The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) like the harsh climate of the North Shore and do not hesitate to use it as a training ground.
Indeed, the CAF is currently holding an exercise called Nordic Warrior about 100 kilometers north of Havre-Saint-Pierre until March 6.
The deployment of more than a hundred reservists from the Arctic Response Company Group lasts two weeks.
The military is preparing for possible Canadian homeland defense and search and rescue missions in northern and isolated environments.
For example, they perform land and air travel and conduct snowmobile patrols, all in the cold, in a subarctic climate.
They must also work in collaboration with local authorities, such as the Sûreté du Québec.
Their mission is to be able to deploy in less than four days in the Canadian Far North.
Members of the Rangers, who can carry out search and rescue operations, also take part in this training.
Among the exercises in which the military participate is the preparation of landing zones and the delivery of equipment by air and the construction of a makeshift airstrip.
This is reminiscent of another Nordic Warrior exercise held in Schefferville in 2013.
It was a larger operation involving 200 soldiers. In particular, they had to build an airstrip on a frozen lake capable of accommodating a Hercules aircraft.
Shooting exercises were also held, unlike the current training north of Havre-Saint-Pierre until Sunday, where no weapons are used.