5 THINGS ABOUT QUEBEC CITY RACISM RALLY

1 IT’S HAPPENING SUNDAY

Quebec City police are confident they will have enough officers on the ground to avoid a Charlottesville-like confrontation Sunday when opposing groups on the right and left of the political spectrum carry out simultaneous protests in the provincial capital.

2 THE MAIN PLAYERS

La Meute — an extreme rightwing, anti-Islam group — has already sent its “security department,” supposedly former police officers, to talk to Quebec City police and obtain the necessary permits to demonstrate against the policies of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Philippe Couillard “in the face of the scourge of illegal immigration.” At the same time, a group called Action Citoyenne Contre La Discrimination (Citizen Action Against Racism) is joining ranks with Bienvenue aux réfugiées to hold its own protest to “block hate and racism.”

3 WHO ELSE MIGHT COME

Ataante, another extremeright group based in Quebec City, has sought to disrupt previous, otherwise peaceful demonstrations. With several members from military backgrounds, it is currently setting up a fight-club in Quebec City called Falange — named after the fascist group under the command of Gen. Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War. And on Monday, it put up signs around the city that said “remigration” — to push migrants out of Canada.

4 SOME WERE IN CHARLOTTESVILLE

Several Quebecers have been identified among the white supremacist protesters at Charlottesville last Saturday, featured in Vice News footage, including a prominent member of La Meute. The two identified on Thursday are Shawn Beauvais-MacDonald, reportedly in charge of recruitment for La Meute’s Englishlanguage Facebook page, and Vincent Bélanger Mercure, who was photographed in close proximity to James Fields, the man now charged with murder. Beauvais-MacDonald has since been “suspended” from La Meute, pending an investigation of his participation at Charlottesville.

5 TURNOUT TO BE DETERMINED

By Thursday evening, some 290 people said they would be demonstrating against racism in Quebec City, while another 1,000 expressed their interest, even though no one knows as yet where Sunday’s demonstration will take place.