10/20/2026
Please make sure to attend or view the Municipal election public forum tonight and Thursday at 7 PM at RD Parker
The Manitoba Library Association created Municipal Election toolkits for library supporters, workers, board members etc. to ask questions to council and mayoral candidates about how they plan to support your library. (Linked at bottom of post in English and French)
Main questions include topics such as funding, digital access, and safety.
In the last 4 years Library management and board have reached out requesting safety tours, support and funding to help these issues with no success.
In April 2026 Manitoba Library Association wrote a letter to Mayor and Council regarding our struggles in funding, and safety- in
hopes of raising a discussion. They have not received a response from anyone currently sitting on council.
-In August 2026 we had a break in with no word from City Council- instead the City sent management the bill.
-In August 2026 we had a fundraiser to raise funds to build a fence- all councillors were invited to attend and support us- Only Mayor Smook attended to show support for us.
-In September 2026 management was asked to participate in an article about our safety- did not hear from Council.
-In 2025 we had to cut a full time library assistant position who is responsible for all curating and processing the Teen, and Junior sections- which is now responsibility of management, and our programming position is now part time.
-In 2026 we had to cut another part time position at the front desk.
-We finished our makerspace room in 2026 which was a 2 year project Funded by the provincial government- Council did not provide any funding for a part time staff member- so we are currently unable to utilize this space.
-As of Fall 2026 we are currently critically understaffed, technology is out of date, our building is still in need of repairs, and our basement & public washrooms that are still not wheelchair accessible. At this time we have put our programs and outreach on hold due to staffing.
In our 2025 annual report our program stats went up 131 % as well as all other areas increasing - Libraries are absolutely essential to communities, especially in the hub of the north.
-Every year we face issues regarding the frequency we have our exits cleared by Public Works and building repairs- with multiple complaints Council decided to remove Public works and building repairs entirely from our Contribution Agreement
-As of today no re-running councillors have reached out to the library to address our needs and issues.
Mayoral candidate Oswald Sawh has reached out to management
New councillor candidate Jatin, Carla, and Rita have met with management about how they can support their library as a City Councillor
We hope the next term will bring support to your library and to be made an example of compared to other libraries in a more positive way.
We thank the community for your ongoing support at election time
https://mla.mb.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Elections-Toolkit-2026-EN.pdf ---- English
https://mla.mb.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Elections-Toolkit-2026-FR.pdf ---French
