The Conseil des Arts de Chéticamp held a public meeting last Sunday March 8th at Ecole NDA to share results of a survey circulated on Facebook last month. The questionnaire asked the community what it would like to see inside the Quartier culturel building.

After the presentation, the organization asked people to share their comments, and some community members questioned the validity of the survey itself. A woman raised her hand to ask whether people could answer the survey more than once. Martin Théberge, manager and lead consultant of the project, said it was impossible, but another community member commented that she had been able to do the questionnaire twice.

Another community member asked why the survey wasn’t sent by mail, since many people in the community, including herself, don’t have access to the internet. The Conseil said it circulated the survey online-only to cut costs, and the meeting was part of their public consultation plan, which included the opportunity for people to share their ideas on written notes. “We wanted to find other ways,” Théberge said, “Even at the meeting today there was a Q & A section where people could talk on the mic. But people can also participate anonymously or at their own rhythm.” But according to the organization, 196 people answered the survey and about 60 attended the meeting. That’s a far cry from the over 3000 people that live in Chéticamp.

Members of the council acknowledged they don’t know when the project will be finished or how much more money it will cost. Most of the $2 million in funding already received have been spent on the exterior of the building. The organization said plans are still being developed and that it’s applying for more funding.

The president of the Conseil des Arts, Monique Leblanc-Delaney asked the community for patience. “We are in this situation, too,” she said, “It’s not ideal but our goal is to finish the building as soon as possible. We’re working on it. We’re all volunteers. We’re working hard to find the necessary funds to finish the project.”

A recording of the whole meeting can be found here.

Stay tuned as CHNE continues to report on this developing project.