It seems like one of the highest priorities for any conservative government is targeting the funding of public libraries – in Newfoundland (May 2016), in Saskatchewan (March 2017), in Ontario (April 2019), and now in Alberta (August 2019 (although to be fair, Jason Kenney’s Conservatives haven’t cut yet but are withholding 50% in advance of a fall budget similar to how Rachel Notley’s NDP government apparently withheld 25% though if I’m guessing who’s more likely to turn “withholding” into “cuts”, it’s a conservative Alberta government!)
Anyhow, even though Alberta has arguably struggled with library funding more than any jurisdiction in Canada over the years, I still hope that Albertans would rise up and successfully push back on any cuts just as people in Newfoundland and Saskatchewan and Ontario all did to varying degrees should it come to that.
(Pic above and below from a visit I had to Edmonton Public Library for the Canadian Library Association conference in 2010.)
Post a Comment