L'affaire Roncarelli et la 'guerre sans merci' du Québec duplessiste contre les Témoins de Jéhovah, 1946-1959

Type of resource
Author/collaborator
Title
L'affaire Roncarelli et la 'guerre sans merci' du Québec duplessiste contre les Témoins de Jéhovah, 1946-1959
Abstract
Frank Roncarelli was a Montreal restaurant owner 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 magazine without the necessary permits. The Premier of the province, Maurice Duplessis, had Roncarelli's restaurant liquor license revoked 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 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.
Type
Master's Thesis
University
Université de Sherbrooke
Place
Sherbrooke, QC
Date
1985
# of Pages
277p.
Language
fr
Citation
Sarra-Bournet, Michel. “L’affaire Roncarelli et la ‘guerre sans merci’ du Québec duplessiste contre les Témoins de Jéhovah, 1946-1959.” Master’s Thesis, Université de Sherbrooke, 1985.
Find in a library
Permalink