Details

If I were the Chair of Newmarket Public Library, Darryl Gray, I would be mortified. (Photo right with CEO)

The Library’s “Report the Community 2024” claims a “significant increase in membership”. But where is the evidence and who do we believe?

The Library Chief Executive, Tracy Munusami, told the Province there were 24,136 active library cardholders (ie members) in 2023 and 22,234 in 2024.

Membership Decrease

I posted a blog on 10 April 2025 calculating there was no increase as claimed but rather a drop in membership of 7.9%.

The following day, 11 April 2025, Ms Munusami tells me she filed with the Province a revised membership figure of 17,893 for 2023 – down 26% from the previous year. This allows her to claim a huge percentage increase in new members between 2023 and 2024.

The Board was not told about this significant revision.

Ms Munusami tells me: 

“We have a staff member who is responsible for the report annually. That person went on leave on April 11, 2025. At that time, I took over completing the report, found the error, and reported it to the ministry.”

But the report was complete by 4 April 2025 when I found it on the NPL website. And although, astonishingly, it was not attached to her report to councillors on 7 April 2025 it was by then printed, posted and complete. She told councillors the report was being released on 7 April 2025 when it was already up and posted before the weekend.

Nodded through

And what happened at the Library Board meeting on 19 March 2025 when the draft “Report to the Community 2024” was on the agenda? Did the Chief Executive walk the Board through the numbers, explaining how these stellar membership increases were arrived at? Did the Library Board ask any probing questions? Or was it just nodded through without comment?

Ms Munusami tells us there were 9,476 new members between 2023 and 2024 but we do not know how many people were simply renewing their memberships over that period. Before Ms Munusami took over the reins, in August 2021, a distinction had always been made between genuinely new members and those who were renewing.

Previously, the Library Board was given a detailed month-by-month breakdown of Library usage and membership, new and renewals. This practice continued for a short while the new CEO got her feet under the table and then abruptly stopped.

Degradation

Since the Chief Executive was appointed nearly four years ago we have seen a steady degradation in the data coming out of the Library. 

Who decided to end the practice of giving the Board detailed Library data in a time-series which allowed meaningful comparisons between years? Why was this done? 

Now we are in the Alice and Wonderland situation where Ms Munusami cannot explain why membership spiked dramatically in 2022, going up to 27,780 from 23,589 in 2021. She tells me:

“I don’t have a reason or explanation for any spike between 2021 and 2022. I was still taking the time to evaluate how statistics were being captured.”

Spark of curiosity

Wasn’t she curious? 

As Darryl Gray noted in the foreward to the Library’s 2023 report to the community:

“They (libraries) are places of knowledge, exploration and ideas. Where inquiry comes alive and where the spark of curiosity is lit.”

In early 2023, when the 27,780 figure for 2022 was filed with the Province Ms Munusami had been in post for, at the very least, 16 months.

Although I’ve asked the Chief Executive for a note on the parameters she set for the database clean-up and how it was carried out, I am still none the wiser. I was simply told:

“The clean-up process occurs at the end of the calendar year and we delete most expired accounts…”

Scrutiny

Just like the financials, we need usage and membership figures from the Chief Executive that can withstand scrutiny.

The Chief Executive gets $172,000 a year to run the Library efficiently, in charge of a multi-million dollar budget. (Last year the Library got a grant from the Town of $3,781,775 and another $64,401 from the province.)

I’ve seen lots of back-slapping and congratulations about how well the Library is doing but, to me, it is all sophistry. 

If I were in Darryl Gray’s shoes I’d call a special meeting of the Board to get answers to the outstanding questions.

It can’t just be business as usual. 

Or can it?

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Click "read more" for email exchange with CEO.

Details

Last night I nipped down to the magnificent David D. Simone Performance Hall at the Town Square in Aurora for the latest candidates forum hosted by former Aurora Mayor, Geoff Dawe. 

The evening was designed to give a stage to all the candidates running in Newmarket-Aurora and, to our south, Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill. 

In the last Parliament both ridings were held by the Liberals, Tony Van Bynen (who is retiring – again) and Leah Taylor-Roy who is the incumbent and running for the second time.

Low expectations

I went along with very low expectations.

I no longer expect feisty exchanges and the clash of opposing views, deeply held. Those days are a distant memory. 

Now everyone is reading from a script. The candidates aren’t even allowed to challenge or interact with each other. It’s politics as an analgesic. Low energy, killing any excitement.

As expected, the Conservative candidates Sandra Cobena and Costas Menegakis didn’t show up. And neither did the two paper candidates being fielded by the NDP.

I saw in front of me Jennifer McLachlan (Liberal, Newmarket-Aurora) and three candidates from Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill.

Star of the show

Leah Taylor Roy – who originally said she would only turn up if her Conservative opponent did – was the star of the show.

She was thoughtful and knowledgeable and her answers to the questions posed were persuasive and to the point. She got a round of applause from an otherwise comatose audience when she spoke about the need for electoral reform. Her riding is regarded as a bell weather and it would be a tragedy if she lost as a result of a split in the non-Conservative vote.

She confronted Tom Muench on stage about infringing election law.

Tom Muench from the Green Party was a huge disappointment. His ponderous, meandering replies were a complete turn-off. He reminded me of the pub bore constantly telling the audience that if they knew as much as he did - about pretty much everything - they would, in awe, vote for him. There was nothing recognisably Green about anything he said. Where on earth do political parties get their candidates from?

People's Party

Alongside Muench, sat Igor Tvorogov from the People’s Party of Canada. He is anti-vax, pro Protest Convoy, pro-white European, anti everyone else. Oh yes! And he didn’t know the meaning of the word “portfolio”. 

Dawe asked the candidates if they were successful which portfolio would they like to be offered. After a long convoluted answer from Igor (he wants to be Minister of Software) Dawe sighed:

“The question was meant to be whimsical.”

New to politics

Jennifer McLachlan is a thousand times better when she forgets the notes in front of her and talks from the heart. But this only gets her so far. I sense there are still yawning gaps in her knowledge on a range of important issues. She explains:

“I am new to politics and I have some learning to do. I have Mr Van Bynen who has been mentoring me over the last while and he will continue to support me while I head to Ottawa and work with the community after. People always ask how are you gonna fill his shoes? And I say there's no chance I will fill his shoes but he's passed me the torch. So let's see how fast I can go with it and run around this riding as much as I can.”

Oh dear! 

That means safe and middle of the road and unadventurous. That’s not what I want in my MP. I want a free thinker and someone who will use the platform they’ve been given to speak out and make a difference. Throw away the crutch. Don’t lean on your mentor indefinitely. Be yourself.

The curse of the old banker

It appears that despite his multiple retirements over the years Tony Van Bynen is destined to be forever in our lives. It is the curse of the old banker.

Only five days to go.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Details

The Progressive Conservative MPP, Dawn Gallagher Murphy, splurged $26,995 on taxpayer funded BBQs during her first term. 

She was re-elected as MPP for Newmarket-Aurora on 27 February 2025 but with the majority of voters casting their ballot against her. As is so often the case, the non Conservative vote split allowing Gallagher Murphy to sail through the middle.

The latest figures released from Queen’s Park show the MPP spent $6,459 of our tax dollars on last year’s BBQ on 29 September 2024. This may not be the final tally as the MPP often files her expense claims in dribs and drabs.

The MPP - a staunch supporter of Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre - spent $9,376 on her BBQ on 22 October 2023 and $11,160 on 16 October 2022.

Of course, the BBQs are all about shameless self promotion.

Gallagher Murphy has clearly been very successful in projecting a warm and engaging persona, quite different from the strutting, foul mouthed office tyrant that she is when behind closed doors.

Gallagher Murphy claimed $2,812 taxpayers’ dollars for the expenses incurred at Newmarket’s Santa Claus Parade on 16 November 2024.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

 

 

 

Details

Newmarket Public Library’s chief executive, Tracy Munusami, filed incorrect statistics for the Province’s annual survey of public libraries. 

Ms Munusami told the Province the library had 24,136 members (or active library cardholders) in December 2023. She now says the correct figure is 17,893 – a decrease of 26%.

I don’t know when the Library Board was informed of this mistake.

The survey, which is mandatory, is designed to capture key statistics from the 413 municipalities in Ontario.

Extraordinary year

In the foreword to the Library’s Report to the Community 2024, the Board Chair, Darryl Gray, said 2024 was an extraordinary year for the Library and trumpeted a “significant growth” in membership.

I relied on the official figure reported by the Library’s Chief Executive to the province when I claimed there was, in reality, no increase in membership at all. I calculated that membership had fallen by 7.9%.

Ms Munusami told me on 16 April 2025:

“The number you received from the provincial annual survey is incorrect. The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming does have an updated figure from us. We have been informed that the reports on the Province’s site from 2023 will not be updated for the public, but the Province does retain the record of the revised number from us.”

Inaccurate data

I cannot believe the Province would allow seriously inaccurate data to remain uncorrected on the authoritative official database on which the public rely. I hope it will be updated on-line in due course.

The revised 2023 membership figures formed the baseline for comparison with the latest 2024 figures which were reported to councillors on 7 April 2025.

Ms Munusami told councillors 9,476 people signed up for a Newmarket Library Card in 2024 and 5,357 people signed up in 2023. Last week she told me:

“We track new memberships because they indicate how effectively our outreach and marketing efforts are reaching people. So yes, there was a 43% increase in new memberships.”

She is understating her achievement. The percentage increase was not 43% but a spectacular 76%.

Ballooned

Total Library cardholders ballooned in 2022 to 27,780. The reason for this is unclear to me but I do not see similar spikes in libraries elsewhere which could be the case if the figures were influenced by the pandemic.

In 2022, the Chief Executive embarked on a database clean-up, telling councillors in her presentation on 7 April 2025:

“In 2022 we were looking at ways to evaluate the people who are using the library card numbers as well as to clean up our databases.…  In 2022 we removed accounts from the system that were no longer active library users. The definition of an “active library user” is someone who's used the library in the last 24 months. And in order to make better business decisions we had to have the most accurate data. So that's why we made the change in 2023."

Extravagant

Getting the membership base down to a new low of 17,893 allows for these extravagant percentage increases in membership. We are told there were 9,476 new members in 2024 but we still don’t know how many people renewed their existing membership – a statistic that used to be routinely given.

If I were on the Library Board I’d ask the Chief Executive for a note on the process for “cleaning up the database” and an assurance that this would be done annually, removing non-active library cards.

Last year, when Ms Munusami presented her report to councillors on 8 April 2024, the effusive library Vice Chair and Town councillor, Kelly Broome, complimented her on the strategic plan, the rebrand and her leadership. 

Kelly Broome trilled:

“We’re extremely proud of the level and where we are with the library in terms of our brand and our reach. It’s significant. If we had the annual reports lined up you would see the significant increase since you joined us (3 August 2021)…

“We’re definitely at a point now when measuring data is critical and (it’s) great we have some really great data to share.”

What is needed

We no longer have a time-series allowing us to compare membership and usage over the years which makes it easier to spot trends. There appears to be no distinction between genuinely ”new” members and those who have simply renewed their library card. We just have bald numbers presented as snapshots with percentage increases over the previous year.

On the key metrics the Board needs to have statistics covering at least three consecutive years. And the Board must have confidence in the figures it gives to the Town, the Province and the wider public.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Photo from Newmarket Today 8 April 2024: Library adds more than 5000 members in 2023. And from Newmarket Today on 9 April 2025: Focus on community outreach gives Newmarket Library a growth spurt.

Updated on 21 April 2025. Click "Read more" below for email exchange.

Newmarket Public Library membership 2014-2024

Details

I am back on YouTube but still have no idea why I was kicked off in the first place. 

The last video which I posted here was filmed outside Dawn Gallagher Murphy’s constituency office just a few days before the Provincial election on 27 February 2025. (Still shot right)

I branded Gallagher Murphy a tyrannical bully (or some such) quoting the evidence of her ex-employees, including her former office manager, Teena Bogner.

YouTube says it can remove an account immediately if the matter, for example, involves “first-person privacy”. 

I do not believe Dawn Gallagher Murphy complained to YouTube but I have no way of knowing for certain.

Details leaked

The ERA and Newmarket Today both ran stories about Dawn Gallagher Murphy’s alleged bullying and harassment, quoting directly from the complaint document filed with the Ontario Labour Relations Board by Teena Bogner. It is inconceivable that Gallagher Murphy leaked Teena Bogner’s complaint to the press given that it contained so many reputation-shredding allegations about the MPP.

Bogner’s complaint was made available to me after I had gone down to the OLRB in Toronto and asked to see the file. The Board Solicitor approved its release to me. 

Adjudicative records are “presumptively available to the public” but parties and affected persons "may apply for, and the Board may make, confidentiality orders in certain circumstances". But no confidentiality order had been issued by the Board in this case. 

Absurd

When I was at the OLRB I pointed out the obvious absurdity of being told I couldn’t see the complaint file (if that was to be their decision) when I was quoting to them chunks from the complaint that had appeared in the local press.

YouTube has done the right thing and I am now allowed to upload video again which I can use here if and when the fancy takes me.

I got 14,000 hits on my most visited post on the Southlake scandal which is a microscopic figure when compared with everything else that’s happening out there on the internet.

There’s nuthin’ here to complain about.

I am no danger to anyone.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.


 

  • You are here:  
  • Home