Mr. Speaker, Library and Archives Canada preserves our documentary heritage. The government maintained that a 10% cut to the agency would not hurt because records could be digitized. Digitization and modernization are actually laudable goals in order to expand access. However, budget cuts have resulted in a 50% reduction of the digitization staff. This will diminish, not maintain nor expand, our access to Canada's historical records. The cuts at Library and Archives Canada are significant, with programs being cut or eliminated. The Conservative government's decision to reduce public access to national records threatens the very preservation of our collective memory. Historical accuracy necessitates robust archives. We now seem to be headed in the opposite direction.
George Orwell wrote: “Who controls the past...controls the future: who controls the present controls the past”. Someone seems to have caught on.