Sale of the Writers’ House | Honorary members of UNEQ demand a vote

Eleven honorary members of the Union of Quebec Writers (UNEQ), including Michel Tremblay and Gilles Vigneault, are asking the union to submit to a vote the sale of its historic head office, at 3492 Laval Avenue, in Montreal. “Selling the Maison des writers is selling your soul”, warns Jacques Godbout, founder of the literary association in 1977, in a letter addressed to the Minister of Culture.

“The transformation of UNEQ into a union focused mainly on the economic conditions of its members, coupled with your decision to sell the Maison des écrivains, worries us”, write the signatories in a letter obtained by The Press and sent to the administrators of the union association on January 9th.

Honorary members Nicole Brossard, Pierre Morency, André Gervais, Fernand Ouellette, Anthony Phelps and Monique LaRue also co-signed the missive, while Joséphine Bacon added her voice after it was sent. UNEQ has 40 honorary members, of whom only 13 are still alive. Eleven initialed the call for the ballot.

The union’s board has faced a barrage of criticism since new union dues imposed on members (2.5%) and non-members (5%) were made public at the end of 2022 These sums were approved on June 20 in a virtual general meeting where only 46 of the approximately 1,600 members were present.

“The climate of discontent and mistrust that reigns at the moment within the UNEQ risks being harmful to its development”, fear the signatories.

Due to a “procedural error”, the question of contributions will be the subject of a new vote at an extraordinary assembly in 2023, decided the president of the UNEQ, Suzanne Aubry. “We formally ask you to add an item to the agenda […]or the sale of the House of Writers, which would allow all members to express their views on this question, which is of paramount importance,” reads the letter sent to the Board of Directors.

Letter to the Minister

At the same time, the same eleven honorary members, the former director general of UNEQ Pierre Lavoie (1993 to 2010), five former presidents – Denise Boucher (1998 to 2020), Louis Gauthier (1996 to 1998), Denis Monière (1980 to 1982), Stanley Péan (2004 to 2010) and Danièle Simpson (2010 to 2016) – as well as some forty writers have written to the Minister of Culture, Mathieu Lacombe, urging him to act.

“We ask you to convene the leaders of the UNEQ urgently to resolve this impasse which is creating among its members a dissension that is harmful to the application of the recent Status of the Artist Actdespite the new powers it confers on it”, write the 53 signatories.

Under this law, since June 3, the union association has the mandate to negotiate collective agreements with publishers.

In the letter sent to Quebec and consulted by The Pressthe signatories deplore that the sale of the Writers’ House was adopted by the Board of Directors in September 2022 “without any consultation of the members”.

The residence in Square Saint-Louis, inaugurated in 1992, “is more than just a head office”, argue writers such as Jean-Paul Daoust, Denise Desautels, Paule Baillargeon, Yann Martel, Carole David and Louise Portal.

Everyone fears that the UNEQ will ignore one of the two missions of the Maison des écrivains, namely the promotion of literature, in favor of the sole defense of the socio-economic rights of writers. “The writers who founded the UNEQ wanted both to promote Quebec literature and to act to improve relations with literary publishers”, notes the missive which quotes Jacques Godbout, founder of the association in 1977. the House of Writers is selling your soul. »

Finance Matters

The authors of the letter point out that the administrators of the association, who invoke “financial stability” as a reason for the sale, have never demonstrated “the advantages of such a sale or its necessity”, specifying that the association has more than 1 million in investments.

The sale price of the house estimated at 2.4 million is also the subject of concern, since the UNEQ has already signed a lease for its new premises, avenue de Gaspé, which it will share with the Union des artistes and the Guild of Musicians of Quebec. “Will UNEQ feel pressured to sell the House at a disadvantageous price, rather than having to pay, in addition to rent, the costs of an unoccupied house and whose tax exemption will be removed as soon as staff leave the premises? we ask.

The Minister of Culture, Mathieu Lacombe, says he is “well aware of the reactions of certain members” vis-à-vis the sale of the House of Writers. “But since the house has no status under the Cultural Heritage Law, this is not of my resort. »

In an email sent to The Press, Mr. Lacombe recalls that the UNEQ “is an independent organization whose governance belongs to its members. » « I know that a new general meeting has been requested and that it must be held at the end of the month. I will wait to see what the assembly of members decides before deciding, if necessary. »

In an email to The Press, the UNEQ indicates that its board of directors will meet on Tuesday, January 17, in the afternoon. “Letters, which we have received or of which we have knowledge, as well as all requests made by members, will be studied during this meeting. A public communication will follow. »