L'affaire Roncarelli : Duplessis contre les Témoins de Jéhovah

Frank Roncarelli (1904-1981) was the Montreal owner of the Quaff Cafe restaurant on Crescent Street and a practicing Jehovah's Witness who, in the 1940s, furnished bail for over 375 Witness members arrested for contravening municipal by-laws for giving out copies of the religious group's anti-Catholic magazine without the necessary permits. In 1946, the Premier of the province, Maurice Duplessis, a devout Catholic, had the Quebec Liquor Commission revoke Roncarelli's restaurant liquor license "forever" in retaliation. Forced to sell his restaurant, Roncarelli sued Duplessis. At trial, the Court of Queen's Bench found in favour of Roncarelli, but the decision was overturned on appeal. In 1959, the Supreme Court of Canada reinstated the trial decision in favour of Roncarelli, pointing out that public officials (i.e. Duplessis) are not above the rule of law. Roncarelli's legal counsel throughout the process were A.L. Stein and McGill University constitutional law professor Frank R. Scott. The author includes a general comparison of English-speaking Quebecers' attitudes during the 1940s and 1950s towards the civil and religious rights of Jehovah Witnesses compared with those of French-speaking Quebecers. The French-language press was for Duplessis and the English-language press was for Roncarelli.

Québec

Institut québécois de recherche sur la culture

1986

196p.

fr