Writer Margaret Atwood hopes the outpouring of support for libraries by Toronto citizens will be a lesson for Mayor Rob Ford and his supporters on council as they consider other cuts to city services. Talk of closing branches “in a heartbeat,” as the mayor’s brother Councillor Doug Ford did earlier this summer, shows they did not think the issue through and did not understand how important the city’s library system is to citizens of all ages and walks of life, said the award-winning author. Ms. Atwood tweeted a link to a petition protesting proposed cuts that helped set off a verbal sparing match between her and Councillor Ford, the mayor’s brother and closest advisor.
Councillor Ford said he would close one particular branch in his ward “in a heartbeat,” and went on to say that he “wouldn’t have a clue,” who she was if she passed him on the street. Those remarks went viral and the councillor later clarified his remarks, saying he meant most people in is ward would not know her.
“They just didn’t think,” Ms. Atwood said Thursday after a news conference to launch a contest asking Torontonians why their library matters. The contest offers winners lunch with one of 11 distinguished authors.
“I think they will think more carefully now. It will just give them pause for thought,” she said. “These are not stupid people. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the Fords are stupid. They are not stupid. Given that they are not stupid, they will think this through and what we all want, of course, is a good city council and we all want a good mayor. Maybe this will help them become a better city council and a better mayor[s],” said Ms. Atwood, who likes to refer to the mayor and his brother as the “twin mayor[s].”
Councillor Ford responded by characterizing the remarks and the continuing campaign against library cuts led by the library workers union as “fear mongering.” All city departments have been asked to cut 10 per cent from their existing budget, and libraries are no exception, he said.
“It’s not about Margaret Atwood. It’s about finding 10 per cent efficiencies,” he said. “If they can find 10 per cent efficiencies everyone’s as happy as punch.”
Councillor Ford said that task should be “very, very simple.”
“I’ve been getting numerous calls from librarians and they tell me there is easy 10 per cent there. So when I am hearing it from the frontline workers, that’s who I believe.”
The city is in the middle of a cost-cutting exercise, part of the mayor’s election pledge to find the gravy at city hall. A consultant’s report into city services raised the option of cutting library services, hours of operation and shutting some of the systems 98 branches, the busiest in North America.
The “My Library Matters to Me” contest for lunch with an author, including Ms. Atwood, is sponsored by the library workers union and is open to Toronto residents. It ends Sept. 9.
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Source: Globe&Mail
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