Highlights of CGC meeting in Vancouver, 27-28 April 2002
(Formal minutes of all items of agenda will be distributed later. This note summarizes a few key points that we need you to know about now. Jeremy Hall, Past President, CGC).

1. "Defragging" the geosciences in Canada: a summit meeting

Nearly all CGC member organizations are recognizing limitations in their abilities to serve their individual members. In some ways, such as Canada's Innovation Strategy, we have new opportunities in front of us, and we have to ask ourselves, "are we doing the best possible job in taking advantage of those opportunities?". With volunteer time in short supply; with a myriad of challenges to supporting publications, technical meetings, promotion of geoscience; with funding problems of static or declining memberships and rising costs; we are wasting valuable resources that would be better directed to those new opportunities. CGC does not offer a panacaea, but we do believe that it is timely to bring our member organizations and, possibly, some others, together to identify the opportunities, and to list the obstacles to progress. We could then start on the job of removing those obstacles, so that we direct energies to positive actions that will regain ground we may have lost in public understanding and support of our contributions to the health and welfare of Canadians. Some of us fear that if we do not do this now, we will marginalize geoscience in Canada, through our continuing dissipation of energy in duplicating activities, and all the other mechanisms for waste that abound in a fragmented community.

Member organizations of CGC will shortly receive an invitation to a professionally-facilitated weekend meeting, probably late in August 2002, probably in Calgary, to address these and associated issues. Stay tuned! We seek a strong engagement from CGC members in this essential activity.

2. Canada's Innovation Strategy

CGC is working with others to provide a response to Industry Canada's proposals on an Innovation Strategy that would produce a substantial increase Canada's investment in R&D over the next 10 years. It is essential that the geoscience community points out to appropriate federal cabinet ministers the value of our contributions - present and potential - to the health and wealth of Canadians, via the opportunities presented by the innovation agenda, during the next few months of the consultation period.

3. CGC Executive Officer

Robert Mummery has been appointed CGC Executive Officer with effect from 1 May 2002. Bob can be contacted at (mummeryr@cadvision.com). We wish Bob all the best in this position.

4. CGC Standing Committees

CGC approved the setting up of two Standing Committees. The committee on Sustainable Mineral Resources Development is building a broad approach to the incoporation of geoscience into various aspects of 'sustainable mining', from exploration, to production, contamination and remediation of mine sites. This broad approach will link geosciences with many other disciplines of physical, medical and social science, and technology. The committee on the International Continental Drilling Program is exploring continuing Canadian participation in ICDP, following on the very successful collaboration on the Mallik gas hydrate drilling project recently completed on the Mackenzie delta.

5. Position Papers

Drafts of 4 CGC position papers have been approved, and more are on their way. French translations are being completed. Papers will be distributed to government ministers, as appropriate; will be available on the CGC web site; and can be printed on demand, as circumstances warrant.

6. CGC Brochure and Poster

CGC has produced a brochure and poster for distribution and display at meetings. We had a booth at CIM in Vancouver and will seek opportunities for promotion of CGC at other meetings.

7. Careers in Geoscience

The Canadian Geoscience Education Network (CGEN) is embarking on revision of the Careers in Geoscience materials that have been so successful in hard copy and CD-ROM format in the past, but which are now dated. The new version will be web-based.