FOPL and OLA have have drafted a joint letter to Toronto and Ottawa municipal councils regarding the Strong Mayors Act. The intent of this letter was solely to bring to light to Toronto and Ottawa council members important information about the relationship between the exercise of authorities granted in Strong Mayors and the broader statutory framework governing Ontario’s public libraries. The letter will be sent via email this week. I will attach a copy in next month’s member emails.
The Standing Committee Finance and Economic Affairs will be meeting in January and February across the province. The purpose of this committee is to hear deputations from various parties in advance of the provincial budget requests in February. FOPL and a few of our members have applied to attend 6 of the 9 committee meetings across the province, in Sudbury, Sault Ste Marie, Timmins, Kingston, Barrie and Queens Park. We will hopefully get a few slots and provide appropriate library sector representation! FOPL will be submitting a formal budget request after the committee meetings to the Minister of Finance.
FOPL will be attending the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) Conference in Toronto from January 22nd to 24th. Stop by at our tradeshow booth and bring your local Councillor for an introduction!
We will also be at the OLA SuperConference February 1-4. Stop by our booth outside of the tradeshow for a quick hello, I would love to meet you all in-person! FOPL is presenting two sessions as well, On Friday, February 3rd in person and during the virtual board bootcamp on Saturday, February 4th.