There have been some interesting pieces about the topic Adrian mentions on the history blog "Active History", which is a Canada-focused history blog: 

http://activehistory.ca/2012/05/seizing-canadas-past-politics-and-the-reinvention-of-canadian-history/

Terry
On May 19, 2012, at 12:49 PM, Adrian Myers wrote:

> Devastating news.
> 
> I hope more people with close knowledge of the situation will be able to
> update the list soon.
> 
> If anyone is interested in voicing opposition to this, there is a quick way
> to message Harper. Follow this link:  http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/contact.asp
> 
> Karlis rightly mentions that Stephen Harper is prioritizing "arctic
> sovereignty" - this is one prong of a wider ideological agenda for
> interpreting Canada's history to his benefit. A keen article on this topic
> was published in the Globe and Mail:   How Stephen Harper is remaking the
> Canadian myth<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/how-stephen-harper-is-remaking-the-canadian-myth/article2419732/?utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_source=Morning%20News%20Update&utm_type=text&utm_content=How%20Stephen%20Harper%20is%20remaking%20the%20Canadian%20myth&utm_campaign=94687706>
> Adrian Myers
> 
> ________________________________________________________________
> Adrian Myers   |   Department of Anthropology, Stanford University
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Sat, May 19, 2012 at 8:10 AM, Karlis Karklins <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
> 
>> Hello HistArchers!
>> 
>> I have some really sad news to report.
>> 
>> The results of Stephen Harper's Conservative government's recently
>> announced budget cuts are now clear and historical archaeology in Canada
>> has been dealt a mortal blow.
>> 
>> Effective in about four months, all the regional labs will be closed with
>> the artifacts being packed and shipped to Ottawa. Unfortunately, there is
>> really no place for them there nor the staff to deal with the huge amount
>> of material. It is also unclear who will do the packing as lab personnel
>> have been sacked. There will certainly be no staff to unpack the material
>> which will henceforth not be available to researchers.
>> 
>> Most regions will now have but one archaeologist to deal with all the sites
>> in their region.
>> 
>> The once productive Material Culture Research Section in Ottawa
>> that churned out hundreds of useful research reports has been completely
>> cut with all five remaining researchers being handed their walking papers.
>> 
>> What a loss of research skills and knowledge!
>> 
>> Fortunately, the Underwater Archaeology Section headquartered in
>> Ottawa remains untouched as they do much research in the Arctic and Arctic
>> Sovereignty is a priority with the Harper government.
>> 
>> The Society for Historical Archaeology and the Canadian Archaeological
>> Association are in the process of preparing an official statement
>> concerning the travesty outlined above and other organizations and
>> individuals have already done so but will this have any effect? Is there
>> anything that can be done to save the federal archaeology program in
>> Canada?
>> 
>> 
>> Parks Canada archaeology may be likened to a person who has just undergone
>> major intrusive surgery and the vital signs are far from stable. Can
>> anything be done to save the patient???
>> 
>> Karlis
>> 
>> PS For an excellent synthesis of the Parks Canada archaeology cuts, see the
>> Elfshot blog's Summary of Archaeology Cuts at
>> http://elfshotgallery.blogspot.ca/
>>