LAC developments

Following his disappointing appearance at the annual conference of the Canadian Library Association in Ottawa Daniel Caron spoke on Friday at l'Association des archivistes du Québec meeting in Levis.

Caron was scheduled to speak at the Association of Canadian Archivists conference, June 7 to June 9, in Whitehorse.  He backed out on the afternoon of May 30 to be replaced by Cecilia Muir, Chief Operating Officer at LAC.

Subsequently the following letter withdrawing ACA support for an LAC initiative was sent to LAC

I am writing to inform you that the Association of Canadian Archivists (ACA) intends to withdraw its participation from Library and Archives Canada’s Pan Canadian Documentary Heritage Network  (PCDHN) forums.
The Library and Archives of Canada Act obliges Library and Archives Canada to “7(f) to support the development of the library and archival communities”. The Act also compels the Librarian and Archivist of Canada to “8 (i) provide professional, technical and financial support to those involved in the preservation and promotion of the documentary heritage and in providing access to it.” For the past 26 years, the LAC has fulfilled this mandate economically and successfully through the National Archival Development Program (NADP), a program that LAC eliminated with no consultation with or notice to the archival community.
In the absence of any written communications from the LAC, it is the ACA’s understanding that the LAC believes that it can satisfy its mandate through the Pan-Canadian Documentary Heritage Network (PCDHN). The ACA, having participated in the PCDHN forums from their very beginnings, does not believe that the PDCHN in its current state can possibly address the diverse needs and interests of archives across Canada. PCDHN forums meet sporadically and have controlled agendas. The NADP is the most efficient, transparent, and representative means of supporting the development of the Canadian archival community.
Until we can have a meaningful dialogue with you about the LAC’s intentions and plans to support the Canadian archival community, the ACA will withdraw from the PCDHN forums.