In a city known for its cultural events, Montreal festivals launch a post-restrictions cry for help

Ahead of the Quebec provincial budget on March 21, 16 Montreal festivals say their futures are at risk if they lose any funding.

The founders of the festivals published an open letter in Le Devoir newspaper this week, saying their costs have exploded while government investments are drying up. 

The letter says festivals in the city adapted to health restrictions with agility to bring people arts and culture programming, despite the imposed isolation. 

"But the aftermath of this crisis has been abrupt, revealing the fragility of our structures and our teams' fatigue," its authors, Alain Mongeau, Audrey Genois and David Lavoie, wrote. 

They say they are grappling with costs that have ballooned about 40 per cent since 2019, on top of a worsening labour shortage. 

Mongeau, the founder and general director of the Mutek techno music festival, told CBC News in an interview Wednesday that he and his peers wanted to issue a "cry for help."

"Montreal really likes its festivals. It's a festival city, but at the moment festivals are fearing for their future," Mongeau said. "We need to talk about it and find solutions and be creative about that."

Fabienne Colas, the founder of Festival Haïti en Folie and the Montreal Black Film Festival, says her team has always had to fight for proper funding. 

"Especially us at the Montreal Black Film festival and the festival Haiti en Folie, for example, we are racialized, marginalized groups on top of that. So we've always faced less funding."

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante has said she will be advocating for the festivals at higher levels of government. Culture funding has been frozen in the Montreal budget. 

Cultural activities important for the city

Suzanne Rousseau, a founder of the Nuits D'Afrique festival held downtown every summer, says she's worried Quebec is considering cutting funding for arts and culture because of inflation. 

"We're discovering the repercussions [of the pandemic] in the different spheres of our lives and in culture it's exponential," Rousseau said.

The festival has slowly grown in size over the years, but she says that if the government cuts funding, she and her colleagues will have to re-evaluate that. 

"This festival is important for many people, many workers and to the tourists who come to Montreal," Rousseau said. 

"It's the cultural activities that make people go out and spend money and be happy."

Quebec Culture Minister Mathieu Lacombe said in a statement that the government would continue to financially support festivals, but that "we must also ask ourselves how to better equip them to face the future. This is the challenge we have. We are currently working on solutions with them."

Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said the federal government would also keep helping festivals, in a statement emailed by spokesperson Laura Scaffidi. 

"Canada's vibrant festivals and events were among those who suffered most during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to resulting public health measures," Scaffidi said. 

"We know that they continue to face financial pressure and labour shortages that are undermining their efforts to get back on track. We have been there since the very beginning to support our festivals. Canadians across the country are counting on these local events, and we will continue to be there for them."