Labrador and Newfoundland Archives Charges Entrance Fees

Paul Shelley, the Culture Minister for Labrador and Newfoundland announced last week that effective June 29, 2005, visitors to the Provincial Archives will have to pay a fee to enter it.

The Archives was moved to a new cultural center known as, "The Rooms". The Rooms will house the Provincial Museum, the Archives, and the Art Gallery. Anyone wanting to enter The Rooms must pay an entrance fee. Previously, the Archives did not require an entrance fee.

Mary Ellen Wright of the Association of Newfoundland and Labrador Archives is appalled at the notion that people now must pay a fee just to enter the Archives:

"People have a right to look at their records. They have a right to have access to the things that pertain to them, to their history, to their culture, without having to pay money to do so."

But Priscilla Renouf, who chairs the board that operates the $50-million complex, says a fee is necessary to cover operating and maintenance costs.

The Rooms had been scheduled to open last year, but the government delayed the opening to save money.