a) Where did they go?

I think they're living near Father Steve's house now.

b) Is this related to the business of disempowering the Catholic Church in Canada in recent history?

I don't know about the rest of Canada, I can only speak of Québec. Though the Jésuites were part of what caused the rebellion against the Catholic Church, they were only part of a wide root structure.

The French Québecois were effectively enslaved by the harsh, inflexible rules established by the Catholic church.

What surprises me most is that the revolution is relatively recent. As recently as in my Grandmother’s time, the Catholic church had a strangle-hold on even the most basic of everyday decisions.