By / par Sarah Gallagher (CASCA President)
(Cassiopeia – Winter / hiver 2023)
Dear CASCA Community,
It has been my great pleasure to work with the CASCA Board and CASCA committees and members since the 2023 AGM to connect our society and advance our priorities as articulated in the 2020 Long Range Plan (LRP). Below, I’ll highlight some key activities to that end.
The Coalition for Canadian Astronomy has been active this fall lobbying the federal government in support of the CASTOR mission (castormission.org), our top priority for space astronomy. We have had in-person or virtual meetings with ISED, Finance, the Office of the Chief Science Advisor, and Prime Minister’s Office. In general, the reception was encouraging, but this is a tough budget year. The CASTOR team has put together an impressive portfolio of letters of support from 13 university Vice Presidents of Research, 3 Canadian aerospace companies, and 2 international space agencies that we have submitted as follow up to the meetings. Space.com featured the CASTOR mission in a glowing profile. The 2024 budget is expected in March/April timeframe, and we’ll continue our efforts in the new year.
In an effort to increase coordination and communication with ACURA, Gilles Joncas (Executive Director) and I have been meeting monthly. I have also been meeting monthly with Bill Whelan, President of the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP), to coordinate efforts with our sister society. We are exploring potential ways to partner as well as sharing information about what we are doing on several fronts, including lobbying, outreach, and communications. CAP sent a letter of support for CASTOR that was included with our portfolio. We have endorsed their pre-budget submission as well.
A priority for the coming year is to develop drafts of an updated CASCA mission statement, and new code of conduct and ethics and values statements in time for a vote at the AGM in June 2024. These drafts will be developed in coordination between the Board, the Equity and Inclusivity Committee, and the LRP Community Recommendations Implementation Committee, and circulated well in advance of a vote to get feedback from the community. We consider these documents to be necessary to help us prioritize CASCA activities given our limited human and financial resources.
CASCA has endorsed NSERC’s Dimensions Charter to indicate our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion (LRP Recommendation 37).
My initial commitment to CASCA was to serve for one year, but I have decided to extend this commitment to the full two year term. Working on behalf of the society with our excellent team has been rewarding so far, and I would like another year to advance more of the important work that we have underway.
I wish all CASCA members a restorative holiday break and a happy 2024!
Best wishes, Sarah
