Whether people have known it or not, Quebec has had a military-style group preparing itself for any eventuality – including war – for the last 10 years.
And now, La milice patriotique Québécoise – or Quebec Patriotic Militia – is recruiting new members.
The group describes itself on its website as "a territorial defence organization meant to serve and protect all the people of Quebec as well as all of its territory. The basic goal is to offer a structured force which could, with a maximum number of troops, offer rescue support in the event of a natural disaster, internal trouble such as a break in essential services, or to protect ourselves against an aggressor or invader looking to assimilate the population or rob its riches and those of its territory."
The head of the militia, Major Serge Provost, gave CTV Montreal's Rob Lurie a little tour of its Montreal recruitment centre on Ste-Catherine St. E near Pie IX Blvd., showing off the firearms and crossbows he has on hand.
"If our opponents have guns, sir, what do you expect us to have?" Provost said.
The videos on the militia's website shows them preparing for battle, training in the field, preparing to defend Quebec against any opponent, Provost says, including the Canadian or any other army.
Provost says the militia has 200 members, though he would not allow CTV Montreal to speak to any of them.
But he says most join because they're tired of hearing hardline separatists being bashed.
Still, they remain a fringe group because most hardline separatists want nothing to do with the group.
CTV Montreal political analyst L. Ian MacDonald doesn't believe the militia is anything to be concerned about.
"So these are the guys that are going to take on the Van Doos?" he says with a laugh. "I don't think so."
But some of the people who live near the militia's recruitment centre are a bit concerned with its presence, especially since it plans on starting to sell firearms, and the local police are well aware of who they are.
