Artists and artisans in the cultural sector who have been victims of harassment or violence will now be able to be represented free of charge before the Administrative Labor Tribunal. L’Aparté, of the Juripop Legal Clinic, will receive three million dollars over three years from Quebec to implement this initiative.
“It’s a giant step today for the cultural community,” said Juripop’s general manager, Sophie Gagnon, in a press release. She was alongside the Minister of Culture, Mathieu Lacombe, during the official announcement on Tuesday morning.
The legal service L’Aparté, which was created in 2018 in the wake of the #MeToo movement, already offered support and legal assistance in the cultural sector. With this additional funding from the Ministry of Culture, the organization will be able to go even further to help victims through to the end of their legal proceedings.
“For several years, the cultural community has denounced the scarcity of available resources and the inequalities surrounding access to legal remedies in situations of psychological harassment or sexual violence. Sensitive to these realities, our government took the situation seriously and acted to provide the necessary support to the cultural sector,” said Minister Lacombe.
Further details will follow.
To see in video