LEST WE FORGET THE INTERNMENT CAMPS

 

War Measures Act of 1914 and Internment of Canadians as "Enemy Aliens"

Internment camp in Banff, Alberta.

Upon Great Britain's declaration of war on Germany, the Borden Conservative government enacted the War Measures Act, in August 1914. The law's sweeping powers allowed the government to suspend or limit civil liberties and provided it the right to incarcerate "enemy aliens."

The term "enemy alien" referred to the citizens of states legally at war with Canada living in Canada during the war.

From 1914 to 1920, Canada interned 8,579 persons as so-called enemy aliens across the country in 24 receiving stations and internment camps. Of that number, 3,138 were classified as prisoners of war, while the others were civilians. The majority of those detained were of Ukrainian descent, targeted because Ukraine was then split between Russia (an ally) and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, an enemy of the British Empire. Some of the internees we born in this country and had the status of British subjects, others were naturalized British subjects, while most were recent immigrants.

Most internees were young unemployed single men apprehended while trying to cross the border into the U.S. to look for jobs -- attempting to leave Canada was illegal. Eighty-one women and 156 children were interned as they had decided to follow their menfolk into the only two camps that accepted families, in Vernon, BC (mainly Germans) and in Spirit Lake near Amos Quebec (mainly Ukrainians).

Internment camp in Fernie, BC.

Besides those placed in internment camps, another 80,000 "enemy aliens," mostly Ukrainians, were forced to carry identity papers and to report regularly to local police offices. They were treated by the government as social pariahs, and many lost their jobs.

Monument to those interned at the Castle Mountain camp in Alberta.

The internment camps were often located in remote rural areas, including in Banff, Jasper, Mount Revelstoke and Yoho national parks in Western Canada. Internees had much of their wealth confiscated. Many of them were used as forced labour on large projects, including the development of Banff National Park and numerous mining and logging operations. They constructed roads, cleared land and built bridges.

Between 1916-17, during a severe shortage of farm labour, nearly all internees were paroled and placed in the custody of local farmers and paid at current wages. Other parolees were sent as paid workers to railway gangs and mines. Parolees were still required to report regularly to police authorities.

Federal and provincial governments and private concerns benefited from their labour and from the confiscation of what little wealth they had, a portion of which was left in the Bank of Canada at the end of the internment operations on June 20, 1920.

A small number of internees, including men considered to be "dangerous foreigners," labour radicals, or considered "troublesome" internees, were deported to their countries of origin after the war, largely from the Kapuskasing camp in Ontario, which was the last to be shut down.

Of those interned, 109 died of various diseases and injuries sustained in the camp, six were killed while trying to escape, and some -- according to a military report -- went insane or committed suicide as a result of their confinement.

Internment camp in Petawawa, Ontario.

UNTRUE

 Did young men go of to war so we could be lied to and duped by slimy politicians every fucking election time and in between ? Should kkkanadian soldiers have been in Korea or Iraq , not to mention the complete destruction of Libya ? Does this make "us" safer ? 

Here's some history :

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Recruitment of Indigenous Peoples

When the First World War broke out on July 28, 1914, Canada had no official policy on the recruitment of Indigenous Peoples into the army because they did not have status as citizens. However, in 1915, as the casualties began to mount, the British government directed the Dominions to begin recruiting Indigenous people for the war effort. Australia and New Zealand, along with Canada, recruited Indigenous soldiers to fight on the side of British imperialism in the war. It is estimated that 4,000 Indigenous men and women served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in the First World War out of a total of some 600,000 troops from Canada. It is estimated that a third of "Status Indian" men between the ages of 18 and 45 served in the War. There are no known statistics for Métis and Inuit because the Canadian government only recognized "Status Indians" in the records.

Many First Nations, which were the main source of Indigenous recruits along with a much smaller number of Métis and Inuit, protested against the attempt to recruit them into the Canadian colonial army and opposed the arrival of recruitment officers and the Indian Agent on their reserves. Other First Nations refused to participate unless they were accorded equal status as sovereign nations and dealt with on a nation-to-nation basis by the British Crown with which they had signed their treaties.

Some Indigenous leaders and elders also reminded the government that they had received reassurances at the time of the signing of the numbered treaties with the Crown that their youth would not be serving in any wars, specially those abroad.

As well, many Indigenous women wrote to the Department of Indian Affairs demanding that the Canadian government keep its hands off their sons and husbands and that they were needed at home.

Many reasons are given for the participation of Indigenous people in the First World War. One of the reasons was the promise of a regular paycheque, another was the argument that within the First Nations, warrior societies should play their role in assisting the British Crown as their relations were with the Crown, not Canada. Another argument was that after making their contributions, Indigenous relations with the Canadian state would improve when they returned.

Indigenous soldiers took part in all the major battles that the Canadian army participated in and distinguished themselves as scouts, snipers, trackers and as front line fighters winning the admiration and respect of their non-Indigenous comrades and officers. At least 50 Indigenous soldiers were decorated for bravery and heroism. In the course of the war, some 300 lost their lives and many more were wounded and others died after returning home from the effects of mustard gas poisoning, wounds that they suffered, and diseases they had contracted in Europe such as tuberculosis and influenza.

The Military Service Act passed by the the Borden Conservative government in 1917 introduced conscription including for "Status Indians." Conscription was not only broadly opposed in Quebec, but also by Indigenous Peoples who denounced this manoeuvre by the government to disregard their status as Indigenous Peoples. In response to this opposition, the government was forced to grant Indigenous Peoples an exemption from serving overseas.

Other injustices were also imposed on Indigenous Peoples. In 1917, Arthur Meighen, Minister of the Interior as well as head of Indian Affairs, launched the "Greater Production Effort," a program intended to increase agricultural production. As part of this scheme, reserve lands that were considered "idle" were taken over by the federal government and handed over to non-Indigenous farmers for "proper use." After both non-Indigenous and First Nations protested that this was a violation of the Indian Act, the government amended the Indian Act in 1918 to make these illegal actions legal.

Post-War Brutality Against Indigenous Veterans

At the end of the war, returning soldiers, including Indigenous veterans, held high hopes that their contributions to the war effort would translate into a better future for themselves and their communities. Indigenous veterans thought that their status as "wards" of the state would be over and that they would be treated as equals. Instead they found that nothing had changed and the racism and colonial actions of the Canadian government continued.

Many Indigenous veterans returned with illnesses such as pneumonia, tuberculosis and influenza which they had contracted overseas. Those who had suffered poison gas attacks returned with weakened lungs and became more prone to tuberculosis and other respiratory illnesses. Like their non-Indigenous fellow soldiers, Indigenous veterans suffered from the trauma of the war -- which in today's terms would be called post-traumatic stress disorder -- and other illnesses such as alcoholism, which wrecked their lives and caused many problems for their families and communities. In fact, the overall standard of living in Indigenous communities declined in the years following the war as returning veterans found it extremely difficult to keep regular work and to return to their pre-war lives. In the face of these complex problems, Canada provided little support to Indigenous veterans.

Benefits and support for veterans from the Canadian government through the Soldiers Settlement Acts of 1917 and 1919, such as land and loans to encourage farming, did not extend to Indigenous veterans. To add insult to injury, through the Acts the federal government confiscated an additional 85,844 acres from reserves to provide farmland for non-Indigenous veterans.

The racist Canadian colonial state's aim of exterminating Indigenous Peoples by assimilating them was alive and well. This was expressed by the notorious Duncan Campbell Scott, architect of the Residential School System in Canada and Deputy Superintendent of the Department of Indian Affairs, who wrote in a 1919 essay:

These men who have been broadened by contact with the outside world and its affairs, who have mingled with the men of other races, and who have witnessed the many wonders and advantages of civilization, will not be content to return to their old Indian mode of life. Each one of them will be a missionary of the spirit of progress... Thus the war will have hastened that day,... when all the quaint old customs, the weird and picturesque ceremonies... shall be as obsolete as the buffalo and the tomahawk, and the last tepee of the Northern wilds give place to a model farmhouse.

Haudenosaunee veteran Frederick Loft founded League of Indians in 1919.

The neglect of Indigenous veterans and other abuses of Indigenous Peoples by the Canadian state, led Haudenosaunee veteran Frederick Loft from Six Nations on the Grand River, who had served as a lieutenant overseas in the Forestry Corps, to form the League of Indians of Canada in 1919. Before his return to Canada, Loft had met with the King and Privy Council in London to express his concerns about the way Indigenous Peoples in Canada were being treated. Under his leadership, the League of Indians fought to protect the lands and treaty rights of Indigenous Peoples.

In particular, the League of Indians fought to preserve Indigenous rights and led the battle against the "involuntary enfranchisement" changes to the Indian Act, orchestrated by Duncan Campbell Scott and passed in 1920, aimed at extinguishing Indigenous title by giving "Status Indians" the vote, while at the same time working to undermine and sabotage the work of the League of Indians and isolating and criminalizing Loft. The League also mounted legal challenges to establish Indigenous claims to hunting, fishing and trapping rights among other things.

The League of Indians was the first attempt by Indigenous Peoples in Canada to form a national organization to resist the Canadian colonial state's assault on their rights and claims. It subsequently inspired the formation of other Indigenous political organizations to battle the colonial Canadian state and its organized racist attacks.

(With files from Indian Affairs and Northern Development Canada, Canadian Encyclopedia, Veterans Affairs Canada and Library and Archives Canada. Hardial Bains Resource Centre Archives.)

" MAKING A DIFFERENCE "

 There have been so many times that I've heard about people saying they wanted to join the army or police force in order to " make a difference " . This makes no sense . Make a difference how exactly? It would seem that you'd join the armed forces or cops in order to maintain or even strengthen the status quo . Or in the case of the army , to go to other countries and help the amerikkkans and kkkanadian corporations steal natural resources and force the population to work for starvation wages . Some soldiers want to make a change like this :

What we know (so far) about the plot to seize land in Quebec and the military men allegedly behind it

RCMP accuse 3 men from Quebec City area of building up an 'anti-government militia'

Catharine Tunney · CBC News · Posted: Jul 09, 2025 6:33 PM EDT | Last Updated: July 9, 2025

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A photo from Raphaël Lagacé's Facebook profile posted 2021. It included a caption protesting the Liberals' gun control legislation. He is now charged with knowingly facilitating a terrorist activity. (Raphaël Lagacé/Facebook)

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The RCMP made shocking allegations this week when they accused four men, including Canadian Armed Forces members, of amassing a trove of weapons and explosives as part of a scheme to take over land near Quebec's capital.

Police called the plot an act of "ideologically motivated violent extremism."

National security experts say it's likely the first time that active members of the Canadian military have been charged with terrorism-related offences. The case is also unique due to the sheer scale of weapons and gear seized, and allegations some of the equipment was taken from the military.

This is just the start of what could be a long journey through the courts. But here's what we know so far about the extremist plot and the men allegedly behind it.

Who are the suspects? 

The accused are all relatively young men from Quebec, all with ties to the armed forces or cadets.

Three of the four accused — Marc-Aurèle Chabot, 24, of Quebec City; Simon Angers-Audet, 24, of Neuville, Que; and Raphaël Lagacé, 25, also of Quebec City — have been charged with the serious offence of facilitating a terrorist activity. 

According to court documents, the alleged offence took place in Montreal, Quebec City, Petawawa, Ont., and Rolphton, Ont., between 2021 and 2024.

If convicted, they face up to 14 years in prison.

Lagacé, 25, is one of the men accused of facilitating a terrorist activity. (Raphaël Lagacé/Facebook)

The three also face a slew of charges related to the firearms, explosives and other gear the RCMP uncovered.

The documents show Lagacé is accused of storing 50 firearms illegally. 

Matthew Forbes, 33, of Pont-Rouge, Que., faces charges including possession of firearms, prohibited devices and explosives, and possession of controlled items. He also faces charges related to the Explosives Act and Defence Production Act, which regulates access to military supplies.

The Office of the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal said in a statement Tuesday evening that Forbes and Chabot are serving members — both corporals based at CFB Valcartier.  

A colleague of Chabot's confirmed that he was serving last summer in the Vandoos, also known as the Royal 22nd Regiment. CBC News has agreed to withhold his identity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on Canadian Armed Forces matters. 

WATCH | Military members charged in alleged militia plot:

Military members accused in anti-government plot

July 8, 2025|

Duration

2:40

Two active members of the Canadian Armed Forces are among four Quebec men accused of being part of an alleged anti-government plot that involved creating a militia and seizing land.

The colleague expressed concerns about comments Chabot had made about the federal government and then prime minister Justin Trudeau. He described those comments as "almost treasonous."

The Canadian Armed Forces said one of the four accused was a former armed forces member, and the other a former civilian instructor with the Royal Canadian Air Cadets. It did not provide names. 

But a Facebook account belonging to Lagacé is filled with photos of him in military-inspired gear posing with firearms and shows he was a decorated member of the cadet program.

• Man accused of facilitating terrorism used quarry outside Quebec City for target practice

In 2019 he received an award from Jean-Marc Lanthier, then the vice-chief of the defence staff, after he performed CPR on his grandfather, according to a Facebook post. 

Lagacé used his social media page to rail against the Liberals' gun control legislation and posted a photo of a hat that says "make Trudeau a drama teacher again."

Angers-Audet's father told La Presse his son left the army during the COVID-19 pandemic and had a stroke after getting a vaccine.

Philippe Audet told the French-language newspaper that his son and friends are being framed. 

What are they accused of planning?

The quartet is accused of plotting to "forcibly take possession of land" near Quebec's capital. The plan, according to the RCMP, included building up an "anti-government militia." Members of the group had allegedly already begun what the police described as "military-style training, as well as shooting, ambush, survival and navigation exercises."

"A variety of firearms, some prohibited, as well as high-capacity magazines and tactical equipment were allegedly used in these activities," said the RCMP.

In this provided photo, the RCMP says this is the 'military-style training in which the accused took part.' (RCMP)

On Tuesday, the Mounties released a photo showing seven people taking part in those alleged exercises. They appear to be in a quarry or pit, wearing military-style fatigues.

The RCMP said one the suspects is also accused of running an Instagram account intended to recruit members.

The men had stockpiled a massive trove of weapons and equipment, according to their charge sheets. 

None of the allegations have been tested in court.

Many details remain unknown about their alleged plan, but more will likely be revealed if the case moves to trial.

What weapons were seized? 

One of the most eye-popping elements of the story is how much firepower and equipment was seized.

The RCMP executed searches in January of last year, seizing 16 explosive devices, 83 firearms and accessories, approximately 11,000 rounds of ammunition of various calibres and nearly 130 magazines.

The court documents show a CZ Bren 2 MS rifle, a Glock 17 9-mm pistol, military smoke grenades, laser aiming devices and night-vision goggles were part of the haul. 

The RCMP said searches conducted in the Quebec City area led to the seizure of 16 explosive devices, 83 firearms and accessories, approximately 11,000 rounds of ammunition of various calibres, nearly 130 magazines and four pairs of night-vision goggles. (RCMP)

Forbes is also charged with illegally sending a laser-sighting system to someone in Quebec City, France and the United States.

The RCMP said in its news release some of the seized items were military equipment, but wouldn't confirm if that included weapons.

Jessica Davis, president of Insight Threat Intelligence and a former analyst with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), said the seizure is the largest cache of weapons and components in any terrorism incident in Canadian history.

What was the alleged motivation?

It's not yet clear what allegedly motivated the suspects. 

Other than describing the men as wanting to create an "anti-government militia," investigators have not commented on their political leanings. 

RCMP spokesperson Staff Sgt. Camille Habel did say those involved with ideologically motivated violent extremism often want to form a new society. 

• RCMP charges military members allegedly plotting to form militia and seize land

• Canadian military not doing enough to detect, prevent extremism in the ranks: report

They'll often want to "create some kind of chaos" in order to live the way that they want, she said Tuesday. 

Habel said the RCMP's investigation began in the spring of 2023 and determined the alleged activity began in June 2021.

The RCMP said this photo shows some of the seized military equipment. (RCMP)

That would coincide with the COVID-19 pandemic and repeated lockdowns. At the time, intelligence agencies were warning of the rise in ideologically motivated extremism and how players were leveraging the pandemic to sow hateful narratives and divisive conspiracy theories.

What happens next? 

The four men made brief virtual appearances in a Quebec City courthouse Tuesday, where Crown prosecutor Sara Moussa objected to their release.

Their next court date is July 14.

The four have not entered a plea yet and a bail hearing hasn't been scheduled.

NO FREEDOM OF SPEECH IF YOU OPPOSE GENOCIDE

 In yet another act of western imperialist lies and double standards , an Irish author has been arrested for holding up a sign opposing the genocide in Gaza . Fucking ridiculous and yet not surprising .

‘It’s Absurd’: Irish Writer among Thousands Arrested over Palestine Action

November 9, 2026 Articles, Features

Chris Haughton, Ireland’s national children’s laureate for 2026–2029. (Photo: Chris Haughton//IG)

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By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Irish children’s laureate Chris Haughton faces trial in Britain after police arrested him for holding a placard supporting Palestine Action.

Key Takeaways

• Chris Haughton, Ireland’s national children’s laureate, is awaiting trial under UK terrorism legislation after holding a sign that read “I support Palestine Action.”
• Haughton said the killing of children in Gaza had made it difficult to write children’s books. He called the mass arrests “absurd” and pledged to donate book proceeds to fellow Irish author Sally Rooney.
• Haughton is among 28 people who identified as Irish and were arrested in connection with Palestine Action in the year to June 2026. The UK Supreme Court began hearing a challenge to the ban on November 4.

A Children’s Author on Trial over a Placard

Chris Haughton, Ireland’s national children’s laureate for 2026–2029, is awaiting trial in Britain after police arrested him at a demonstration for holding a placard that read “I support Palestine Action,” The Irish Times reported.

The London-based author and illustrator said the killing of Palestinian children during Israel’s genocide in Gaza had weighed on his work.

“As a children’s author, I find it quite hard to be writing children’s books these days,” Haughton told the newspaper. “More than 20,000 innocent children now have been killed. I’m sick of what I’ve been seeing.”

Haughton said the prospect of a trial had not deterred him. “Holding a placard makes a mockery of the proscription,” he said. “To be quite honest, I think it’s a badge of honor at this point.”

He has pledged to donate proceeds from his children’s books to Irish novelist Sally Rooney, who has separately pledged to use proceeds from her work to support Palestine Action, the newspaper reported.

Haughton among 28 Irish People Arrested

Sinéad Ni Shiacáis, who traveled from Ireland to join the protest in London, was arrested on the same day as Haughton. She told The Irish Times she had been nervous about attending but believed Palestine Action was drawing attention to violations of international law.

In the year ending June 2026, 31 Irish people were arrested in UK terrorism-related cases. Of those arrests, 28 were linked to Palestine Action, according to figures cited by the newspaper. Irish was the most commonly declared nationality after British among people arrested in terrorism-related cases during that period.

The Irish Times counted 3,630 arrests linked to Palestine Action in the first year of the ban. That was more than twice the 1,795 detentions recorded under terrorism legislation in Northern Ireland in 1992, the highest annual figure the newspaper identified during the Troubles. The Northern Ireland figures exclude people held under internment without formal arrest.

The UK total has since passed 4,000, the newspaper reported, with most arrests stemming from expressions of support for the group.

“There’s 4,000 of us that have been arrested now,” Haughton said. “It’s absurd.”

Supreme Court Hears Challenge to the Ban

The UK Supreme Court began hearing a challenge to the ban on November 4. The High Court found the ban unlawful in February, but the Court of Appeal overturned that ruling in June. Around two dozen protesters were arrested outside the Supreme Court as the hearing opened.

The ban took effect in July 2025, criminalizing membership in Palestine Action and certain expressions of support. The government cited direct actions involving property damage, including at facilities operated by Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems.

Jonathan Hall, the UK’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, told The Irish Times it was the “first time” property damage had been used as the primary basis for banning a group.

“Palestine Action never advocated for violence against the person,” Raza Husain, a lawyer challenging the ban, told the court, according to the newspaper. 

He argued that only three of the group’s 385 actions over five years met the legal definition of terrorism, and that all three did so on the basis of property damage.