[Special collaboration between Montréal Antifasciste et Québec Antifasciste]
Since 2018, Montréal Antifasciste has been documenting the activities of the neo-fascist group Atalante, a group that for the most part operates in Québec City. Since its Facebook page has been closed in August of 2021, it has lost much of its visibility and now seems to be in decline, regrouped around its core militants. Nonetheless, its members and sympathizers remain present and active in our communities, and the possibility that they could recruit new people pushes us to call for vigilance and to continue to keep the pressure on them. That is why we still think it is necessary to continue to expose Atalante members, particularly those who we know have been involved in acts of violence.
This article will focus on Yannick “Sailor” Vézina, one of the founding members of Atalante Québec who is still active to this day and whose involvement has not previously been examined in any depth.
Yannick Vézina took part in Atalante’s latest action n Québec City, during the weekend of 25-26 September, 2021. Photo extracted form Atalante Québec’s Telegram channel.
Yannick Vézina and the Québec Stomper Crew
Yannick Vézina has been part of the scene around the Québec Stomper Crew (the street gang that gave rise to Atalante Québec) for quite a while. Antoine Mailhot-Bruneau, a schoolmate from the Institut Maritime de Rimouski in the early 2010s introduced him to the Stompers entourage. Montréal Antifasciste has already exposed Antoine as the ideological leader of Atalante and the author of Saisir la Foudre [Ride the Lightening], the group’s manifesto. We know that after he met Mailhot-Bruneau, Vézina rapidly radicalized and joined in numerous escapades to win a place in the crew. Specifically, we know that he became a member in good standing following an attack on an anti-fascist militant.
Yannick Vézina (right) with Antoine Mailhot-Bruneau, leader of Atalante Québec.
Québec Stomper Crew and entourage.
Some of the Québec Stompers.
Yannick Vézina during a show by Légitime Violence. By his side, we recognize Steve Lavallée, a member of the entourage of the Québec Stomper Crew who was charged in the late 90’s following a series of assaults with weapon in Montréal..
Yannick Vézina, fully patched.
Légitime Violence and the entourage of US-based band Offensive Weapon.
Vézina seems to have a pronounced penchant for violence, in any case. A few years ago, he saw a young man tearing down Atalante posters in broad daylight and chased him down, baseball bat in hand. He also openly uses hashtags like #quebecfascistcrew on his personal Instagram account. All of which gives you a good idea of what this guy is about…
Vézina and Atalante
As well as being a part of the Québec Stomper Crew, Yannick Vézina is also a key active member of Atalante. Among other things, he joined the “pilgrimage” to Italy and has been present at Atalante actions from the get-go, including having participated in the invasion of the Vice Québec office in 2018 to intimidate it’s employees.
It’s easy to recognize the wristwatch and the tattoo on the forearm.
He can also be seen in numerous photos of the sandwich distribution exercises and the banner collages. Furthermore, the revelations of the mole Quentin Pallavicini suggest that Vézina is Atalante’s treasurer.
Yannick Vézina (front row, right) with Atalante Québec’s core members.
Atalante Québec’s members, in January 2019, on the rooftop of CasaPound’s HQ, in Rome.
With other members of Atalante Québec, in Rome, January 2019. We recognize Sébastien Magnificat, CasaPound’s international affairs minister.
Québec Stomper Crew and Légitime Violence, with some buddies from the US, gather around Steven Bissuel, ex-leader of Bastion Social and Groupement Union Défense – Lyon (GUD). Yannick Vézina is in the middle, to the left of Bissuel.
Yannick Vézina speaks to Atalante Québec’s militants, on May 1st, 2016.
Left, Yannick Vézina proudly holds Atalante Québec’s flag, during a torch-lit march organized soon after the organization’s creation, in 2016.
Yannick Vézina has been part of countless actions since the creation of Atalante, including this flyering blitz in Québec, in 2019.
Yannick « Sailor » Vézina
Yannick Vézina chose the nickname “Sailor” and seems very attached to his marine profession. Oddly enough, the Atalante logo seems to draw upon an illustration from an Institut Maritime du Québec study manual that to some degree resembles the fascist “flash and circle” symbol adopted a decade earlier by the Blocco Studentesco, the student wing of CasaPound, the Italian neo-fascist organization that was the inspiration behind the formation of Atalante.
Atalante Québec’s logo…
…was clearly plagiarized from this training manual used at the Institut Maritime du Québec.
The “flash and circle” motif, used by several fascist organizations, is the logo of the Blocco Studentesco, the youth wing of Italian neo-fascist organization CasaPound.
Yannick Vézina is currently employed by the shipping company Desgagnés and sails regularly on the Zélada, a ship that resupplies communities in Northern Québec and Northern Canada.
Yannick Vézina is employed aboard the Zélada, which is part of Groupe Desgagné’s float.
It will be interesting to see how this company reacts to the fact that it is employing a charter member of a neo-fascist organization, a member who has been involved in a number of violent attacks motivated by a detestable ideology, particularly as we have good reason to believe that he carries Atalante stickers to put up during his stopovers in Rimouski.
We encourage you to contact the company and ask them about this:
telephone: (418) 692-1000
e-mail: info@desgagnes.com; info@transarctik.desgagnes.com
For some time now, it appears that things have been going pretty well in Vézina’s personal life. He recently bought a house in Charlesbourg/Lac-Beauport, a Québec city suburb, with his partner, whom he recently proposed to. It seems like a good time to remind him that violent acts and the hateful ideas he adheres to have their consequences.
We must highlight the extra note of romanticism that the bowl of kibbles confers to the scene.
Conclusion
Given that the Atalante neo-fascists have lost both their Facebook page and their website, it might seem reasonable to consider them no longer a serious threat. We think that would be a mistake, and that we should redouble the pressure on these militant fascists so that they finally wrap their head around the fact that their detestable ideas are not welcome in Québec.
Whether on land or on sea, we will continue to track these neo-fascists everywhere they go for as long as necessary.
If you have information you’d like to share with us about Yannick Vézina or Atalante and its sympathizers, don’t hesitate to write to us at alerta-mtl@riseup.net or qcantifasciste@riseup.net.