One of the most imposing heritage buildings in Beauce, the convent of the Sisters of Charity of Saint-Gédéon, was acquired by the municipality a decade ago. The new administration now wants to get rid of it. “An old building, supports the new mayor, Alain Quirion. It’s always to start over. It’s like the Quebec bridge, he says: “You finish painting it at one end, then you start over at the other. »
The mayor wants to erect a brand new building. “We will take the time to see where we are going to build. Maybe the price of materials will go down. Maybe it’ll be a good shot. […] I’m not innocent full time. I know it’s beautiful. This is the heart of the village. But can the residents afford that? We have even less money to afford that than in 2013. I know that. »
The offices of the municipality, a CLSC, the municipal library, a cultural centre, a multipurpose hall and various community organizations, including a food bank, have been housed for 10 years in this Second Empire style building, which has given it a second breath.
“After a debt of several hundred thousand dollars, bringing the building up to standard and repeatedly increasing municipal taxes for its maintenance, the decision to sell seems contradictory”, explains Sophie Quirion, a Beauceronne who led a extensive research on the building as part of graduate work at the University of Quebec in Montreal. Mme Quirion specifies that she is not related to the mayor. “Residents tell us that the land around the building has been sold to make way for apartment buildings,” she told the newspaper. In Beauce.
Joined by The duty, Sophie Quirion specifies that the preservation of the convent has sparked heated discussions in this municipality. She feels that people have not been informed of all the issues. “It’s not the building that’s the problem, but the way we took care of it and how we take care of it! »
No subsidies
“The municipalities, jointly with the regional county municipalities [MRC]have powers in terms of heritage,” explains Ms.me Quirion.
These powers allow them to protect their built heritage, to cite it and to request funding for this purpose, “particularly when [le bâtiment] state of exception, like the convent of Saint-Gédéon”. However, the municipality has never asked for help, notes Mr.me Quirion. What the mayor confirms Homework.
What world do we live in if we cannot preserve our past, our history, our landscape?
No question of quoting the building to ensure its protection or of asking for subsidies, indicates the mayor. ” It’s no ! Grants don’t give me anything. It’s a rotten gift! If you take a subsidy, you have to put a part of it. »
A little money isn’t better than no money at all, as it has been for 10 years? “I don’t see it the same way. For starters, the roof would cost 1.5 million to redo. Plus 30%. Even with the subsidy, we are not going to pay for that, any more than new chassis. »
“It’s only funds from the municipality that have been put in there, while state aid could have been requested,” adds Sophie Quirion. According to a prior inventory of heritage assets established by the local MRC, the convent of Saint-Gédéon-de-Beauce is one of the few buildings of “very high interest” in the region.
A CLSC involved
The mayor wants Saint-Gédéon to be able to become a tenant of the offices it already occupies, once they are sold to a promoter. “The CLSC will stay there for the moment, and so will the rest of us, as long as we haven’t decided to build, within two years. “A project for which he would not refuse possible subsidies. And the other organizations? “They had a whole place before, that world. We will see. »
I’m not innocent full time. I know it’s beautiful. This is the heart of the village.
The 10-year lease of the CLSC de Saint-Gédéon expires on October 31, 2024. “For the time being, the CLSC plans to remain in these premises”, failing notice to the contrary, indicates to Homework the CISSS of Chaudière-Appalaches, while noting that it was not informed in any way by the municipality of its intention to dispose of the building.
A treasure
In a letter he addressed to several media about this convent, the aerial photographer and historian Pierre Lahoud wonders: “in what world do we live if we cannot preserve our past, our history, our landscape? For him, it is unthinkable not to ensure that this building is kept at the service of the community. “How can one let go of such a monument? Why did the municipality not register it in the directory of cultural assets? Why does the MRC not intervene, and what does the Ministry of Culture and Communications do? »
Reached by telephone, Pierre Lahoud affirms that the Quebec State “has given too many powers to municipalities in matters of heritage, obviously to offload its own responsibilities”. According to him, “we can clearly see that some municipalities are not capable of taking charge of their heritage, however important it may be. They have neither the means nor the knowledge to do so”.
Saint-Gédéon-de-Beauce is a municipality of just over 2000 inhabitants.
“This convent is of rare elegance,” continues Pierre Lahoud. Honestly, I have rarely seen such beautiful ones in Quebec. Its architectural and landscape qualities are unique. And we wouldn’t be able to keep that in the community? Let’s see! »
In his view, the state shows appalling laxity in matters of heritage. “There is such inertia in government when it comes to heritage that it jeopardizes our history and all that we have been. He recalls that in 1975, the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, in the time of Jean-Paul L’Allier, spoke of the need to create a heritage management. Fifty years later, he regrets, nothing has really changed.