This text is part of the special Theater booklet
For the community to recover from the aftermath of the pandemic, the Quebec Theater Council called for a long-term vision and an investment in the well-being of artisans in the profession. Following the tabling of the budget earlier this week, he feels he has been heard and that the investments have been made in places that the community had deemed priorities.
The great disappointment of the last two years for the theater community lies in the absence of the Minister of Culture and Communications, Nathalie Roy, according to the co-president of the Quebec Theater Council (CQT) Laurence Régnier. “The fact of not having a dialogue with the one who represents us, it was hard, she expresses. It’s difficult to function, to be rigorous at work, to keep motivated when politically, we have trouble opening up dialogues on our reality and we have announcements in dribs and drabs. »
For this cultural revival to happen differently and serenely, the CQT asked for clear guidelines for the future and financial resources in order to remove a weight from the shoulders of those who hold the community at arm’s length. “We asked for a vision so that we would stop asking cultural workers who are completely exhausted to constantly adapt,” continues Laurence Régnier.
After two years of waiting, the community finally seems to have been heard. Budget 2022-2023 provides for the granting of an envelope of $72.1 million for the coming year to support the cultural sector in the face of the effects of the pandemic that are still being felt. It will make it possible to take over from the ticketing assistance measure which had been introduced to compensate for reduced ticket sales due to the limited capacity of performance halls to ensure physical distance between members of the public. Another $136.6 million will be divided over the next three years between the Société de développement des entreprises culturelle (SODEC), which will receive $58.6 million, and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ), who will get 78 million. These two state corporations will be responsible for channeling this money into the cultural community through their various programs.
“I am reassured that this goes through the CALQ, because it is our first point of contact and it knows our needs, indicated the director general of the Professional Association of RIDEAU show presenters Julie-Anne Richard to our colleagues from Radio-Canada. . This money also risks flowing into our operating envelopes. »
In a press release, the general manager of the Scènes de musique alternatives du Québec (SMAQ), Jon Weisz, said he was delighted to read in the new budget that the money going to SODEC and the CALQ will aim in particular to further support the artistic succession.
Financing in the right place
For the CQT, it seems important that this support primarily targets artists and not only structures and organizations. “Reinjecting money where it was already there increases inequalities tenfold, whether for the next generation, diversity, young companies, underlines the co-president of the CQT Rachel Morse. We hire people with passion, but we don’t have the means to hire them long term or at a competitive salary. »
Among the other demands expressed by the CQT, it is claimed that the support measures for operation and dissemination resulting from COVID-19 continue as long as the consequences of the pandemic are felt. “We are mainly talking about the effects on the decline in public attendance in theaters, which will perhaps last several years, and the work overload which is still very present. Currently, several companies, called intermediaries, do not have access to operational support, according to the CQT. That is to say that all the hours worked are far from being all remunerated.
In addition, the CQT also wants support for dissemination, as well as for research and development of projects at the start of creation. “We must not only prioritize the projects that are broadcast, but also the projects of artists who devote a large part of their career and their time to finding how to be relevant and how to have a human impact in our society. »
Moreover, faced with the difficulty of recruiting a replacement, because of the difficult working conditions, Rachel Morse fears for the future when the current workers “will leave for burnout “. “We need help to support employees and artists, whether in terms of mental health or employment insurance, which concerns more Canada,” she believes. We must set up long-term programs such as the psychological follow-up that was set up during the pandemic. »
Everyone therefore hopes that the good news reported by the budget will allow the industry to get its head above water a little.