Soldiers from Valcartier to be present at Alouettes game
(Traduction de la version originale française)
Soldiers from Valcartier to be present at Alouettes game
Montreal, 21 June 2007 – As many as 2,000 soldiers from Valcartier military base – who are to be deployed to Afghanistan later this summer – will be present at the Perceval Molson Stadium for a pre-season game that will see the Alouettes take on the Toronto Argonauts, tonight in Montreal. Their presence is part of a sponsorship deal by the Canadian Forces but it is also a form of political support for the presence of Canadian troops in Afghanistan staged by the direction of the Alouettes. Alouettes fans – who do not necessarily approve of the military occupation of Afghanistan – will be used as extras in this show of support, regardless of their own feelings.
This event is one of a series of increasingly frequent associations of the Canadian Forces with major sports and social events. Think back to the Grand Prix Champ Car in August 2006, the Montreal International Marathon in September 2006, the Fête des Neiges last winter or the surprise visit of the Stanley Cup to Kandahar last May, accompanied by two dozen former NHL players including Réjean Houle and Yvon Lambert of the Montreal Canadians. The goals of associating the marketing of the war with amateur and professional sports are the same in each case: to promote the war in Afghanistan, defend the enormous rise in military spending in Canada and make the current recruitment campaign (the largest since World War Two) more visible and seductive for young people.
Thursday June 21st, members of the Collectif Échec à la guerre will be present outside Perceval Molson Stadium to inform Alouettes fans of the real stakes involved in the Canadian presence in Afghanistan, of the militarist turn that Canadian foreign policy has taken and will invite them to complain to the direction of the Alouettes that being a football fan does not automatically mean you are in favour of the presence of Canadian troops in Afghanistan.
For more information : contact Matt Jones