The Association of Canadian Archivists and the Canadian Cultural Heritage Advocacy Committee have written to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to raise concerns about the growing impact of Bill C-3 and citizenship-by-descent requests on archival institutions across Canada.

Archives are experiencing significant increases in research requests, resulting in added staffing costs, longer response times, and delays to other core archival work. The letter calls on the Government of Canada to work directly with the archival community on a coordinated response that includes additional staffing support, improved applicant guidance, digitization, AI tools, and other measures to reduce the burden on institutions over time.

ACA and CCHAC are also requesting a meeting with federal officials and representatives of affected archives to develop a sustainable and practical way forward.

Read the full letter here.