The sale of the Writers’ House continues to cause a stir within the Union of Quebec Writers and Writers (UNEQ). Barely appointed, one of the administrators left his post amid differences this weekend. Under pressure, the board will reassess its controversial decision on Tuesday.
The director general of UNEQ, Laurent Dubois, again pleaded on Monday for the sale of the House of Writers, while maintenance costs “amount to several tens of thousands of dollars and will continue to grow year after year. year “. But Mr Dubois also confirmed that the board would reconsider its decision announced last month. “Requests made by our members regarding the sale of the House will be discussed,” he said by email.
This volte-face comes two days after the writer Alain Beaulieu, who was appointed at the end of December, announced that he was giving up his seat on the board of directors. On Facebook, he explained that “several reasons motivated this withdrawal”, but his publication implied that the sale of the Writers’ House was not unrelated to his resignation.
Symbolic place
The House of Writers, located near Square Saint-Louis, has not only been UNEQ’s head office since 1992, but also a place where all kinds of activities related to literature are organized. The decision to divest was endorsed by the board of directors, on which Mr. Beaulieu did not sit at the time, but was never approved by all of the members.
Since then, calls from former UNEQ leaders have multiplied for the sale process to be suspended and for a vote to be held on the issue. Several honorary members of the UNEQ — Michel Tremblay, Jacques Godbout, Gilles Vigneault and Joséphine Bacon among others — went one better last week by publishing an open letter. They asked the union’s management to add this subject to the agenda of the next extraordinary general meeting which is to be held in a few weeks.
“Nothing is explained with regard to the literary and cultural activities held regularly at the Maison des écrivains, just like the use of the money obtained for the sale of the house. The climate of discontent and mistrust that reigns at the moment within the UNEQ risks being harmful to its development, ”we can read in the missive.
Tax exemption
The Commission municipale du Québec (CMQ) had granted a tax exemption to the UNEQ as a non-profit organization, as several literary activities open to the public were organized in the Maison des écrivains. However, the UNEQ indicated last week that it feared that it would no longer meet the CMQ’s criteria. A significant tax increase would follow if the house was not sold, it was said.
An explanation that does not convince Alain Beaulieu, resigning member of the board of directors. For him, the lifting of the exemption from property taxes on the Writers’ House is not immutable. It would only be necessary to split the UNEQ into two distinct organizations: a union, and an association promoting Quebec literature. This could thus keep the House of Writers.
Alain Beaulieu declined our interview request. By email, UNEQ said it regretted his departure, while rejecting his proposal to separate UNEQ. “For more than 40 years, the Union of Quebec Writers (UNEQ) has worked to defend the socio-economic rights of writers and to promote Quebec literature, in Quebec, in Canada and abroad. This mission is fundamental and will continue to be,” reiterated the CEO.
long saga
Mr. Beaulieu had been called at the end of December to replace the writer Pierre-Luc Landry on the board of directors. The latter had resigned before the end of his mandate, like the youth author Mathieu Boutin. They had both made it known that their departure was not directly linked to the whole saga surrounding UNEQ.
The union was then in the hot seat after having decided following a general assembly of 46 people to impose a contribution on all authors in Quebec. This decision was eventually overturned due to a procedural flaw.
The board of directors, made up of only six people since the resignation of Alain Beaulieu, will also determine on Tuesday the terms of the new extraordinary general meeting, where the question of contributions will be debated.