From Vice...
The question of the dynamite is an odd one. The RCMP never did anything with the 14 cases of explosives stolen from a shed on a construction site in the spring of 1972. They carted it from one spot to the next, initially leaving it in an unmarked squad car, then storing it in one officer’s house, then moving it to their commander’s summer home, before finally burying it underground on a rural patch of field. One officer would later say he was terrified of being rear-ended in Montreal rush-hour traffic, for he would likely take out half a city block.
One of the officers involved in the operation would go on to suggest that the plan had been to use the dynamite to frame the FLQ — or to make it look like their fingerprints were on the explosives. Either way, a clear explanation never arose as to why the force wanted the large amount of dynamite.
So, what woulda happened if the officers' nightmare came true, the car was rear-ended, and half a city block, along with dozens of human bodies, got destroyed?
Would the Mounties just have come out and said "Yep, that was us. Wasn't supposed to happen that way. Sorry."
Or would they try to deny their involvement, keep quiet etc? And if so, how successful could that strategy be?
My guess would be that this incident would fall under the jurisdiction of the Montreal police. However, the RCMP would have to be answering a lot of their questions, if it was known that one of their cars was right at Ground Zero for the explosion.
And the investigators would probably figure out pretty quickly that the explosive was dynamite. Is that something normally used in car-bombs? I'm wondering how credibly the Mounties could claim that the bomb was put in their car by the terrorists.
Knowing Canadians of that time-period, I think a lot of them would be quite amenable to believing any official denials from the RCMP. But in the event of the truth somehow coming out, the political fallout would be interesting. I'd say a pretty likely boost for Rene Levesque and the PQ. And probably a black eye for Pierre Trudeau, even if it's never proven he knew about the dynamite.
The question of the dynamite is an odd one. The RCMP never did anything with the 14 cases of explosives stolen from a shed on a construction site in the spring of 1972. They carted it from one spot to the next, initially leaving it in an unmarked squad car, then storing it in one officer’s house, then moving it to their commander’s summer home, before finally burying it underground on a rural patch of field. One officer would later say he was terrified of being rear-ended in Montreal rush-hour traffic, for he would likely take out half a city block.
One of the officers involved in the operation would go on to suggest that the plan had been to use the dynamite to frame the FLQ — or to make it look like their fingerprints were on the explosives. Either way, a clear explanation never arose as to why the force wanted the large amount of dynamite.
So, what woulda happened if the officers' nightmare came true, the car was rear-ended, and half a city block, along with dozens of human bodies, got destroyed?
Would the Mounties just have come out and said "Yep, that was us. Wasn't supposed to happen that way. Sorry."
Or would they try to deny their involvement, keep quiet etc? And if so, how successful could that strategy be?
My guess would be that this incident would fall under the jurisdiction of the Montreal police. However, the RCMP would have to be answering a lot of their questions, if it was known that one of their cars was right at Ground Zero for the explosion.
And the investigators would probably figure out pretty quickly that the explosive was dynamite. Is that something normally used in car-bombs? I'm wondering how credibly the Mounties could claim that the bomb was put in their car by the terrorists.
Knowing Canadians of that time-period, I think a lot of them would be quite amenable to believing any official denials from the RCMP. But in the event of the truth somehow coming out, the political fallout would be interesting. I'd say a pretty likely boost for Rene Levesque and the PQ. And probably a black eye for Pierre Trudeau, even if it's never proven he knew about the dynamite.
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