On Thursday december 10, Minister Bibeau announced a significant investment to facilitate the preservation, promotion and access to our region's cultural heritage. For example, the Stanstead Historical Society, the Beaulne Museum in Coaticook, the Uplands Cultural and Heritage Centre and the Eastern Townships Study Resource Centre will share close to $100,000.
The aid, which is part of the Access to Heritage component of the Museums Assistance Program, comes from the $500 million COVID-19 Emergency Fund to support cultural, heritage and sport organizations, announced last May by the Minister of Canadian Heritage. This federal emergency assistance will be distributed as follows:
"Because of the pandemic, the Colby-Curtis Museum has had to cancel several fundraising events and all of its paid cultural activities, which make up a significant portion of its self-sustaining revenues. In the absence of these, the support of the COVID-19 Emergency Fund for Heritage Organizations has been beneficial and has ensured the opening of the Museum and the continuation of its exhibition program," says Samuel Gaudreau-Lalande, Curator of the Colby-Curtis Museum and the Stanstead Historical Society.
"Uplands Cultural and Heritage Centre is very grateful for the generous funding provided through the COVID-19 Emergency Fund for Heritage Organizations. The federal government is demonstrating its commitment to our mission and helping us to deal with an unprecedented crisis that is affecting us in a very special way," said Nancy Robert, Director of the Uplands Cultural and Heritage Centre.
"The financial assistance of Canadian Heritage is more than beneficial in these difficult times. It will certainly help us with the efficient management of our collections" recognizes François Thierry Toé, director-curator of the Beaulne Museum.
"The federal emergency fund for COVID-19 is critical to heritage organizations in the Eastern Townships because it indicates that our cultural contribution to society is recognized and valued," said Fabian Will, Executive Director of the Eastern Townships Study Resource Centre.
"Culture expresses and shares our identity, our creativity, our diversity. It enshrines our communities in time. As a citizen, I have always enjoyed how museums make our heritage accessible and alive. As a former Executive Director of the Sherbrooke Museum of Nature and Science, I was able to appreciate how crucial government assistance is to support the mission and the provision of our cultural institutions to the public. As a Member of Parliament and a Minister, I want to assure you of my support and that of our government," said Compton-Stanstead MP Marie-Claude Bibeau.
