The October Crisis, a brief but significant piece of Canadian history, is also a part of Guelph's lesser-known history.
It happened 50 years ago and involved the University of Guelph student-run newspaper, The Ontarion.
In October of 1970, Canada was in crisis. Years of activity by the nationalist FLQ (Front de libération du Québec) culminated in the kidnapping and killing of Quebec politician Pierre Laporte and the kidnapping of British diplomate James Cross.
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau responded by invoking the War Measures Act, a clampdown on civil liberties and a mobilization of troops normally reserved for wartime.
After the War Measures Act was invoked, university newspapers across Canada faced censorship and police scrutiny for attempting to publish commentary on the FLQ.
The Ontarion decided it would publish a special edition of the paper containing the FLQ's manifesto on one page and the War Measures Act on the other side.
An article in The Guelph Mercury on Oct. 20, 1970, said students from The Ontarion brought master copies of the special edition to its printer Arkell press on Friday, Oct. 16, just in time to print thousands of copies to be distributed on Homecoming weekend.
Instead, the manager at the printing press reported the content to the police. Later that evening, two plain-clothes officers came and confiscated the master copies.
"The students took their material to the Arkell press on Friday to have it printed. The manager of the press became suspicious of the copy, in the wake of the War Measures Act which has the power to censor and restrict publication," wrote Mercury staff writer Phil Gaitens.
"He summoned the police and by Friday night, according to the manager, two plain clothes police officers picked up the mats (master copies used in making printed materials) and took them to police headquarters."
The U of G president at the time was the late Bill Winegard. He was out of town when the story hit and didn't initially comment on the incident. Neither did any other school officials that day, the story says.
Afterwards, an investigation on The Ontarion was opened to determine if there was a possible violation of the sedition section of the criminal code, which the article mentions includes "by publishing a libel expressing a seditious intent."
According to the article, sedition can also be considered any attempt to cause violence, public disorder or unlawful conduct against the federal government and its officials.
The Guelph Mercury also reported that The Ontarion attempted to publish another special edition on Monday, October 19, explaining their side of the story. However, the printer told the students they would not print this issue either. A reason for this refusal was not given.
A Globe and Mail article published on Oct. 21, 1970, says that police handed over the master copies to RCMP, who had planned to consult the Department of Justice about it.
Now, years after the incident, no one working at The Ontarion knows what happened next. The confiscated issues and its master copies were never returned.
In an email, Aaron Jacklin, the current executive director of The Ontarion, said no one working for the organization “at the time is still involved” and no one else “knows more than that it happened.”
