After reconsidering its decision to impose union dues on all authors in Quebec, the Union of Quebec Writers and Writers (UNEQ) is once again criticized. This time, members and former leaders of the organization are challenging the sale of the Maison des Ecrivains, UNEQ’s historic headquarters near Square Saint-Louis, and are demanding a vote on the issue.
The UNEQ announced last December that it was going to divest itself of the House of Writers by the spring for financial reasons. The union intends to move to the offices of the Union des artistes (UDA), which will allow it to save money, while the recent reform on the status of the artist gives it more responsibilities.
However, several authors are expressing these days on social networks their attachment to this ancestral house, which has not only served as UNEQ’s headquarters since 1992, but which also allows the organization of all kinds of events related to the literature. The decision to sell was taken in September by the board of directors, which is “undemocratic to the highest degree”, thunders the former director general of UNEQ Pierre Lavoie.
The decision to put it up for sale seems to have been taken on the sly by the board of directors.
“The Maison des writers does not belong only to the board of directors, it belongs to all the members, and more broadly to all Quebecers, because the governments have invested a lot of money in it”, recalls the one who directed the ‘UNEQ from 1993 to 2010.
Sentimental value
Pierre Lavoie is convinced that future UNEQ offices in a commercial building will not be as welcoming for authors. He is sorry that we are trying to sell a jewel like the Maison des écrivains, located near Square Saint-Louis, a mythical place where many Quebec artists and authors have lived. The Writers’ House has already belonged to the filmmaker Claude Jutra. It is also located a few steps from what was the residence of Émile Nelligan.
The UNEQ had acquired it in 1990 for nearly $900,000, one could read in The duty at the time. Its value is now estimated at 2.4 million. Danièle Simpson, who was president of the UNEQ from 2010 to 2016, doubts however that the UNEQ can benefit from this sale. During his time at the head of the union, there had already been talk of liquidating the House of Writers. But she remembers that we quickly came to the conclusion that the sale was not worth it.
“The house is valued at 2.4 million, but will the current market allow it to sell at that price? By already announcing that the move will take place in the spring, doesn’t that put pressure on finding a buyer as quickly as possible? These are all questions that should have been debated in assembly. There are probably legitimate answers, but there is no way of knowing, because they refuse to consult us, ”denounces Mme Simpsons.
Like Pierre Lavoie, the former president of UNEQ opposes the sale of the Maison des écrivains. But she would comply with the decision if it was the verdict of a vote in general assembly. A member of the UNEQ for several years, the novelist Élisabeth Vonarburg is also of the opinion that the sale of the Writers’ House should at least be ratified by a vote of the members. “The decision to put it up for sale seems to have been taken on the sly by the board of directors. It highlights a problem of governance within the UNEQ, ”adds the science fiction author, also referring to the whole saga around contributions.
Final decision
Remember that the UNEQ had ruled last June at a general meeting, attended by barely 46 people, that its 1,600 members should pay it a union dues of 2.5% of their income. That of non-member authors had been set at 5%. This decision, which had not been made public until the beginning of December, had raised an outcry in the literary world. The UNEQ finally reconsidered its decision between Christmas and New Year’s Day because of a procedural defect in the summons email.
A general meeting will therefore be held in the coming weeks to hold a new vote on the dues. But there is no question of adding the sale of the Writers’ House to the agenda of this extraordinary meeting. In an email sent last week to To have toUNEQ reiterates that the decision of its Board of Directors is final.
“Any financial decision, whether it concerns investments, the sale or rental of real estate, among others, is the responsibility of the Board of Directors, which has been elected by the members and mandated by them to manage the affairs of organization”, underlined the current president, Suzanne Aubry, completely ruling out the holding of a vote.
In his email, Mr.me Aubry also insisted on the enormous financial burden that the Maison des écrivains represents. She mentions that maintenance and insurance costs are constantly increasing, and that renovations would have been necessary in the next few years.
What’s more, UNEQ has benefited from an exemption on property taxes since 2017, but this should be reassessed soon, which could lead to an explosion in expenditure. “An exorbitant amount of property taxes which could be estimated at around $70,000 to $80,000”, estimates the UNEQ, “or approximately 6 to 8% of the association’s budget”.