From a Canadian News Report. The title and a subsequent line in the article presumably (?) meant that it was the first such conference in Canada. (Although I recall a very nice SBL in Toronto not so long ago that featured several, if not all, of the scholars at this conference being reported.)
The Canadian Press: Dead Sea Scrolls scholars meet for first time at international conference
VANCOUVER – They’re awe-inspiring ancient manuscripts shrouded in mystery for both historians and religious scholars wanting a glimpse inside an old Jewish community’s customs and the origins of the Hebrew Bible, or the Christian Old Testament.For the first time this week, Canadian scholars who study the Dead Sea Scrolls have met at an international conference to mark the 60th anniversary since the treasured manuscripts were discovered near Jerusalem.
I would also guess that some of our biblioblogging friends will object to Peter Flint’s quote in this paragraph.
Some pieces of the puzzle that has confounded researchers are being cracked to shed light into biblical texts that originated 2,000 years ago and confirm the reliability of the Bible people read today, [Flint] said.