May 11, 2007
Mayor Pat Fiacco
Mayors Office
City of Regina
Box 1790, 2476 Victoria Avenue
15th Floor City Hall
Regina, SK S4P 3C8
RE: Potential cuts to the City of Regina Archives
Dear Mayor Fiacco and members of the Regina City Council,
I am writing you again on behalf of the Association of Canadian Archivists (ACA) to formally register our disappointment over the Finance and Administration Committees decision to reduce access service in the City of Regina Archives (CORA) to appointment only and the decision to terminate the position of City Archivist. Established in 1975, the ACA is the national professional association representing English-speaking archivists across Canada. With headquarters in Ottawa, the ACAs mandate is to provide the archival profession leadership and to facilitate an understanding and appreciation of archival heritage across the country.
We are greatly distressed over the proposed cuts and feel that such a significant cut will negatively impact services provided by an already understaffed facility. As the capital of Saskatchewan, the former capital of the Northwest Territories and one of the oldest cities on the Canadian prairies, Regina is a city of major historical significance to the development of the Canadian west. The City of Regina Archives offers a wealth of archival records that are of invaluable use to the civic corporation, historians, genealogists, property owners, and other stakeholders of the citys archives.
While we completely disagree with the cutbacks, we have become equally distressed by the process. It has become extremely clear that CORA has been targeted for cutbacks from the beginning of the budgetary review with little to no consultation with stakeholders or the public at large. One wonders about democratic process in the City of Regina when the City Clerk indicates no consultation was necessary because closure of walk-in service would have no negative impact on users. Shouldnt the users of the archives be consulted on matters such as this? Additionally, a process that refuses to allow presentations on budget issues until after the budget has been approved is seriously flawed. It has also become clear that several members of the Finance and Administration Committee were not fully prepared to consider the cuts to CORA before the May 8 meeting. This is compounded by the short six day turn around between the Finance and Administration committee meeting on May 8 and the City Council meeting on May 14 where the decision will be ratified.
The closing of CORA to normal public access has received considerable negative coverage by the Canadian archival community. From a national perspective, there appears to be a distinct lack of democratic governance in the City Corporation. This has been compounded by my own personal experience- my first letter (attached) to the mayor and city council received responses from only one councillor (thank you Councillor Sharron Bryce) and the city clerk. This contrasts with other governmental bodies I have corresponded with where a minimum of a cursory response is standard and expected. It is no wonder a decision such as this can be pushed through with incorrect data and flawed reasoning- apparently the elected government of the City of Regina has little interest in dialogue with its constituents.
In the matter of CORA, actions with long term repercussions are being made arbitrarily and with little public consultation. We urge city council to consider delaying this decision until a proper inclusive evaluation of CORAs services is completed. We believe if the process is allowed to follow a more reasonable timeline, city council and the city clerks office may come to see funding of the City of Regina Archives as a core service that provides for an essential civic asset- that being the timely access to the archivally preserved and described records of the civic corporation as well as to the private papers of historical significance held in the archives.
While this issue may not be crucial to council now, it will certainly inform your legacies. In all likelihood the stripped down archives will be unable to adequately care for the records created by the current council.
Please reconsider finalizing cutbacks to CORA until an informed decision can be made.
Sincerely,
Scott Goodine
President, Association of Canadian Archivists
Edmonton, Alberta
CC: Louis Brown
Jocelyn Hutchinson
Fred Clipsham
Michael Fougere
Bill Gray
Wade Murray
Sharron Bryce
Mike ODonnell
Terry Hincks
Jerry Flegel
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