For some time in Chandler, the Château Dubuc, a heritage villa of national interest, has been left to the whims of the sea. This state of abandonment of a magnificent witness to our industrial history is a real scandal. This is why we send you a cry from the heart, not to say a cry of despair. We believe that only your intervention, Madam Minister of Culture, can still save this jewel of Gaspé and Quebec heritage.
Château Dubuc is the subject of a heritage citation by the City of Chandler and by the MRC du Rocher-Percé. This magnificent villa (and its adjoining buildings) represents an important witness to the industrial history of Chandler and Quebec.
Considered the king of the pulp and paper industry in Quebec, Julien-Édouard-Alfred Dubuc is a key figure in our history. In 1915, the St. Lawrence Pulp and Lumber Company, associated with the Chicoutimi Pulp Co., entrusted Dubuc with the establishment and operation of the Chandler pulp and paper mill. He then asked that a summer house be built for him (1916) on the bench to bring his family and friends there. Dubuc will be mayor of Chicoutimi (1932-1936) and deputy for Chicoutimi in the House of Commons (1925 to 1945). Château Dubuc has been assigned “high heritage value” because of its avant-garde architecture, inspired by trends in vogue in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century.and century.
Climate change is making life difficult for Gaspésie’s heritage. Moreover, we have the right to congratulate you on the injection of more than 20 million dollars to save the Frederick-James villa in Percé, threatened by the erosion of the cliff, as a Gaspé blue space. However, at the same time, another villa of great importance, Château Dubuc, urgently needs your help.
In Quebec, there is a lack of pride on the part of public authorities towards heritage, all of which is combined with a lack of means. The Auditor General of Quebec pointed this out in her 2020 report. We know the rest. Your government is committed to promoting this pride in heritage, which is a major foundation of our cultural identity. In this sense, we must welcome the creation of Blue Spaces and the establishment, under the terms of bill no.oh 69 (April 2021), stricter conservation rules governing property cited by municipalities.
However, this shared responsibility does not seem to be respected by all. This is particularly the case for Château Dubuc, which, although it is a cited property, has not recently received the attention of the authorities concerned. Admittedly, last October you offered $40,000 to shelter this villa from bad weather, but the refusal in December of the municipal council to make its contribution by injecting $10,000 into it compromised everything. This is an example that clearly demonstrates that the concept of shared responsibility no longer makes sense when no leadership is exercised.
Three encouraging signs
What to do now ? In the name of the best interests relating to an exceptional heritage asset, you now have a duty to assume your leadership in this file by implementing a concerted action plan. Moreover, three encouraging signs encourage you to do so. First, citizens recently created an NPO, the Corporation patrimoniale du château Dubuc in Chandler, to take charge of the process of moving the building. Then, the co-owner, Michel St-Pierre, says he is “ready to give up the property he owns with his ex-spouse free of charge”. And for its part, “the new municipal council of Chandler says it is ready to help as much as possible (provide land and technical assistance)”.
Could this rescue not benefit from the $437 million plan over five years, announced last Thursday by your colleague the Minister of the Environment, which aims, among other things, to counter the effects of climate change, including erosion coastal?
Moreover, it is in your interest to save the villa, because a refusal to intervene on your part would still incur costs for your government. Indeed, the building, washed away by the sea and no longer on private property, but on a public shore, would need to be recovered in whole or in part, and this, at your expense.
And if we abandon everything, if we let the sea win the fight, Château Dubuc, which was for a long time an object of pride for the community of Chandler, risks becoming an object of dishonor, both for the Gaspesians and for Quebecers concerned about their history and their heritage. And what an impact for our image in terms of tourism!
If nothing is done, this heritage wreck would unfortunately become an attraction for tourists who would come to photograph it in memory of an inglorious symbol, namely the lack of will of the public authorities in matters of heritage. This would discredit those public authorities who failed to intervene when there was still time to do so. You must therefore act now, Madam Minister!