James Cross, a British diplomat who spent 59 days being held hostage by a radical Quebec separatist group in 1970, has died at the age of 99.
His death, earlier this month, was confirmed Wednesday by his son-in-law, John Stinger, who told CBC News that Cross died from COVID-19.
Cross, who was the British Trade Commissioner in Montreal, was kidnapped from his home by armed men on Oct. 5, 1970, triggering what is now known as the October Crisis.
Before it was over, the showdown between the members of the Front de libération du Québec and three levels of government resulted in the death of one Quebec provincial cabinet minister, Pierre Laporte, the imposition of the War Measures Act by Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, federal troops patrolling the streets of Montreal, and hundreds of arrests.
The crisis produced one of the most iconic photos in Canadian history: a Polaroid taken by the FLQ of Cross playing solitaire, while sitting on a crate ostensibly full of dynamite.
The FLQ released this famous photograph of Cross as proof of life in early November 1970. (THE CANADIAN PRESS)
The causes and the effects of the crisis continue to produce debate, sometimes still heated, sometimes reflective.
Last October, the leader of a minority party in the House of Commons, the Bloc Québécois, demanded that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the son of Pierre Trudeau, apologize on behalf of the federal government for the implementation of the War Measures Act.
A measure to that effect was voted down in the House of Commons.
If the crisis resulted in one of the most iconic photos in Canadian history, it also produced one of the most famous moments in Canadian political history.
On October 13, Pierre Trudeau was asked by CBC reporter Tim Ralfe on how far he would go in the suspension of civil liberties to maintain order, Trudeau replied “Well, just watch me.”
WATCH/ Pierre Trudeau’s famous ‘Well, just watch me’ response:
Nearly two months after his kidnapping, Cross was released in exchange for safe passage to Cuba for some members of the FLQ.
He had lost 22 pounds.
Otherwise, he was in good health.
He said he had not been harmed and described his captors as courteous.
Following the October Crisis, Cross went on to serve as an under-secretary in various divisions of Britain’s Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Energy.
With files from CBC News (Jonathan Montpetit)
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