Five more years are granted to Line Ouellet as president of the Quebec Cultural Heritage Council (CPCQ). The government of François Legault has just renewed the mandate of the former director of the National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec (MNBAQ) at the head of this advisory body.
What exactly does the CPCQ do? In interview, Mme Ouellet explains that he plays a “role of advisor to the Minister” of Culture and Communications and wants, at the same time, to be “the citizen’s listener”. For “the most important authorizations, we refer to us”. This is not done at the discretion of the minister in office since the law provides that he must, in certain cases, request an opinion.
In 2022-23, the council has given 45 such opinions, according to an official list. The majority concerns the future of buildings or heritage sites. But the CPCQ also examines, each year, the question of whether or not certain events should be considered “historic” in the eyes of the State.
The CPCQ was thus invited to comment on the historical status of the founding of Quebec in 1608 or on the historical nature of the launch of the manifesto Overall refusal in 1948, or even on the creation of the Council on the Status of Women in 1973. Do we need such a governmental structure to validate the value of events already well known and endorsed by historians? “You know that history is not an exact science and that a second opinion can be important! […] I think it’s super interesting to do it. We not only see the subject, but we give added value in our opinions. »
You know that history is not an exact science and that a second opinion can be important!
The CPCQ committee has 12 members. “They are expert members, historians, architects, ethnologists, people from the academic world, from management. » If the president and vice-president are paid full-time, the other members have volunteer status. They are appointed by the government. Their expenses are still reimbursed.
Line Ouellet, 65, says she works closely with these people to “enrich the decisions” of the minister. The committee holds “10 to 12 meetings per year”. The CPCQ also holds “20 or 30 hearings per year”, where citizens or experts, for example architects, appear to present their projects.
The planned expenditure budget for the Quebec Cultural Heritage Council for 2023-2024 is $593,000. It should produce, again this year, less than fifty official opinions. Mme Ouellet does not believe that demands will increase.
As president of the CPCQ, Line Ouellet receives $169,950 annually, plus office expenses. She is supported by a co-president, Ann Mundy, whose annual salary amounts to $132,259. Mme Mundy is a former manager of the Grand Théâtre de Québec who was chief of staff to Minister of Culture Liza Frulla.
When her contract as president of the Heritage Council expires, Line Ouellet will have reached the age of 70. She will then receive a “transition allowance”, as planned so that senior government executives can more easily find their place elsewhere. This will be the equivalent of approximately a year’s salary. “I didn’t negotiate anything! These are government rules. I don’t see why that wouldn’t apply to me. »
Achievements
What are his major achievements over the past five years? She welcomes a twelve-page digital document, a sort of “Who does what?” » intended for citizens to help them navigate the maze of heritage authorizations.
Didn’t that already exist? ” No Alas. It should be live within two to three weeks, assuming we don’t encounter any computer issues. »
The CPCQ also produced, she notes, another online document on heritage assets collected over the last hundred years. This “130-page tool shows all of what is protected,” indicates the president of the CPCQ. “We also put an interactive map online. If you are a municipal elected official, you can zoom in and see the properties that are under your control.”
With Dave Christmas