Ensemble Montréal wants program to support the city’s cultural venues

Amid the ongoing concert hall closures throughout the city, including La Tulipe, Ensemble Montréal wants a program to be created to financially support independent venues with a capacity of 1,000 seats.

The Official Opposition is also calling for the by-laws to be reviewed, particularly related to noise, and for there to be a reduction in bureaucracy to facilitate granting permits and occupancy certifications in the boroughs.

“This situation highlights the increasing vulnerability of Montreal’s cultural scene while also underscoring the lack of effective measures to safeguard it,” said Julien Hénault-Ratelle, Official Opposition critic for economic development. “The closure of the La Tulipe cabaret and all the venues that preceded it is a reminder of how fragile their survival is in Montreal and how little is being done to protect them. Ensemble Montréal wishes not only to ensure their maintenance, but to promote their development.”

Although the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC) provides a subsidy to venues, the criteria to access it is too restrictive and only two Montreal venues benefited from it in 2023.

“Unfortunately, it’s too late. What’s needed is more structural support for any community,” said Hénault-Ratelle.

Ensemble Montréal wants a program to be accessible to several cultural institutions that are currently not supported and to cover their operating expenses.

“This is a particularly challenging time for the performing arts, and even more so for independent venues. I’m really not surprised that they’re in the position they’re in,” said Executive Director of the Scènes de Musique Alternatives du Québec Jon Weisz. “We’ve been shouting from the rooftops for the past 20 years that I’vr been working and playing music. There’s a huge system of problems with noise by-laws and red tape bureaucracy in Montreal. We’ve been saying it for years and here we are. We welcome this opportunity for our municipal elected officials to rally behind a strong message of support for these places, which are essential to the social and cultural vitality of the city.”

In recent years, many venues have closed including the Divan Orange, the Vitrola, the Katacombes and the Scaphandre, due to cohabitation issues, increasingly high fines, inflation, and financial hardship.