Federal funding to help fête separatist
MONTREAL • As the founder of the Parti Québécois, René Lévesque was committed to taking Quebec out of Confederation. But 30 years after his death, it is thanks to federal funding that a longplanned project celebrating his legacy will be built.
The Department of Canadian Heritage announced Tuesday that it will give $750,000 to Espace René-Lévesque, “a heritage circuit commemorating the life of the former premier of Quebec” in the Gaspé town where he was raised, New Carlisle.
Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly hailed Lévesque as “one of Quebec’s greatest political figures” and said the new circuit will “give visitors from across Canada the chance to learn more about this influential man.”
The site will feature a welcome pavilion and a series of outdoor stops marking different phases of Lévesque’s life, from his childhood to his time as premier when he led separatist forces in the unsuccessful 1980 referendum.
“At all of these stops we will be able to meet Mr. Lévesque and see what he left as a political message,” explained Louis É. Bernard, president of the non-profit foundation that began pushing for the project in 2009.
“We want to especially put the emphasis on Mr. Levesque’s great preoccupation for democracy, his respect for others, his defence of the rights of the little guy and his political integrity.”
The federal grant through the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund is the biggest single contribution, covering onethird of the roughly $2.2-million construction cost. The Quebec government has committed $400,000 and the provincial utility Hydro-Québec another $200,000. The balance comes from corporate and private donations.
Even though Lévesque was a thorn in Ottawa’s side for much of his career, Bernard said politics were not an issue in securing federal funding for what will be the first centre honouring Lévesque. He said Canadian Heritage did not seek control of the exhibit’s content, requiring only that a logo be posted marking the federal contribution.
Since his death in 1987 at the age of 65, Lévesque has become a secular saint in Quebec, widely hailed for helping shape modern Quebec. As a Liberal minister under Jean Lesage in the 1960s, he led the drive to nationalize private utilities.
After splitting with the Liberals and founding the PQ, he brought in Bill 101 to protect the French language and introduced legislation to clean up political finances.
“He started as a Canadian,” Bernard said. “He became a separatist to try to help the development of Quebec, not to diminish Canada.”
In a video produced by the foundation, Lévesque is described as “an exceptional man, one who comes along once in a century.”
Pierre-Olivier Herbert, press secretary to Joly, said the Lévesque project met “strict criteria” to be eligible for funding.