What to do now ? Quebec’s abandonment of the Blue Spaces network project leaves three heritage sites in the works, located in Amos, Percé and Baie-Saint-Paul, the top three which were to benefit from the first museum facilities in the region.
The cities concerned find themselves with a restored place (in Percé), another purchased by Quebec, under construction and put on hold (in Amos), and another still emptied of its former tenants, but still owned by the City (Baie- St.Paul). There, the promise of purchase by the State never materialized.
The burning questions keep coming. Who will pay for the costly work necessary, even if only to complete the open sites? What services, cultural or not, will be offered in these “blue-free” spaces? Who will provide the operating budgets for the new equipment?
“The three spaces will be reoriented towards a new use,” replies Amelia Benattia, press secretary to the Minister of Culture, Mathieu Lacombe. Sums are reserved for the realization of Amos’ project. As for the Villa Frederick-James in Percé, the work is completed, apart from a few details. For Baie-Saint-Paul, the City prefers investments in other cultural projects than the parent company. » She adds that Minister Lacombe has mandated CAQ deputies Suzanne Blais, Stéphane Lacroix and Kariane Bourassa to determine “the best vocation for these spaces” with the cities concerned. “Good collaboration between all stakeholders is there and, for the moment, the implementation schedule is respected,” adds Mme Benattia.
Quebec and Percé
The Coalition Avenir Québec’s electoral promise to create a national network of 17 museums dedicated to regional stories and heroes was abandoned for budgetary reasons. The initial cost set at 259 million in 2021 was likely to quadruple. At the last count, at the beginning of March, when the scuttling was officially announced, 135 million of this envelope remained, which would therefore still be available for cultural projects.
Only one space, that of Old Quebec, flagship of the museum fleet hoped for then abandoned, is guaranteed to retain its “nationalist” cultural vocation. The Camille-Roy pavilion of the Séminaire de Québec will become a place dedicated to the history of Quebec under the direction of the Musée de la civilization du Québec (MCQ), which managed the Espaces bleus cultural project. This renovation project alone has already cost 92 million.
The Villa Frederick-James in Percé was then the most advanced Blue Space in structural development. Renovations of the painter’s former home have already cost more than 25 million. Now it remains to find a vocation for him. The town hall of Percé did not respond to the interview request from Duty.
Amos
In Amos, the mayor, Sébastien D’Astous, remains on his guard. He recalls that the Vieux-Palais served as a dynamic cultural incubator when the State took over it.
“It took a lot of pressure off us,” said the mayor. The burden fell on the management of the Blue Spaces. Now that the government has decided not to continue in this direction, we are certainly very worried. What will become of the Old Palace? It is an important building. We want him to be alive, but not at any cost. »
The Vieux-Palais was bought at a low price by the MCQ, emptied of its cultural and community organizations and partially renovated. Quebec has dedicated 3.7 million to these stages and there is still a lot to inject. The total budget to develop the Blue Space, including an expansion of the historic building, hovered around 27 million. In comparison, in 2023, the total budget of the City of Amos was 50.2 million.
“I can guarantee that it was not the sale price that was high,” says the mayor, who is negotiating with the MCQ and the Ministry of Culture to recover the building, which the private sector will not want anyway. , and give it a cultural vocation again.
“You have to be in solution mode. What I want is for the building to be used, to be restored. At the same time, I also want us to be able to sustain it in the long term without putting additional pressure on the taxes of the citizens of Amos. I think that, currently, the government understands this situation well. I think he’ll go a long way to help us out. Communications are very positive. »
Baie-Saint-Paul
The constraints are different in Baie-Saint-Paul. The contract for the sale of the convent wing where the Blue Space was to be located (block 6 of the mother house) was not concluded even though the community tenants were rehoused. The mayor speaks of municipal expenses already exceeding one million. The latest assessments to achieve the CAQ promise hovered around 60 million, compared to 29 million at the launch of the project, in 2021.
The town hall will preserve the historic site, find another vocation for it, perhaps socio-community, and get help from Quebec to develop other cultural projects in a city that has no shortage of them. Baie-Saint-Paul has the most art galleries per capita in Canada.
Plans are being drawn up to restore the Domaine Cimon, the only listed building on the territory of the municipality. This project will require several million. Discussions also focus on support for the Musée d’art contemporain de Baie-Saint-Paul and the Maison René-Ricard.
“The collaboration with the Ministry of Culture is excellent,” said the mayor, Michaël Pilote, who met Minister Lacombe. The channels are open. I think that in the coming weeks, in the coming months, we will be able to specify the concrete choices. »