The sale of Maison Chevalier, an exceptional building in Old Quebec, is an unforgivable blunder endorsed by the Minister of Culture and Communications, Nathalie Roy.
The 1752 building located at the gates of Place Royale will pass into the hands of a subsidiary of the Tanguay Group. The company may well be rooted in the economic fabric of Quebec, it does not deserve to be entrusted with the ownership and management of a heritage asset of such great symbolic value. Once it is in private hands, what will prevent the resale or transformation of Maison Chevalier? Over the years, it will become an empty shell, a heritage of junk. It is its public character that Quebec has just denied with careless lightness.
The professor at UQAM and holder of the Canada Research Chair in Urban Heritage, Lucie K. Morisset, is right to denounce “the little knowledge and the little importance that we do for heritage” with this decision. from Minister Roy.
It makes you wonder what the future Blue Spaces will look like, these 17 regional houses dedicated to the celebration of national pride that the Legault government wishes to erect. Maison Chevalier could have served as the flagship for the project. The amateurism surrounding its sale does not inspire confidence in the future.
Minister Roy should not be the only one wearing the donkey hat on this issue. The president and CEO of the Musée de la civilization, Stéphan La Roche, denies having proceeded in the dark. But why then did he not opt for a public call for projects instead of secretly selling the building? His explanation (he was afraid to receive far-fetched proposals) is, in fact, far-fetched.
Mr. La Roche also asserts that the dimensions and classification of Maison Chevalier made it impossible to transform it into a Blue Space. Here again, it is an admission of helplessness which does not bode well for the future and which brings us back to the original vice. The Minister of Culture and the CEO of the Musée de la civilization are in a way asking business people, the Tanguay family, to protect and enhance the built heritage for them.
Such conduct is unbecoming of a Crown corporation charged with protecting and defending the public interest. It is unworthy of a government that is so busy with gestures of national affirmation and pride. Maison Chevalier is a collective asset, and it must remain so. Going back would be an honorable decision.