Present: Doug Colwell (Chair), Cam Goater (Vice-Chair), Robin Beech (Senior Councillor), Andre Buret (Junior Councillor), Al Shostak (Archivist), Todd Smith (incoming junior councillor), Bernadette Ardelli (Secretary/Treasurer).
Regrets: Gaetan Faubert (incoming Vice-Chair). Please note: Gaetan did arrive for the meeting but due to an error by the LOC, was not permitted to attend the luncheon.
Dr. Colwell called the meeting to order at 1234h.
Dr. Colwell asked for approval of the agenda.
MOTION: (Dan McLaughlin/Carl Lowenberger): to approve the agenda (carried)
Dr. Colwell welcomed everyone to the meeting. Dr. Hisao Arai, a founding member of the society, passed away after our annual meeting in Wolfville, NS. Dr. Colwell mentioned Dr. Arai's significant contributions not only to the section, but also to the society as a whole. He asked that we observe a moment of silence in honour of Dr. Arai. Dr. Colwell also took the opportunity to thank Dr. Dave Marcogliese for organising the 2005 symposium . Dr. Mick Burt pointed out that there was an error on the agenda, and it should not read executive council meeting.
Dr. Colwell asked that the minutes of the 2004 annual general meeting be approved.
MOTION (John Webster/Mick Burt): To approve the minutes of the 2004 annual general meeting (carried)
Dr. Colwell asked Dr. Al Shostak to summarize for the members of the section the significant points of the last council meeting as Dr. Shostak is a member of the CSZ Executive Council. Dr. Shostak pointed out that the Canadian Society of Zoologists currently is implementing policies to ensure operation as a non-profit orgnaization. This will include a cap on section funds which the Seection should plan for. Dr. Colwell invited questions and/or comments from the members of the section. It was decided that the new chair of the section (Cam Goater) would represent the interests of the section when the committee was organized to decide the fate of CSZ funds. Dr. Burt asked for clarification on the section funds and wanted to know if our current expenditures reflect what we have to spend. Dr. Shostak pointed out that the section allotment, after the changes, would likely be about $2-3000.00 per section. So, items like the Murray Fallis Prize, which are already distributed by ZET, would not be part of our section expenditures. Dave Marcogliese was thanked by Doug Colwell for organizing the symposium and was asked to introduce the speakers, all of whom were present at the luncheon. He introduced Dr. Stanley Sessions (Hartwick College), Dr. Pieter Johnson (University of Wisconsin), Dr. Danna Shock (Arizona State University) and Dr. David Green (McGill University).
Dr. Ardelli had organized a package for each member of the section and included a copy of the agenda, the minutes from the previous section meeting, a financial report and a copy of Dr. Marcogliese's report for the parasitology module. Dr. Ardelli mentioned that the financial report included did not reflect our current status. She received a copy of the updated finances prior to the meeting. She informed the members of the adjustments that needed to be made. Dr. Webster had some questions on the current status of section funds and wanted to know the amount of shared interest as well as the section allotment. Dr. Ardelli informed him of these amounts and then asked Dr. Shostak to answer questions on the section funds, as the treasurer of the society maintains the funds for the section, even though Dr. Ardelli is listed as the secretary / treasurer. The questions received from Dr. Burt and Dr. Webster centred on Dr. Shostak's original discussion of the sections having too much money. Dr. Belosevic pointed out that unless the section starts spending the money, they will not receive their allotment. Dr. Burt pointed out that the section only has a large surplus because of the influx of $4000.00 from ICOPA, but without the ICOPA proceeds, the section would currently stand at the recommended allotment. Dr. Burt suggested that we spend the ICOPA proceeds in order to bring the account on line. He suggested that perhaps the money should be put into the Leo Margolis or the Hisao Arai Fund. Dr. Colwell pointed out that the executive had proposed using some of the funds for the student awards and the spending of ICOPA proceeds would be discussed later in the meeting.
There were no elections and Gaetan Faubert (McGill University) and Todd Smith (Acadia University) were acclaimed as Vice Chair and Junior Councillor respectively.
The majority of the correspondence from affiliate societies are in the form of conference announcements. Dr. Ardelli pointed out that in her newsletters, she includes a section on upcoming conferences. The only other major correspondence she receives are from people wanting to know how to become a member of the section. Dr. Ardelli maintains a copy of the membership application and sends it to interested parties.
Dr. Colwell introduced the members of the executive council. He reminded everyone that the position of junior councillor, vice-chair and secretary/treasurer positions would be open for 2005-2006. The deadline for nominations would be announced in the fall newsletter.
This year the recognition committee was chaired by Cam Goater. The members of the recognition committee are composed of the last three Wardle Awardees and included Dr. Mike Belosevic, Dr. Al Bush and Dr. Terry Pearson. This year the recognition committee received four nominations. The 2005 Wardle Medal was awarded to Dr. Kris Chadee, McGill University and he was introduced to the members of the section.
Dr. Beech announced that any students who wished to take part in the student competition, and have not identified themselves, should let him know.
The report of the parasitology module was presented by Dr. Dave Marcogliese. A copy of his report was provided for the section members. On April 21, 2005 Dr. Marcogliese attended the meeting of the Scientific Committee of the Biological Survey of Canada in Ottawa. No one attended the fall meeting as it was held in Charlottetown, PEI. Funding for the travel was provided by research budgets within the St. Lawrence Centre, Environment Canada. Highlights of his report included the participation of Scott Gardner (University of Nebraska) and Susan Kutz (University of Saskatchewan) to jointly complete the protocols for monitoring for parasites of mammals. Also of interest is that some funding was received for the national stickleback survey.
Dr. Colwell informed members that the executive had agreed to allot $1000.00 of the ICOPA proceeds to help with the travel costs of the symposium speakers. Dr. Colwell also announced that the executive would like to put forward the idea of increasing the Murray Fallis award by $1000.00 in 2006, to support the travel of the Fallis winner to ICOPA. He pointed out that it would not be a separate symposium, but that the LOC would be asked to guarantee one slot in the contributed papers section to the student.
MOTION (Doug Colwell / Mick Burt): To increase the Fallis Award by $1000.00 in 2006 to support the travel costs to ICOPA (carried).
Dr. Colwell asked members of the section to ensure that if they nominate an individual for the Wardle, that the conditions of the award are understood by the recipient before they accept. As the award is a section award, the society can not waiver the registration costs. Dr. Colwell put forward a motion that the section pay the costs of registration for the Wardle recipient. Dr. Belosevic suggested that the executive should consider having the administration of Wardle transferred to ZET thereby downloading the cost of the award to the society. Dr. Colwell suggested that the remainder of the ICOPA proceeds could be placed into ZET to help with costs of administering the Wardle. Dr. Shostak pointed out that ZET is a registered charity and the funds are used for society related functions. Dr. Webster suggested that the members consider the possibility of using the surplus to fund travel expenses incurred by the Wardle Awardee. Dr. Belosevic pointed out that if the award were to be administered by ZET, this option would become available.
MOTION (ammended) (Doug Colwell / Mick Burt): That the cost of registration for the Wardle Recipient be waived for one year. Carried.
At the pre-section meeting, Dr. Faubert was asked to present ideas for the 2006 symposium however, was unable to attend the luncheon. Dr. Ardelli presented the ideas that were discussed at the meeting of the executive. It was suggested that the symposium should try and cover topics that are relevant to parasitology in Canada but also keeping in mind that we are trying to attract new people to the section. She suggested a theme that might cover new and emerging problems/diseases but break it into categories that might include human disease, wildlife disease and also problems associated with an aquatic environment. Gaetan agreed to co-ordinate the symposium with the group in Edmonton and members were invited to submit other ideas to Dr. Faubert.
Dr. Colwell pointed out that the section membership has declined drastically and that the executive were looking for ways to improve the viability of the section. Some of the ideas that had been proposed were a name change for the section as well as trying to broaden the scope of the section and including sub-sections or themes for the contributed papers. Dr. Colwell invited input or discussion from members of the section. Dr. Webster pointed out that we are a very small section but that there is a considerable amount of research taking place outside the section. He suggested that the section should take a more active role in linking up with other societies or conferences at the time of the annual meeting, much like the joint meeting between CSZ and the Canadian Society of Microscopy at Acadia University in 2005. Dr. Belosevic pointed out that there are a significant number of "parasite people" within the Canadian Society of Immunology. He pointed out that linking up with other societies makes the organization of the sections too cramped. He felt the more important point was to find a way to attract people to the society. Dr. Chadee pointed out that parasitology is a very diverse field and that most of the research within the section has traditionally focussed on the parasite. He argued that there are a growing number of people who study parasites in terms of the host response and that this type of research is largely left out of the section. Dr. Colwell suggested that we need more advertising to increase our visibility. Dr. Alison mentioned that this was her first visit to the society. She felt that we should not limit ourselves to zoologists, but should also encourage participation from the plant community to increase our diversity. She pointed out that there are several parasites that affect plants, particularly nematodes.
Discussion of transferring the Wardle to ZET continued. A motion was put forward to consider moving the Wardle to ZET. Dr. Shostak pointed out that it is just the start of a long, complex process and he cautioned the section that it might be too early to make this movement, as we may be committing too much money via one route. Dr. Belosevic pointed out that we were not asking that this transfer occur immediately, but that the section look into the possibility of transferring within the next three years. Dr. Burt pointed out that he could see the benefits of both arguments but asked that we proceed in an orderly fashion. Dr. Webster pointed out that ZET has yet to be contacted and they might refuse. He felt that there was no harm in approaching ZET with the idea.
MOTION (Mick Burt/John Webster): To consider, in an orderly fashion, that the Wardle be transferred to ZET within the next three years (passed).
Dr. Colwell thanked members of the executive.
MOTION (Al Shostak / Robin Beech): to adjourn. The meeting was adjourned at 1324h.