In the absence of funding, the future of the Métabetchouane History and Archeology Center remains uncertain

The duty has identified more than twenty museum institutions widely left to themselves to transmit history and preserve part of the heritage of Quebec, not benefiting from government subsidies to the functioning. It is especially by the dedication of their volunteer leaders that they succeeded in continuing their mission in their corner of the country. A glance at Lac-Saint-Jean for a first portrait of these cultural ambassadors in need of recognition.

Until February, Robert Charron believed that a heartbreaking decision was inevitable: to close the heritage site of which he took over the management two years ago.

“It would have been appalling to drop it. We don’t have that, sites of this value. Quebecers must know their history, ”says this 69 -year -old retired doctor, acting president and director of the Métabetchouane History and Archeology Center (Cham).

The Cham is located in the municipality of Desbiens, on the site of an old fur milking position, of which a powder maker, a small stone building built in the 18th^e century. There are also archaeological vestiges in connection with the First Nations, a chapel and a building housing exhibitions, all at the mouth of the Métabetchouane river in Lake Saint-Jean. The center is open from Wednesday to Sunday, only during the summer period, notably offering guided tours.

“Among all the things I do here, what I love the most is to be a guide. It is to transmit our culture. It is nationalism behind that, ”says Mr. Charron.

While finishing a bachelor’s degree in history, about three years ago, he met with members of the board of directors, who told him about the financial difficulties of the museum institution founded in 1995. They intended to close its doors. The troubles had mainly started in 2019, when the Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications has set up an approval process now necessary to be eligible to receive the majority of provincial funding. It provides a whole list of governance criteria and requirements, management of financial, human and physical resources, collections, dissemination and education.

The Cham was part of the forty institutions which then failed this objective. Losing its operating budget, the interpretation center quickly feared.

I cannot sell this building to a Tim Hortons! It’s a heritage good!

Rescue operation

Mr. Charron then gave himself the mission to save him, even if he did not know much about museum management. With other volunteers, he tries to breathe new life into the place. Training of a new turnover, search for subsidies, overhaul of the permanent exhibition, repairs, adding activities to attract tourists: nothing has been neglected.

“I was a cabinetmaker, painter, I provided my mower,” says Mr. Charron, according to which 90 % of the museum’s workforce is volunteer.

This enthusiast quickly realized that it was impossible to pay all the fixed costs and the salary of a director, a total of $ 90,000 to $ 95,000, counting only on tickets and on business donations, such as that of Rio Tinto Alcan. Even by tripling its traffic to reach nearly 800 visitors last summer, with an entry price varying from $ 7 for children at $ 15 for adults, the account is not there. The municipality, he says, does not have the means to come to its rescue.

This winter, Mr. Charron was on the verge of despair. He couldn’t afford to open the cham this summer. But what to do with the place? “I can’t sell this building to a Tim Hortons!” It’s a heritage good! Who wants to end up with that? I will have to tell the government that it is up to him to take care of it, ”he was indignant in February.

After many steps to be heard, especially with the deputy for Lac-Saint-Jean, the Ministry of Culture finally granted him emergency aid of $ 50,000. This allows Mr. Charron to hold one more summer and to hope to achieve a new goal, that is to say that the Cham can obtain a green light during the next approval process, the deadline of which has not yet been announced. If the mission is successful, the small museum institution could subsequently qualify for a recurring subsidy, through the program helps operating for museum institutions.

Between anxiety and determination

The future of the cham is therefore still uncertain. “It’s our last year if we don’t have approval. Those who are not approved are doomed to close, ”believes the one who pursues a master’s degree in history, about the involvement of the Rockefeller Foundation in the training of Quebec doctors at the start of the XX^e century.

The latter hopes to take advantage of the “Trump effect”, which pushes Quebecers to turn away from the United States, to further increase its traffic. It is redoubling with efforts this summer to improve its service offer. A temporary exhibition on fossils from the Ordovician era, rented to the Fjord museum, was added. A variety of workshops on subjects such as forest survival, edible and medicinal plants and tanning are offered all summer by partners. Mr. Charron also managed to obtain an Alma Lac-Saint-Jean economic development subsidy to create a souvenir shop.

The president and director does not wish to retain his role for several years. He wants to pass the relay as soon as the situation of the interpretation center is stabilized, which will take a while. “I will not let go as long as I have not finished what I have to do. »»

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