We are republishing this text, which was sent to us. Feel free to send us your news, texts, and press releases by email. --- It's a common observation: Facebook's Spotted groups are filled with the most vile opinions, incitements to hatred, and hypocritical calls for violence... often trivialized under the pretext that it's virtual and not publicly declared "in real life." It's less well known that these groups are now the preferred "playground" for a regional far right (the rotting remnants of La Meute, conspiracy theorists, and other even more ephemeral formations). As soon as posts can be linked to newcomers, the LGBTQ+ community, Indigenous demands, or, for example, cyclists, human stupidity proliferates, regularly drawing on fake news and disinformation. Their recipe is nothing new: to feed the fear of the Other.
In Lac St-Jean (Pekuakami), a recent post from the Spotted St-Félicien group reports a review of local municipal zoning regulations to allow for the potential establishment of an educational institution or place of worship. This was enough to bring out the naysayers. It's encouraging to see, on the whole, local residents responding to the vile comments from users in Saguenay, the Laurentians, and even Montreal who explicitly express their phobia of Islam. However, the comments of two men from the area seem to me to deserve particular attention-the matter being in the public interest. I've attached a screenshot of each of their messages under the aforementioned post.
Patrick Girard of Saint-Félicien, a former supporter of La Meute and an incorrigible conspiracy theorist ever since, is particularly concerning. Extraordinarily fragile, he has developed over the past decade a veritable obsession with virtually every conspiracy disseminated by the hateful far right, to the point of ignoring anything that might hinder his blindness. Here, he openly expresses a criminal intent motivated by hatred.
Billy Savoie, a former Maoist who now participates in most of the activities of Nouvelle Alliance, a Montreal-based far-right group even more radical than La Meute, spreads a victimhood-based ethnonationalism on social media. Life seems quite difficult in Saint-Prime for this petit-bourgeois who claims to be persecuted for being a white Francophone. Reprimanded last year by the local school board for his internet use, the Quebec Culture and Citizenship teacher complained on Roberval radio that he was a pale pacifist, a victim of groups campaigning against the far right and racism. Reinstated since then, he apparently no longer hesitates to continue his childish disinformation or to parade through the city alongside neo-Nazi groups who demonstrate wearing steel-toed gloves.
It is in the public interest to raise awareness of the malicious intentions of such individuals in our community. It is imperative to continue responding to them and combating oppressive rhetoric and actions. Inclusivity, community spirit, solidarity, and anti-racism are alive and well in the Upper Lake communities. Of course, racism is a system of oppression that is not limited to extreme words and deeds. However, we must not trivialize these tendencies, which have real impacts-the persistence of colonialism in bodies and minds. It is entirely desirable that those who spread fear of the Other and contribute to far-right groups be held accountable for their words and actions-which are political in nature, let us remember.
Thank you for allowing me to share this.
Sébastien G.
by Emma Goldman Collective
http://ucl-saguenay.blogspot.com/2026/06/deux-figures-du-racisme-decomplexe-dans.html
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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