GUEST COLUMN CHRONIQUEUR INVITÉ
Editor-in-Chief/Rédactrice en chef Michelle Piquette Managing Editor/Directrice de la rédaction Heather Dana Munroe Graphic Designer/Infographiste Krista Leroux Editorial Board/Conseil de rédaction Joe Schwarcz, MCIC, chair/président Cathleen Crudden, MCIC John Margeson, MCIC Milena Sejnoha, MCIC Steve Thornton, MCIC Bernard West, MCIC
The CSC at Your Service How can the CSC better serve its members and the public? The Society’s work toward achieving professional and public credibility
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Yves Deslandes, FCIC
T
he March 2006 issue of ACCN addressed the future of chemistry as a discipline and a profession. Chemistry is under pressure. New evidence of this pressure comes from the closing of the department of chemistry at the University of Sussex in the U.K. I personally feel that chemistry is here to stay, but what can we do to ensure that chemistry endures? The CSC’s major stakeholders are the members. The recent increase in CSC membership is an indication that the Society is adequately filling its role and reaching its members. But much more can be done. I extend a personal invitation to you—the chemical scientists of Canada—to secure the professional acknowledgement that chemists are due and to do your share to raise the perception of chemistry in the media and in the public. The CSC has adopted a major initiative to ensure that chemists—both members and non-members—begin to receive the professional acknowledgement that they are most certainly due. CSC vice-president Dave Schwass, MCIC, and CSC director of professional affairs, Ray Clement, FCIC, are spearheading the project outlined in the March 2006 issue of ACCN. The CIC has formally launched this initiative by organizing a panel discussion involving provincial associations representing chemists across Canada. The discussion is scheduled for May 30, 2006, as part of the Science Policy Forum at the 89th Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition in Halifax, NS. I invite you to show your support through your participation in this first and crucial step toward achieving professional status for Canadian chemists.
2 L’ACTUALITÉ CHIMIQUE CANADIENNE MAI 2006
While this important initiative ranks top on the list for CSC members, we should also extend our reach to include the population at large. The CSC should play a more pro-active role in providing the public with “real” scientific information related to the major current issues. There is a proliferation of journalists who publish half truths and present incomplete information to the public. A day rarely goes by without seeing a newspaper article on either climate change or the environment where the conclusions are dubious at best. CSC members must take public positions on these issues and publish, with help from the Society, unbiased, truly scientific information for the benefit of everyone. Make time to write to newspaper editors and be vocal when necessary. In these days of dubious information, it’s a competent scientist’s duty to provide public access to factual information. Both of these projects are significant undertakings and require organization of our membership. The future of chemistry is one we all share. And together, we are capable of ensuring our credibility, professionally and in the public eye. So I charge these tasks to you, members of the CIC, and seek your opinions for further discussion.
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Yves Deslandes, FCIC, is CSC president and director of research at the Institute for Chemical Process and Environmental Technology of the National Research Council Canada.
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