Minister offers compensation

IFACCA/Artshub, 15 February 2006, Canada

The Minister of Culture and Communication and minister in charge of the Montreal region, Mrs. Line Beauchamp, announced today that a sum of $2.5M will be reserved for assistance to the artistic and cultural organisations which underwent losses because of the boycott of cultural activities last autumn. "We are conscious of the negative effects of the boycott and we are making an effort to attenuate them. This measure will be of a stabilizing nature to the organisations which were weakened; it will allow them to continue to do what they do so well: to develop the creativity of our children within the framework of their school apprenticeships", declared the minister Beauchamp. This exceptional financial assistance is intended for the non-profit artistic and cultural organizations already subsidized by the Council of arts and letters (CALQ), the Society for the development of cultural enterprises (SODEC) and the Ministry. The financial assistance will be provided for up to 75 % of the clear losses undergone between September 1 and December 31, 2005. "Our government has a firm determination to restore the bonds between education and the cultural milieux. This is why, as a symbol and as an exception, I have asked the CALQ to create this year special funds intended for artists working for creation for young public ", added Mrs. Beauchamp. Indeed, a sum of $350,000 of the total package will be reserved in special funds managed by the CALQ. In the last few months, the government of Quebec clearly demonstrated that it attaches a primary importance to culture and arts at school. "After the setting-up of a new pedagogic regime imposing accomplishment of at least one arts subject at the secondary school level in order to obtain a certificate of secondary education, the government also discarded the recourse to boycotting of the cultural activities" concluded the minister. For more information, in French, CLICK HERE.

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