Quebec devotes 225 million to relaunch culture

The Minister of Culture and Communications Nathalie Roy unveiled the details of the Plan to consolidate, shine and propel the cultural communitya $225.8 million initiative over three years aimed at reviving this Quebec industry severely shaken by the coronavirus pandemic.

Andre Duchesne
The Press

The will behind this plan with a vaguely Olympic slogan is therefore twofold: to ensure a necessary recovery, but by preparing for the unexpected. A catapult and a chainmail all at the same time?, we asked Minister Roy.

“Exactly,” she replied in a phone interview. And this initiative comes from the environment with which we have multiplied meetings to find ways to respond to the problems caused by COVID-19. The new reality is that we will have to live with a virus. But we can no longer stop people’s social and cultural activities. So we had to see how we were going to live with possible outbreaks that will be part of our daily lives. »

It is for this reason of “living with” that more than half (123.3 million) of the 225.8 million, first announced when the budget was tabled on March 22, and detailed on Sunday morning, goes to the first pane called “Consolidate”.

This component aims in particular to create a “safety net” to extend for 12 months the additional support (budget for health measures, assistance with ticketing, etc.) provided over the past two years to run film sets and ensure the broadcasting of shows.

“Whatever happens with COVID-19, we maintain this safety net for a whole year,” rejoices the minister.

But after ? “We are not in the same position as in 2020,” she replies, alluding to the fact that science [vaccins, etc.] helps to better deal with the pandemic. We now have tools that allow us to believe that a complete closure of everything is not in the cards. »

This first component of consolidation also plans to reach out to “new clienteles” that were not funded in the past by the ministry and its companies (SODEC and CALQ) to help them in their recovery actions. The Minister gives the example of cinemas and alternative rooms.

“We have reserved a sum of 5 million over three years to help venues like the Lion d’Or or Club Soda, where young people start, she gives as an example. We cannot abandon them. »

Succession

Minister Roy puts a lot of emphasis on helping the next generation who, since the start of the pandemic, has had few opportunities to assert themselves, either because the venues were closed or because of congestion due to an oversupply when theaters reopened.

This succession is at the heart of the second part (Making it shine) of the plan, which has an envelope of 79.5 million. A good part of this amount goes to improving the scholarship programs of the Conseil des Arts et lettres du Québec (CALQ), which will increase from 12 to 22 million over the next three years. At least 20% of this additional 30 million is reserved for projects by emerging artists.

Added to this is another $7 million over three years for emerging artists from immigration, Aboriginal communities or those with disabilities.

Finally, the third component (Propel) of the plan provides an envelope of $23 million to help promote the international influence and export of Québec works as well as to support projects qualified as innovative and audacious. Augmented reality works, podcasts, immersive installations are examples.

Always available

Let’s take a step back and remember that on Tuesday, March 10, 2020, the Legault government tabled a budget including an injection of 407 million new money over five years for culture. Minister Roy, like several representatives of the cultural community, were delighted.

However, the next day, the World Health Organization ruled that a coronavirus pandemic had reached the planet. The rest is history.

“This record budget is made up of sums that are still there,” nevertheless reminds Minister Roy. If by chance, if by misfortune, there should be a pandemic of the same type again, these sums are still there and will be converted to further support the environment. But that is the catastrophe and apocalyptic scenario. I prefer to turn to the positive, to action. »