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Board Statements
Call to Action: Protesting DHCP Cuts
February 6, 2026 Dear AABC members, As you may have heard earlier this week, the Archives Association of BC (AABC) and many other organizations were informed by Leslie Weir, Librarian and Archivist of Canada, of significant funding reductions to Library and Archives Canada (LAC). As part of the federal government’s 2025 Budget and the Comprehensive Expenditure Review, LAC is required to implement a 15% budget reduction over the next three fiscal years. As a result of these cuts, LAC has confirmed the permanent cancellation of the Documentary Heritage Communities Program (DHCP), in addition to further reductions to Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP). The termination of DHCP will eliminate approximately $1.35 million per year in funding that supported community-based documentary heritage organizations across the country. To speak directly, the AABC is currently benefiting from this in the funding for our Indigenous Co-Trainer position. Over the past decade, the program invested around $15–16 million in more than 400 projects. This helped organizations preserve, describe, and share Canada’s documentary heritage, specifically in under-resourced and emerging archival environments. This loss will have immediate and a far reaching impact for the preservation and accessibility of many archival communities and non-profits that relied on this funding. The elimination of the DHCP continues a troubling pattern but sad reality of declining federal support for archival development. The earlier cancellation of the National Archival Development Program (NADP) in 2012 removed another longstanding funding option for archives, with the DHCP being a program introduced to address that gap. These decisions reduce the capacity of community-based organizations to safeguard Canada’s documentary heritage, conduct outreach, and promote the growth of fledgling archives. Sustained investment is essential to ensuring that diverse histories are preserved and accessible to the public. If we do not invest in the present to preserve our past, what can we hope for in the future? The AABC is currently drafting a letter from the Executive to the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Identity and Culture, as are many organizations in the archival field. This is where we, the archival community can come together to assure our voices are heard. Please see the resources below shared by the Archives Society of Alberta in conjunction with the Call to Action Package that the Association of Canadian Archivists released. Suggested Actions: - Write to the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and your MP about why archives need a grant program. You can include in your letters protest to the discontinuation of the DHCP program and reductions to ATIP. Letters can be on behalf of your institution and on behalf of you as an individual. - Invite your MP to your archives and if you receive a positive response, spread awareness of what your archives does and how lack of grant funding harms the archival program. - Call your MP. Call the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture. Prepare a message about how the lack of funding impacts your archives. This method is the most effective, especially if many of us are calling. If you feel uncomfortable, call during off-hours and leave a voicemail with your prepared message. Contact Information: Hon. Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture House of Commons * Ottawa, Ontario, Telephone: 613-995-6403 Find your MP contact information here: https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en
Messaging Elements you can include in your messaging are the following: 1) Discuss a grant project your archives received either from NADP or DHCP and how meaningful the grant was to you. 2) Archives bring the unique story of Canadians to life. Archives are essential for Canadian identity and underfunding Canadian archival institutions results in a lack of understanding our culture's uniqueness. 3) Remember to discuss something positive that you have accomplished and how more funding can result in more amazing things. Do not lead the conversation with negatives. Think about how your archives can make your MP look good. 4) Archives provide a vital public service that assist Canadians in building and sharing knowledge of their past and present. 5) Archives are a trusted source of information. In an era of misinformation, AI and fake news, it is vital to resource reliable information. We also recommend that you look at the Call to Action Package that the Association of Canadian Archivists released. The package includes messaging templates. Thank you, Ross Gamble President, 2026-2027 email: aabc.president@aabc.ca ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ |
Indian Residential School Records Statement
April 26, 2022 It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we extend our deepest condolences to the communities who are grappling with the continued and horrific discovery of numerous unmarked graves at former residential school sites. Further, we offer a message of care and sympathy to all communities who are beginning the challenging and traumatizing work of revisiting residential schools on their territories, necessary to bring their children home. The AABC affirms the experiences of and supports Indigenous communities throughout British Columbia and Canada who have been irrevocably harmed by the Indian Residential School System perpetuated by colonial institutions. The Canadian settler state has been proven to have committed acts of genocide on the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis on their territories, and it is clear that it will be a long path towards meaningful reconciliation. Our first priority is to the wellness of the individuals, families, and communities harmed by the Indian Residential School System. We encourage all who are able to do so, to donate to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society: https://www.irsss.ca/ As the executive of the Archives Association of British Columbia, we affirm our commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action, which can be read in their entirety here: http://trc.ca/assets/pdf/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf . We further encourage our membership to work towards implementing the actionable items as outlined in the Reconciliation Framework for Canada’s Archives from the Steering Committee on Canada’s Archives: https://archives2026.files.wordpress.com/2022/02/reconciliationframeworkreport_en.pdf It is imperative that we hold our country, our province, our institutions, and ourselves accountable to these frameworks, and continue to devote ourselves to meaningful reconciliation. As archivists, we know the power of records as evidence that simultaneously upholds and implicates the colonial system. The AABC Executive recognizes the ongoing work of our colleagues to locate and provide access to residential school records. We support the continuation of this important work, including increased transparency around gaps and limitations in the records, across all archival institutions. Archival institutions have played and continue to play a role in supporting and upholding colonial systems in Canada. With that said, we additionally recognize the power of archives as places of healing, where revitalization and repatriation can move us forward on renewed relationships based on mutual respect, self-actualization, and understanding. Where we have the ability as professionals and individuals, we must challenge our institutions to do better, and to support Indigenous communities to remake or reimagine archives and archival labour in a way which meaningfully serves their communities. Finally, to those who are experiencing unwellness or trauma due to the discoveries, please utilize the following support organizations: Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS) services include grief and loss counselling, crisis counselling, trauma counselling, Family and Group counselling and other supports including Traditional Healing Methods & Medicines, for more information please visit their website. Or, phone the IRSSS Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419 (Open 24 hours a day 7 days a week). Indian Residential Schools Mental Health Support Program (Government of Canada) provides mental and emotional health support services to eligible former Indian Residential School students and their families throughout all phases of the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement, for more information phone Toll-Free 1-877-477-0775. FNHA First Nations Health Benefits Mental Health Providers List If you have questions about providers you can call the IRS toll-free number at 1.877.477.0775 Monday to Friday 8 am – 4 pm or download the service provider list. Hope for Wellness Help Line offers immediate mental health counselling and crisis intervention to all Indigenous peoples across Canada.
Crisis Centre BC. If you or someone you know is feeling hopeless or thinking about suicide, call or chat online with a crisis responder any time: 1-800-784-2433 (1-800-SUICIDE), (24 hours a day), crisiscentre.bc.ca
Aboriginal Wellness Program, run by the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, offers adult counselling and support groups at 2750 East Hastings Street, Suite 288, Vancouver; Phone: 604-675-2551 or visit their website. BC Mental Health Services: Includes a comprehensive list of resources, phone numbers, and support systems for each health authority https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/mental-health-substance-use. In kindness and solidarity, The Executive of the Archives Association of British Columbia and the Indigenous Advocacy Committee
A Statement Regarding Black Lives Matter Activism and Anti-Racism Initiatives |
