By Steve Faguy
QUEBEC — Though it was light on specific cultural announcements, the Quebec government’s budget plan announced Tuesday puts hundreds of millions of dollars more into its cultural industries, with a focus on exporting its content abroad.
The province announced it was devoting $310.6 million over six years to promote and support the export of “high-potential television productions,” music, movies, museum exhibitions and experimental content as a way of promoting Quebec’s “cultural distinctiveness” to the world.
The money will also go toward helping provincial public broadcaster Télé-Québec record and broadcast “(live) shows and productions by Quebec artists … in order to increase their accessibility and reach so that all Quebecers can enjoy their content.”
Meanwhile, the government is also giving $19.5 million back to the music industry by increasing the ceiling on its tax credits for the production of sound recordings and theatre productions.
Telecommunications got only three brief mentions in the budget plan:
- A $122.7-million infrastructure plan for the St. Lawrence River includes “implementing telecommunications coverage across Quebec’s maritime territory.”
- A three-year northern development plan includes the goal of improving telecom networks and boost speeds on internet access
- A $15-million contribution for a study into transportation, electricity and telecommunications infrastructure in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region, “in partnership with Cree communities.”
