MONTREAL - A letter claiming to be from a new cell of the Front de liberation du Quebec and threatening to take action for what it describes as ''Anglo-Saxon imperialism'' in the West Island and west-end Montreal is being investigated by police.
The letter, from a group or someone identifying themselves as the ''Camille Laurin Cell'' of the FLQ, was sent last week to media outlets and city halls in the western part of Montreal Island.
The letter, dated Nov. 15, threatens ''the hits will begin very exactly in three months,'' an apparent reference to Feb. 15, the anniversary of the day when five members of the Patriotes rebellion against British colonial authority were hanged in 1839.
The author claims French-speaking Quebecers are ''systematically ridiculed by a local anglophone majority who scorn the French language and the rights of francophones.''
In 1970, members of the FLQ kidnapped British trade commissioner James Cross and kidnapped and murdered Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte, setting off the October Crisis.
''All these types of threats are taken seriously and are investigated,'' RCMP Cpl. Sylvain L'Heureux said.
''It's an ongoing investigation and at this point there is no indication they are going to go forward with those threats.''
Letters like the one sent out last week emerge every six months or so, L'Heureux said. But he added that even if their author has no intention to carry out the threat, he or she can still be charged with a Criminal Code offence.
A RCMP investigator who is a member of the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET), is in charge of the probe. INSET is a partnership among the RCMP, the Quebec provincial police, Montreal police, and federal agencies, who share information on possible terrorist threats.