The books go first
Premier Doug Ford’s problematic priorities for the people of Ontario.
Angela Reitsma Bick
This is always how it starts: the books go first. Every dictator, despot and sci-fi villain bans books right off the bat, because books carry ideas and ideas have power, and bad guys never want to share the power. And to distract us from that fact? Bread and circuses. Or beer, if you live in Ontario.
Premier Doug Ford recently made two terrible decisions: to pay Ken Hughes $1,000 per day for advice on how to sell more beer, and then to cut funding to libraries across the province by 50%, effective immediately. Other budget cuts are just as worrisome, but let’s focus on these two for a minute. They sound like a page from Supervillains for Dummies – take away access to information and sate the masses with alcohol. Don’t forget to practice that evil laugh!
Is there really a book called Supervillains for Dummies? I don’t know, because inter-library loan services and the acquisition of new material have all been cancelled. The provincial government claims that these cutbacks will not affect the “day to day operations of libraries.” This doublespeak is another villainous trait: it couldn’t be further from the truth. The Premier has just cut a vital cultural artery. Without healthy library systems, our creativity, empathy and problem-solving skills will bleed out completely. No amount of beer can remedy that.
I live in Newcastle, population 9,000, which has a lovely library – but at least half of the 52 books my family members currently have signed out are from other branches. Sharing books between libraries actually keeps overall costs down by allowing new material to circulate more widely. Locking down that movement means that each individual library will shrink in its capacity to serve readers. Rural and remote communities will suffer the most – they’ve been designed to support each other by sharing material. The outliers are being attacked first, in typical villain fashion.
What kind of world do you want to live in? One where beer is readily available, at all hours, on every street corner – even if it costs $1 billion to break an agreement with the Beer Store first? Or a world where curious kids, new immigrants and every single Canadian has access to vibrant libraries and good books?
Stopping the bad guy generally takes teamwork, courage and conviction. If you want to #SaveOurLibraries, call your MPP! Write the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport! Sign a petition to “Stop the Cuts” at change.org and join a demonstration on May 1 at your local library or at Queen’s Park.
Take a stand for something that matters!
Isn’t that how the best stories always end?
Angela Reitsma Bick is a writer and editor from Newcastle, Ontario, where she happily pays an average of $4 per week in library fines.