James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, the…
April 1849 CE
The bill has been enacted to compensate Lower Canadians who lost property during the Rebellions of 1837 with measures similar to those providing compensation in Upper Canada.
Two factors made this measure controversial.
Even though participants in the Rebellion cannot be compensated with taxpayer's money, the sympathies for the Rebellion are more widespread in Lower Canada so that compensation in Lower Canada is seen as "giving money to the rebels".
Secondly, the damage done by the army far exceeded the damage done by the rebels so that provisions to compensate for damages done by the army was considered disloyal to the Crown
The enactment of the bill angers some of Montreal's Tory citizens and provoked weeks of violent disturbances known as the Montreal Riots.
It culminates in the burning of the Parliament building on April 25.
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