The first batch of students to sign up for a controversial military training course in Regina watched politicians do battle during the daily question period in the Saskatchewan Legislature today.
There are 10 students enrolled. They will receive two high school credits when they finish the 23-day course. On top of that, they will get paid $2,000 for their efforts.
It was an offer too good to refuse for Brandon Quong. He is from the Cowessess First Nation and comes from a family with a long military history. He says the pay was an incentive but it was not the prime motivator.
“Honestly, it was a beneficial role,” said Quong. “But I would have done this course without it.”
The students began their training in mid-February and so far so good. Quong says boot camp was the tough part.
“It was a lot of drills and a lot of standards to follow,” he said.
One of the instructors is Warrant Officer Pat Cote. He is Metis and grew up in Uranium city. Cote has been in the military for 16 years. He has travelled all over the world and did two tours of duty on the front lines in Afghanistan. Cote says joining the army was the best decision he ever made. It is a message he shares with his students. He says this first group is learning about leadership, respect and responsibility. He also believes they have what it takes to join the service.
“Oh yeah, they are going to do fine,” said Cote. “Every new soldier is going to start out a little shaky until they get into the scheme of how things work. And we are there to push them on, to get them to go that little extra bit.”
There have been some detractors to the high school military program. Peace activists say it promotes violence and bribes the students. Last month, about 30 protesters descended on the Saskatchewan legislative building to present a 2,000-name petition calling for an end to the program.