Statement from Shelley McNeil, President of CUPE Local 5047 – Halifax Regional Centre for Education

HALIFAX, NS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 5047 members—school librarians working in the Halifax Regional Centre for Education—keep literacy alive in our schools. They support students who are struggling, they create spaces where curiosity and belonging grow, and they make sure young people see themselves reflected in what they read.

The services our library staff provide are not optional. They are foundational. Right now, they are being treated as expendable.

Over the past few weeks, we have been watching a funding dispute unfold between City Council and the School Board, and in the middle of it are our members and the students they serve—being used as pawns in a political standoff. This is unacceptable.

The School Board must clearly and publicly affirm that school library programs will continue, and that the workers who deliver them will not lose their jobs.

City Councillors must ensure that stable, ongoing funding is in place so that these programs are not repeatedly thrown into uncertainty. Pulling the rug out from under essential services—and the people who provide them—is not responsible governance. It is a failure of leadership.

Our members deserve stability. Students deserve access to the resources that help them learn, grow, and succeed. And the public deserves institutions that act with clarity, accountability, and care.

We are calling on both the Halifax Regional Centre for Education and Halifax Regional Municipality City Councillors to do their jobs: protect these programs, protect these workers, and put students first.

mdj:so/cope491