Early this week the ACA Board received an email from Leslie Weir, Library and Archivist of Canada, informing us that the Documentary Heritage Communities Program (DHCP) has been permanently discontinued and that there will be reductions to the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) functions. These measures are the result of cuts in the federal budget. 

The DCHP provides program funding that helps underfunded community-based organizations increase access to, and awareness of their holdings; and increase their capacity to keep and preserve Canada's documentary heritage. Over the past 10 years, the DHCP has provided $16 million in funding to support more than 400 projects aimed at preserving and increasing access to local, regional, and national history. 

The ACA Board is sending letters to the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages, the Honourable Marc Miller, protesting the elimination of the DHCP and the reduction to ATIP. We have also completed a call to action to restore the DCHP that has been published below and will be included in this month's Scope and Content, as well as, on the ACA website.

1. Letter addressed to The Honourable Minister Marc Miller 

2. Downloadable Call to Action Package (.docx). Package includes Statement and template emails. 

The Board of Directors for the Association of Canadian Archivists