Yes, the Télé-Québec archives suffered significant damage following last Friday’s water main break in Montreal. Télé-Québec is however “unable” to say whether or not the Passe-Partout costume is part of the lot.
Contrary to what Culture and Communications Minister Mathieu Lacombe said Wednesday, the original costume of Passe-Partout, the cult children’s character played by Marie Eykel, was not “seriously damaged” after the flooding of the basement of Télé-Québec headquarters. At least, this information cannot be verified. Reached by telephone, the head of the broadcaster’s press relations department, Catherine Lebœuf, indicated that it was impossible to “identify which costumes had been affected.”
“There are three to seven feet of water in our basements. There will definitely be losses. We’re waiting to see what we can save.”
Catherine Lebœuf confirms that several costumes linked to the broadcaster’s programs were sent “to a company specializing in restoration.”
The massive water leak near the Jacques-Cartier Bridge also caused significant flooding at Bell Media, which is home to TV channels Noovo, RDS and CTV.