At a time when public perception of science's role in society is seen to be at low ebb, astronomy retains its tremendous capacity to interest the public in science and technology, and to attract young people to these fields. We do not need to try to produce thousands of new astronomers - but we may use the popularity of astronomy to raise the level of public understanding of major scientific ideas, and to convey some of the beauty and excitement of intellectual discovery. It is often argued that today's highly technology-dependent society requires its citizens to have some basic level of understanding of science, if they are to make informed decisions about science and technology issues. It is also clear from a number of studies that this basic level of understanding is not present in a majority of the public. If the health of Canadian society depends on its members being able and willing to make rational choices about matters scientific and technological, and they are unable to do so, then one must worry about the future.
Astronomy offers some hope.
In this light, any new funding for Canadian astronomy can be seen as valuable if it in fact helps lead to greater public understanding of science. If new initiatives in Canadian astronomy are to help meet this challenge, it is imperative that they include both material and human resources devoted to this end. A comparison with the United States may be useful. In the US, the national observatories have well-developed outreach programmes and offer curriculum and information materials, funded in part by NSF and NASA, and which are widely used. In Canada, these efforts are largely provided on an ad hoc basis, by volunteers, with whatever funding can be found, and consequently find a more limited audience.