Montreal's Haitian community inaugurated La Maison d'Haiti last night.
There was music, speeches and special guests that included the mayor of Port au Prince at the colourful building in St-Michel.
General manager Marjorie Villefranche tells CTV La Maison d'Haiti is all about the spirit and culture of Haiti. She says many in the community are fed up with automatically being associated as being from a poor country,
La Maison d'Haiti is full of art by Haitian artists, and the building is also equipped with a performance space that will be used for concerts, dances and other activities.
It took five years to raise the money and build the centre. The city of Montreal contributed $2 million, while the Quebec government provided an additional $250,000. Private and corporate donors provided another $400,000 in funding.