Conference Report Geoscience Summit 2004 Ottawa, Ontario 16 - 17 October 2004

• Main Authors: Thorleifson, Harvey, Hanmer, Simon
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Geological Association of Canada 2005
• Subjects: Canada; International Polar Year
• Online Access: https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/GC/article/view/2700

Over one hundred leaders of the Canadian earth science community met at Geoscience Summit 2004 last October to discuss strategies for maximizing our contribution to society. The Summit was chaired by Canadian Geoscience Council (CGC) President Harvey Thorleifson and Geological Association of Canada (GAC) Advocacy Coordinator Simon Hanmer, while sponsors were CGC and Geological Survey of Canada (GSC). Thirty-nine speakers prepared analyses, focusing on key points identified in discussions at CGC-sponsored Council of Presidents meetings in November 2003 and May 2004, which concluded that we need to establish a better sense of community, awareness of activity and priorities, and a more unified voice which will allow us to take more effective collective action. Presentations reviewed earth science in the energy, mining, environment, survey, and research sectors. Representatives of associations described the progress of professional registration, and coordination of activities such as conferences and publishing, as well as communications activity such as outreach, advocacy, and student recruitment. Leaders of past, present and potential research programs outlined lessons learned and the opportunities ahead. The energy and mineral industry representatives focused on the need for renewal of recruitment and training to provide a new generation of geoscientists, while the mining and environment sectors called for increased availability of public geoscience to support their work in fields such as mineral exploration and groundwater protection. The government sector focused on evolving mandates as well as redistribution and adjustment of geological survey capacity, while highlighting important initiatives such as formulation of a national consensus around the Cooperative Geological Mapping Strategies (CGMS) proposal. The International Polar Year (IYP) and the International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE) were reviewed by an invited expert panel, and discussions addressed the implications of the new Canadian Academy of ...