OAS

President's Message

March/April 2009
(as published in Arch Notes New Series 14(2))

The journal Ontario Archaeology has undergone many changes in its more than 55 years of publication.  Throughout these past five decades it has nonetheless remained true to its prime reason for being, which is to report on new discoveries in the archaeology of the province of Ontario and to provide a permanent record of those advances and new insights into the past of our beloved piece of the planet. In 1954, J.N. Emerson, the founding president of the OAS, ended his provocative article ģIs Archaeology a Luxury Itemī with this stirring and near prophetic statement: ģMoreover there is, most important, of all, a public demand for archaeological work, a demand which can rationally be solved by a long term programme worked out by local and provincial interests. Ontario, as the richest province in our dominion, must feel a responsibility in providing the leadership towards a Canada proud of her historical and cultural heritage, a country which can take her place in the brotherhood of nations, a place determined by cultural achievement as well as economic and political considerations. The archaeologist must be aware of his place in this development; by the nature of his work he is not only a scientist, but a public servant. He must share in the responsibility of keeping the minds of his fellow citizens to their mark, the development of a mature set of social values appropriate to an atomic world.ī

In keeping with the spirit of his passage, the Board of Directors of the OAS is pleased to inform you that you may now access online, full text PDF versions of virtually all OA articles up to the past four years. This journal is a treasure-trove of data and ideas about millennia of human history in Ontario, and the articles its volumes contain are
the gems in the trunk.

This project has benefited from Student Employment Programme funding from the Ontario Ministry of Culture as well as internal OAS resources. The work of digitally capturing and creating PDF versions of these articles was undertaken by Stephanie Hallett, Melannia Point and David Robertson. Luke Dalla Bona and Greg Tammi of Pictographics in Sault Ste-Marie (our internet service provider thanks to an arrangement with the Canadian Archaeological Association) helped us set up the earlier abstracts database and the current articles database to allow a smooth use of this wonderful resource. Most importantly, we are grateful to all those authors who, over the past five decades, chose OA as the platform for sharing their knowledge with then current and future readers. Your work will now radiate even further afield!

Our most sincere hope is that the knowledge of Ontario's past contained in those articles will now be available worldwide with no barriers to their use. OA has now entered the digital age and perhaps we will now witness a wider use of this information outside of the narrow confines of the Ontario archaeological community. Additionally, we might also see a resurgence of interest in articles published decades ago and now instantaneously accessible through the use of the keyword search function that sorts through titles and abstracts for matches.

More on Standards and Guidelines

In other matters, and you can read more elsewhere in this issue of Arch Notes, the Ministry of Culture is again set to unveil and officially release a new Standards and Guidelines document for use by archaeological consultants working in Ontario. The still current document dates from 1993 and clearly, much practical experience has been acquired on both sides of the consulting equation since then, both by consultants as well as by Ministry staff responsible for overseeing the consulting process in Ontario. At the moment, the new document itself has not been released and so it is premature to comment on details that may or may not be contained in it. The OAS and others were invited to attend an information session where the process for rolling out the new S&G was outlined.

In many respects, this new document is a bit like the Canadian constitution; it will not please everyone, but a new one is needed to move forward. There will inevitably be provisions which may result in more work being required to satisfy the Ministry. It may result in higher costs for developers having to pay for additional work. It may be found wanting in a number of areas. Or perhaps not. At the end of the day, it must provide better assurances that archaeological sites are being given the consideration they are due.

Some certainties: 1) the first set of guidelines date to 1993 and needed to be revamped in order to incorporate the great deal of firsthand experience with applying and evaluating them that has been gained since; 2) a significant amount of input has been received in the process leading up to the finalisation of the new document; 3) there will be new Standards and Guidelines for archaeological consulting in Ontario.

In the world of consulting archaeology, there are almost always competing interests; those of the land owner, those of the developers, those of the consulting archaeologists, those of the academic community, those of the various levels of government, those of the general public, those of descendent communities. Ultimately, the new Standards and Guidelines will create clearer expectations of how archaeological consulting is to be carried out in Ontario and most importantly, they will allow all of the above interested parties to better assess how their interests have or have not been safeguarded or taken into account.

The OAS is pleased to take part in discussions surrounding the new document and its release. Moreover, with hundreds of members representing a wide range or interests, including those of consulting archaeologists, academics,  avocationals and the general public, we hope to be able to add significant and considered opinion to the discussions which will almost certainly arise concerning this or that aspect of the document. For the time being, we eagerly await the release of the new Standards and Guidelines and we will actively solicit the comments and opinions of our members.

As I sit in my office typing these few words I can see large pans of ice moving down the Ottawa River, taking away with them the accumulated debris from the past few months. It's impossible to foretell what the coming summer will bring but you'd have to be a fool not to look forward to the potential that this change of seasons represents.

Many of you are already in the field, others are finalizing their plans to do so. Work safely, find lots, share your new knowledge and consider writing it up for inclusion in Arch Notes or OA and think about what it would be like to be read all around the world...

Jean-Luc Pilon