Bill C-15, currently before Parliament, includes changes to the Canada Post Corporation Act that would give Canada Post the ability to set postage rates rather than maintaining the Library Materials, or “Library Book Rate” that keeps interlibrary loan (ILL) shipping affordable across Canada. Without this reduced rate, national ILL could become significantly more expensive for libraries outside of our Omni partners, potentially limiting access to physical materials from across the country.
While this change does not affect delivery service or costs for Interlibrary Loan among our Omni partners in Ontario, it would directly impact Brock’s participation in physical ILL networks outside of Omni.
Brock researchers have benefited from this low-cost shipping 619 times in 2025. We in turn have used the “Library Book Rate” 167 times this year to ship physical resources from our collection to researchers across Canada.
You can have your say by sending a letter to your MP urging them to protect interlibrary loan and access to knowledge. Learn more and access a letter template.
Other useful links:
Bill C-15 threatens Library Book Rate and free mailing of materials for people who are blind Librarianship.ca
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