I believe my deputation to the Library Board last night was only the third in 11 years. I told the Board that felt like a big deal to me.

It’s not something people do every day. And I only did it because I couldn’t get a meeting with the Library Chair, Darryl Gray, to discuss with him privately my concerns about library statistics. That was eight months ago. I tried again last month to talk to him one-to-one but my emails didn’t get through.

Broken Portal

The Portal in the Library Website (which is ostensibly for the public to contact the Board) was out of commission for over two months and nobody noticed.

On 30 September 2025 the Chief Executive assured me it had been fixed and it hadn’t. My emails just disappeared into the ether. That’s the background.

I spent a lot of time putting my deputation together. The material is posted here and here.

No Ambushes

When I met my Ward Councillor, Trevor Morrison, earlier this month I stressed I had no wish to ambush the Board or its Chief Executive. So I made sure they all had the paperwork well before the meeting.

So I found it very dispiriting and a bit disheartening that after I finished speaking and invited questions from the Board they all remained silent and expressionless, like Easter Island statues, except for the Board Chair, Darryl Gray.

This is how it went:

Library Chair Darryl Gray: “Any questions from the board to the deputant on what he presented this evening? We also have a staff report that we'll be tabling in a minute for any questions of staff. 

Me: “But this is the only time the Board will hear from me….  I spent quite a long time on this, and I would appreciate if anyone has any questions to ask them, and I'll do my best to field them.

No pressure, of course, but this is my chance to respond to any questions you may have."

Darryl Gray: “I have one question. I just want to clarify something. So you attest that Tracy changed the provincial definition of a library card holder.” 

Me: “Yes”

Darryl Gray: “She didn't actually change the provincial definition. We're reporting a specific way to the province. And my question is this, what was the provincial response to your email about that?”

Me: “Well, the provincial response is complete gobbledegook by the civil servant, Douglas Davey. He basically said - and this is in the report that the Chief Executive has tabled - he said:

Yes, you can satisfy the active cardholder definition by using your card once in two years, but if you don't use your card, that also satisfies the provincial definition. 

Now it's in the report in front of you, and that is quixotic. It is bizarre, and I'm taking it up with the province because it's complete drivel.

But we don't know from the report that the Chief Executive has tabled what the question was that led to that risible answer. We don't know the date that the Chief Executive got in touch with Douglas Davey. We don't know the context.

We've just got this bizarre statement from the civil servant that you can satisfy the provincial definition by using your (library membership) card or not using your card. And as I said, that's just risible.” 

Darryl Gray: “Any other questions of the deputant? We'll have the chance to talk about the report. Thank you.”

Newmarket Today covered the story this way.

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