The Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association is calling the Nova Scotia government’s claim that it is supporting local publishers “100 per cent false.”
The APMA says the province’s recent deficit budget eliminated the Nova Scotia Publisher Assistance program, adding that this move makes Nova Scotia the only province in Canada that doesn’t have dedicated funding for local book publishing.
The group says, during questioning last week, Minister Dave Ritcey and Minister Colton Leblanc brought up the Creative Industries Fund and the Nova Scotia Loyal Book Voucher pilot program as examples of their support for the sector, but the APMA says these aren’t comparable to Publisher Assistance program.
The association says the Book Voucher pilot represented only a one-time $46,000 government contribution to subsidize consumer purchases at independent bookstores.
The group went on to point out the province’s $18 million increase in business subsidy programs, questioning why the government wasn’t able to keep the $700,000 needed to maintain the program.
In an emailed statement, the Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage said publishers in Nova Scotia are eligible to apply for support through the Creative Industries Fund, which will provide more than $1.1 million this year to support the creative sector.
An additional email from the Department of Growth and Development stated that the Nova Scotia Loyal Book Voucher Program provided a total of 4,000 vouchers worth $10 that could be used on more than 1,600 book titles across 11 different independent bookstore locations, but that the pilot program “concluded at the end of February, resulting in $86,277.67 in books being purchased.”
