The$Canadian$Society$of$Plant$Biologists$
La$Société$Canadienne$de$Biologie$Végétale$
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Founded!in!1958!!!!!!!!!!Constituée!en!1958!
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The$Honourable$Navdeep$Bains$$
Minister$of$Innovation,$Science$and$Economic$Development$
C.D.!Howe!Building!
235!Queen!Street!
Ottawa,!Ontario!!K1A!0H5!
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Dear!Minister!Bains:!
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I!am!writing!to!you!in!my!capacity!as!President!of!the!Canadian$Society$of$Plant$Biologists$/$Société$Canadienne$
de$Biologie$Végétale!(CSPB/SCBV,!www.csppPscpv.ca).!The!CSPB!represents!Canadian!plant!scientists!whose!
research!focuses!on!plant!physiology,!genetics,!!biochemistry,!development,!and!microbial!interactions,!as!well!as!
tree!biology!and!related!fields.!Our!members!are!affiliated!with!academic!institutions,!national!research!
organizations!(Agriculture!and!Agrifood!Canada,!NRC)!and!industry.!The!Society!serves!to!provide!a!platform!for!
scientists!to!exchange!and!disseminate!research!data,!to!create!and!foster!scientific!networks,!and!to!promote!the!
education!of!undergraduate!and!graduate!students,!as!well!as!postdoctoral!fellows!by!supporting!their!participation!
at!the!Society's!annual!panPCanadian!and!regional!meetings.!The!CSPB!is!a!founding!member!of!Plant$Canada!
(plantcanada.ca/eng/default.htm),!an!umbrella!organization!uniting!scientific!societies!in!the!fields!of!plant!and!
horticultural!sciences.!Furthermore,!the!CSPB!is!a!founding!members!of!the!Global$Plant$Council,!a!coalition!of!
national,!regional!and!international!societies!representing!plant,!crop!and!agricultural!and!environmental!sciences!
across!the!globe!(globalplantcouncil.org).!
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On!behalf!of!the!CSPB,!it!is!my!pleasure!to!congratulate!you!on!your!appointment!as!Minister!of!Innovation,!Science!
and!Economic!Development.!Now!that!you!have!settled!in,!we!would!like!to!seize!the!opportunity!to!introduce!our!
Society!to!you!and!your!staff.!The!members!of!the!CSPB!are!enthusiastic!about!the!fact!that!the!new!government!
recognizes!that!decisions!must!be!informed!by!scientific!data!and!that!basic!and!discovery!driven!research!are!the!
fundamental!underpinning!for!progress!and!countless!areas!of!economic!development.!!!
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We!believe!that!the!research!conducted!by!our!members!can!make!important!contributions!both!to!combating!
rising!greenhouse!gas!emissions!and!to!mitigating!the!inevitable!consequences!of!climate!change.!Our!members!
work!on!the!development!of!plants!that!are!resilient!to!a!variety!of!environmental!stresses,!they!study!
plantPpathogen!interactions,!and!many!of!the!research!activities!support!the!development!of!sustainable!
agriculture!through!the!use!of!biological!pest!control!and!biological!fertilizers!such!as!microbePbased!products.!
Technologies!and!practices!developed!by!our!members!offer!solutions!to!the!unique!challenges!Canadian!
agriculture!and!forestry!will!face!in!the!coming!decades!including!the!need!to!produce!biofuels!efficiently.!PlantP
based!biotechnological!strategies!are!being!developed!to!address!challenges!in!fields!as!diverse!as!agriculture!and!
medicine.!The!membership!of!the!Society!would!appreciate!an!opportunity!to!meet!with!you!to!discuss!the!
challenges!and!the!opportunities!associated!with!translating!basic!research!and!innovation!in!the!plant!and!forestry!
sciences!into!economic!endeavours.!!
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The!next!annual!general!meeting!of!the!CSPB!will!take!place!at!Queen’s!University!in!Kingston!on!June!19P21!(csppP
scpv.ca/meetings/2016AGM/).!The!theme!for!this!conference!is$‘Plant$Biotech$2016’.!We!would!be!delighted!if!you!
were!available!to!attend!our!conference!to!meet!our!members!while!learning!more!about!the!crucial!role!that!
research!in!the!plant!sciences!will!play!in!Canada!and!throughout!the!world!over!the!coming!decades.!
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Yours!truly,!
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Dr.!Anja!Geitmann!
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March!21,!2016!
Dean,!Faculty!of!Agricultural!and!Environmental!Sciences,!McGill!University!
President,!Canadian!Society!of!Plant!Biologists!/!Société!Canadienne!de!Biologie!Végétale!
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Faculty!of!Agricultural!and!Environmental!Sciences,!Macdonald!Campus,!McGill!University!
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21111!Lakeshore,!StePAnnePdePBellevue,!Québec!H9X!3V9,!Canada,[email protected],!514!398!7707!
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From:!Minister!of!ISED!/!Ministre!de!ISDE!(IC)![mailto:ised.minister/
[email protected]]!!Sent:!May/10/16!1:10!PM!To:!Mala!Doan!
<[email protected]>!Subject:!Minister!of!Innovation,!Science!and!
Economic!Development
Dear Ms. Doan:
On behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation,
Science and Economic Development, thank you for your email of March
21, 2016, enclosing a letter from Dr. Anja Geitmann inviting him to
attend the Canadian Society of Plant Biologists’ annual general meeting
June 19 to 21, 2016. I regret the delay in replying to you.
Minister Bains was pleased to receive this kind invitation; however, prior
commitments prevent him from attending the conference.
Please accept the Minister’s best wishes for a successful event.
Sincerely,
Candice Perkins
Ministerial Liaison Officer
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