"National Action" condemns the "pillage" and "vandalism" occurring at the Grande Bibliothèque.
In a fiery stance against Hydro-Québec's ambitious project, the influential intellectual journal L'Action nationale takes a hardline position against the construction of a colossal electrical transformer station near the Grande Bibliothèque. The spring issue, released on Thursday at the Grande Bibliothèque itself, is a furious protest, according to its director, Robert Laplante. "It's not just a mistake, it's a monumental cultural flub," he storms. And L'Action nationale lays into it with both barrels.
Robert Laplante gets colorful in a Le Devoir interview, referring to the project as a "junk heap" and a "dump" - calling it a corruption of the purpose of a landmark cultural institution in Quebec. The Hydro-Québec project has stirred up trouble for months.
Present for the unveiling, Lise Bissonnette, the founder of the Grande Bibliothèque, is among the writers in this issue. She, who served as the president-director general of Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec from 1998 to 2009, denounces "years of secretive planning, followed by disinformation when the details leak out, then finally public but misleading communications when the opposition arises."
An uncomfortable situation
This is an awkward situation because all the players in this drama aren't just shadowy private societies, but belong to the public sphere: Hydro-Québec, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, the Quebec government and its Ministry of Culture, as well as the City of Montreal. "Such a high level of orchestrated secrecy and its astounding persistence can only be explained by one motive: the desire for that location," explains Bissonnette. "For those who coveted it and those who despise it now, it was an unbearable provocation."
Bissonnette recalls that, on March 6, Hydro-Québec's top dog, Michael Sabia, said the state-owned company had to do better. Bissonnette accuses him of having done worse, by signing a document that essentially vetoes any meaningful discussion on the future of the Grande Bibliothèque, as if it didn't exist. "Not a peep, not a whisper, not the slightest inkling of a presence in this building of a new Eden" - one that she's aiming to expose as far from harmonious.
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Robert Laplante, the director of L'Action nationale, takes the lead on this impassioned stand against the project that he views as untenable. "We need to remind Minister Mathieu Lacombe that he has the power and the duty to intervene. It's a course we must take. We need to stop this!"
In this issue, Louise Beaudoin contributes a text. The former Minister of Culture strongly slams the project, claiming it was stealthily advanced under the radar. She's disappointed that the institution traded a huge chunk of its land for a paltry $22 million to accommodate an electrical transformation station, effectively saying goodbye to 75% of its art and reading garden, as well as any further development or expansion on the site. Beaudoin condemns the situation, calling it a "waste."
The Ministry of Culture and Communications has yet to sign the decree finalizing the sale of the Grande Bibliothèque's land. Hydro-Québec has been sent back to the drawing board, confirms a ministry spokesperson to Le Devoir, to find some form of public approval.
This issue of L'Action nationale also features texts by Carol Couture, former director general of BAnQ, and Marie D. Martel, professor at the School of Library and Information Science at the University of Montreal. In the end, cultural manager David Lavoie sums up the issue, highlighting a "massive opposition" and a "total lack of support" for this Hydro-Québec pilot project. The project needs a major rethinking, he notes. "As long as this fundamental question remains unquestioned, the idea of public approval will remain a sham."
Gérard Beaudet, an emeritus urbanist at the University of Montreal, agrees, stating that the project's unpopularity is so great that it calls for its rejection.
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(Note: While the Hydro-Québec project is not explicitly mentioned, potential social concerns could arise from the sensitive location of the Grande Bibliothèque, the government's priority on sustainable transportation, and questions about the process and environmental impact of the project. A closer examination of the documents and impact statements would be necessary to gain a more accurate understanding of the situation).
- The controversial electrical transformer station project proposed by Hydro-Québec near the Grande Bibliothèque has sparked a contentious debate, with L'Action nationale leading the resistance.
- In the spring issue of L'Action nationale, Robert Laplante, the director, calls the project a "junk heap" and a "dump," claiming it's a cultural blunder.
- Lise Bissonnette, the founder of the Grande Bibliothèque, denounces the project in the same issue, accusing Hydro-Québec of secretive planning, disinformation, and misleading communications.
- This political dispute involves not only private entities like Hydro-Québec, but also public institutions such as the Quebec government, its Ministry of Culture, the City of Montreal, and Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.
- Louise Beaudoin, a former Minister of Culture, criticizes the project for being advanced under the radar, stating it's a waste to give up 75% of the art and reading garden for an electrical transformation station.
- The Ministry of Culture and Communications has not yet approved the sale of the Grande Bibliothèque's land for the project, and Hydro-Québec has been instructed to find a way to gain public approval.
