The health crisis may be a thing of the past, but the repercussions of the pandemic are still being felt heavily, especially by Montreal festivals who fear for their survival in the face of the lack of government financial support.
It is therefore to alert the public and government authorities that the general managers of 16 Montreal festivals wrote an open letter addressed to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pablo Rodriguez, to the Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon, responsible for the Metropolis and the Montreal region. to the CAQ, to the Quebec Minister of Culture and Communications, Mathieu Lacombe, as well as to the Mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante. This letter is published today in our Debates section.
“The aftermath of this crisis is abrupt, revealing the fragility of our structures and the exhaustion of our teams. We are concerned about what is coming, whether it is inflation, which is reflected in production costs, the essential increase in artists’ fees or human resources issues. […] The current funding no longer allows us to maintain the jobs necessary for the proper deployment of our activities. The situation has dramatic consequences for the future,” reads this letter, signed in particular by the general managers of Montreal completely circus, Nuits d’Afrique, the Festival du nouveau cinéma de Montréal, Fantasia and Présence priveille.
You should know that since the middle of 2022, the government financial assistance deployed to allow the cultural community to get through the pandemic crisis has dried up. “For the moment, there is no longer any support,” says David Lavoie, general manager of the Festival TransAmériques (FTA). Federal wage subsidies are over. Same thing for Tourisme Québec, which had increased its support for events by 50% over two years. »
At the same time, production costs have skyrocketed. Salaries, which are less and less competitive, must be increased to take into account the inflation that is rampant and to avoid a brain drain. Worse, the public is not quite back.
David Lavoie explains: “In the current situation, I don’t know how we’re going to solve the equation for next year. I do not want to be alarmist, but yes, we fear for the future. »
Alain Mongeau, general manager of the MUTEK festival, agrees: “If nothing is done, the ecosystem will become fragile. Some festivals will not resist. The recent disappearance of the Coups de theaters and Grosse lanterne festivals are also the first harbingers of this. And the quality of the programming of those who pass through is also likely to suffer. »
Already, the figures are frightening, says Mr. Mongeau. “With the end of the COVID support aid granted by the governments, we have a shortfall of $200,000. And you have to absorb a cost increase of 30 to 40%. Not to mention the necessary adjustments that must be made to salaries. »
We can’t pass the bill on to the spectators, because we’re going to lose the audience we’re trying to win back.
David Lavoie, General Manager of the FTA
To help festivals get back on their feet, the signatories would like the Quebec government to extend its investments in the cultural sector for the next four years. This recommendation also appeared in a recent brief from the Network of Regional Cultural Councils of Quebec, of which Culture Montreal is a member.
“It’s a real cry from the heart that is launched with this letter, explains Alain Mongeau. The world around us is no longer the same as before the pandemic. This observation, he says, is shared by all the signatories of the letter, who all run festivals devoted to specialized disciplines based in the metropolis.
This is why many would like to see the birth of a Festival Summit, where the issues related to these particular events could be debated in order to find possible solutions.
“Festivals are very important for the positioning of Montreal. They should not be taken for granted, because everyone struggles. They are carried at arm’s length. This cry from the heart is to be taken seriously. We want people to know that. If we decide to let our festivals disappear, it will be done knowingly…”