(Quebec) Part of the money that was to be used to build Blue Spaces throughout Quebec must now be redirected to regional media, believes PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.
At a press briefing in Quebec on Tuesday, Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon returned to the abandonment by the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government of its promise to build 18 new museums called “Blue Spaces”.
When announcing the project in 2021, Prime Minister François Legault promised that these Blue Spaces, dedicated to the history of the regions and the specific identity of each, would not compete with already established museums.
Three years later, the CAQ abandoned the idea, citing too high costs. Indeed, building a Blue Space in each region of Quebec would have cost nearly 1 billion in total, confirmed Monday the Minister of Culture, Mathieu Lacombe.
Denouncing a “terribly poorly put together” CAQ project, Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon declared that part of the envelope must now be reallocated to the artistic and media communities.
“We should urgently look into the fate of regional media,” declared the PQ leader.
“There are crises that exist, that are documented, for which we are still waiting for a plan or an intervention, and during that time, the CAQ was engaging in all kinds of “bling-bling”, flashy projects. -the eye, which rested on nothing.
“If the CAQ cares about people in the artistic community, in the media community, it would be a sign of humility to move part of these funds towards glaring and documented needs in these sectors,” he said. -he adds.