The Rimouski Regional Museum published, in mid-October 2022, a job offer for a curator. The position has only just been filled, a year and a half later.
“We are a small museum with eight permanent employees, we are in the region,” explains archivist Nathalie Langelier, who has worked there for more than 25 years. “Our salaries are less attractive, and finding accommodation in Rimouski represents quite a challenge: accommodation is rare and expensive. The pandemic is hard on us, but it’s true that it has caused people to come and settle here and house prices have skyrocketed. »
The museum also has to deal with a high turnover rate: as soon as they gain experience, employees will get paid better elsewhere. Mme Langelier announced his intention to retire in early April. Good luck finding a replacement…
The same death knell is heard at the other end of the peninsula, at the Musée de la Gaspésie, located on rue de Gaspé, in Gaspé.
“We can play a little on working conditions to improve the lot of employees, but, at some point, their purchasing power decreases,” says Gabrielle Leduc, coordinator at the establishment’s general management. She has worked there since 2016 with around ten other people full-time and three part-time. “Here, we can’t imagine living without a car. There is almost no accommodation, and it is becoming more and more expensive. It is becoming extremely difficult to continue to have careers in culture in our region. »
The misery of museums
This unenviable situation is documented in theAnalysis of the museum sector produced by the National Federation of Communications and Culture (FNCC), affiliated with the Confederation of National Unions (CSN). This 135-page report, obtained exclusively, offers a statistical portrait of the sector bringing together 392 establishments, including 107 museums (with collections), 206 interpretation places and 79 exhibition centers. The network attracts approximately 6.5 million visitors per year.
The survey establishes the average salary of a Quebec museum employee at just over $27 per hour — $21 for a guide; $32.35 for a conservative; $37.50 for a general manager. And workers in small establishments are at a disadvantage compared to those in museums with 20 or more employees. Moreover, even the giants here do not offer such enviable conditions: at the start of their career, a curator in a Canadian state museum earns double the salary of a colleague in a Quebec state museum. ($81,000, compared to $42,000).
The union members of Quebec museums face the facts: their employers have almost no room for maneuver to increase their income, and therefore do not have the means to improve their lot. Hence this unusual approach on the part of a union federation, namely producing a report on the state of cultural establishments in Quebec.
A third (30%) of them are in Montreal and Quebec, including the four largest museums: the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Civilization and the National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec. As many of them (31%) are located in remote regions; The Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine region includes 26 institutions.
“In the wake of the pandemic and its aftermath, our members working in the museum industry, particularly in museums outside major centers, told us of even more complex challenges than before: reduction in own-source income, explosion in costs operating, loss of jobs and expertise, increase in costs linked to health measures,” explains the president of the FNCC, Annick Charette, by email. “This report demonstrates how important it is to better finance our museums, because it is enough to count on the “passion” and “vocation” of the workers holding them at arm’s length. »
Beyond project financing
The annual budget of the Musée de la Gaspésie hovers around $1.2 million. Less than $290,000 (per year, for three years) comes from the Operating Assistance Program for Museum Institutions (PAFIM) of the Ministry of Culture.
The museum asked for $370,000 annually, but did not receive it. Operating subsidies total less than a quarter (24%) of the establishment’s revenue, which generates double this amount (48%) on its own. The federal government provides nothing. Municipality helps a little more than sponsorship, which only generates 1% of revenue. “This situation is untenable,” writes Gabrielle Leduc at Duty after the telephone interview. “We will decline shortly, and even consider closing in the medium term if nothing is done to decently finance our organization. »
Another large quarter (28%) of the Musée de la Gaspésie’s revenue comes from grants for specific projects — sums paid for one exhibition or activity at a time and which monopolize a lot of bureaucratic effort that must constantly be renewed.
The Museum has decided to reduce the number so as not to overload its employees. “Project funding is not viable in terms of human resources,” says the coordinator, who would therefore rather like an increase in the overall grant. “Seeking more operating assistance would allow us to stabilize our recurring income and inject money into the payroll. Currently, we can influence working conditions, but the purchasing power of our employees is decreasing. »
The FNCC report lists long-standing recommendations and formulates new ones. A request calls for an increase of six million per year in the PAFIM budget. This program has a total envelope of around 28.5 million in 2024-2025 to help more than 120 establishments. The sum includes special aid of five million granted during the pandemic, maintained and increased by one million since.
Another idea concerns the adjustment of salaries to comparables in the public service and the establishment of a retirement plan. Other desired measures include funds to inventory collections, enable acquisitions or simply compensate for expenses caused by the distance from certain museums.
“Everything costs more in the region,” says archivist Nathalie Langelier in closing. “Bringing works from Montreal to Rimouski can cost $6,000. You also have to pay for the artist’s transportation, accommodate him, feed him…”