Province reconsidering $4.8M library budget cuts
The provincial government is reviewing funding for libraries because of public pressure from across Saskatchewan, the NDP Opposition’s education critic says.
NDP MLA Carla Beck said she is “hopeful” the Saskatchewan Party government will reverse its decision to cut $4.8 million in funding for libraries.
In a prepared statement issued through a spokeswoman on Thursday, Premier Brad Wall said he has asked Education Minister Don Morgan to review library funding and report back next week.
The March 22 provincial budget, which attempted to address the provincial deficit through tax increases and spending cuts, eliminated $1.3 million in funding to libraries in Saskatoon and Regina and another $3.5 million for other library systems throughout the province.
“What’s at stake is the provincial library system that has taken years to build,” Beck said. “I don’t think (the government) understood what they were cutting when they made this decision.”
The cuts to libraries prompted the announcement earlier this month that the One Province, One Library program would be eliminated.
The program allowed any library card holder in the province to access material from any library in Saskatchewan. Morgan criticized the elimination of the program and suggested libraries find savings elsewhere.
Morgan also suggested in March that Saskatchewan has too many libraries, saying the ratio of one library for every 4,000 residents is lower than in other provinces.
Activists organized read-in protests earlier this month at Saskatchewan Party MLA offices throughout the province, including at Morgan’s office in Saskatoon.
Beck said the Opposition has received thousands of emails about the funding cuts to libraries, noting the cut represents a relatively small amount in the larger budget picture.
“This system is the gold standard across the country,” she said. “The response was really unprecedented.”
Carol Cooley, director of the Saskatoon Public Library system, said in an email that she was pleased to hear library funding was being reviewed and she hopes the money is restored.
Cooley has estimated the provincial budget has left Saskatoon’s library system with an $800,000 shortfall in 2017 — about the same amount it spends to operate the J.S. Wood Branch for a year.
Cooley has warned of “substantial cuts” to operations in Saskatoon as a result of the provincial budget.
In his statement, Wall said his government knew the budget would be unpopular. Cities and towns were hit hard by a decision to eliminate some grants in lieu of taxes paid to municipal governments by Crown corporations.
“This budget was not about trying to win popularity, but rather to do what is best for the province’s finances and economy,” Wall’s statement read.
“That said, we did adjust a portion of the grants in lieu decision in the budget and I have asked Minister Morgan to review the library funding issue and report back next week.”