Minister Nathalie Roy had to defend the Legault government’s heritage record on Thursday during an event bringing together the cultural community at HEC Montreal, where the various political parties present did not otherwise show major differences on the other issues that affect the sector.
Organized by the Network of Regional Cultural Councils of Quebec, the discussion remained very respectful, but the exchanges between the various candidates still increased in tone when the subject of Blue Spaces was broached. Ardently defended by Prime Minister Legault, this project is presented as a means of occupying the built heritage, while having the ambition to promote characters who have marked the history of Quebec. However, part of the community fears that the Blue Spaces will compete with existing museums that are suffering from a lack of funding.
“I am worried that we are weakening museums [existants] because the CAQ [Coalition avenir Québec] wants to make a [nouveau] museum on Lionel Groulx or Maurice Duplessis”, quipped Ruba Ghazal, of Quebec solidaire, trying to illustrate that this “partisan” project is in line with the identity policy of the Legault government. The MNA for Mercier also deplores the fact that the museum sector was not sufficiently consulted upstream, before the launch of the project.
“It’s always dangerous when you politicize culture. […] What we really don’t need is the parallel network that will compete with the network of museums in Quebec, ”said Frantz Benjamin, candidate for re-election in Viau. The Liberal MP also did not fail to point out that the CAQ government was the one that approved the sale of Maison Chevalier last fall, this illustrious heritage building in Old Quebec which today belongs to the Tanguay family.
A record to defend
The outgoing Minister of Culture, Nathalie Roy, nevertheless stubbornly defended her heritage record, recalling that the law was amended to give more power to regional county municipalities. The opposition judges the provisions of the new law insufficient, but Nathalie Roy maintains that it will prevent new wild demolitions of heritage buildings.
“Unfortunately, there will always be people who don’t obey the law. When I saw that someone had demolished the Domaine-de-l’Estérel, I wanted to kill, ”the minister went so far as to say, referring to this famous listed building in the Laurentians which was demolished without authorization. by a private promoter in the spring.
It’s always dangerous when you politicize culture
Faced with actors in the cultural sector, Nathalie Roy praised her record, citing her reform of the status of the artist and the injection of record sums into culture during the pandemic. The four parties represented during the debate have also pledged to extend this aid despite the return to normal.
Through this relative unanimity, Pierre Nantel, of the Parti Québécois (PQ), nevertheless took care to irritate Minister Roy, who did not, in his opinion, take the problem of the discoverability of artists seriously enough. Quebecers on listening platforms. On these services, barely 7% of the songs listened to are from Quebec. “It was the opposition that insisted that you raise your hand and tell Ottawa that there was a problem,” railed the PQ candidate in Marie-Victorin, targeting Nathalie Roy.
The missing PCQ
This debate was above all an opportunity for each of the candidates to recall the cultural commitments of their respective parties. Québec solidaire wants to double the number of cultural outings in schools. The PQ opens the door to a system of intermittent workers, as in France, so that artists receive a fixed salary throughout the year. The Liberal Party promises to make heritage preservation more profitable than demolition, and proposes a property tax holiday on uninhabited heritage homes, with compensation for municipalities. At the CAQ, there is a lot of emphasis on increasing budgets for the purchase of Quebec books, a measure announced earlier this week.
The Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) was conspicuous by its absence. Despite the invitation of the organizers, the political formation of Éric Duhaime did not see fit to send a candidate. “It shows the importance that this party attaches to culture,” even dropped comedian Sylvain Massé, the host of the debate, in the opening.