CFB Valcartier was originally erected as a military training camp in August 1914 as part of the mobilization of the Canadian Expeditionary Force at the onset of World War I. Inaugurated by Jean Chrétien, then Prime Minister of Canada, in 1995, a high bronze figure of a World War I soldier by André Gauthier at the entrance to CFB Valcartier commemorates the training of Canadian Army volunteers for the European battlefields in World War I. The site was also used as an internment camp for "enemy aliens", mainly eastern Europeans. The name Valcartier comes from the town of Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, of which a large section was expropriated in order to create the military training camp. Due to its proximity to the Port of Quebec, Valcartier became the largest military camp on Canadian soil, including some 32,000 men and 8,000 horses. In 1968, after the unification of the Canadian Armed Forces, the title 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group was assigned to the brigade group established in CFB Valcartier.
Geography
The base is and is located in the Quebec City region, of Quebec, Canada.
Military presence
Currently, Valcartier is home to 2nd Canadian Division. The division has two formations: 2nd Canadian Division Support Group and 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group. The following units are stationed at Valcartier. Included are affiliated units and other units that are not directly part of 2nd Canadian Division:
ASU Valcartier is also the home of the Army Cadet Summer Training Centre Valcartier, which trains Royal Canadian Sea Cadets, Royal Canadian Army Cadets and Royal Canadian Air Cadets of the Eastern Region / Province of Quebec. In July 1974, an explosives safety training accident involving "D" Company killed six cadets and injured over 50. A coroner's inquiry found the instructor criminally responsible. The various summer training courses offered at Valcartier Cadet Training Centre are the following:
Two Week General Training Course offered to Army Cadets only, within JACQUES-CARTIER Company;
Basic Fitness and Sports course offered to Sea, Army and Air cadets, within OLYMPUS Company;
Fitness and Sports Instructor course offered to Sea, Army and Air cadets, within OLYMPUS Company;
Basic Expedition course offered only to Army cadets, within EVEREST Company;
Expedition Instructor course offered only to Army cadets, within EVEREST Company;
Basic Marksmanship Course offered only to Army cadets, within ENFIELD Company;
Air Rifle Masksmanship Instructor Course offered to Sea, Army and Air cadets within ENFIELD Company;
Basic Drill and Ceremonial Course offered to Sea, Army and Air cadets within TRIUMPH Company;
Drill and Ceremonial Instructor Course offered to Sea, Army and Air cadets within TRIUMPH Company;
And all three military musician courses, offered to Sea, Army and Air Cadets within CALIXA-LAVALLÉE Company.
Command team
Colonel Stéphane Boucher is commander, and chief warrant officer Dominic Gaudreau is sergeant major.
Adsum is a bi-monthly newspaper for CFB Valcartier and the military community in the Quebec eastern area. The newspaper was created in 1972. It publishes 4,200 copies. The readers of the newspaper are mostly the military and civilians working at CFB Valcartier. The newspaper team also publishes the Military Community Guidebook - Quebec Region annually.
The Military Ordinariate of Canada integrated a chapel which is situated at CFB Valcartier. The chapel is named Saint Jeanne d’Arc Chapel. This service is for all military persons of CFB Valcartier. The Chapel Life Coordinator is Captain Titus Ndala.
CFB Valcartier Military Cemetery, opened to serve the camp in 1914, contains the graves of nine Canadian Army personnel, six from World War I and three from World War II, registered and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Economic facts
CFB Valcartier's budget is $687.4 million annually. The base employs 7,700 people. There are also 9,000 military reserve forces who are related to the base. Annually, the salary costs are $558 million. This sum represents half of the $1.2 billion spent on salaries by the Department of National Defence in Quebec each year. Also, the base spends $131 million locally each year.
Contaminated water
In 1997, a cancer-causing chemical, trichloroethylene, was found in the water supply of CFB Valcartier and the nearby town of Shannon, Quebec. Trichloroethylene, which has been linked to liver cancer, was used for degreasing metal parts at the base for decades. The Shannon Citizens Committee has launched a class-action lawsuit against the Department of National Defence in 2003.
