The past year, 1996, marked an end and a beginning for the Canadian Geoscience Council (CGC). A process of change, started in 1993 under then President John Gartner and finally accepted by Council at the January meeting in 1995, was implemented with the election of a new Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in May 1996 in Winnipeg. The purpose of this major restructuring was to make CGC issue- directed, pro-active, more responsive to the needs of geosciences in Canada, and to allow a greater role for member societies.
The first result was the election at the Winnipeg AGM of a somewhat bewildered slate of officers some with little or no previous direct involvement with CGC. Talk about change! Fortunately past-president Hugh Morris and a "recycled" Alan Morgan provided some degree of continuity.
In 1994, CGC had decided that "It would be desirable to have a new assessment of the current state and likely future directions of the Geosciences in Canada." An eight- person committee, chaired by Chris Barnes, was appointed by CGC Executive Committee and managers of GSC. The Canadian Geological Foundation helped to fund the project. The report of this committee was published early in 1996 as Geoscience Canada volume 22 no. 1 and 2 (March-June 1995).
The Board of Directors elected in Winnipeg was immediately confronted with several pressing issues:
Transforming the newly elected members of the Board of Directors into a cohesive and effective team was easily accomplished thanks to the dedication of all involved. A special meeting was held on June 28, 1996 in Toronto to map out a strategy and to identify major issues on which we would concentrate. Following that meeting, a constant stream of e-mail kept us not only in contact but also sharply focussed.
At the meeting in Toronto it was also decided that the Brief to the Mines Ministers would address the concerns of "The future of post-secondary education and training in earth sciences in Canada." Robert McNutt, president elect, agreed to prepare this Brief on behalf of Council. This well balanced and well documented report discusses the impact on Canadian universities and colleges of the significant budget cuts as a result of provincial governments having to cope with decreasing transfer payments from the federal government and, with servicing the debt load that bedevils our national economy. It is well known that earth science departments across Canada are facing exceptionally difficult times and some may well face elimination; a situation from which it would be difficult to recover when, again, inevitably, the need arises for highly qualified earth scientists.
The Board of Directors was convinced that it was important that the numerous recommendations contained in the report produced by Professor Chris Barnes and his committee be given prompt attention. The purpose is to arrive at an action plan for CGC. To this end it was decided to develop a questionnaire that would be circulated as broadly as possible amongst Canadian geoscientists. The questionnaire was put on the CGC Website and was circulated to every member and some nonmember societies requesting that they develop a strategy to obtain a response from their membership. This major effort was coordinated by the issues director Jeremy Hall. The responses were collated December 1996 and will form the basis for a special day long discussion at the January meeting of Council in Ottawa. The Board of Directors and the Council of CGC feel very strongly that this important issue requires a thorough discussion in order to define an action plan. We need to deal with this matter efficiently and thoroughly in order that the decisions taken will have a positive impact on earth sciences in Canada in the years ahead.
An irritant in the past has been the perception that member societies were not as involved as they would like to in the affairs of CGC. This is of serious concern to the Board of Directors which is determined to bring about changes that will ensure that societies are fully involved. The process adopted to discuss the recommendations of the report on "Future challenges and trends in geoscience in Canada" requires involvement of every earth science society or association in Canada. This is one example of the new attitude that will ensure that member societies are thoroughly briefed on important issues and are invited to participate in the decision making process of CGC.
In this Annual Report there will be numerous examples given of the efforts by CGC and by its member societies and committees to promote geosciences in Canada. The Canadian Geoscience Education Network, so competently lead by Godfrey Nowlan, has continued its outstanding work in promoting geosciences in the school curricula. The Committee is involved with the Pan-Canadian Science Curriculum, a framework for science curricula across Canada, except Québec, which should provide an opportunity for the recognition of the earth sciences from K-12. The EdGEO Program of Workshops for teachers continues to thrive. More than ten workshops were held in 1996 at several localities in British Columbia, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Chicoutimi, Sainte-Foy, St- Hyacinthe and Wolfville providing educational opportunity for more than 300 teachers.
On July 5, 1996, the Committee on International Science, Engineering and Technology held its 7th meeting at the National Research Council of Canada in Ottawa in preparation for the 25th general assembly of "The international council of scientific unions" (ICSU) held at the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America in Washington, D.C. on September 24-27, 1996. The following Canadian societies which are adhering members of ICSU were invited to attend; Canadian Association of Neuroscience; Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association; Canadian Society of Immunology; Canadian Society of Microbiologists; and the Canadian Geoscience Council. Of importance to CGC and its affiliated societies is that, at present, NRC is absorbing $450,000 of the cost of adhering to ICSU. By executive decision, these funds are taken from the general research funds and cover the adhering costs for such societies as the IGU, INQUA, IPA, and IUGG. Any changes in that policy could negatively affect all of the societies. Therefore it is important that CGC remains present at future meeting of CISET.
The Partnership Group for Science and Engineering brings together some 20 Canadian science and engineering societies and associations to collaborate on issues concerning research and its application in Canada. Formed in 1995 at the invitation of the Academy of Science of the Royal Society of Canada, PAGSE presented to the government a combined response to the "Report on the review of science and technology". It is also currently considering ways to strengthen synergies between industry and academic and government research; examining the effects of budget reduction on science and engineering in Canada; analyzing Canada’s participation in international research organizations and projects; and developing a communication strategy for improving public understanding of research.
PAGSE representatives have met with the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, to address the following questions raised by the Committee:
Representative of PAGSE also met with NSERC to discuss the needs for an infrastructure strategy to help fundamental research in Canadian universities.
PAGSE also sponsored a conference highlighting recent advances in science and engineering on November 24, 1996, at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa,. Speakers came from a variety of disciplines and presented recent advances in their field. Dr. Arthur Dyke of the Geological Survey of Canada was sponsored by the Canadian Geoscience Council and spoke on "Changes in Arctic Marine Environments in the Last 10, 000 years". This presentation was particularly well received according to comments submitted by participants at the end of the conference.
Because of my long association with the Geological Survey of Canada, it was deemed advisable that Hugh Morris, past-president, attend this year’s meeting of the Minister’s National Advisory Board on Earth Sciences - GSC component (formerly MNIAC). Hugh’s report appears later in this Annual CGC Report
From the above it should be obvious that your Board and Council have been active over the past few months on behalf of the geosciences in Canada. In order to progress further and to ensure that the future is not negatively affected by short sighted decisions, we need the cooperation of all member societies and indeed of all geoscientists in this country.
Denis A. St-Onge, O.C.
