A big part of doing history work is noticing patterns and connections and then finding ways to tell a bigger story. In December 2025, I wrote to Left Coast Dispatch readers about Libraries at their Breaking Point, highlighting patterns of underfunding and eliminating library and archival services in BC and Canada. This trend continues, most recently with news that the federal government plans to eliminate all librarian positions in federal corrections institutions. 

The work of prison librarians is vital. In federal prisons in Canada there is extremely limited access to the internet and librarians are the only way that prisoners can access current information about any range of topics, including recent legal matters which may impact their own cases.

Simply put, access to librarians in prison is a human rights issue. Tanya Talaga recently noted in the Globe & Mail that the move to eliminate federal prison librarians violates Rule 64 of the United Nations’ Nelson Mandela Rules: 

Every prison shall have a library for the use of all categories of prisoners, adequately stocked with both recreational and instructional books, and prisoners shall be encouraged to make full use of it.

Librarians, criminology professors, criminal reform organizations and countless others have argued that if the government has concerns about public safety, access to reading and reading materials for the incarcerated should be a priority. Libraries and distance education courses are integral to the rehabilitative process.  

What is the Point?

But this is not just about further punishing prisoners. There is a pattern here with the federal budget. Access to knowledge and information is being limited for all – but in the case of prisoners it is particularly cruel.

Then again, as we seem to be saying more and more these days, perhaps the cruelty is the point. Afterall, we’re not talking about a lot of money. Let’s add up the Budget 2025 cuts:

• Documentary Heritage Communities Program: $1.5M annually

• Reductions in Access to Information and Privacy at Library and Archives Canada: $13.6M annually

• Parks Canada library and Canadian Register of Historic Places: ~$300,00  annually

• Department of Public Safety library:  Unknown, presumably the same or less than Parks Canada’s library cuts: ~$300,000 (?)

• Correctional Service Canada librarians: ~$1.5 to 2.5M, annually

The total for these vital programs is about $18 million out of a total federal budget of $487 billion. For context, the federal government committed $104 million for Toronto to host some FIFA World Cup games in 2026.

Advocacy, Rights, and Freedoms

When it comes to advocacy on these matters, I’ve seen letters or statements from a number of organizations, including the Association of Canadian Archivists, the Canadian Historical Association, the BC Libraries Association, and the The National Associations Active in Criminal Justice (NAACJ). I’m sure there have been others. What’s missing is a statement that brings these groups and professionals  together, that recognizes the patterns in Budget 2025 and states clearly that access to all libraries and archives must be maintained and strengthened. 

During Freedom to Read week in 2018, Kirsten Wurman with the Winnipeg Public Library emphasized that limits on access to libraries violate the rights and freedoms of all Canadians:

Let this be a call to action. People serving time in Canadian prisons will rejoin our communities. Should we not, as a society, help prepare them for reintegration? Let us start with books, a library and the right to read.

Let us start with books. When we see patterns and draw connections between these Budget 2025 cuts, we see a larger project at play. If the cruelty is the point, we are left with one key question: What do we plan to do about it?