FOPL and OLA met with Minister Lumsden (Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport) immediately following the Ontario Public Library Week celebrations in Hamilton, ON. Margie Singleton, CEO of Vaughan Public Libraries and FOPL Interim Vice-Chair, and I sat down with Minister Lumsden together with our OLA partners and Hamilton CEO Paul Takala to talk in depth about public libraries and our three provincial budget asks. The conversation focused on the Ontario Digital Public Library (ODPL), increasing the Public Libraries Operating Grant (PLOG) and increasing the First Nations Salary Supplement. Instead of talking about the numbers, we were able to give the Minister real stories of what the ODPL would mean to library users across the province. We explained that Libraries on Reserves are having to close their doors due to a lack of staff and the staff they do have are volunteering much of their time and working for a wage below the provincial standard for minimum wage. We also explained that our library budgets are stretched to the breaking point; municipalities can no longer afford to provide budget increases as libraries accommodate and respond to an influx of issues from safety and security due to the mental health and addictions crisis to supporting vulnerable populations due to the housing crisis. It was a fantastic meeting and Minister Lumsden was not only receptive and conversational but well briefed on our priorities and asked some insightful questions. We could not have asked for a better meeting.
We then turned our attention and efforts towards our two in-person lobbying days at Queen’s Park. It was a hugely successful effort that ultimately resulted in increased visibility for our sector and support from both NDP and PC Caucus members. FOPL and OLA representatives formed small teams and attended 21 meetings with various stakeholders including Ministers, MPPs, policy advisors, and ministry staff. I was also able to briefly chat with Minister Lumsden during this event and he made it clear that we must get support from PC Caucus members for our budget asks for us to be successful. Given that, our next steps will be to meet with all PC Caucus MPPs that we did not meet with during the in-person lobby days. I will be reaching out to library members that fall within the ridings of PC MPPs to reach out to their local MPPs and meet to discuss priorities.
Meetings Attended
| Name | Caucus | Role | Riding |
| Hon. Charmaine Williams | PC | Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity | Brampton Centre |
| Hon. Michael Tibollo | PC | Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions | Vaughan-Woodbridge |
| MPP Marit Stiles | NDP | Leader of the Official Opposition (NDP) | Davenport |
| MPP Jill Andrew | NDP | NDP Critic for Culture and Heritage | Toronto-St. Paul’s |
| MPP Terence Kernaghan | NDP | Critic for Economic Development | London North Centre |
| MPP Mary-Margaret McMahon | OLP | Liberal Critic for Tourism, Culture and Sport | Beaches-East York |
| MPP Dave Smith | PC | Member, Standing Committee on the Interior | Peterborough – Kawartha |
| MPP Lisa Gretzky | NDP | Critic, Mental Health and Addictions; Critic, Poverty and Homelessness Reduction | Windsor West |
| Hon. John Vanthof | NDP | Opposition House Leader | Temiskaming—Cochrane |
| MPP Logan Kanapathi | PC | Parliamentary Assistant, Children, Community and Social Services | Markham-Thornhill |
| MPP Peggy Sattler | NDP | Chief Opposition Whip, Critic for Colleges and Universities | London West |
| MPP Teresa Armstrong | NDP | Critic for Child Care, Critic for Pensions, Vice-Chair Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy | London – Fanshawe |
| MPP Sol Mamakwa | NDP | Critic for Indigenous and Treaty Relations, Critic for Northern Development, Deputy Leader for Official Opposition | Kiiwetinoong |
| MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam | NDP | Critic for 2SLGBTQ+ Issues, Critic for Attorney General, Critic for Small Business | Toronto Centre |
| MPP Stephanie Bowman | OLP | Member of Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs | Don Valley West |
| MPP Andrea Hazell | OLP | Member of Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs | Scarborough – Guildwood |
| MPP Will Bouma | PC | Chair for Standing Committee on Government Issues, Caucus Chair | Brantford-Brant |
| MPP Laura Smith | PC | Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Member, Standing Committee on Public Accounts | Thornhill |
| Minister Surma | PC | Ministry of Infrastructure | Etobicoke Centre |
| Connor Scott | Policy Advisor, Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport | ||
| Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport Staff | Various staff within the MTCS |
I want to thank all the FOPL members and board representatives who gave us their time and travelled from near and far to fight for public libraries. A big thank you and well done:
| Catherina Moskau | Clarence-Rockland Public Library | FOPL CEO Representative Francophone Caucus |
| Christine Row | Mississippi Mills Public Library | FOPL Government Relations Working Group |
| Rebecca Hunt | Temiskaming Shores Public Library | FOPL CEO Representative Northern Caucus |
| Michael Ciccone | London Public Library | FOPL Government Relations Working Group |
| David Harvie | Formerly Woodstock Public Library | FOPL Former Library Leaders Representative |
| Paul Ainslie | Toronto Public Library | FOPL Trustee Representative Toronto Public Library |
| Wayne Greco | Sault St. Marie Public Library | FOPL Trustee Representative Large Urban Caucus |
| Sonia Bebbington | Ottawa Public Library | FOPL Government Relations Working Group |
| Margie Singleton | Vaughan Public Libraries | FOPL CEO Representative Large Urban Caucus |
| Stephanie Clare | Georgian Bay Public Library | FOPL Government Relations Working Group |
| Sarah Vaisler | Ajax Public Library | FOPL Member |
Advocacy continues with deputations to the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs and Finance. This committee is comprised of various MPPs and will be making recommendations for budget considerations to the Ministry of Finance. Deputations are taking place across the province over the next couple of months in 16 different locations. We have asked public library CEOs and representatives to present at 14 of the 16 sessions as we’re hoping to get our messages across loud and clear. Sessions start on December 12th so more on this will be provided on the next update!
Looking ahead we are immediately focused on meetings with PC Caucus MPPs so please be on the look out for my email! After that, we’ll turn our attention to Deputations to the Ministry of Finance and submitting a pre-budget submission for our formal provincial asks by the end of January. I will also be at the Rural Ontario Municipal Associations (ROMA) Conference at the end of January and OLA SuperConference after that. It’s going to be a whirlwind!