![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.une-sen.org\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/murder.png\" "\\"murder\\"")
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For those who aren\u2019t too familiar with the National Capital Region\u2019s suburbs, you may not have heard of Buckingham. It\u2019s a small community of roughly 10,000 people, though it\u2019s now technically part of the post-mega-amalgamation of the city of Gatineau.<\/p>\n
But in the early 1900s, Buckingham was very different.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s say it was like many similar areas in Quebec, Ontario and elsewhere: it was almost a one-industry town,\u201d explained Pierre-Louis Lapointe, a historian and author of several books about Buckingham.<\/p>\n
For the town\u2019s denizens, the options were limited; there were only two large employers in the area: the Electric Reduction Company and the MacLaren Company.<\/p>\n
The MacLarens were very much the textbook definition of robber barons; they amassed great wealth by exploiting natural resources, having the right connections in government and not paying their employees very well.<\/p>\n
By 1906, having bought out their only major competitor in town, the MacLarens owned two sawmills and a pulp mill. At this point, they\u2019ve bought up every piece of the river that they can get their hands on \u2013 all the better to keep other companies from encroaching on their turf.<\/p>\n
But just to be on the safe side, the MacLarens also acquire exclusive rights to deliver electricity and build railroads within the town.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis enabled them to stop the other construction of any railroads going through the municipality,\u201d explained Lapointe.<\/p>\n
Without a railroad to carry lumber elsewhere, farmers and land owners in the area had little choice but to sell their lumber to the MacLaren Company.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was one of tools they used to build their monopoly.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the men employed by the MacLaren Company, times were tough.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you think it\u2019s human to give $1.25 per day to men who work from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. in water, in mud, on logs?\u201d a worker is quoted as saying, in 1906. \u201cThe work is brutal and painful. And I have six kids; why don\u2019t you try feeding that, educating that, clothing that and do the same thing, you, on a dollar and a quarter a day!\u201d1<\/sup><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
In 1906, the cost of living is quickly rising.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy then, the employees can\u2019t take it anymore,\u201d said Lapointe.<\/p>\n
The employees try to unionize and the MacLarens soon orders a lockout. The company hires armed guards; scabs are brought in to carry logs. The conflict culminates on October 8, 1906, when workers try to implore the scabs to leave work.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite the mocking and the anti-French sarcasm hurled at them by the guards, [the workers] are determined to keep their calm. But, suddenly, a sinister commandment rings out, that will put a spark to the powder. Shoot them! This cry comes from the ranks of the guards.\u201d2<\/sup><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201cIt was an ambush,\u201d said Lapointe.<\/p>\n
Two men were killed: Thomas B\u00e9langer and Fran\u00e7ois Th\u00e9riault \u2013 both members of the executive. During the funeral, the men were hailed as martyrs of the labour movement.<\/p>\n
The MacLarens were later acquitted of Murder. According to Lapointe\u2019s book, the prosecutor was furious and declared that he would appeal the judge\u2019s decision. It wasn\u2019t long before he received a telegram from the attorney general in Quebec telling him not to appeal.<\/p>\n
The MacLarens had friends in high places.<\/p>\n
In the months and years following the troubles of October 1906, more than 60% of unionists would leave the village. The MacLarens had blacklisted the rabble-rousers \u2013 and this list was circulating amongst other employers in the village, who didn\u2019t mind complying with the MacLaren family\u2019s wishes.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the people interviewed about this subject told me the case of a boy, who after having passed exams and interviews, was called to R.M. Kenny\u2019s office who pulled a notebook from his desk drawer and interrogated him about his family ties to such and such worker tied to the troubles of 1906\u2026 And to conclude dryly: \u2018Sorry, there\u2019s no job for you here!\u2019\u201d3<\/sup><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201cIn a few years, the population of the town of Buckingham decreases by 25% – which is enormous,\u201d adds Lapointe.<\/p>\n
In 1934, the workers try again to unionize. The Pulp and Sulfite Workers\u2019 Union got more than 60 workers to sign union cards. Unfortunately, the company got wind of the organizing attempt thanks to a spy among the workers.<\/p>\n
The company reacted by firing those involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a second attempt to unionize that was killed in its infancy,\u201d summed up Lapointe.<\/p>\n
The only thing to ever strike a blow to the MacLaren Company were improvements to the road system, which allowed the town residents to sell lumber to other companies.<\/p>\n
Around that same time, Lapointe explained, the provincial government of Quebec looked into the work conditions of lumberjacks. They institute a sort of minimum wage, which forced the MacLaren company to increase their workers\u2019 salaries.<\/p>\n
And finally\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat helped employees the most, as funny as it sounds, was the Second World War,\u201d said Lapointe.<\/p>\n
At that time, practically everything was considered essential for the war effort. Unions weren\u2019t allowed to strike and bosses weren\u2019t allowed order lockout.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe MacLarens were forced to accept the creation of a permanent bargaining committee between the employer and the employees,\u201d said Lapointe.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt marks an important change in the working conditions. And by 1944, a union is finally recognized by the MacLarens.\u201d<\/p>\n
This story isn\u2019t well known outside Buckingham. In 1990, Lapointe wrote about the 1906 conflict in a book detailing the history of the town of Buckingham. The book was published in both English and French, but Lapointe says the English copies have all vanished.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey can\u2019t find it anywhere in libraries. I don\u2019t want to imagine\u2026 but the MacLarens have a long arm,\u201d he jokes. \u201cIt\u2019s a story that doesn\u2019t make certain elements of the capitalist society very happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lapointe said that this story illustrates how there are always links between politics and economics \u2013 and that rarely can they be proven as clearly as in the story of the conflict of 1906.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, we blame unionism and unions for all that ail the economy and society,\u201d wrote Lapointe in his 1983 book. \u201cIt\u2019s important to remember the role that unionism played in improving our lives. We have to pick up our heads like Thomas B\u00e9langer and Fran\u00e7ois Th\u00e9riault\u2026 for them, and for all those who sacrificed themselves for their brethren, we owe it to ourselves to react. We surely owe them that.\u201d4<\/sup><\/p>\n
\n[Editor\u2019s note: We are extremely thankful to Mr. Lapointe for allowing us to share excerpts from his work and for speaking with us about the conflict of 1906. All facts in this article were gathered from Mr. Lapointe\u2019s book and from a phone interview on June 25, 2013.]<\/p>\n
\n[1] Lapointe, Pierre-Louis. (1983). Buckingham : ville occup\u00e9e. Diffusion Prologue inc. Ville Saint-Laurent, Qu\u00e9bec.<\/p>\n
[2] Idem<\/p>\n
[3] Idem<\/p>\n
[4] Idem<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For those who aren\u2019t too familiar with the National Capital Region\u2019s suburbs, you may not have heard of Buckingham. It\u2019s a small community of roughly 10,000 people, though it\u2019s now technically part of the post-mega-amalgamation of the city of Gatineau. But in the early 1900s, Buckingham was very different. \u201cLet\u2019s say it was like many … <\/p>\n