Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard and Culture Minister Marie Montpetit presented the $600-million cultural policy and action plan before an audience of 200 industry insiders in downtown Montreal Tuesday.
Not long after the announcement was made, the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec and several museums and cultural institutions issued their own news releases, indicating they were pleased with the policy and supported its objectives.
The purpose of the policy is to make Quebec culture accessible to all and to be at the heart of the development of all regions of Quebec so that young people and artists can find opportunities to express themselves and learn.
The five-year plan includes financial commitments for almost every aspect of culture, including film and TV production, digital entrepreneurship, more school field trips to cultural events, and $5 million to allow museums to offer free admission one Sunday every month.
Jean-Louis Roy, the new president and CEO of BAnQ, said (in French) in the Archives’ news release, “The title of the document, Partout la culture (Culture everywhere), particularly resonates with BAnQ, an institution that has a presence throughout the province and aimed at the entire population of Quebec.”
Conservation centre of Montreal collections
BAnQ said in his new release it will continue to work with its partners to set up the $30-million Centre de conservation des collections de Montréal (Conservation centre of Montreal collections). This common location will bring together the collections of BAnQ and its partners.
Government centre for digital preservation
BAnQ will also continue to contribute to the establishment of a government centre for digital preservation in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Communications and players in the documentary field. The Archives says there is an urgent, long-term solution for the deposit and preservation of Quebec’s digital documentary heritage. The plan is to ensure the documentaries are accessible today and in the future.
First Nations culture
Among the several initiatives listed in the announcement about the cultural policy, there was mention of an investment of $17 million in First Nations culture. Part of that will go toward recognizing the value of Aboriginal languages.
English-speaking community’s culture
While the new cultural policy acknowledges the “undeniable” contribution of the anglophone community to Quebec’s culture, it offers few concrete details on how anglophone cultural institutions might benefit.
At the news conference, CBC reported that Premier Couillard insisted the anglophone community was an important part of the plan, and he mentioned Leonard Cohen as an obvious example of the richness of anglophone culture in Quebec.
While the plan makes spending commitments over five years, it may never see the light of day if the Liberals are unseated in the provincial election, set for October 1.
