The six months since my last message have been eventful, and at times challenging. The 52nd annual CAA conference, which will be co-hosted by the Association des Archéologues du Québec (AAQ), in Quebec City, is coming together and promises to be a unique experience. The theme “Heritage at Risk” recognizes “the myriad challenges confronting the preservation and accessibility of the archaeological record, archaeological sites, monuments, landscapes, collections and intangible cultural heritage” (from conference webpage). The CAA organizing committee is co-chaired by James Woollett and Michel Plourde. The CAA Board of Directors has also hired a student intern, Laurence Ferland, to assist with the organization. The Student Committee is organizing an Ethics Bowl, which will be a first for the CAA. The invitation for submission of session abstracts, papers and posters is now open online. In addition to the usual presentations and banquet, the conference organizing committee has planned a dinner at the spectacular Hotel-Musée Premières-Nations restaurant in Wendake on Friday, May 17th and a tour at the Wendake Cultural Centre/Museum longhouse.

A major change to the CAA Board of Directors last fall was inviting John Creese as the new editor of the Canadian Journal of Archaeology. Issue 42(2) is close to press and papers are being vetted for the next issue. We are also expecting the submission of a collection of edited papers based on a session organized for last year’s annual meeting in Winnipeg, entitled “Unsettling Archaeology”, which will be the first online issue of the CJA. John will soon be working on an application for the summer 2019 for a three-year SSHRC grant to cover expenses of the CJA until 2022.

The CAA Board of Directors has established a new standing committee under the title of CAA Ethics Review Committee. The purpose of the committee is to periodically review the CAA ethical statements and propose revisions, as necessary, to the language of existing statements (but not to create new ones). Committee recommendations must be approved by the Board of Directors and the CAA membership at the AGM. I anticipate that the first recommendations will be ready for the 2019 AGM. Committee members will serve for three years. The current committee consists of co-chairs Gary Warrick and Eldon Yellowhorn, regular members Catherine Cottreau-Robins, Christian Gates St-Pierre, Helen Kristmanson, Heather Macleod-Leslie, and student member Stephanie Skelton.

In other committee related matters, Moira McCaffrey has agreed to assume the chair for the Public Advocacy Committee. The Equity and Diversity Working Group, chaired by Lisa Hodgetts, has been busy preparing a survey for the membership. By now all active members will have received an invitation to complete the survey. The survey is anonymous, and the results will be circulated to the membership for comments. Any policy changes that might result from the survey would need the usual approval of the CAA Board of Directors and a vote at the AGM.

We have an important election coming up this spring. Members will be voting for a new President-Elect, who will join the Board of Directors at the end of the 2019 AGM. I urge everyone to vote.

If you have any questions or concerns I can be reached at my CAA email address.

Warmest Regards,

Michael Deal
president@canadianarchaeology.com