Quebec under Free Trade : Making Public Policy in North America

14. Public Culture and Political Culture

Public Culture and Political Culture Kevin V. Mulcahy Louisiana State University Quebec’s ministry of culture and its cultural policy merit intellectual consideration for a variety of reasons that relate both to the administrative structures involved and the political importance of culture in debates about the future of Canada. − Quebec’s arts agency is the only cabinet-level department of cultural affairs within North America. − Per capita expenditure in support of the arts in Quebec is higher than federal and other provincial expenditures despite a generally lower level of economic development. − From its creation in 1961 until 1993, what is now termed the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications in Quebec has been administered along lines more similar to the French model of direct state management. The recent creation of the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres represents a shift to "arm’s length" administration of the arts. − Quebec’s cultural policy has long been at the center of debates over the character of its political culture. Support for cultural activities has involved questions about their relation to the expression of a Quebecois cultural identity. In sum, Quebec’s ministry of culture represents an important case study of public administration and arts policy-making. First, there has been a significant, and historically unique, shift in the mode of cultural administration with the creation of an independent, or arm’s length, advisory council on the arts. 336 Quebec under Free Trade Second, public support for the arts in Quebec has had a political significance because of the association of cultural values with debates about the future of nationalism. Any cultural policy will also involve issues of cultural politics within the Canadian federal system. In the period 1990-93, Quebec went through a theoretically self-conscious, administratively innovative, and artistically sensitive revision of its cultural policy. This new politique culturelle will be elaborated here with reference to five elements of public policy-making. First, what constitutes the political theory that underlies Quebec’s cultural policy ; second, what is the role of the ministry of culture in the administration of public culture ; third, what will be the "arm’s-length" relationship between the ministry and the cultural milieu ; fourth, what will be the extent of cultural development and diffusion. Finally, some observations will be offered about the relationship between Quebec’s cultural politics and the political culture of a "distinct society." PRINCIPLES OF THE CULTURAL POLICY The new cultural policy was promulgated in 1992 by the Act respecting the Ministère de la Culturel and the Act respecting the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec.2 Preceding this legislation was a two-year-long process of policy development involving independent analysis and review and a publicly conducted inquiry that culminated in the ministry’s official politique culturelle. The process began with proposals for a Quebec cultural policy by a council of private citizens who held prominent positions in the cultural community. The advisory group was chaired by Roland Arpin, who is general manager of the Musée de la Civilisation (a government supported institution devoted to Quebec’s patrimoine or cultural heritage) and a former deputy minister of cultural affairs. The Arpin Report of June, 1991 provided a philosophical and theoretical framework as well as a detailed set of recommendations. These recommendations were further elaborated in a series of hearings before a Parliamentary Committee on Culture for eight weeks in the fall of 1991, with the participation of 181 organizations and 264 witnesses ; and formalized by the staff of the cultural ministry in June, 1992 into the first comprehensive plan for the future of Quebec’s commitment to public culture. The Arpin Report was rooted in three basic assumptions about the proper place of cultural policy as a public policy. First, that culture is an essential public good and the cultural dimension is necessary for the life of a society. Second, that cultural activities need to be accessible to all citizens. Third, that the state has the obligation to support and promote the cultural dimension of 1. Bill 52, National Assembly, second session, thirty-fourth legislature, December 22, 1992. 2. Bill 53, National Assembly, second session, thirty-fourth legislature, December 22, 1992. Public Culture and Political Culture 337 society.3 Arpin has said that the report could be summarized as a proposal "to put culture at the heart of things, at the same level as the...