Dear fellow historians,
A few weeks ago, I sent a letter on behalf of the Canadian Historical Association | Société historique du Canada to the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, pointing out the impact of the drastic budget cuts for many of the agencies on which we rely and which share our desire to promote the knowledge of this country’s history: Library and Archives Canada, the Canadian Museum of History, the Canadian War Museum, Parks Canada, and Statistics Canada.
Since that time, I have learned of other cuts, including job losses within Minister Miller’s Department of Canadian Heritage. These cuts also involve a reduction in funding for the Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
At Library and Archives Canada, funding for Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) has been reduced by $13.6 million at a time when many researchers and citizens already wait for very long periods to receive responses to their requests for information.
Archives across the country have been hit by the cancelation of the Documentary Heritage Communities Program from Library and Archives Canada.
Parks Canada has just announced the closure of the Parks Canada library. They are also withdrawing support for the Canadian Register of Historic Places, though there may be some hope that the National Trust for Canada may take over this useful website.
These cuts have a major impact on our colleagues, on our students who may hope to find work in these fields, and on our abilities to carry out our own research and teaching. The particular historical moment in which we find ourselves, with the threats to Canadian sovereignty coming from the country which has been a close ally for many decades, underline the urgency of making available to all citizens the wide knowledge of our past.
Compounding the impact of the federal government decisions, provincial governments are also withdrawing funding from the sector. In Nova Scotia, for instance, 12 of 28 provincial museums will close as a result, and others will see a reduction in their operating budgets. There are also other cuts to education and support for graduate students.
In New Brunswick, our colleagues anticipate similar cutbacks.
Alberta has withdrawn funding from the Historical Society of Alberta, an association older than the CHA itself.
The CHA is working with our colleagues in the Institut d’histoire de l’Amérique française, the Association of Canadian Archivists, and the Canada History Collective, which is made up of representatives from the provincial and territorial historical societies, to protest these funding decisions.
At this point, we need our broader community to get involved in these issues.
Here are some ways to do this:
I recently signed an open letter to the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry, asking for an increase in Tri-Council funding. While the federal government has taken the initiative to fund positions for researchers outside the country who wish to come to Canada, we do not see similar programs for students trained within the country or precarious colleagues who provide so much teaching at our institutions.
You may wish to consider signing this open letter about Tri-Council funding. This link also provides templates and suggestions on contacting MPs and ministers.
I encourage you to write to your own MPs and/or the relevant federal ministers to let them know how the budget cuts listed above may affect your work and your community.
The relevant federal ministries are as follows:
- The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry, House of Commons (Tri-Council)
- The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture (Library and Archives Canada, Canadian Museum of History, Canadian War Museum, Dictionary of Canadian Biography)
- The Honourable Julie Debrusin, Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Nature (Parks Canada)
To find your MP’s name, please use this website.
These are difficult times for the historical profession in Canada and for our students and colleagues. Our elected representatives need to know that they are affecting not only our ability to collect and disseminate historical knowledge, but also the maintenance of historical knowledge for generations to come.
Sincerely,
Colin M. Coates
President, Canadian Historical Association | Société historique du Canada