Greg Marquis – författare

John Lennon was the world's biggest rock star in the late Sixties. With his new wife Yoko Ono, the duo were icons of the peace movement denouncing the Vietnam War. In 1969, at the height of their popularity, they headed to Canada. Canada was already a politically charged place. In 1968, Pierre Elliott Trudeau rode a wave of popularity dubbed Trudeaumania for its similarities to the Beatlemania of the era. The sexual revolution, hippie culture, the New Left and the peace movement were challenging norms, frightening the authorities and provoking backlash. Quebec nationalism was putting the power of the English-speaking minority running the province on the defensive, and threatening the breakup of the country. John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged a "bed-in for peace" at an upscale downtown Montreal hotel. The couple, aided by the CBC, saw a steady stream of journalists, musicians and activists arriving for interviews, political discussions, singing and art-making. The classic Give Peace A Chance was recorded there with the help of local Quebecois musicians. Three months later they were back in Canada with Eric Clapton and other friends to play a concert festival in Toronto arranged by local promoters. American acts like Little Richard, The Doors, Bo Diddley and Alice Cooper, along with many Canadian pop musicians of the time, played at the festival. At year's end, the duo met with Prime Minister Trudeau in Ottawa. By this time Trudeau was cracking down on dissent, mainly in Quebec, and falling out of favour with the counterculture crowd, John and Yoko included.  Recounting the story of these events, historian Greg Marquis offers a unique portrayal of Canadian society in the late Sixties, recounting how politicians, activists, police, artists, musicians and businesses across Canada reacted to John and Yoko';s presence and message. John Lennon, Yoko Ono and the Year Canada Was Cool is an illuminating and entertaining read for anyone interested in this fascinating moment in Canadian history.

Although the RCMP is often identified as a national symbol, Canadian police history is largely the story of municipal and provincial police forces who have had little influence on popular culture but considerable impact on the lives of Canadians. Municipal police forces predate the Mounties by a generation and first began to articulate their concerns through the Chief Constables’ Association of Canada (CCAC) in 1905. The development of this little-studied, non-governmental organization, known since the 1950s as the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP), has been a crucial part of our criminal-justice history.The CACP/CCAC story mirrors the social and intellectual history of policing in twentieth-century Canada. Beginning with and overview of nineteenth-century policing and the conditions that led to the establishment of this first policy lobby. Policing Canada’s Century is a chronicle of police reaction to social change and the rise of new institutions, reform movements, and methods of managing the population. The biggest period of growth was from 1961 to 1975, coinciding with the maturation of the welfare state, when the number of police officers in relation to population increased by more than 50 per cent. The social change and legal reforms of the 1960s and 1970s caused CACP to reorganize and to found a permanent secretariat in Ottawa. Four major themes emerge, all of which remain at the heart of public debates over policing. The first is technological change, particularly in the areas of information storage, retrieval, and exchange. Second is the relationship between politics and law enforcement. Government insensitivity to police needs has been a rallying cry since 1905 at police chiefs’ meetings. Also discussed is the subject of police accountability, which has had increased public attention in the past two decades. The third theme of ‘practical criminology’ is an occupational response to the reforms of the law and covers the Juvenile Delinquent Act, the creation of the provincial court system, probation, parole, and legal aid. The final concern is the search for professionalism and status with attempts to improve recruitment, training, discipline, salaries, working conditions, and public relations.This book is both a history of Canada’s major police professional association and an examination of twentieth-century policy administration issues. (Publication of the Osgoode Society)