'Just watch me': When Pierre Trudeau confronted the October Crisis

Canada lookedmore like a police state than a democracy on Oct. 13, 1970.

Eight days earlier,a Quebec separatist group, the FLQ (Front de libration du Qubec), had kidnappedBritish Trade Commissioner James Cross and Quebec cabinet minister Pierre Laporte.

By calling in army tanks and men in full gear, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's aim was to boostnational security. But the military's presence madesome Canadians feel a whole lot less secure.

"What is it with all these men and guns around here?" CBC reporter Tim Ralfehad asked Trudeau, amid a crowd of journalistswaiting for him outside Parliament, in raw CBC footage showing Trudeau's discussion with reporters that day.

'Go on and bleed'

"Haven't you noticed?" Trudeau responded. "What's your worry?"

The exchange lasted several minutes more, with Trudeau defending his refusal to allow government ministers to be used as "tools of this blackmail" by the FLQ.

He said measures like soldiers on the streets would prevent further kidnappings, but Ralfe pushed back about "the kind of society that you live in."

"There's a lots ofbleeding hearts around that don't like to see people with helmets and guns," said Trudeau. "All I can say is, go on and bleed. It's more important to keep law and order in this society than to be worried about weak-kneed people who don't like the looks of a soldier's helmet."

'How far would you go?'

Ralfethenasked Trudeau how far he wouldgo to protect Canadians' safety during the crisis.

With a shrug, Trudeau replied:"Just watch me."

Three days later Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act, giving police the right to arrest and detain people on suspicion alone.The act wascreated in 1914 for cases of war or national emergency.

Trudeau also outlawed the FLQand told police to arrest those with "extreme-left" literature, posters, stickers or pamphlets.