More than 2,000 soldiers from Quebec's CFB Valcartier gathered in Montreal on Thursday night, to hold a tailgate party and watch the local CFL team play against the Toronto Argonauts.
The event was meant to drum up flagging support for Canada's mission in Afghanistan, where members of the Royal 22nd Regiment -- popularly known as the Van Doos -- are headed this summer.
"It's a break after all the training we've had," one soldier told CTV Montreal. "It's kind of our big holiday before leaving for our tour."
A recent poll by Leger Marketing suggested most Quebecers oppose sending the Van Doos to Afghanistan.
The soldiers have also received about 3,000 letters urging them to refuse to carry out their duties.
And when members of the Royal 22nd Regiment attended the national assembly on Wednesday, a shouting match erupted when some Parti Quebecois members refused to stand and applaud them.
But one member of the Van Doos said he wasn't bothered by the lack of support.
"People have the choice to manifest their rights, and to support or not support the mission," he said. "We're not paying very much attention to it."
Chaplain Charles Deogratias, who is one of the 2,500 members set to be deployed to Afghanistan, said the criticism is misplaced.
"This is a voluntary deployment," he told The Canadian Press. "The soldiers who are going now have the privilege to change somebody's life."
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer was also in Montreal on Thursday, urging all 26 NATO allies to continue their work in Afghanistan.
Canada's mission in the war-torn country is set to end in February 2009.
With a report from CTV Montreal's Daniele Hamamdjian
