quebec,

alienation will be a thing of the past.

We can invest in
people in this society.

We've got a fight on our hands.

But more and more,
when I talk about independence,

I meet people who are now on board.

People sold on the idea. Unreservedly so.

They don't want to make money off it,
but to improve their lives.

We don't want to build a country
to make money.

We simply want to get along.

To be good citizens.

Good to each other.

That's the ultimate goal of independence.

The rest is just hoopla.

But we're not there yet.

I remember once, in prison,

Paul said, "Know where I went today?"

I said, "No." He said, "I went home.
It was so weird.

The first thing I did was go to the attic.

As I walked,

I could hear the floorboards creaking.

My house seemed so much smaller
than I remembered."

At one point, I said, "Paul, you're not well.

You went home today?

You've lost it."
He said, "Oh, my dad died."

Of course, he told me about his dad.
He'd been sick.

He had diabetes, so he died of...

...heart failure.
He stayed strong, basically.

At the funeral home, it was strange,

because he wasn't in shackles,
but under police escort, of course.

FIRST TASTE OF FREEDOM IN 10 YEARS

It was difficult, yet...

...magical for my mom,
because her five kids were together.

That was a highlight of her life.
A moment of happiness.

TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE OCTOBER CRISIS
CÉGEP DU VIEUX MONTRÉAL, OCTOBER 16, 1980

I think amnesty should be granted by the PQ.

We're laying the groundwork.

Because we don't want the feds' help.

First of all, they don't
really believe in amnesty.

And it would be asking for a pardon.

No way we're asking the feds for a pardon.

We've had to put up with them for years,
so there's no way.

But if the PQ succeeds -

Not the party alone,
because it's the people too...

But if we manage to separate,
it's up to the party. We're paving the way.

Because when a nation
takes control over its own affairs,

amnesty has always been granted,
so why not now?

Jacques Rose, Sainte-Marie district.

PARTI QUÉBÉCOIS CONVENTION
MONTREAL, DECEMBER 6, 1981

We ask the government of Quebec

to hand the case of ex-FLQ members

over to Quebec parole boards.

All those in favour?

Thank you.

All those opposed?

Thank you.

The motion is passed.

Convention delegates had voted
in favour of abortion,

RENÉ LÉVESQUE
PRIME MINISTER OF QUEBEC

of cooperation and self-governance,

in a new Quebec economy.

There was also
the issue of political prisoners.

Lévesque challenged
that and said, "Listen..."

He asked convention members
to think it over for a week.

He threatened to quit,

if the motion was adopted.

The reason I became

the head of the CIPP at one point
was because my mom was sick.

They wanted her to take it easy
and she asked me straight out,

saying, "I want you to take over.

You can do it. I can't.
It's too much for me."

Hi, Mom.

It's Paul.

VOICE OF PAUL ROSE ADDRESSING
HIS MOTHER CLANDESTINE

RECORDING FROM HIS PRISON CELL

Since it's fairly quiet
here in the cellblock...

...I thought it'd be a good time to talk.

I was told you were...

taken to the Queen Mary Hospital.

Seems you haven't been eating much lately,

so you need blood.

Otherwise, you'll only get weaker.

As for me,

I've been trying to see you for six weeks,

'cause I'd like for us...

...to talk face-to-face.

But I seem to be making headway.

They better get on it,

or it's gonna get ugly.

Ladouceur. Ladouceur.

That's the PA system.

Kinda like in the hospital.

What's important is we're all here.

I think the scenery...

...we can build our own.

That's how our life has been.

Building a set with...

...all the relationships,

all the love you taught us, too.

I feel... close to you now.

So very close.

Like I was lying in bed,

daydreaming about

the good times.

Those to come.

It's nice.

We watch the... time go by.

And let it run through us.

Like a great river.

Your head leaning on my arm.

Then, I hold you.

Very tight.

And I say...

"I love you, Mom."

She was pretty comatose.

I don't know if she could hear Paul's voice.

We'd brought a little boombox.

And we played the tape.

And knowing...

...she was dying

and he couldn't see her...

alive...

Paul was heartbroken.

They denied him that.

This woman is more than my mother.

This woman first gave me life...

...as an individual.

She did so again...

...as an individual within a community,

with responsibilities toward that community,

toward everyone around us.

And today, I really don't want to cry...

...in front of this woman, who is leaving us.

And I'll repeat what she told me...

...when I was sentenced...

...to life in prison...

...during the first trial.

She came to see me. We had 30 minutes.

We were given 30 minutes.

Together.

She came to see me after I was sentenced
and said,

"When I leave,
reporters will be waiting outside.

I don't want them to see me cry.

Because, yes, I'm distraught,

but that's not what matters most.

What matters the most is that I'm proud.

I'm proud of you, Paul."
That's what she said.

And that's what I say to her now,

"I don't want to cry, Mom.

My dear friend, I don't want to cry.

I'm proud of you." Thank you.

My condolences.

Keep up the good fight.

- We're here for you.
- We're all here for you.

We're all in this together.

Yeah, I've been fighting for ten years.

My condolences.

Hi, Paul.

That was it. He went back to prison that day.

He got to see his girlfriend, his mom.

That was really something, too.

It was poignant. It was really...

It was tough.

Because he deserved that furlough,
to say goodbye to his mom.

He didn't get it, but made up for it later,

and it was, like... it was okay.

Of course, when it was over,

we had a little time alone.

He was overwrought, choked up.

I think he needed to...

...absorb all this.

After ten years in prison,

looking back in hindsight,

any regrets?

About what happened? No.

Quite frankly,

these events, in terms of motivation,

brought us...

We definitely sacrificed a lot--

- The best years of your life.
- Yes, but let's not go nuts.

My ten years inside is a life experience.

It's not... Okay, it's not fun,

being locked in a cell...

for 23, 24 hours a day
for two years or more,

in rather dreary conditions.

It's definitely no fun.

Still, it remains a life experience,

one I don't consider wasted.

PAUL ROSE'S RELEASE
COWANSVILLE, DECEMBER 1982

- Your brother's picking you up?
- Yes.

- They're not here yet?
- No. You'll get soaked out there.

I'll wait here, then.

How did you secure his release?

We'd staged protests
against the parole board and all.

So it became really problematic
for them to deny Paul parole.

After all, you're eligible for parole
after serving one-third of your sentence,

and released after two thirds of it.

They took us by surprise by saying,
"We'll get rid of this hot potato."

That got him out,

strong-arm tactics.

Not bad. Only ten minutes late.

Hey.

This a soap opera?

Don't kiss me on the mouth.

- We thought you were out here.
- Yeah?

"Damn, hope they didn't kick him out."

- Nice day for your release.
- Yeah.

Rain.

We're almost better off inside.

Was it hard for Paul to go
back to the real world after prison?

No more than for me.

There was a political framework.

He got his Master's in Sociology.

He taught at university.

He then worked for a Quebec trade union,
as an organizer.

Until the end.

But after his release,
he had so much to do.

And for once, Paul...

...appreciated his freedom.

With us.

Things have really changed.

Changed a lot since last time.

Politically...

we fought as best we could.

On different fronts, of course.

It wasn't October 1970 anymore,
when we got out.

There was progress.

We may have had fewer cohorts,
but the fight was waged on other fronts.

Like the referendum, the feds...

But as long as you condemn them,
speak out,

you can make headway.

But when you're hamstrung,

you're up against tyranny,

...you're duty-bound to fight.

Paul became a party leader
and you ran for office too.

So you chose the path of democracy.

Yes, the Quebec Socialist Democratic Party.
That gave us a voice.

Left-wing parties in Quebec later merged
to form Quebec Solidaire.

Paul couldn't run for office
due to his conviction,

his criminal record.

He was never truly free.

Still, he wasn't forbidden
from taking political action.

...the referendum.

Better than the previous one.

I would've liked... No one thought
of presenting the county maps

from 1980 to compare...
- For the second time in 15 years,

have rejected the notion...

that Quebec become a sovereign nation.

I think family kind of counterbalanced
his political activism.

And, like in his FLQ days,

managed his activism.

So it was like...

His family was such a gift.

He was proud of you. You were comrades.
And I think, as a kid,

when you started building a family tree,

working on your project
to explore your family history,

he was eager to help.

And you kind of became even closer.

The last time was at the hospital.

STROKE AND DEATH OF PAUL ROSE
MONTREAL, MARCH 2013

When he took my hand,
squeezed my hand like this.

He had a strong grip.

Seriously, it didn't feel like he was dying.

His strong grip...

I couldn't quite understand him.

He was just gone.
I don't know where he is now.

Where is he?

I gotta say, I love winter.

It's my favourite season.

Feeling the snow under my boots.

The snow crackling.

The cold wind in my face.

The riverbank...

...among the rocks.

That'd be so great.

Damn.