Two shootings highlight dangers police face
Montreal’s only French- speaking club has too many civilian members
Call them les patriotes du curling.
Unlike the martyred patriotes of 1837, these Quebecers are going into battle with curling brooms, not muskets.
Surrounded by military on all sides, they, too, refuse to go down without a fight, which in this case means trying to keep their beloved Longue- Pointe Curling Club open.
Unlike other curling clubs in Montreal, the east- end rink is the only French- speaking club on the island. Its other distinction is that it’s the last club in Quebec located on a federal military base, the Montreal Garrison formerly known as Longue- Pointe.
The curling club was intended for use by military personnel and their families when it opened in 1963. But since its inception, civilians filled its membership ranks and now make up 87 per cent of the club’s 238 members.
According to military regulations, the membership threshold is supposed to be a minimum of 50 per cent military. Base officials brought this matter to the attention of club members in 2014, but two years later only 18 curlers ( seven per cent) fall into the category of military membership, well short of the minimum requirement.
Given those lopsided numbers, base officials recently informed the curlers the club, still financially viable, will close this spring. Not surprisingly, news of the impending closure went over like last rock with the club’s diehard curlers.
“We’re all a little upset we might have to move,” said Alexandre Pilon, a civilian member who curls with a foursome of buddies.
“But there are others who’ve been curling here for 30 years and they are losing what they consider to be their ‘ house.’ It’s not ‘ a’ club, it’s ‘ their’ club.”
As Pilon underlined, LonguePointe is not just another foursheet curling rink. The other clubs on the island of Montreal are predominately English- speaking.
Pilon and his fellow curlers are lobbying to keep the club open by
reaching a new arrangement with base commanders. Club members, military officials and local politicians, including local MP Marjolaine Boutin- Sweet of the NDP, recently met to discuss the situation.
After meeting with the military base’s chain of command — Colonel Sébastien Bouchard and Lt. Colonel Steve Hétu — Boutin- Sweet, who represents the federal riding of Hochelaga, remains hopeful a solution can be found to keep the club open.
“At one point I asked the colonel, ‘ Do you see a possibility of the club
staying open?’ He did not say there is absolutely no chance whatsoever. He was skeptical that there would be, but he didn’t completely close the door, and if the door is not completely closed, well ...”
What would happen to the rink if it closed?
“They’re talking about using it for cadets and selling off the equipment,” Boutin- Sweet said. “That would be a shame.”
There are only five curling clubs left on military bases across Canada: Kingston, Ont.; Edmonton; Halifax; Greenwood, N. S.; and Gagetown, N. B. The military base in St- Jean- sur- Richelieu once had a curling rink, but it closed decades ago.
For longtime members like Harry McCarty, a 65- year- old retiree, curling is an activity that keeps him active through the long winter months.
“It’s not just the curling, though,” he said. “It’s also social. You see the same faces everyday. It’s a lot of fun. After the games, everyone has a drink together, then goes off.”
With no other clubs located nearby, McCarty, an army brat who lives in Pointe- aux- Trembles, feels many of the older members will pack it in if the 53- year- old club closes May 1 as planned.
“It’s going to affect me greatly,” he said. “I’m looking at options for myself, but I’m not sure yet.
“I know guys in worse straits than me because I can still get around and everything. The older members can’t go anywhere. They’ve been there 30 or 40 years; they’re in their 70s now, so they’re not going to play anymore.”
The Canadian Armed Forces explained its decision to close the club in a statement: “The recommendation is actually to close the club since it does not meet the policy parameters for the viability of a club with a particular interest ... Curling is not attracting enough military and therefore cannot continue its activities.”
McCarty fully realizes club members are now at the mercy of army brass.
“I’m hoping against hope something will happen,” he said.