Stakeholders in the sector are asking the Legault government to renew cultural events, a program that allows newcomers to immerse themselves in Quebec heritage and discover, in particular, music greats like Félix Leclerc.
The leaders of the Mouvement national des Québécoises et des Québécois (MNQ) are hopeful of renewing and even increasing the amounts allocated to the program which is in its final year.
“It is an emblematic program for the integration of immigrants, which is a success and a positive initiative. Even if the CAQ seems to be moving towards a certain “budgetary rigor”, we hope that the importance of the immigration issue will convince us to improve this highly positive program. », Explains Frédéric Lapointe, president of the MNQ.
For example, the current cohort of cultural events gathered on Saturday at the Félix Leclerc space in Saint-Pierre de l’Ile d’Orléans for a workshop on traditional Quebec music. This cohort meets every Saturday for seven weeks to participate in a cultural activity.
“Before I didn’t know Félix Leclerc and now he’s a very important artist for me,” says Carolina Torrez Carranza, originally from Colombia. She and her husband Diego Fernando Barrero Gomez have been living in Quebec City since June 2023.
The hostess of the event on Saturday was the daughter of “big” Félix, Nathalie Leclerc. She was touched by the meetings she met.
“I spoke about my father’s story and people listened to me. A young man even translated for his father simultaneously. », she says with pride.
The musician Marco Calliari, spokesperson for cultural events, played his version translated into Italian of the song Le petit Bonheur by Félix Leclerc, La Piccola Fortuna.
Photo: Sarah-Jeanne Tremblay
Subsidies
The Ministry of the French Language awarded a grant of 1.2 million to the MNQ in 2022 to set up this program. This investment is in addition to part of the amount of $900,000 which was granted to the MNQ in 2021 to finance their projects to promote the language, including cultural events.
The protocol, which extends over a period of three years, will end towards the end of February 2025, just before the budget is tabled. The MNQ is currently in negotiations for a renewal of the program.
“We really want to have a nice envelope to be able to continue what we are doing and offer even more service, for example by expanding our offers to more places in the beautiful region of Quebec, for example, Portneuf or Charlevoix,” expresses the coordinator. for the National Capital, Geneviève Lalande.
Integration through meetings
The 2024 cohort of the Cultural Rendez-vous de la Capitale-Nationale includes around twenty people from varied origins, including Colombia, Morocco and the Ivory Coast.
Currently, they have participated in a theater activity, a traditional dance workshop and they visited the National Assembly. An arts and crafts workshop, a visit to the OSQ as well as a writing and storytelling workshop at the Gabrielle-Roy library await them in the coming weeks.
The activities are free and registration is voluntary.
As the program’s spokesperson, musician Marco Calliari, explains, “it’s easy when you’re a newcomer to stay in your own bubble […] Opening these bubbles is the reason for true integration, it is through meetings that we really get to know an environment.”
