Relationships, the oldest cultural magazine in Quebec, saw its publication stopped by its board of directors. Its employees were “temporarily laid off” last week. The 48-hour notice did not allow them to complete the June issue, which was almost finished, nor to notify subscribers and collaborators, nor to consider whether or not to continue the sale of subscriptions and issues at the very next Paris Book Fair. Quebec.
The same fate was reserved for employees of the Justice and Faith Center (CJF), specialized in social analysis, research and reflection, which publishes Relationships. Its “operations are suspended”. Relationships has been published continuously for 83 years. In 2023, it ranked second among the best-sellers among the cultural magazines promoted by the Society for the Development of Quebec Cultural Periodicals (SODEP).
Founded by the Jesuits, both the CJF and the magazine Relationships are historically supported by the works of this religious order with a mission of social justice.
In total, 10 layoffs occurred last week, with a theoretical maximum of six months, involving 12 employees. The eldest of the company had 17 years of seniority, confirmed the chairman of the board of directors, the Jesuit Peter Bisson. The two remaining employees, in the positions of director and accountant, have been on sick leave since the end of January, we learned The duty, and cannot legally be laid off or fired. There are therefore no more employees at the CJF today.
“The reality is that, unfortunately, the organization has become dysfunctional in several respects,” explains in an interview with Duty the one who has been interim president of the CJF board since last January. “On an operational level, the indefinite absence of two people with key strategic roles in the organization — in the midst of a period of reflection on how to organize the center’s priorities — was an important factor in our decision . »
It would therefore be the sick leave of two employees which leads to the layoff of the entire rest of the team.
And the Jesuit spirit?
“There is nothing in what I know of the situation that justifies these layoffs,” indicates Catherine Caron. The editor-editor has left Relationships last November, after 16 years of service, for personal reasons. “Solutions have been ruled out, it’s distressing,” she continues. And such a cavalier way of doing things is unworthy of a center committed to social justice, and inconsistent with the Jesuit spirit of collaboration and discernment. »
Élisabeth Garant, who worked 27 years at the CJF, including 15 years as director, until December 2022, does not understand the decision either, nor the manner. “The CJF is a complex organization. There are several dimensions: religious, social, cultural periodical. It requires a lot of work and continuity to function. You have to be constantly looking for funding. »
“There are a lot of burdens that have fallen on a board of directors that has been exceeded,” she says. What Mr. Bisson recognized: “The CA had to get involved in current affairs, beyond its capacity. » Mme Garant adds that the CA “did not accept the aid that was offered to it”.
Manual for producing a cultural magazine
“ Relationships is a journal of great importance in the life of ideas in Quebec for decades, a journal with very loyal and intergenerational subscribers,” underlines Hélène Hotton, director of SODEP.
“We in no way want Relationships stop appearing,” specifies the president of the CA. “We recognize the importance of the CJF and Relationships, and we want at all costs to avoid the closure of the center. We are postponing the June issue of Relationships in the fall,” he continues.
What is the deadline for sending the journal to press for fall publication? Silence. “I don’t know the pace of publication of Relationships », recognizes Mr. Bisson. Who knows him in the CA? ” Person. » Isn’t it difficult to plan a publication in the fall under these conditions? Silence. Then: “Yes, indeed. »
“What do they think they have in their hands? A parish leaflet, to be published in a week? says Élisabeth Garant in protest. They are authors, artists, researchers who collaborate on Relationships. With four issues per year, it remains a journal in tune with current events: the texts planned for June cannot all be published in the fall! »
For Catherine Caron, the actions taken “seriously weaken the magazine, and the damage is already numerous”. Relationships risks losing its publishing assistance grant from Canadian Heritage, which requires the continuity of “a 12-month publication cycle without interruption”. For a magazine like Relationships, this aid should be around $150,000, according to industry players. Holding a cultural review in Quebec in the current context is done, according to them, with a budget – managed very tightly, they specify – ranging from $240,000 to $300,000 per year.
“Uncertainty has an impact on the survival of a journal,” maintains Hélène Hotton. “A publication delay can happen, but the suspension of activities and the sudden dismissal of staff are not trivial actions, because a journal cannot survive without a team. This is where the problem lies: we don’t know if or when the team will return. And a magazine functions by constantly maintaining contact with its network and its subscribers,” recalls the director of SODEP.
To date, subscribers have not been informed of the situation, confirmed Mr. Bisson, unless they have visited the website or Facebook page of Relationships.
War, transcendence, poetry and other subjects
Founded in 1941, Relationships engages in “committed solidarity criticism”, publishing political analyses, essay texts and a little creativity. It is a beautifully presented, graphic and intellectual magazine.
An artist illustrates each issue: Jean-Marc Nahas signed the paintings adorning the latest edition, “War-Peace: Perspective in Chiaroscuro”. There we find a reflection on the outrage that ChatGPT arouses, a report on head trauma resulting from domestic violence, a portrait of Cornel West and a poetic column by Emné Nasereddine.
Recent collaborators include Yvon Rivard, Nathalie Plaat, Maya Ombasic, Jean-Claude Ravet, Jean Bédard and Jacques Goldstyn, among others.
All the stakeholders interviewed believe that the best way to save Relationships is to return to the issue of layoffs as quickly as possible. Employees contacted by The duty declined our interview requests