Literacy society struggles in wake of drastic federal funding cut

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A northern community literacy society is struggling to fill a major gap in funding after a five-year contract with a federal organization was not renewed. 

Seanah Mollica, the executive director of the Fort Nelson Community Literacy Society, said the society has been struggling after $120,000 in funding was cut by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) starting April 1st. 

The organization offers education and support for the Fort Nelson and Fort Nelson First Nations communities, drop-in services and assistance for seniors filling out provincial paperwork, a role the society has due to the lack of a Service Canada in the area. 

“Yes it [funded] certain clients in a certain program, but it also covered a third of all the bills and the program coordinator [and] a percentage of the program assistance position,” Mollica said. 

“Our organization was a four-legged stool, and one leg has been kicked out, essentially.”

According to the IRCC 2024-25 departmental plan, the government organization intends to decrease total planned expenditures by $466.1 million over the next three years, due to the country’s “commitment to resettle at least 40,000 Afghan nationals by the end of 2023.”

In January, the society went before the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM) regional council to explain the situation and ask for support to fill the funding gap. 

“It’s been devastating to the whole sector,” Mollica said.

“It’s not just about diminishing those services for that specific program, it’s about acknowledging that non-profits and charities are so fragile that if you knock out that funding, it’s going to affect all the other programs.”

According to Mollica, the society has had to decrease its staff and open hours to adjust for the loss of funding. 

The board of directors has also authorized the use of contingency funds the society has built over the years to subsidise the budgets in quarterly amounts.

“I’ve got to make quarterly budgets, and whenever we’re short I can have whatever that contingency fund was broken into, and if it’s not meeting up, we’ll have to make cuts.

“It’s going to affect the programs, it’s going to affect the drop-ins…we have a lot of people using the centre just on a drop-in basis, and we’re just not going to be able to meet that need anymore.”

The society is also looking for funding in more creative ways.

In early 2025, the society began publishing a weekly community newsletter which, according to Mollica, has been well-received.

“It’s really nice, people are really liking it, it’s helping the community feel more connected, especially senior citizens.”

“We’re not writing editorial or news or politics or anything, we’re really just kind of being a conduit for community info.” 

Mollica alleged the funding was re-allocated to a different non-profit in Fort St. John, hours away from the community of Fort Nelson.

“After a decade of being in a relationship basically with the IRCC and providing these services…yes, we expected a reduction, but we didn’t expect them to completely overlook the geography and just leave us without anything.” 

The society is waiting on a decision from the regional council on what support the local government can offer. 
Energeticcity.ca reached out to the IRCC asking about its decision to cut funding for the Fort Nelson Literacy Society, but did not receive a reply by publication time.