The province posted its proposed regulations under the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act for consultation, with comments due by October 13th. FOPL and OLA created a brief joint response to this regularly consultation. Of particular interest is some further clarification around the authority to hire or dismiss heads of municipal divisions. The Act references that statutory positions are excluded. While it does not reference the Public Libraries Act by name, the Act includes broader language that encompasses any such Acts/positions not specifically identified. Our brief focused on the PLA and that public library CEOs are clearly captured within the list of statutory positions and the risk of municipal governments not understanding this statutory relationship. The brief has been included for your review.
I attended the Ontario Public Library Week event hosted by OLA on October 21st. The event was held at a new library in Hamilton, in Minister Neil Lumsden’s riding. It was a fantastic networking opportunity and an excellent, low-pressure environment to meet and begin a relationship with the Minister. Myself, OLA and OLS were in attendance as well as one of FOPL’s board members, Feather Maracle, who did a wonderful job representing the interests of First Nations libraries. We are hoping to sit down with Minister Lumsden in the coming months to discuss our priorities and interests.