In Quebec and Canada, if you’re an orchestral musician who wants access to high-value historic instruments, you probably need to consult the garage door company, Canimex. What the hell does a garage door company have to do with it?
Monsieur Roger Dubois, Canimex sole proprietor, uses the profits from his factory in Drummondville, Quebec, to buy up practically every high-quality, antique, or otherwise prestigious instrument in the country. He has in fact accumulated one of the world’s largest collections, including genuine Stradivarii and Guarnerii instruments. This, all on a whim of fancy. It also is a speculative investment, presumably more profitable than investing that money back into production. For this, he has been recognized as making an “important contribution to culture”, and was graciously admitted into the Order of Canada, the highest civil honour according to the government of Canada.
The justification? Dubois, rather than allowing these instruments to languish in hundreds of private vaults never to be seen or heard, benevolently pays for their maintenance and loans them out to people of his personal choosing. A musician must request an audience with him, and hope that he likes what you play. Francophones are known to receive preferential treatment from M. DuBois during this process. For all of this, DuBois rests on his laurels as a champion of culture.
Is he really advancing culture? The existence of his class ensures untold millions of Beethovens and Shostakoviches are trapped in wage slavery, never to realize their potential. He single-handedly filters the sound of our collective human artistic heritage through his own individual prejudice, and is lauded by his state for it. Through his class position he in fact restricts and holds back culture, and this is what the Canadian state sees as the highest civil honour.
– Sasha B., Montreal
