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What is the Sask. Party doing to libraries (again!)?

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Dear Editor

Last year the Sask. Party cut $4.8 million dollars from Saskatchewan Libraries. Then Minister of Education Don Morgan made several comments suggesting he didn’t value books or libraries. These included saying the government was getting out of the business of brick and mortar libraries, and seemed upset that some communities had more than one place to get books (a reference to small towns that had a school library and a public library). There was a public outcry, and thankfully the government backed down. Don Morgan announced that the Sask. Party made a mistake and that funding would be restored while there was a transparent system-wide review of library services. That hasn’t happened. It seems a secretive review is occurring without input from the public or librarians. But information has started to leak out, unfortunately initially in October as rumours that people’s jobs were going to be cut. Education Critic Carla Beck asked the government about a secret review, only to be stonewalled. According to an Oct. 18 620CKRM news post, Ms. Beck sent a freedom of information request to the province about the library review. What she received was “very redacted.” Why is the government blacking out documents of a “transparent review”? 

I can’t say how disappointed I am in the Sask. Party’s anti-education stance. Having said that I called the new Minister of Education’s (Hon. Gordon Wyant) office. The person I spoke to was very attentive, and although not speaking to how secretive the process has been, he stated we could email our concerns directly to the minister and gave the email address: minister.edu@gov.sk.ca. Mr. Wyant’s telephone number is 306-787-7360. He seemed to suggest emails would be directly read by Mr. Wyant. Please, if you value Saskatchewan Libraries, do call or email them and let them know you want to keep Saskatchewan Libraries strong and ask why it has been so hard to find out about the library review. 


Wayne Schlapkohl

North Battleford