Canadian Report to the ICA

VOLUME 65 NUMBER 1, 2011
GEOMATICA
THE JOURNAL OF GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND PRACTICE
LA REVUE DES SCIENCES DE LINFORMATION GÉOSPATIALE, DE LA TECHNOLOGIE ET DE LA PRATIQUE
CARTOGRAPHY IN CANADA 2007-2011
LA CARTOGRAPHIE AU CANADA DE 2007-2011
VOLUME 65, NUMÉRO 1, 2011
CANADIAN NATIONAL REPORT TO
THE INTERNATIONAL CARTOGRAPHIC
ASSOCIATION
Fifteenth General Assembly, Paris, France, July 3-8, 2011
Janet E. Mersey
Principal
Canadian
Delegate to the
ICA
It is a pleasure to present Canada’s
national report to the ICA, on behalf of
the Canadian Institute of Geomatics
(CIG), to the delegates of the fifteenth
General Assembly. This is in accordance with Article 5 of the ICA statutes
on the occasion of the XXV
International Cartographic Conference
in Paris, France. Titled Cartography in
Canada: 2007-2011, this comprehensive report is published as a special
issue of the Canadian quarterly journal
Geomatica and is distributed to all
members of the Canadian Institute of
Geomatics. This special issue will be
the first issue of Geomatica published
and available online through the CIG
website. While bringing unique challenges to the publishing process, it
allows for a high quality, easily accessible, full colour document. This report
contains contributions from over 50
geomatics specialists throughout
Canada and reflects the high level of
activity in this sector in Canada in government, industry and education.
Canada’s national report is also a
compendium of peer-reviewed feature
articles and activity reports from
organizations with a geomatics mandate, which together highlight
Canada’s cartographic achievements
over the past five years. The cover of
the report features the award winning
map of the North Circumpolar Region
and was produced by Natural
Resources Canada’s, Mapping and
Information Branch, Atlas of Canada
in 2008. The map incorporated considerable new data for all map features.
Circumpolar MODIS imagery, from
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
Guest Editors:
Janet E. Mersey, Chair of the Canadian National Committee to the ICA
Eric Kramers, Natural Resources Canada, Deputy Canadian Delegate to the ICA
the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing,
was used to update glacial extents. The
most up-to-date International Bathymetric
Chart of the Arctic Ocean was innovatively
adapted and integrated into this new map.
The articles in this report were
obtained in response to a call for papers,
and underwent the journal’s usual rigorous
peer review process. The three-featured
articles illustrate the thematic breadth of
the field of geomatics, in this case encompassing topographic mapping, remote
sensing, and online atlas creation. The
paper by Daniel Clavet, from Natural
Resources Canada, explains the innovative use of multiple data sources, including imagery from Canada’s Radarsat 2
satellite, to produce topographic maps of
northern Canada. By 2012, the CartoNord
project will have achieved its objective of
providing complete coverage of all of
northern Canada at 1:50 000. Radarsat
imagery is also central to the article by
Gangyao Kuang, Jonathan Li and Zhiguo
He. They derive and test a sophisticated
edge detection algorithm, allowing for
accurate detection of water bodies from
SAR imagery with high noise speckle.
Lastly, a contribution by Glenn Brauen,
Stephanie Pyne, Amos Hayes, J.P. Fiset
and D.R. Taylor, a multidisciplinary
research team at the Geomatics and
Cartographic Research Centre at Carleton
University, highlights the creative design
of a web atlas developed with open source
software. Focusing on the Lake Huron
Treaty Relationship Process, the atlas represents a unique tool for expressing
geonarratives or stories told through maps.
Also included in this issue are summary reports of cartographic initiatives carried
F
8
Eric Kramers
Deputy Canadian
Delegate to the
ICA
out by federal and provincial/territorial government agencies; national societies and associations; and educational
institutions in Canada. These reports
clearly illustrate the importance and
scope of geomatics in Canada, and
provide rich detail showcasing the
breadth of geomatics science that is
part of the work of many Canadians.
The complexity and diversity of cartographic and geomatics activity in
Canada demonstrates how vital they
are to all sectors of government, industry and education. These reports also
show how difficult it is to imagine a
nation and a World without the high
level of integrated maps and data we
currently use and experience daily.
This publication was a team
effort, and we would like to sincerely
thank everyone who contributed his
or her time and energy in its preparation. This includes authors who submitted material and those unmentioned, but equally important, individuals who reviewed this material.
Special thanks goes to Carol Railer,
Production Manager of Geomatica,
for her endless patience and advice
throughout the compilation process
and Jean Thie, Editor.
We look forward to participating
in the XXV International Cartographic
Conference, set to commence in July
2011, in Paris, France. A stimulating
and diverse program has been planned,
thanks to the admirable efforts of the
Local Organizing Committee, the
International Scientific Committee,
the French Scientific Committee and
the ICA Executive Committee. !
GEOMATICA 7
RAPPORT NATIONAL CANADIEN À
L'ASSOCIATION CARTOGRAPHIQUE
INTERNATIONALE
Quinzième assemblée générale, Paris, France, 3-8 juillet 2011
Janet E. Mersey
Déléguée principale
canadienne à l'ACI
E
7
Au nom de l’Association canadienne des sciences géomatiques (ACSG),
nous avons le plaisir de présenter le
rapport national canadien aux délégués
de la quinzième assemblée générale de
l’ACI. Ceci fait conformément à l’article!5 des statuts de l’ACI, à l’occasion
de la XXVe Conférence internationale
sur la cartographie à Paris, France.
Intitulé La cartographie au Canada :
2007-2011, ce rapport détaillé paraît en
tant que numéro spécial de la publication trimestrielle canadienne Geomatica
et il est distribué à tous les membres de
l’Association canadienne des sciences
géomatiques. Ce numéro spécial sera la
première parution de Geomatica diffusée et disponible en ligne sur le site Web
de l’ACSG. Tout en introduisant des
enjeux uniques dans le processus de
publication, cela nous a permis de créer
un document de qualité supérieure, facilement accessible, pleine couleur. Ce
rapport existe grâce à la contribution de
plus de 50 spécialistes des sciences géomatiques du Canada et tient compte du
niveau élevé d’activités dans ce secteur
au Canada, dans les gouvernements,
l’industrie et l’éducation.
Le rapport national du Canada se
veut également un recueil d’articles
évalués par des pairs et de rapports
sur les activités des organismes ayant
un mandat géomatique, ce qui, de
concert, met en valeur les réalisations
cartographiques du Canada au cours
des cinq dernières années. La couverture du rapport présente la carte primée de la région circumpolaire-Nord
et a été produite en 2008 par l’Atlas
du Canada, Direction de l’information
cartographique, Ressources naturelles
Canada. La carte incorpore une quantité importante de nouvelles données
pour toutes les entités cartographiques. L’imagerie MODIS de la
8 GEOMATICA
Rédacteurs invités :
Janet E. Mersey, Présidente du Comité national canadien à l'ACI
Eric Kramers, Ressources naturelles Canada, Délégué adjoint canadien à l'ACI
zone circumpolaire, du Centre canadien de
télédétection, a permis de mettre à jour
l’étendue glaciaire. La Carte bathymétrique internationale de l’océan Arctique
la plus à jour a été adaptée et intégrée de
façon novatrice dans cette nouvelle carte.
Les articles du présent rapport nous
ont été envoyés suite à une invitation à
présenter des communications, et soumis
au rigoureux processus habituel de publication de Geomatica, soit une évaluation par
les pairs. Les trois articles illustrent l’ampleur thématique du domaine de la géomatique, qui englobe dans le cas présent la
cartographie topographique, la télédétection et la création d’atlas en ligne. L’article
de Daniel Clavet, de Ressources naturelles
Canada, explique l’utilisation novatrice de
sources multiples de données, notamment
l’imagerie du satellite RADARSAT-2 du
Canada, pour produire des cartes topographiques du nord du Canada. D’ici 2012, le
projet CartoNord aura atteint son objectif
d’effectuer une couverture complète de tout
le nord du Canada à l’échelle de 1/50!000.
L’imagerie RADARSAT est aussi au cœur
de l’article de Gangyao Kuang, Jonathan Li
et Zhiguo He. Ils calculent et testent un
algorithme haut de gamme de détection des
contours, permettant une détection exacte
des plans d’eau à partir d’images RSO avec
bruits de chatoiement élevés. Enfin, la
contribution de Glenn Brauen, Stephanie
Pyne, Amos Hayes, J.P. Fiset et D.R.
Taylor, une équipe de recherche pluridisciplinaire du centre de recherche en géomatique et en cartographie de l’Université
Carleton, a mis en valeur la conception
graphique d’un atlas Web préparé avec un
logiciel en libre accès. Centré sur le processus de relations pour le traité du lac
Huron, l’atlas représente un outil unique
permettant d’exprimer les géonarrations ou
les histoires racontées grâce aux cartes.
Ce numéro comprend aussi les rapports sommaires sur les initiatives carto-
Eric Kramers
Délégué adjoint
canadien à l'ACI
graphiques entreprises par les organismes des gouvernements fédéraux,
provinciaux et territoriaux, les sociétés
et les associations nationales ainsi que
les établissements d’enseignement du
Canada. Ces rapports font nettement
ressortir l’importance et la portée de la
géomatique au Canada, et fournissent
des détails précis démontrant l’ampleur des sciences géomatiques qui
font partie du travail de nombreux
Canadiens. La complexité et la diversité
des activités cartographiques et géomatiques au Canada révèlent à quel point
ils sont vitaux dans tous les secteurs
du gouvernement, de l’industrie et de
l’enseignement. Ces rapports prouvent également combien il est difficile
d’imaginer une nation et un monde sans
le degré élevé d’intégration des cartes et
des données que nous utilisons et expérimentons chaque jour actuellement.
La présente publication représente
un effort d’équipe, et nous souhaitons
remercier sincèrement les personnes qui
ont consacré leur temps et leurs énergies
à sa préparation, dont les auteurs qui ont
présenté des articles et les personnes,
non mentionnées, mais tout aussi
importantes, qui ont évalué ces articles.
Nous offrons nos remerciements particuliers à Carol Railer, gestionnaire de
la production de Geomatica, pour son
infinie patience et ses conseils tout au
long de la compilation ainsi qu’à Jean
Thie, rédacteur en chef.
Nous nous réjouissons de participer
à la XXVe Conférence internationale sur
la cartographie, qui doit commencer en
juillet 2011 à Paris, France. Les organisateurs ont prévu un programme stimulant et diversifié, merci pour leurs efforts
remarquables au comité organisateur
local, au Comité scientifique international, au Comité scientifique français et
au Comité directeur de l’ACI. !
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
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NEW DATA SOURCES FOR COMPLETING
NATIONAL TOPOGRAPHIC MAPPING OF
NORTHERN CANADA AT 1:50,000
Daniel Clavet, Natural Resources Canada, Centre for Topographic Information
Complete topographic mapping coverage of Canada is essential as a basis for the sustainable development of its resources. In 2000, the unmapped areas at a scale of 1:50,000 in the Arctic islands in Nunavut
and the Northwest Territories, amount to over 800,000 square kilometres, equivalent to approximately
1,500 map sheets. In 2003, a northern mapping project was launched to complete the topographic map coverage in Northern Canada. In order to explore all possible scenarios, the Centre for Topographic
Information – Sherbrooke (CTIS) worked closely with the Canadian Space Agency and the private sector
on various feasibility tests. After investigating multiple data sources, the combination of existing aerial photography, LANDSAT 7 ETM+, SPOT5/HRS imagery, interferometric pairs of ERS 1-2 tandem and
RADARSAT-2 imagery were chosen for planimetric data and Canadian Digital Elevation Data (CDED)
acquisition. In 2004, mapping contracts were carried out on a test site and positive results from these tests
initiated the production of the unmapped areas of Canada. The planimetric vector data are available on the
GeoGratis Web portal and the CDED data sets are available on the GeoBase Web portal.
Daniel Clavet
La cartographie topographique complète du territoire canadien est essentielle pour le développement
durable des ressources, car elle assure une géoréférence de base. En 2000, les régions non cartographiées
à l’échelle de 1/50 000 dans les îles de l’Arctique au Nunavut et aux Territoires du Nord-Ouest couvraient
plus de 800 000 kilomètres carrés, soit environ 1 500 feuillets cartographiques. En 2003, un projet de cartographie topographique du Nord canadien a été initié afin de compléter la couverture cartographique.
Différentes technologies satellitales et scénarios de production ont été investigués par le Centre d’information topographique – Sherbrooke (CIT-S) en collaboration avec l’Agence spatiale canadienne et l’industrie privée pour effectuer des tests de faisabilité. Après avoir testé plusieurs sources de données, des
combinaisons de photographies aériennes, d’images des satellites LANDSAT 7 ETM+, SPOT5/HRS, de
paires interférométriques ERS1-2 et d’images RADARSAT-2 ont été retenues pour l’acquisition de données
planimétriques et altimétriques. En 2004, des contrats de production expérimentale ont été émis sur un site
test et les résultats positifs de ces travaux ont permis de débuter la production des zones non cartographiées
du Canada. Les données planimétriques vectorielles sont disponibles sur le portail Web GéoGratis et les
Données numériques d’élévation du Canada (DNEC) sont disponibles sur le portail Web GéoBase.
Introduction
Unmapped Areas of Canada
The Centre for Topographic Information produces and maintains topographic data for Canada at
scales of 1:250,000 and 1:50,000. While the
1:250,000 scale coverage was completed in 1970
[Sebert 1970], the 1:50,000 scale map production
was stalled in the late nineties, leaving a large portion of northern Canada unmapped. Complete topographic mapping coverage of Canada’s North is
essential as a basis for the sustainable development
of its resources. The unmapped areas, as of 2003, in
the Nunavut and the Northwest Territories amount to
over 800,000 square kilometres, equivalent to almost
1,500 map tiles (Figure 1). This is the context in
which the CartoNord project was launched. The
essential thrust was to develop the capabilities for
gathering digital topographic data at the scale of
1:50,000 in northern Canada.
Mapping this area is a big challenge. It is a
remote territory with limited access and a short
summer season, complicating access to quality
checkpoints. The summer length is a critical factor
as it’s difficult to identify terrain features under
snow cover. Cloud cover is also an important factor, as the main data sources are aerial or optical
satellites images. The terrain is also variable from
GEOMATICA Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011 pp. 9 to 14
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DETECTING WATER BODIES ON
RADARSAT IMAGERY
Gangyao Kuang, and Zhiguo He, School of Electronics Science and Engineering,
National University of Defense Technology, China
Jonathan Li, Department of Geography and Environmental Management,
University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario
This paper presents a novel geodesic active contour (GAC) model based on an edge detector for rapid
detection of water bodies from spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery with high speckle noise.
The original edge indicator function based on gradients is replaced by an edge indicator function based on
the ratio of exponentially weighted averages (ROEWA) operator. Thus, the capability of edge detection and
the accuracy of locating edges are greatly improved, which makes the model more appropriate for SAR
images. In addition, an enhancing term is added to the original model’s energy function in order to boost
the strength for the contour’s evolution. An unconditionally stable additive operator splitting (AOS) scheme
and a fast algorithm for re-initialization of the level set function are adopted, which not only enhances the
model’s stability, but also speeds up the model’s convergence remarkably. The experimental results on simulated and real RADARSAT-1/-2 images show its efficiency and accuracy.
Cet article présente un nouveau modèle de contour actif géodésique (GAC, de l’anglais geodesic active
contour) fondé sur un détecteur de contours pour détection rapide des plans d’eau à partir d’images radar à
synthèse d’ouverture (RSO) spatioporté avec bruits de chatoiement élevés. La fonction originale d’indicateur
de contours fondée sur les gradients est remplacée par une fonction d’indicateur de contours fondée sur le
rapport d’un opérateur de moyennes pondérées de façon exponentielle (ROEWA). Par conséquent, la capacité de détection des contours et l’exactitude des contours localisés sont grandement améliorées, ce qui rend
le modèle plus adéquat pour les images RSO. De plus, une modalité d’amélioration s’ajoute à la fonction
d’énergie du modèle original dans le but de renforcir la puissance de l’évolution des contours. On a adopté
un scénario de séparation d’opérateur additif (SOA) inconditionnellement stable et un algorithme rapide pour
la réinitialisation des surfaces de niveau, ce qui non seulement améliore la stabilité du modèle, mais accélère
aussi la convergence du modèle de façon remarquable. Les résultats expérimentaux sur des images simulées
et réelles RADARSAT-1/-2 démontrent son efficience et son exactitude.
Jonathan Li
[email protected]
1. Introduction
Water resources play an important role in environmental, transportation and regional planning,
disaster management, industrial and agricultural
production. Detecting water bodies is the first step
for any planning, especially for Ontario, Canada,
where the land-cover is dominated by water bodies.
Earth observation data, including spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, when used
jointly with in situ data, can provide an essential
contribution for the creation of inventories of surface
water resources, the extraction of thematic maps relevant for hydrogeographical studies and models
(e.g., land cover, surface geomorphology) or for the
retrieval of (bio)geographical parameters (e.g., water
quality and temperature, soil moisture) [Shultz and
Engman 2000]. SAR data are suitable for mapping
water bodies, as the signal is principally sensitive to
moisture and to surface roughness. These data can be
preferred to optical imagery taking into considera-
Gangyao Kuang
tion the cloud penetration capabilities that are fundamental when mapping transient waters typically
associated to rainy periods. However, speckle noise
usually occurs in SAR images due to the nature of
coherent imaging. It makes feature extraction from
SAR image much more difficult than that from optical imagery. In order to eliminate the speckle effects,
a significant research effort has been devoted to the
design of effective segmentation methods over last
few decades. Among them, four types of the segmentation methods have been commonly used,
namely, the edge-based scheme [Oliver et al. 1996;
Collins and Kopp 2008], the Markov random field
(MRF) model [Fjortoft et al. 2003], level set theory
[Shu et al. 2010], and the region merging / region
growing family of methods [Cook et al. 1994]. The
edge-based scheme aims to find transitions between
uniform areas, rather than directly identifying them.
Zhiguo He
GEOMATICA Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011, pp. 15 to 25
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ENCOURAGING TRANSDISCIPLINARY
PARTICIPATION USING AN OPEN SOURCE
CYBERCARTOGRAPHIC TOOLKIT:
THE ATLAS OF THE LAKE HURON TREATY
RELATIONSHIP PROCESS
Glenn Brauen, Stephanie Pyne, Amos Hayes, Jean-Pierre Fiset and
D.R. Fraser Taylor, Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre
Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected]
Digital web atlases can incorporate perspectives derived from diverse participants or communities to
create and present narratives using qualitative and quantitative information structured around a set of maps
as organizational and analytical tools. Development of such an atlas requires a transdisciplinary team to
contend with complexity in subject matter, technologies, and project dynamics. Technologies required are
potentially as much an obstacle to some potential participants as they may be necessary to the fulfilment of
a project’s outreach and communication goals. This paper describes the Cybercartographic Atlas of the
Lake Huron Treaty Relationship Process, the open source atlas toolkit used to implement it, and features of
the toolkit that are intended to encourage transdisciplinary participation. The discussion explicitly addresses issues related to the iterative processes, at multiple scales, required to develop atlas projects within an
academic research setting while using and creating open source software.
Les atlas Web numériques peuvent incorporer les points de vue issus de divers participants ou communautés, afin de créer et de présenter des narrations comprenant des renseignements qualitatifs et quantitatifs
structurés à partir d’un ensemble de cartes servant d’outils organisationnels et analytiques. La préparation
d’un tel atlas requiert une équipe multidisciplinaire pour soutenir la complexité des éléments essentiels, des
technologies et des dynamiques de projet. Les technologies requises représentent tant un obstacle en puissance pour certains participants éventuels qu’elles peuvent s’avérer nécessaires à l’accomplissement de la
diffusion et des objectifs de communication d’un projet. Le présent article décrit le processus et les relations
à l'implantation de l’atlas cybercartographique pour le traité du lac Huron, la trousse d'atlas, qui est un
logiciel libre, utilisée pour sa mis-en-œuvre et les caractéristiques de la trousse qui sont destinées à favoriser
la participation pluridisciplinaire. La discussion traite explicitement des questions relatives aux processus
itératifs à des échelles multiples qui sont indispensables pour élaborer des projets d’atlas dans un cadre de
recherche universitaire tout en utilisant et en créant un logiciel libre.
Glenn Brauen
Stephanie Pyne
Amos Hayes
Introduction
An atlas, containing an organized selection of
maps [Wood 1987], can be an excellent medium for
conveying a range of perspectives on the many
aspects of a topic, issue or theme. Conventional
atlases have historically focused their central themes
around particular places or regions, such as cities or
towns, provinces or states, nations or continents. The
various maps in an atlas may highlight different
types of ‘information.’ For example, they may draw
attention, through the use of map ordering and the
relations established between themes by the atlas
narrative, to one or more of the following dimensions that make up a ‘place’: geophysical, weather,
navigational, political, cultural, economic, social, or
various combinations of these. In recent years, critical approaches to cartography [Wood and Fels 1986;
Harley 1989; Pickles 1995; Crampton and Krygier
2005] have considered the political nature of maps
and have looked at mapping as a process [Turnbull
2007], both in terms of the design and development
of maps and in terms of their use. These approaches
have attended to information that historically has
been omitted from conventional—often colonial—
maps and atlases and have expanded the scope of
possible map themes to include all manner of social
Jean-Pierre Fiset
D.R. Fraser Taylor
GEOMATICA Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011 pp. 27 to 45
CANADIAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE
FOR THE ICA
Janet E. Mersey, Chair
Canada’s membership in the
International Cartographic Association
is held by the Canadian Institute of
Geomatics (CIG), Canada’s oldest
surveying and mapping organization.
Founded in 1882, and originally
known as the Canadian Institute of
Surveying, the CIG has a broad mandate to represent all the diverse aspects
of geomatics in Canada, including
surveying, charting, remote sensing,
navigation, geographic information
systems, and cartography.
Recognizing that there exist within
Canada other national associations with
interests in geomatics, notably the
Canadian Cartographic Association
(CCA) and the Association of Canadian
Map Librarians and Archives
(ACMLA), the Canadian Institute of
Geomatics formed the Canadian
National Committee (CNC) for the
International Cartographic Association.
As defined in a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) between the
CIG and the CCA, the CNC is chaired
by a CIG member who also serves as
the Technical Councillor for cartography on the CIG executive. Membership
of the CNC, as described in a 2007
revision to the original 1993 MOU,
includes a representative from the CIG,
CCA and ACMLA, along with three
other members who coordinate ICA
activities such as the National reports,
Canada’s
contribution
to
the
International Map Exhibition and the
Children’s Map Competition. The CNC
is currently made up with representation
as follows:
•
Canadian Institute of Geomatics
(CIG) and Principal ICA
46 GEOMATICA
•
•
•
•
•
Delegate—Janet E. Mersey
Canadian Cartographic Association
(CCA)—Roger Wheate
Association of Canadian Map
Librarians and Archives (ACMLA)—
Colleen Beard
Deputy Delegate to the ICA—Eric
Kramers
Coordinator for the International Map
Exhibition—Dan Duda
Coordinator for the Children’s Map
Competition—Karen Van Kerkoerle
The Chair of the Canadian National
Committee for the ICA has a four-year term
of office coinciding with the time between
ICA General Assemblies. According to procedures outlined in the MOU, the Chair is
nominated by the Canadian Cartographic
Association and ratified by the Canadian
Institute of Geomatics. Clifford Wood held
this position from 1987-1991, Norman
Drummond from 1991-1995, Peter Keller
from 1995-2003, and Janet Mersey from
2003-2011.
The mandate of the Canadian
National Committee, articulated in the
Terms of Reference document, includes
the following:
•
•
•
To represent the Canadian cartographic
community internationally through
Canada’s membership in the
International Cartographic Association;
To review and develop a national position on administrative and cartographic matters relevant to the International
Cartographic Association;
To ensure that Canada is appropriately
represented on ICA standing commissions, ad hoc commissions, working
groups, joint inter-associations working groups, and committees;
•
To prepare for each quadrennial
ICA General Assembly and
International Technical Conference
by:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Publishing a national report
covering government and
non-government mapping
activities, cartographic education, technological developments (including geographic information systems), cartographic literature, activities of professional societies, and special
activities of interest;
Identifying key issues which
will be discussed and voted
on at the General Assembly,
and preparing a Canadian
position on these issues;
Considering the nomination
of Canadians for executive
positions and, if appropriate,
encouraging such individuals to stand for election at
the General Assembly;
Ensuring that high-quality
technical papers are prepared by Canadian authors
for presentation at the
International
Technical
Conference and publication
in the conference proceedings; and
Providing a national exhibit
illustrating advances in
Canadian cartography by
displaying representative
maps, charts, atlases and
other cartographic developments since the previous
conference, and
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
•
To encourage Canadian participation in support of ICA educational seminars, publication of cartographic texts, and similar special
projects.
Working Group on Art and Cartography
Co-Chair:
Sébastien
Caquard
(Concordia University)
The national committee normally
holds an annual meeting in conjunction
with the conference of the Canadian
Cartographic Association. This term,
meetings were chaired by Janet Mersey
in Vancouver, British Columbia (2008),
Wolfville, Nova Scotia (2009), and
Regina, Saskatchewan (2010); the next
meeting is planned for Calgary,
Alberta, in June 2011.
Canadians continue to be actively
involved in ICA activities, both
through serving on ICA commissions
and working groups, and by preparing
national submissions for ICA conferences. Positions currently held by
Canadians on ICA Commissions and
Working Groups include:
A proposal will be put forward in
Paris for the creation of a new
Commission on Art and Cartography to be
chaired by Sébastien Caquard.
Canadians made a strong contribution
to the technical program of the 2009 ICA
conference in Santiago, Chile. Among the
presenters from Canada were Yvan Désy
(NRCan), Jonathan Li (Univ. of
Waterloo), D.R. Fraser Taylor (Carleton
Univ), Eric Kramers (NRCan), Janet
Mersey (Univ. of Guelph), Hansgeog
Schlichtmann (Univ. of Regina),
Jacqueline Anderson (Concordia Univ.),
Douglas Hagedorn (Univ. of Calgary),
Daniel Jacobson (Univ. of Calgary),
Sébastien Caquard (Concordia Univ.),
Songnian Li (Ryerson Univ.), and
Nicholas Chrisman (Université Laval). A
special highlight for the Canadian delegation was the splendidly illustrated presentation by Helen Kerfoot, an Emeritus
Scientist with NRCan. Currently serving
as Chair of the United Nations Group of
Experts on Geographical Names, Kerfoot
is a leading scholar in the field of geographic toponymy who has been particularly concerned with the standardization of
indigenous place names and the protection
of cultural heritage.
Canadian entries to the 2009 Barbara
Petchenik Children’s World Map
Commission on Maps and Graphics
for Blind and Partially Sighted People
Chair: Dan Jacobson (University
of Calgary)
Commission on Mapping from
Satellite Imagery
Vice-Chair: Jonathan Li, (University
of Waterloo)
Commission on Theoretical Cartography
Vice-Chair: Yaïves Ferland (Defence
R&D Canada)
Commission on Use and User Issues
Vice-Chair: Eric Kramers (NRCan)
Competition were organized by Karen
Van Kerkoerle, while entries to the
International Map Exhibition were
coordinated by Dan Duda. The
Canadian exhibit consisted of 14 paper
maps and 3 atlases, which were also
displayed at the 2010 Canadian
Cartographic Association Conference
in Regina, Saskatchewan. Two of our
entries
merited
ICA awards.
Congratulations to the cartographers at
NRCan for their striking circular map
of the circumpolar region entitled
International Polar Year (selected for
the cover of this national report). The
map was awarded first place in the
Thematic Map Category. In the Maps
based on Satellite Imagery category, a
map from the North American
Environmental Atlas, Land Use 2005,
was awarded second place. The map is
the result of a multinational mapping
partnership among Canada, Mexico
and the United States. Thanks to both
Karen and Dan for their efforts in
preparing these entries.
The ICA General Assembly in
Paris marks the end of my term as
Chair of the CNC. I am grateful to the
CIG and the ICA for providing the
opportunity to represent Canada’s cartographic community at the international level. It is always a pleasure to
participate in ICA congresses and technical programs, and I look forward to
the exciting and diverse program
planned for the ICA meeting in Paris in
July 2011. !
GEOMATICA BACK ISSUES SALE
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For Canadian Addresses (postage included)
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Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
GEOMATICA 47
Federal Government
Activities 2007-2011
Activités du gouvernement
fédéral 2007-2011
Agriculture and
Agri-Food Canada
Agri-Geomatics, at Agriculture
and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), now
has an enterprise geomatics system
that provides access to an external Web
portal (i.e. http://atlas.agr.gc.ca/) and
an internal Geospatial Discovery
Portal. Hosted by the new AgriGeomatics Service (AGS), the enterprise system was created to provide
information and support for improved
decision-making and risk management, better agricultural policies,
enhanced innovation and discovery,
and improved public awareness.
AGS builds upon the processes
and infrastructure put in place by the
National Land and Water Information
Service (NLWIS) Major Crown
Project which was successfully completed on March 31, 2009. AGS also
provides expertise on activities such
as geospatial data management,
geospatial analytical services, licensing and partnership negotiations, and
training to AAFC resources.
48 GEOMATICA
The external Web portal provides
geospatial products and services such as
web-based interactive maps, planning
tools, and integrated geospatial data on
land use, soil, water, climate and biodiversity. Using interoperable Geographic
Information System (GIS) technology, the
portal brings together data from dispersed
sources. It also provides expert help in
applying and interpreting the information.
There are a number of geographic applications and downloadable datasets available
over the Internet in Canada’s two official
languages. Many organizations have contributed to these data and applications,
resulting in greater value for all users.
The Web portal has a wide range of
interactive maps. These maps provide an
effective way to visualize and explore the
data created and/or maintained by AAFC
and its collaborators. Some compilations
have broad public appeal, such as the
Plant Hardiness Zones of Canada
(http://atlas.agr.gc.ca/phz; a joint initiative with Natural Resources Canada) that
is useful for landowners to select shelterbelt species for planting. Others are
important components of policy-oriented
programs such as the Agri-Environmental
Indicators (AEI) web map product
(http://atlas.agr.gc.ca/aei). The AEI
application allows users to interactively explore, and compare, a suite of
ten agri-environmental indicators of
agri-environmental interactions and
risk between 1981 and 2006, allowing
various calculations like annual comparisons and changes over time. This
type of analysis is very useful for
understanding the impact of policies
and programs. One of the newest
tools, the Biomass Inventory
Mapping and Analysis Tool (BIMAT,
http://atlas.agr.gc.ca/bimat), was
developed to broaden our knowledge
about the availability of Canadian
residual biomass as a renewable
resource substitute for petroleumbased fuels and for other industrial
processes. Users of the tool can make
well-informed decisions based on
spatially explicit information that
presents a comprehensive view of
biomass quantity and opportunity in
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
Canada. This tool has already been
used by the biomass industry to refine
their business plans based on the volume and sustainability of biomass
available at any given location.
The enterprise system also hosts
more than 700 datasets. One example
of a publicly available, downloadable
dataset is the 2009 Land Cover
(http://atlas.agr.gc.ca – choose Data).
This comprehensive, consistent, and
detailed dataset has advanced our
knowledge of agricultural lands; it is
based on modern remote sensing techniques and it is used as a foundation for
a diverse set of agri-environmental
models that will form a baseline for
assessing change into the future.
Another newly completed geospatial
product available to the public is the
Daily 10 km Raster-Gridded Climate
Dataset for Canada, 1961-2003. This
dataset provides spatial and temporal
variations in precipitation and temperature at a daily time-step; it will allow
the impacts of extreme events and conditions to be better understood, thereby
allowing decision-makers to best mitigate harmful impacts and support agricultural producers to become more
resilient to crop destructive events.
The Agri-Geomatics Service continues the work of NLWIS in sustaining
the enterprise geomatics system
through the ongoing transformation of
geomatics delivery at AAFC. These
services also provide continual
enhancements to the portals and
increasing availability to our nations’
data and information. Please share any
comments or suggestions you may
have via the “Contact Agri-Geomatics”
page at: http://atlas.agr.gc.ca/
Interactive mapping
applications available at:
http://atlas.agr.gc.ca/
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•
•
•
•
Agri-Environmental Indicators
Agro-Pedological Atlas of South
Eastern Montreal Plain, Quebec
Biomass Inventory Mapping and
Analysis Tool
Canada
Land
Inventory
(Agriculture) Data Download
Canadian Census of Agriculture—
2006 Map Series
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
•
•
•
•
•
•
Crop Condition Assessment Program
(CCAP)
Drought Watch Interactive Mapping
Manitoba Riparian Health
National Ecological Framework for
Canada
Plant Hardiness Zones of Canada
Soils of Canada
Dr. Sherman D. Nelson, Director
Agri-Environmental Information and
Decision Support Systems
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
http://www.agr.gc.ca/
Agriculture et
Agroalimentaire Canada
L’agrogéomatique à Agriculture et
Agroalimentaire Canada (AAC) dispose
désormais d’un système intégré de géomatique qui donne accès à un portail Web
externe (atlas.agr.gc.ca) et à un portail
interne de découverte géospatiale.
Hébergé dans le nouveau Service d’agrogéomatique, le système intégré a été créé
pour fournir des renseignements et de l’aide qui améliorent la prise de décisions et
la gestion des risques, les politiques agricoles, l’innovation et la découverte ainsi
que la sensibilisation du public.
Le Service d’agrogéomatique s’appuie
sur les processus et l’infrastructure mis en
place par le Service national d’information
sur les terres et les eaux (SNITE), un grand
projet de l’État mené à bonne fin le 31 mars
2009. Le Service d’agrogéomatique offre
également de l’expertise en gestion des
données géospatiales, en analyse des données géospatiales, en négociation de droits
d’utilisation et de partenariats ainsi qu’en
formation des ressources d’AAC.
Le portail Web externe fournit des
produits et services en matière géospatiale, comme des cartes interactives, des
outils de planification et des données géospatiales intégrées sur l’utilisation des
terres, le sol, l’eau, le climat et la biodiversité. Il vise à regrouper des données de
sources disparates au moyen de la technologie interopérable des Systèmes d’information géographique (SIG). En outre, il
fournit une aide d’expert aux fins d’application et d’interprétation de l’information.
Un certain nombre d’applications géogra-
phiques et de jeux de données téléchargeables se trouvent dans Internet
dans les deux langues officielles du
Canada. De nombreux organismes ont
contribué à l’élaboration de ces données et de ces applications, ce qui les
rend encore plus utiles pour tous les
utilisateurs.
Le portail Web offre un vaste
éventail de cartes interactives qui
fournissent un moyen efficace de
visualiser et d’explorer les données
créées ou mises à jour par AAC et ses
collaborateurs. Certaines d’entre elles
attirent un vaste public, comme les
Zones de rusticité des plantes au
Canada (http://atlas.agr.gc.ca/zrp)
(site exploité de concert avec
Ressources naturelles Canada), qui
sont utiles lorsque les propriétaires
fonciers choisissent des espèces à
planter comme brise-vent. D’autres
sont des composantes importantes de
programmes axés sur les politiques,
comme le produit de cartes Web des
Indicateurs agroenvironnementaux
(IAE,
http://atlas.agr.gc.ca/iae).
L’application IAE permet aux utilisateurs d’explorer interactivement et de
comparer 10 indicateurs d’interactions
et de risques agroenvironnementaux,
de 1981 à 2006, et d’effectuer divers
calculs comme des comparaisons entre
les années et les changements au fil des
ans. Ce type d’analyse est très utile
pour comprendre l’incidence des politiques et des programmes. L’Outil de
visualisation cartographique et d’analyse de l’inventaire de la biomasse
(http://atlas.agr.gc.ca/ocib) est un tout
nouveau moyen d’accroître nos
connaissances sur la disponibilité de
biomasse résiduelle canadienne en
tant que ressource renouvelable de
remplacement des hydrocarbures et
d’autres processus industriels. Les
utilisateurs de l’outil peuvent prendre
des décisions éclairées fondées sur de
l’information spatialement explicite
qui donne une vue complète de la
quantité et de la disponibilité de biomasse au Canada. Le secteur de la
biomasse s’est servi de cet outil pour
adapter ses plans d’affaires en fonction
du volume et de la disponibilité de la
biomasse dans un lieu donné.
GEOMATICA 49
Le système intégré contient également plus de 700 jeux de données
dont le jeu de données publiquement
téléchargeable intitulé Couverture du
sol 2009 (http://atlas.agr.gc.ca – choisissez Données). Cette carte complète,
cohérente et détaillée fait avancer les
connaissances sur les terres agricoles,
repose sur des techniques de télédétection modernes et sert de fondement à
diverses modélisations agroenvironnementales qui deviendront la référence
pour évaluer les changements à venir.
Le Jeu de données climatiques quotidiennes rastrées à maille de 10!km pour
le Canada de 1961!à!2003 est un autre
produit de renseignements géospatiaux
nouvellement offert au public.
Fournissant les variations spatiales et
temporelles quotidiennes des précipitations et des températures, il servira à
mieux comprendre les répercussions
des événements et des conditions
extrêmes. Aussi permettra-t-il aux décideurs de trouver la meilleure façon d’en
atténuer les effets néfastes et d’aider les
producteurs agricoles à s’adapter aux
événements qui détruisent les cultures.
Le Service d’agrogéomatique
poursuit la mission du SNITE qui
consiste à soutenir le système intégré
de géomatique grâce à la transformation permanente de la diffusion de la
géomatique à AAC, aux améliorations
continuelles des portails et à l’accessibilité grandissante aux données et à
l’information. Veuillez nous faire part
de tout commentaire ou de toute suggestion à la page « Contactez-nous »
du site!: atlas.agr.gc.ca.
Applications de cartographie interactive disponibles
à http://atlas.agr.gc.ca
•
•
•
•
•
•
Atlas agropédologique du sud-est
de la plaine de Montréal, Québec
Cadre écologique national pour
le Canada
Cartographie interactive pour la
surveillance de la sécheresse
Indicateurs agroenvironnementaux
Inventaire des terres du Canada
en agriculture
Les sols du Canada
50 GEOMATICA
•
•
•
•
•
Manitoba Riparian Health
Outil cartographique d’inventaire de
la biomasse
Programme d’évaluation de l’état des
cultures
Recensement de l’agriculture du
Canada! - Série cartographique de
2006
Zones de rusticité des plantes du
Canada
Dr. Sherman D. Nelson, Directeur
Systèmes d’aide aux décisions pour les
services d’information agroenvironnementale
Agriculture et Agroalimentaire Canada
http://www.agr.gc.ca/
Canadian
Hydrographic Service
The Canadian Hydrographic Service
(CHS) contributes to the Government of
Canada’s priorities of sovereignty and safety in
Canadian waters and participates in research as
the authoritative source for hydrography and
marine cartography in Canada.
The CHS offers mariners a suite of
papers as well as BSB-format Raster
Navigational Charts and Electronic
Navigational Charts (ENCs) in the international S-57 standard through a network of
dealers worldwide. ENCs combined with
GPS, radar, ship course, speed and draught
data make a powerful Electronic Chart
Display and Information System (ECDIS)
enabling mariners to fix a ship’s position
accurately and be alerted of hazards instantly.
The CHS also licenses data to valueadded-resellers so that innovative products
can be generated for use with electronic
chart systems, chart plotters, and devices
such as the Blackberry, iPhone and iPad are
available as additional aids to navigation. eNavigation, the harmonized collection,
integration, exchange and presentation of
maritime information onboard and ashore
by electronic means to enhance berth to
berth navigation and related services,
promises to deliver improved navigational
safety and security at sea and protection of
the marine environment. The CHS contri-
butions to the International Marine
Organization (IMO) in the development of e-Navigation systems are an
integral part.
Canada ratified the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS) in 2003 and thus has until
2013 to make its submission to the
United Nations Commission on the
Limits of the Continental Shelf
(CLCS) to extend its jurisdiction over
the resources on or below the seabed
beyond 200 nautical miles to the outer
limits of the continental shelf. The
CHS is part of the Canadian team along
with Natural Resources Canada
(NRCan), the Department of Foreign
Affairs and International Trade who are
all working together towards this effort
and are responsible for the bathymetric
component of the submission.
During the 2007-2010 period the
CHS also provided data and expertise
in the delineation of international
boundaries, dispute settlement and
legal cases not related to UNCLOS.
From west to east to north, the
CHS has worked to increase safe navigation and aid the economic development of coastal communities.
Hydrographic surveys in the
Canadian
Arctic
including
Pangnirtung, Cumberland Sound,
Resolute, Arctic Bay and Nanisivik,
were all conducted to support the
design and construction of new harbours and ports as well as to update
nautical charts for existing facilities.
The CHS also conducted collaborative surveys to support potential
oil and gas development on the
Makkovik Bank, off the coast of
Labrador. Additional surveys were
undertaken to chart safe routes from
the Newfoundland communities of
Ramea and Francois to the Penguin
Islands for the resupply of the light
station, for tourism navigation, and in
aid of search and rescue missions.
In the waters around Kitimat, B.C.
between 2006-2009 the CHS resurveyed the waters encompassing the
northern end of the main channel into
Kitimat (Douglas Channel) and subsidiary channels (Devastation, Loretta
and Sue channels, Verney Passage).
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
The multibeam imaging of the
sea bottom and the water column can
provide useful information for integrated management of the aquatic
ecosystem. The CHS personnel with
NRCan Earth Sciences staff received
a “Federal Partners in Technology
Transfer Award” in 2008 for their
expertise in applying the technology
into practical situations related to
fisheries. Focused initially on hydrography the fishing industry also adopted the software that generates digital
seafloor maps from multi-beam sonar
data to target key species and reduce
operating costs and the area of
seafloor trawled.
The CHS collaborates with other
maritime countries through the international Maritime Organization (IMO)
and International Hydrographic
Organization (IHO) to influence the
global policies on navigation to ensure
the establishment of and adherence to
international standards and to benefit
from economies of scale through
knowledge sharing. The CHS was a
very early adopter of a Quality
Management System to meet and
maintain the requirements of the IS0
9001: 2000 international quality management standards. The benefits
include improved operational efficiency and quality of products and services.
In summary, the CHS with its
four pillars supporting navigation,
natural hazards preparedness and
response, boundary delineation and
sustainable ecosystem, plays a very
important role in the management of
Canada’s aquatic environment and to
support the Canada Shipping Act, the
Oceans Act, the Arctic Waters
Pollution Prevention Act and the
International Convention for the
Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) to
which Canada is a signatory.
Kian Fadaie, Ph.D.
Director, Hydrography
Canadian Hydrographic
Fisheries & Oceans Canada
http://www.charts.gc.ca
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
Defence Geomatics
Since the last Defence Geomatics
update in Geomatica in 2007, the Mapping
and Charting Establishment (MCE) has
focused on providing geospatial support to
the Canadian Forces (CF) both domestically and internationally. The CF’s geomatics
resources have been strained by increased
operational commitments with the continuation of OPERATION (OP) ATHENA in
Afghanistan, OP HESTIA in Haiti, OP
PODIUM (support to the Vancouver
Olympic 2010 games) and many other
international and national operations. All
technical expertise within the Geomatics
Technician trade has been exploited,
including very challenging and rewarding
aerial survey missions over Afghanistan.
With increased numbers of Geomatics
Technicians graduating from the School of
Military Mapping (where they undergo a
technically challenging 20-month initial
training course delivered in partnership
with Algonquin College in Ottawa) the
Geospatial Technicians’ trade has also
seen a significant increase in its force generation capabilities. This now enables
Geomatics Support Teams located outside
of Ottawa, primarily situated in the army
brigades, to be self-sufficient with their
force generation needs for deployed operations and support to domestic operations
within the control of their area headquarters. MCE has also developed webenabled services that are progressively
reinventing the way geographic data and
products are provided to its customers.
The general structure of MCE has not
changed significantly since 2007. The unit
is composed of slightly more than 260 personnel made up of 120 military and 140
civilians. The primary mandate of MCE
remains to provide timely and relevant
geospatial support to CF operations. This
is accomplished through its division into
five sub-units, namely Geomatics Support
Squadron, Digital Production Squadron,
Geospatial Information and Services
Squadron, Engineering Section and the
School of Military Mapping.
Geomatics Support Squadron (Geo Sp
Sqn) is organized into two troops and is
responsible for the training, employment
and force generation of Geomatics
Technicians for CF requirements.
Troop number 1 holds all of the
deployable geomatics support capability of MCE and focuses on providing timely geomatics products and
advice to commanders and troops on
military operations. Troop number 2
is responsible for all survey tasks,
both terrestrial and aerial. It has been
involved in three successive and very
successful aerial data collection missions over Afghanistan, aimed at providing current and accurate high-resolution colour-imagery of the entire
area of operations as it evolved. Since
2008 the squadron’s resources have
been stretched very thin with the continuous support of five to ten
Geomatics
Technicians
in
Afghanistan, OP ATHENA; the 2010
Winter Olympics, OP PODIUM; various high-level meetings such as the
G8/G20 with the RCMP; the evacuation of Canadian citizens in Lebanon,
OP LION; the earthquake in Haiti, OP
HESTIA; many other lower-key operations; and continuing support to
many national military training venues
and planning requirements.
Digital Production Squadron (DP
Sqn) is a base plant organization primarily manned by civilian personnel.
This squadron’s role is to focus on the
longer-term mapping requirements of
the CF and its partners and allies,
notably through multinational agreements. One of the keystone projects,
the Multinational Geospatial Co-production Program (MGCP), has continued since its launch to provide worldwide mapping coverage at scales of
1:50 000 or 1:100 000. It is currently
putting Canada at the forefront of the
initiative through well-defined workflows and outstanding quality management. DP Sqn also produces a very
wide array of data products for various
users, provides response work for
operations, contributes to the Air Force
through high-resolution and highaccuracy 3-D flight simulator data
and runs one of the last governmentoperated large-volume lithographic
presses in Canada.
Geospatial Information and
Services Squadron (GI&S Sqn) is
GEOMATICA 51
responsible for the delivery of all geographic products and data to users
across the CF, its partners and allies.
With Hydrographic Services Offices
(HSO) in Halifax and Esquimalt
acquiring, storing and distributing upto-date maritime geomatics products
to Canada’s Navy, Coast Guard and
RCMP, this squadron’s mandate is
extremely wide and covers Canada
from coast to coast. This squadron
also manages the Canadian Map
Depot to acquire, store, maintain and
distribute both domestic and foreign
mapping to all its customers. Webservices under the name GeoLap have
also grown to become a primary focus
of this squadron and consist of an
online hub for the dissemination of all
geographic data and products. With
this online tool and various add-ons,
users can conduct their own data and
products exploration. This capacity
alone has dramatically increased the
squadron’s outreach capability.
Engineering Section (Engr Sect)
continues to conduct research and
development into new and upcoming
geospatial technology while providing
the services of life cycle management
for much of the complex geospatial
equipment used in the CF. It has successfully integrated arising technology
within their workflows and influenced
the operations in order to stay ahead of
the mesmerizing speed of technological advancements, as illustrated with
GeoLap and GeoPDFs.
The School of Military Mapping
(SMM) has continued to provide
well-adapted institutional training to
Geomatics Technicians within the
very formal Canadian Forces
Individual Training and Education
System (CFITES). Having developed
and now implemented a total of five
courses ranging in duration from five
weeks to two years, the School
enables the development and maintenance of technical knowledge for the
Geomatics Technicians across the CF.
Key to the School’s success is an
alternate delivery strategy where
Algonquin College assists in the
delivery of the content that was developed for the 20-month QL5A
52 GEOMATICA
Geomatics Technicians course and the
Military GI&S Basic course.
MCE Headquarters is working feverishly to develop a long-term plan for the
future of MCE as the CF shifts its focus
from Afghanistan to reconstitution or other
potential operations. With current plans for
a CF transformation and a clear intent to
conduct more military-related activities in
the High Arctic, it is an exciting time for CF
geomatics. Despite any foreseeable, and
perhaps unforeseeable, changes in military
mapping requirements, Canadian Military
Mappers will continue to provide geomatics support with both exceptional technical
knowledge
and
professionalism.
Ostendamus viam—We show the way.
Major Primeau, CD
Commandant - School of Military Mapping
Mapping and Charting Establishment
Department of National Defence
http://www.forces.gc.ca
Elections Canada
The National Geographic Database
(NGD), a national street network containing geographical features developed and
maintained jointly by Elections Canada
and Statistics Canada, has been redesigned
since our article appeared in Geomatica in
2007. The redesign now includes Statistics
Canada boundaries and basic blocks. The
data enhancements were focused on
improving convergence with the GeoBase
National Road Network (NRN) layer and
other suitable geographic data sets widely
used by clients of Elections Canada and
Statistics Canada. At this time, British
Columbia and major municipalities of
Ontario have or are in the process of being
aligned. Thus, the basic geographical
framework Elections Canada is using will
become a widely accepted standard facilitating the integration of other types of spatial information. In the long term, street
network maintenance efforts will be
undertaken with a broader number of partners as convergence is completed in other
parts of the country.
Continuous efforts in improving
the level of street attribution in the
NGD has significantly increased the
number of Named Streets and fully or
partially addressed road segments
allowing a very high level of geo-referencing rates of electors.
Election Canada’s Electoral
Geography Database is also maintained on a permanent basis to reflect
population movement and growth. It
provides a cartographic representation
of Canada’s 308 federal electoral districts and is now divided into 64,385
polling divisions and regrouped into
4,700 advance polling districts following our last maintenance cycle
completed in October 2010.
In spring 2010, the Canadian
Council on Geomatics (CCOG)
approved the standards and datataset
for a new GeoBase layer, Federal
Electoral Districts. Information and
data has been available since May
2010 on the GeoBase Web Site at
http://www.geobase.ca/geobase/en/d
ata/admin/index.html
With the approach of the 2011
decennial (10-year) census, the databases are being prepared for use in the
readjustment of electoral district boundaries. Representation in Government of
Canada’s House of Commons is readjusted after each decennial census to
reflect changes and movements in
Canada’s population in accordance with
the Constitution Act, 1867, and the
Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act
(1985, as amended). Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) are critical
to the success of readjusting boundaries,
also known as redistribution.
Three applications are added to
the toolset for redistribution purposes:
the Commission Redistricting Tool
(CRT), the Data and Mapping Tools
(DMT) and the Public Web Tool
(PWT). The CRT is a fully functional
redistricting application offering the
ten boundary commissions, with the
support of Geography specialists from
Elections Canada, the capability to
prepare various boundary scenarios
with demographic information. The
DMT focuses on preparing Elections
Canada’s geographic data, which is
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
currently conditioned for election purposes and providing mapping tools, to
respond to ad-hoc and redistribution
mapping activities needed for redistribution. The PWT offers the public the
capability to view the commission’s
boundary proposals and to respond in
preparation for public hearings.
Furthermore, during redistribution, the GIS must prepare and hold
multiple and overlapping scenarios of
electoral geography data for the current 308 electoral district boundaries
and the 308+ boundaries that will: 1)
be proposed by the boundary commissions, 2) appear in the commissions
reports, and 3) form the next representation order. The representation
order!states the names and defines the
electoral districts of Canada that will
be in effect for a minimum 10-year
period until the completion of the
redistribution that occurs following
the 2021 census.
Herschell Sax
Senior Policy Advisor
Electoral Geography
Elections Canada
http://www.elections.ca
Environment Canada
Environment Canada (EC) has a
geospatial community of approximately 500 people, actively carrying out
mapping activities on a day-to-day
basis. These activities contribute to the
strategic outcomes of EC: ensuring
that Canada’s natural environment is
restored and conserved; equipping
Canadians to make informed decisions
on changing weather, water, and climate conditions; minimizing threats to
Canadians and their environment from
pollution; and enabling Canadians to
benefit from responsible development
of Mackenzie gas resources.
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
Geospatial Governance
Activities
Information management is at the core
of meeting EC’s strategic outcomes, and
the Department has taken steps to ensure
that geospatial data and tools are managed
appropriately. In 2008, an Advisory
Committee on Geospatial Data and Tools
Management (ACGDTM) was created to
help with the coordination of the EC
geospatial community and to provide leadership and recommendations on geospatial
information management. A Geospatial
Coordination Office (GCO) was established within the Information Management
Directorate, Chief Information Officer
Branch to develop and implement a
roadmap towards effective geospatial data
and tools management. EC’s Geospatial
Data and Tools Management Strategy (only
available on Government of Canada networks), as well as other geospatial strategies can be found on GCPEDIA. These
strategies provide a roadmap for good governance and management of geospatial data
as well as interoperability of geospatial
data, services and systems, in order to
streamline the geospatial data life cycle.
Another driver for strong geospatial
governance is the recently endorsed Treasury
Board of Canada Standard on Geospatial
Data
(http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pol/doceng.aspx?id=16553&section=text). Under
this standard, government departments must
apply the metadata standard (ISO 19115) and
Web Map Server Interface Standard (ISO
19128) to geospatial data by May 2014. EC
is actively working towards the implementation of these standards, by developing and
implementing several initiatives such as:
• A Geospatial Data Repository—a
shared network drive where geospatial practitioners can access authoritative, managed geospatial data collected or purchased by EC. Having data
in one central location protects
Environment Canada’s investment in
geospatial data resources in accordance with proper Information
Management practices. The goal is to
promote collaboration amongst
Environment Canada’s geospatial
practitioners, while eliminating nonauthoritative data sources, duplication
of data and out-of-date data.
•
•
•
A Geospatial Data Dissemination
Strategy (only available on
Government of Canada networks)—to
ensure
that
Departmental geospatial data is
easy to publish, and obeys industry standards that support discovery, access and visualization in a
consistent and application neutral
manner, contributing to the preservation and enhancement of society, culture and the environment.
A Geospatial Data Discovery
Strategy (only available on
Government of Canada networks)—to
ensure
that
Departmental geospatial resources
are discoverable, obey industry
standards and leverage mass market approaches in supporting
geospatial discovery for all.
A
Geospatial
Publishing
Facility—to provide one-stop,
centralized access to aid
Departmental data stewards in
publishing their geospatial data
in an easy, efficient and userfriendly manner.
Software Licence
Consolidation
In terms of geospatial tool management, the Geospatial Coordination
Office successfully consolidated
ESRI licencing across the Department
to increase efficiency, accessibility
and decrease cost. One ESRI client
number was created for the entire
Department, and licences for
Arc/Info, ArcView and extensions are
now shared from one central licence
server. The Geospatial Coordination
Office maintains and monitors the
licence server to ensure optimal software access for geospatial practitioners in the Department. This consolidation process has reduced the overall
departmental administrative overhead
significantly. The Department is also
working towards deploying one central Open Source geospatial tool to
address the business needs of its
geospatial practitioners.
GEOMATICA 53
Environment Canada
Geospatial Symposium 2010
The Chief Information Officer
Branch’s Information Management
(IM) Geospatial Coordination Office
(GCO) held a Geospatial Symposium
on February 9th and 10th, 2010 at the
Canada Centre for Inland Waters in
Burlington, Ontario. The symposium
was an opportunity for a face-to-face
meeting of EC’s geospatial community, managers, and participants from
other government departments to
facilitate knowledge sharing, networking and improvement of geospatial
information management.
The symposium presentations
highlighted EC’s applied geospatial
activities with common themes such as
data acquisition, building user-friendly
applications, and collaboration. Some
examples of the presentation topics
include bird surveying, air quality
measurements and visualization, water
supply studies, data integration for
developing sustainability indicators,
regional and global weather prediction
modeling, and identifying environmentally sensitive areas for emergency
preparedness and response.
The symposium was a huge success and another symposium is
planned for Fall 2012.
Project Highlights
In addition to the internal efforts
to govern EC’s geospatial resources
and foster a collaborative geospatial
community, there have been several
project highlights that are available to
Canadians. Here are some examples:
Canadian Environmental
Sustainability Indicators
The Canadian Environmental
Sustainability Indicators (CESI) initiative provides data and information
to track Canada’s performance on key
environmental sustainability issues of
concern to Canadians: air quality,
water quality, greenhouse gas emissions, water levels and protected areas.
A new and improved interactive mapping application gives users an
54 GEOMATICA
increased opportunity to interact with the
data behind the indicators. The data used in
CESI come from a variety of sources,
depending on the indicator. Data are compiled by Environment Canada from numerous federal, provincial, territorial, and joint
monitoring programs. Other government
departments, such as Statistics Canada,
Natural Resources Canada, Health Canada,
and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada,
provide monitoring, survey and census
data. The CESI report can be found at:
http://www.ec.gc.ca/indicateurs-indicators. The mapping application can be
found at: http://maps-cartes.ec.gc.ca/indicators-indicateurs.
Canadian Information System
for Protected Areas (CISPA)
Environment Canada’s Canadian
Wildlife Service (CWS) identifies nationally important wildlife habitat whose loss
would have a direct impact on the Canadian
population of one or more wild species.
Environment Canada works closely with
other organizations to ensure that
these! nationally! important areas! are officially protected through its system of
Protected Areas. The Canadian Information
System for Protected Areas (CISPA) is a
Web Map Interface for Environment
Canada’s Protected Areas. The system is
available in a fully accessible version
(http://maps-cartes.ec.gc.ca/cispasciap/Disclaimer.aspx?lang=en) and in a
graphical
feature-rich
version
(http://maps-cartes.ec.gc.ca/cispasciap/flex_bin/main.html). This application allows the visualization of
Environment Canada’s Protected Areas network with Canada’s Ecological framework
of Ecozones and Ecoregions. Reports can
be produced by Ecozone, Ecoregion,
Protected Area, or by Custom defined area,
which summarize the area in hectares and
the percentage protected area or
ecozone/ecoregion within the selected area.
Map views and reports can be printed and
exported from the application as well.
Conclusion
Complying with the Treasury Board
Standard on Geospatial Data will continue
to drive efforts within the Department to
create ISO 19115 metadata and ISO19128
Web Map Services. EC will continue
to participate on committees such as
the Inter-Agency Committee on
Geomatics, the Open Geospatial
Consortium (OGC), and the Canadian
Advisory Committee to ISO Technical
Committee
211
Geographic
Information / Geomatics. Improving
geospatial information management
throughout the data lifecycle will continue to be a main goal of
Environment Canada over the coming
years. By streamlining data production from capture to dissemination, it is
expected that EC will increase its service to Canadians further.
For more information on geospatial
activities within Environment Canada,
please
contact
the
Geospatial
Coordination Office ([email protected]).
Debbie Pagurek, M.Sc.
Geospatial Coordination Office
Chief Information Officer Branch
Environment Canada
http://www.ec.gc.ca Environnement
Canada
Environnement Canada (EC)
compte près de 500! personnes qui
œuvrent dans le domaine géospatial et
qui effectuent quotidiennement des travaux de cartographie. Ces activités
contribuent aux résultats stratégiques
d’EC!: conserver et restaurer l’environnement naturel du Canada; doter les
Canadiens des outils nécessaires pour
prendre des décisions éclairées sur les
changements climatiques, l’eau et les
conditions climatiques; minimiser les
effets de la pollution sur la population
et son environnement et lui permettre
de bénéficier d’une exploitation responsable des ressources gazières de la
vallée du Mackenzie.
Activités de gouvernance
géospatiale
La gestion de l’information est un
élément fondamental pour atteindre
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
ces résultats stratégiques et le
Ministère veille à ce que les données
et outils géospatiaux soient gérés
convenablement. En 2008, un Comité
consultatif sur la gestion des données
et des outils géospatiaux a été mis sur
pied pour faciliter la coordination de
la communauté géospatiale d’EC et
fournir un encadrement et des recommandations sur la gestion de l’information géospatiale. Un Bureau de
coordination géospatiale (BCG) a été
mis sur pied au sein de la Direction de
la gestion de l’information, Direction
générale du dirigeant principal de
l’information pour créer et mettre en
œuvre une feuille de route favorisant
une gestion efficace des données et
des outils géospatiaux. On en trouve
les stratégies sur GCPEDIA (disponible exclusivement sur les réseaux
du gouvernement du Canada) ainsi
que d’autres stratégies liées au domaine géospatial. Ces stratégies établissent une feuille de route de saine gouvernance et de gestion des données
géospatiales et assurent l’interopérabilité des données, services et systèmes géospatiaux afin de rationaliser
le cycle de vie de ces données.
La norme sur les données géospatiales (http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pol/docfra.aspx?id=16553&section=text),
récemment endossée par le Conseil du
Trésor du Canada, est également un
outil fondamental de saine gestion. En
vertu de cette norme, d’ici mai 2014 les
ministères fédéraux doivent appliquer
aux données géospatiales la norme
ISO! 19115 sur les métadonnées et la
norme ISO! 19128 sur l’interface de
carte du serveur Web. EC travaille activement à mettre ces normes en œuvre
en concevant et en appliquant diverses
initiatives, notamment :
•
Un entrepôt de données géospatiales! : disque réseau partagé où
les spécialistes du domaine pourront consulter des données géospatiales fiables qui ont été collectées ou achetées par EC. En
regroupant toutes les données au
même endroit, Environnement
Canada investit dans les ressources géospatiales conformé-
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
•
•
•
ment aux pratiques appropriées de gestion de l’information. On veut ainsi
favoriser la collaboration entre les spécialistes du domaine géospatial d’EC
tout en éliminant les sources de données moins fiables ou périmées.
Une stratégie de diffusion des données
géospatiales (disponible exclusivement
sur les réseaux du gouvernement du
Canada)!: pour que les données géospatiales du Ministère puissent être facilement publiées et qu’elles obéissent aux
normes de l’industrie sur la découverte,
l’accès et la visualisation de façon
cohérente et objective et contribuant
ainsi à la préservation et à l’amélioration de notre société, de notre culture et
de notre environnement.
Une stratégie de découverte des données géospatiales (disponible exclusivement sur les réseaux du gouvernement du Canada)! : pour que les ressources géospatiales du Ministère
soient identifiables, qu’elles respectent les normes de l’industrie et
qu’elles s’appuient sur des approches
du marché de masse en étant mises à
la disponibilité de tous.
Un centre de publication des données
géospatiales : qui permettra au
Ministère de les administrer efficacement, facilement et de façon conviviale.
Regroupement des licences
de logiciel
En ce qui a trait à la gestion des outils
géospatiaux, le Bureau de coordination
géospatiale a regroupé les licences d’ESRI
de tout le Ministère afin d’accroître l’efficacité et la disponibilité du service tout en
en réduisant les coûts. Un numéro de
client ESRI a été créé pour l’ensemble du
Ministère et les licences pour Arc/Info,
ArcView et toutes les extensions sont
dorénavant partagées à partir d’un serveur
de licences central. Le Bureau de coordination géospatiale entretient et contrôle le
serveur de licences afin d’offrir le meilleur
accès possible aux spécialistes en données
géospatiales du Ministère. Ce regroupement a permis de réduire sensiblement les
frais ministériels généraux. Le Ministère
travaille également à mettre en œuvre un
outil géospatial centralisé de type Open
Source afin de répondre aux besoins d’affaires de ses propres spécialistes.
Symposium géospatial 2010
d’Environnement Canada
Le Bureau de coordination géospatiale (BCG) responsable de gérer
l’information pour la Direction générale du dirigeant principal de l’information a organisé un symposium géospatial les 9 et 10!février 2010 au Centre
canadien des eaux intérieures de
Burlington, en Ontario. Le symposium
a permis aux membres de la communauté géospatiale et aux gestionnaires
d’EC, tout comme aux participants
d’autres ministères, de se rencontrer,
d’échanger, d’établir des liens et de
chercher comment gérer plus efficacement l’information géospatiale.
Les présentations du Symposium
ont mis en lumière les activités géospatiales d’EC s’articulant autour de
thèmes communs, par exemple l’acquisition de données, le développement
d’applications conviviales et la collaboration. Quelques exemples utilisés
pour les présentations incluaient des
recensements d’oiseaux, des mesures
et la visualisation de la qualité de l’air,
des études sur les réserves d’eau, l’intégration de données afin de concevoir
des indicateurs de durabilité, la modélisation prédictive du climat planétaire et
la détermination des zones environnementales les plus sensibles afin de
développer des préparatifs et des
mesures d’intervention d’urgence.
Le symposium a connu un grand
succès; un autre est prévu pour l’automne 2012.
Coup d’œil sur certains
projets
Outre les efforts internes déployés
par EC pour mieux gérer ses ressources
géospatiales et favoriser le développement d’une communauté géospatiale
participative, plusieurs autres projets
sont mis à la disposition de la population. En voici quelques-uns!:
Indicateurs canadiens de
durabilité de
l’environnement (ICDE)
Les indicateurs canadiens de
durabilité de l’environnement fournisGEOMATICA 55
sent aux Canadiens des données et de
l’information sur le rendement du
Canada quant aux problèmes de durabilité de l’environnement qui les préoccupent!: qualité de l’air et de l’eau,
émissions de gaz à effet de serre,
niveaux d’eau et aires protégées. Il
s’agit d’une nouvelle application cartographique interactive et améliorée
qui permet aux utilisateurs de mieux
interagir
avec
les
données
sous-jacentes aux indicateurs. Les
données de ces indicateurs proviennent de diverses sources et varient
selon l’indicateur. EC compile les
données de nombreux programmes
fédéraux, provinciaux, territoriaux et
conjoints. D’autres ministères fédéraux tels que Statistique Canada,
Ressources naturelles Canada, Santé
Canada
et
Agriculture
et
Agroalimentaire Canada fournissent
également les résultats de leurs surveillances, levés et recensements. Les
rapports des ICDE sont présentés à
l’adresse
suivante
:
http://www.ec.gc.ca/indicateurs-indicators/Default.asp?lang=Fr&n=A07
3189E-1. L’application de cartographie est fournie à l’adresse :
http://maps-cartes.ec.gc.ca/indicatorsindicateurs/default.aspx?lang=fr.
Système canadien
d’information sur les
aires protégées (SCIAP)
Le Service canadien de la Faune
d’Environnement Canada recense les
habitats fauniques importants dont la
perte aurait un impact direct sur la
population canadienne d’une ou de plusieurs espèces sauvages. EC travaille
en étroite collaboration avec d’autres
organismes afin que ces aires importantes à l’échelle nationale soient officiellement protégées par son programme des Aires protégées. Le Système
canadien d’information sur les aires
protégées est une interface cartographique en ligne des aires protégées par
EC. Le système est disponible dans sa
version complète à l’adresse suivante :
http://maps-cartes.ec.gc.ca/cispasciap/Disclaimer.aspx?lang=fr et en
version graphique à l’adresse suivante :
56 GEOMATICA
http://maps-cartes.ec.gc.ca/cispasciap/flex_bin/main.html. Cette application
montre le réseau des aires protégées d’EC
avec toutes les écozones et écorégions du
Canada. On peut générer les rapports par
écozone, écorégion, aire protégée ou par
zone personnalisée. Le système fournit la
superficie (hectares) avec le pourcentage
d’aires protégées ou d’écozones et écorégions dans la région sélectionnée. On peut
imprimer les cartes et les rapports ou les
exporter.
Conclusion
Conformément à la norme du Conseil
du Trésor sur les données géospatiales, EC
poursuit des travaux de développement de
métadonnées (norme ISO!19115) et de services d’interface de carte du serveur
Internet. EC maintient sa participation aux
différents comités tels que le Comité mixte
des organismes intéressés à la géomatique,
l’Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) et le
Comité consultatif canadien du Comité
technique!211 de l’ISO – Information géographique/Géomatique. L’amélioration de
la gestion de l’information géospatiale tout
au long du cycle de vie des données continuera à être l’un des principaux objectifs
d’Environnement Canada pour les années à
venir. En rationalisant la production des
données, de leur capture à leur diffusion,
EC estime qu’il pourra améliorer le service
qu’il donne aux Canadiens.
Pour plus de renseignements sur les activités géospatiales d’Environnement Canada,
communiquez avec le Bureau de coordination géospatiale ([email protected]).
Debbie Pagurek, M.Sc.
Bureau de coordination géospatiale
Direction générale du dirigeant principal
de l’information
Environnement Canada
http://www.ec.gc.ca
Indian and Northern
Affairs Canada
With the advent of mobile, web services and Google, Geographic Information
Systems (GIS) technology has matured
and more organizations have begun to
apply its capabilities to improve the
way they manage and use geospatial
information. The organic growth of
GIS in organizations as disconnected
GIS “islands”, implemented in departmental silos is obsolete as it fails to
capitalize on the benefits of scale.
In the spring of 2007, Indian and
Northern Affairs Canada (INAC)
embarked on a three (3) year plan to
implement an Enterprise level geographic infrastructure with a corporate
Geomatics Services function. The
function includes access to a spatial data
repository, a corporate compliant GIS
technology for both desktop and Web,
access to geomatics standards and best
practices as well as access to geographic
expertise for the delivery of geographic
based products and services. A number of
interactive Web map applications
developed for our programs are available
on the INAC website: http://www.aincinac.gc.ca/1info/iactmps-eng.asp
The Geomatics Services unit is
designed to work with departmental
sectors and program managers to meet
increasing demands for geospatial information relating to INAC’s mandated
responsibilities. This eliminates duplication of Information Management
(IM)/Information Technology (IT) effort
and investments. It has developed and
continues to enhance the geospatial
platform to more effectively provide
geo-based products and services to the
programs, Aboriginals, and Northerners.
It also plays a key role in managing its
enterprise geo-systems. The main benefit for the organization and its clients is
an increased data sharing and crossfunctional collaboration between programs in the delivery of services to
Aboriginals and Northerners thus leading to enhanced business decisions.
Implementing an enterprise GIS
infrastructure does not happen
overnight. It requires the development
of an effective business case with senior management along with levels of
engagement throughout the organization. Engagement has been obtained
through the provision of value-added
services and success stories with the
key organizational stakeholders.
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
Between 2008 and 2011, INAC
Geomatics Services has worked
closely with its community of practice,
stakeholders, and clients to geographically enable programs. Through that
engagement, our role is designed to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
develop, enhance and coordinate
geographic information management and technology to ensure
reliable and consistent data and
systems
facilitate the integration of
geospatial information for business applications
build an understanding of the use
of geospatial information and
technology
ensure economic benefits to the
department, offering a common geoplatform, mitigating duplication of
data and systems (time & costs), reliability of tools and information.
Hélène Lachance
National Geomatics Manager
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
http://geoviewer.inac.gc.ca
Library and Archives
Canada
Library and Archives Canada
(LAC) has been actively acquiring cartographic materials in their various
forms since 1872. Cartography,
Architecture and Geomatics (CAG), of
the Canadian Archives and Special
Collections Branch (CASC), and its
predecessors have been acquiring these
materials as a separate archival unit
since 1907. At that time, the section
held 4,285 maps, plans, and charts.
Between 1907 and 1924, the collection
grew to 30,000 cartographic items.
From 1925 to 1945, cartographic
acquisitions were almost entirely in the
form of private documents and collections, or consisted of copies of cartographic materials that were obtained
from other archives around the world.
In 1949, the section developed a plan
for the strategic acquisition of pubVol. 65, No. 1, 2011
lished map series and charts from the
Canadian federal government.
Between 1969 and 2006, the section
acquired current published maps of other
parts of the world so they could be consulted by Canadian federal government
departments that have interests abroad. In
1976, CAG started to acquire major
groups of manuscript and unpublished cartographic materials from Canadian federal
government departments and agencies.
With the shift to the creation of digital
maps in the 1980s, CAG has been actively
acquiring digital cartographic materials,
that is, geomatics materials, since 1991.
This practice is now aligned with LAC’s
strategic priority relating to digital information. To date, the digital collection consists of approximately 750,000 digital aerial photographs, 40,000 satellite and
remotely sensed images, and 100,000 digital maps. These digital objects represent
approximately 40 terabytes of data. Since
LAC last reported to Geomatica, published cartographic materials that are produced by Canadian federal government
departments have became become subject
to Legal Deposit legislation. This legislation also encompasses published cartographic materials that are produced by private sector publishers.
Today, CAG is responsible for and the
acquisition of architectural, cartographic,
and geomatics materials of national significance from departments and agencies of the
Government of Canada. In support of this
mandate, CAG will also identify, appraise,
and acquire the documentary records of private sector architects, cartographers, engineers, and surveyors that are appraised as
being of national significance. They must
encompass representative activities of the
surveying, mapping, and charting industry,
; private institutions, and members of the
general public. Cartographic materials covered by the Legal Deposit regulations are
acquired by the Published Heritage Branch,
LAC. Due to the specialized expertise that
resides in CAG about historical and modern
cartographic and geomatics materials, the
section operates collaboratively with
archivists from the Government Records
Branch to appraise and acquire cartographic and geomatics materials of archival and
historical value from departments and
agencies of the government of Canada.
Over the past four years, CAG’s
acquisition priorities have been fourfold and have concentrated on activities associated with the development
of the:
•
•
•
•
Early Cartography Collection;
Collection of published government maps series that are not covered under Legal Deposit;
Collection of cartographic and
geomatics materials relating to
the Arctic; and the,
Directive on Recordkeeping’ that
pertains to cartographic and geomatics materials that are created
to support government business.
In terms of the development of
the ‘Early Cartography Collection’,
CAG continues to seek out rare historical maps, hydrographic charts, plans,
atlases, and globes that present new
geographic knowledge about Canada.
These contribute to an understanding
of the history of Canadian society and
cartographic techniques and practices.
Under the auspices of this program, 29
maps have been acquired. The two
most significant acquisitions include
are a chart by James Cook and a map
by Paolo Forlani.
•
James Cook: A Chart of the
Sea-Coast of Newfoundland
between St. Laurence and
Point May. Survey’d by
Order of Hugh Palliser Esqr.
Commodore & c. & c. by
James Cook, c. 1765.
•
Forlani, Paolo: Il Disegno
del discoperto della nova
Franza, ilquale s’è havuto
ulti, mamente dalla novissima navigatione dè Franzesi in
quel luogo, nel quale sivedono
tutte l’Isole, Porti, Capi, et
luoghi fraterra chein quella
sono / Venetijs aneis formis
Bolognini Zalterij Anno.
M.D.L.X.V.I.(1566)
[The
drawing of the discovery of
New France, recently derived
from the newest voyage of the
French in that region: In
GEOMATICA 57
which are seen all the islands,
ports, capes, and places
inland which are in it (1566)].
In terms of the development of the
collection of cartographic and geomatics materials that are not covered under
the Legal Deposit program, CAG has
acquired 20 maps and 3 archival collections to fill gaps in the collection.
With respect to material that is
acquired from Canadian federal government departments and agencies,
CAG has acquired analogue and digital
collections from the Cape Breton
Development Corporation; Canadian
Ice Service, Environment Canada;
Elections Canada; International Joint
Commission; National Air Photo
Library (NAPL), Natural Resources
Canada; and Statistics Canada.
As part of the acquisition function, CAG continues to appraise collections and provide advice to federal
government departments and agencies
concerning their archival practices
associated with architectural, cartographic, and geomatics materials. Over
the past four years, appraisals and
advice have been provided to
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada;
Canada Aviation Museum; Canada
Post; Canadian Book Exchange
Centre; Fisheries and Oceans Canada;
Foreign Affairs and international
International
Trade
Canada;
Geographical Names Board of Canada
Secretariat, Natural Resources Canada;
House of Commons; National Capital
Commission; National Defence and
the Canadian Forces; Public Works
and Government Services Canada; and
Transport Canada.
From a strategic perspective,
CAG is continuing to develop the section’s collection of cartographic and
geomatics materials relating to the
Arctic. The objective is to align the
section’s acquisition priorities in harmony with the government’s focus of
protecting our nation’s sovereignty and
security. As well, the government’s
commitment to defending Canada’s
place in the world through the realization of a strong Arctic vision is also
supported. As a result, over the next
58 GEOMATICA
five years CAG will identify and fill gaps in
the section’s cartographic and geomatics
data holdings that relate to the Arctic.
Similar to the goal associated with the Early
Cartography Collection, an Arctic collection of maps and geospatial data will provide essential evidence about Canadian
occupation and activities in the North over
time. As part of this priority, CAG will partner with others to ensure the collection is as
comprehensive and as encompassing as
possible.
Also from a strategic perspective, and
with respect to the ‘Directive on
Recordkeeping’, departments in the
Canadian federal government gather, analyze, interpret, use, and distribute geographic information to support the government’s surveying, mapping, charting,
resource, and infrastructure management
activities and programs, and deliver reliable
services. In these activities, there is a
requirement for departments to define their
core cartographic and geospatial data products, develop the business case for their creation, identify the risks and liabilities associated with their use, and maintain their
integrity through the implementation of
sound recordkeeping practices.
The latter activity is especially important because maps and geospatial data are
often used as decision decision-making
tools in support of the demarcation, development, and management of Canadian
lands and resources. They are used to
improve our knowledge about land use
and human occupancy. They can be used
to delineate spatial patterns associated
with agricultural activities and define patterns associated with the health of our
forests, lakes, and rivers. Cartographic
materials and geospatial data are invaluable resources that can also be used to
communicate information about natural
hazards and weather patterns that could
potentially imperil the safety of Canadian
citizens on land and at sea.
In summary, maps, charts, and
geospatial data are essential to documenting and communicating important elements of Canadian activity and society
over time and space. Often collectively
they represent elements about Canadians
that do not appear in any other government
record. In this environment, CAG will
continue to work with its federal govern-
ment partners in the management of
its architectural, cartographic, and
geomatics assets.
For more information, please
refer to the Library and Archives
Canada website at: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca
David L. Brown, Manager
Cartography, Architecture &
Geomatics
Canadian Archives & Special
Collections
Library and Archives Canada
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/
Natural Resources
Canada—
Earth Sciences Sector
Role of Natural
Resources Canada
Natural
Resources
Canada
(NRCan) is the primary federal partner for the provinces and territories,
industry and other domestic players in
shaping Canada’s resource future.
NRCan develops knowledge and
expertise on Canada’s vast and diverse
landmass, which in turn strengthens
the safety and security of Canadians
and the stewardship of Canada’s natural resources and lands.
Through Geomatics Canada, part
of the Earth Sciences Sector, NRCan
provides a variety of location-based
data and expert knowledge and services that are used to inform policy and
programs on natural resource issues,
as well as public health, safety and
security. Geographical information,
which is essential to governing
Canada, is managed, made accessible,
and used, including: legal surveys of
Canada, remotely sensed data, and
basic mapping information. As a leader
in mapping and geosciences, NRCan
has a long history of efficient and
effective management of geo-information assets and pioneering new geographic and knowledge frontiers.
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
Highlights for 2008-2011
Surveyor General Branch
The Surveyor General has the
legal responsibility to manage all surveys and the parcel fabric on Canada
Lands, and to also maintain the original
plans, journals, field notes and other
papers associated with those surveys.
Canada Lands generally consist of
Indian Reserves, National Parks, the offshore and land in Yukon, Northwest and
Nunavut Territories. The Surveyor
General also serves as the Canadian
member of the International Boundary
Commission, which is responsible for
maintaining the 8 891 km long boundary between Canada and the United
States
(http://sgb-dag.nrcanrncan.gc.ca/index_e.php).
Canada Lands Survey System
The primary objective of the
Canada Lands Survey System is to
provide the foundation to establish
property rights on Canada Lands by
defining, describing and documenting
the extent of all land interests
(http://clss.nrcan.gc.ca/indexeng.php). The system provides the
legal parcels that support all registered land transactions on Canada
Lands. Key recent activities include:
•
•
•
Aboriginal Land Administrative
Boundaries on GeoBase – The
Aboriginal Lands data layer was
added to GeoBase in June 2009
and upgraded in April 2010
(http://clss.nrcan.gc.ca/geobaseeng.php).
Canada Lands Survey Registry
accessible in KML format – The
Canada Lands Survey Registry
overlay in KML format was
introduced in 2008 and is available for display in various earth
browsers, such as Google Earth
(http://clss.nrcan.gc.ca/googledata-donneesgoogle-eng.php).
Reconciliation with Indian Land
Registry—Over 80,000 parcels were
reconciled with the Indian Land
Registry in 2009-10. The electronic
Registry Index Plan (eRIP) simplifies
research of land records by providing
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
•
access to an integrated view of reserve
land information (http://www.aincinac.gc.ca/ai/scr/qc/pm/infoenv/ITfev10eng.asp).
ISO 19152—Land Administration
Domain Model—The Surveyor General
Branch is participating actively in the
development of the international standard
on Land Administration Domain Model
(ISO19152) (http://www.isotc211.org/).
International Boundary Commission
The
International
Boundary
Commission (IBC) is responsible for
maintaining the boundary in an effective
state of demarcation. The Commission
also regulates all construction within three
metres of the boundary and is responsible
for defining the boundary location in any
legal situation involving the border
(http://www.internationalboundarycommission.org/index-eng.html).
The IBC is currently modernizing
information systems. Information will be
managed in a GIS with several thematic
layers including new high resolution
imagery. The system has been used to create the first new official maps of the
Canada – US boundary since the 1920s.
Seven products illustrate EOGD’s
work to develop remote sensing products and applications within mapping
and monitoring programs:
•
•
•
Canada Centre for Remote Sensing
The Canada Centre for Remote
Sensing (CCRS) receives and archives
remotely-sensed data for Canada, develops methods and applications to enable
effective use of this data, and provides the
Canadian Spatial Reference System.
•
Earth Observation GeoSolutions
Division (EOGD)
EOGD, CCRS’ science foundation,
supports development of Earth Observation
(EO) sensors, improves EO data quality
and data handling methodologies, and
develops value-added EO-based information, applications and services. The goal is
to ensure EO’s potential is harnessed to
provide solutions enabling government to
better deliver mandates including sovereignty, safety and security, environmental
monitoring, and natural resource management. EOGD is also involved in the development of next-generation satellite sensors,
and the scientific preparations for effective
and immediate use of data from soon-to-belaunched sensors.
•
•
•
Satellite data to support updating
topographic maps in the North, by
providing topographic information
and land cover information (Land
Cover
Fact
Sheet:
http://ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/optical/landcover2000_e.php; Extraction of 3-D
info from RADARSAT-2 Fact Sheet:
http://ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/sarrso/3d_e.p
h)
Orthorectified Landsat 7 mosaic
of the Canadian arctic archipelago
(Fact
Sheet:
http://ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/orthorectification/baffin_island_e.php)
Satellite Image Techniques used
for Terrain Mapping and
Monitoring of the Mackenzie
Valley Pipeline Route (InSAR
monitoring techniques Fact Sheet:
http://ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/sarrso/ins
ar_e.php; IEEE publication on
geological image base maps:
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?arnumber=4779346
Mapping and Monitoring River Ice
and Lake Ice Break-up and Freezeup using Synthetic Aperture Radar
(SAR) Satellites (Fact Sheets:
http://ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/sarrso/riv
er_ice_e.php
and
http://ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/sarrso/lak
e_ice_e.php)
Geomatics information for the
watershed
serving
Iqaluit,
Nunavut, using EO data and
ground surveys (Fact Sheet:
http://ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/geospatial/iqaluit_e.php)
Using satellite remote sensing to
monitor and assess ecosystem
integrity and climate change in
Canada’s National Parks (Fact
Sheet: http://ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/optical/eco_integrity_e.php)
National and Continental Scale
Land Cover Mapping with satellite
data
(Fact
Sheet:
http://ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/optical/nl
cc_e.php). The Commission for
Environmental Cooperation’s
GEOMATICA 59
Web
site
(http://www.cec.org/Page.asp?Pa
geID=924&SiteNodeID=565)
provides access to a poster map
and the landcover data. A similar
map was featured as a pull-out
supplement to the December 2009
issue of Canadian Geographic.
Data Acquisition Division: Making
Earth Observation satellite data
readily accessible to Canadians
The Data Acquisition Division
(DAD) ensures access to satellite
imagery through reception capability
from a network of government controlled facilities, and through Earth
Observation (EO) satellite data stewardship services to the Government of
Canada and the Canadian public to
provide the availability of space-based
EO data in the format needed, when
needed and free whenever possible.
DAD has implemented a new
business model consisting of satellite
data receiving stations operated by the
private sector and satellite data stewardship systems developed, operated
and maintained by the Government of
Canada. This has allowed DAD to
introduce a modular operation scheme
that: provides flexibility to add new
sources of data and to introduce other
stations as part of a network;
improves communications for the
delivery and access to satellite
imagery; and promotes the private
sector involvement.
Since EO satellites orbit near the
North Pole, Canada’s northern geographic location provides a significant
competitive advantage in the field of
global remote sensing. The Inuvik
Satellite Station Facility (ISSF) is
located in one of Canada’s most
northern communities to allow greater
access to essential satellite data.
The ISSF’s location in the Arctic
enables it to receive data on Canada’s
North as soon as it is captured by
satellites, allowing for fast delivery of
information and the ability to monitor
this strategic region in near-real time.
The ISSF was built with the support of 15 international partners and
stakeholders from the private sector
60 GEOMATICA
and all levels of government and is operated on a public-private partnership model.
The project began in January 2009 and the
Facility’s first antenna was installed by the
German Aerospace Center in collaboration
with the Canadian company PrioraNet
Canada. The Facility was inaugurated in
August 2010 and is already being expanded to meet additional demand.
Geodetic Survey Division
The Geodetic Survey Division (GSD)
provides the standards for the measurement
of latitude, longitude, elevation and gravity
anywhere in Canada and monitors motions
of our landmass in support of Geoscience
and Geomatics. The Canadian Spatial
Reference System (CSRS) serves as the
foundation for all national georeferencing
and mapping activities including the
Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure
and is the standard specified for GeoBase.
GSD is promoting Global Navigation
Satellite System (GNSS)-based positioning over aging monumented control infrastructure established with classical
ground-based techniques. Usage of the
CSRS Precise Point Positioning Web tool
increased by 178% in the year ending
March 2010 with a concurrent reduction in
classical network access. GSD is expanding data collection and analysis from
Global Positioning System (GPS) to also
include the Russian GLONASS and the
European Galileo satellite constellations
in the coming years, with the first
GLONASS results obtained recently.
Height reference system modernization promises a new means of determining
heights above sea-level. The current reference system (Canadian Geodetic Vertical
Datum - CGVD28) is provided through a
network of monuments. Modernization,
planned for 2013, will enable measurement of heights anywhere in the country
using GNSS technologies. Modernization
of the Canadian Gravity Standardization
Network is also underway, with field
measurements to be completed in 2012.
Geodetic measurements are increasingly important for geoscientific applications. Precise measurements of vertical land
motion are currently used for understanding
sea-level trends in the Arctic region,
fluid/gas withdrawal in the Mackenzie
Delta, and Great Lakes Basin hydrology.
Satellite gravimetry is being used to
study changes in total water content in
the Great Lakes region and recently
gravity data collection in the arctic was
used to assist in mapping sea floor
topography, helping define the
Canadian offshore boundary.
A high level strategic plan for
GSD was approved and made public
(http://www.geod.nrcan.gc.ca/plan_e.
php) in 2009, coinciding with significant organizational and human
resource renewal. A detailed strategic
implementation plan will be publically released in 2011. GSD seeks to
increase collaboration in the scientific
community and in the federal government with respect to GNSS.
Mapping Information Branch
The Mapping Information Branch
(MIB) was established in 2008 through
the merging of the Mapping Services
Branch and the Data Management and
Dissemination Branch. MIB provides
trusted geospatial and geoscience data
of Canada’s landmass to enhance the
safety and security of Canadians, support the stewardship of Canada’s natural resources and land, and foster the
competitiveness of the resources sector.
The Branch is charged with the generation and dissemination of geospatial
knowledge that is used by broad segments of the economy, including the
Canadian geomatics industry and in
mass market applications on platforms
such as smart phones.
Accessible, trusted and current
geospatial data
Throughout the 2008-2011 period,
MIB updated, improved and increased
access to!its geospatial products, leading federal efforts in making data
accessible online, at no cost, and without restrictions. Transition to no-fee
access for a range of products has by all
measures been very successful, resulting in a massive increase in downloads
from
the
GeoGratis
portal
(http://www.GeoGratis.gc.ca/).
MIB’s base topographic data is
available through GeoGratis in several
vector and raster formats, as well as
through a Web Map Service (WMS).
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
The Toporama WMS was upgraded in
2009 and is composed of topographic
data offered as 16 layers of information, grouped by type under different
scales, offering many options for data
representation to meet user needs.
Updates to topographic data are
released on a six month schedule.
Topographic data is generated from the
National Hydro Network (NHN) and
the National Road Network (NRN),
collected through the GeoBase initiative (http://www.GeoBase.ca/) by
provincial and territorial partners.
The
Atlas
of
Canada
(http://atlas.NRCan.gc.ca/) provides
authoritative thematic maps on-line
about subjects such as people and
society, the environment, the economy, history, and other specific and
timely issues important to Canadians.
The 6th Edition of the Atlas is continually updated to reflect a changing
context. In 2009-10, 70 new maps
were published on-line, including a
series of maps and accompanying
analysis of national and regional data
results from the 2006 Census resulting from a multi-year partnership with
Statistics Canada. A special series of
interactive Atlas of Canada maps was
released in advance of the Vancouver
2010 Winter Olympics.
The
Secretariat
for
the
Geographical Names Board of
Canada (GNBC), hosted within MIB,
is responsible for supporting the
activities of the Board, maintaining an
official data base of geographical
names for Canada, and for responding
to all routine toponymic matters relating
to
Canada
(http://geonames.NRCan.gc.ca).
Diverse aspects of toponymy, such as
Aboriginal naming and issues related
to Canada’s North, have become a key
focus of NRCan’s contribution to the
GNBC. In 2010, geographical names
were made available without cost
through the GeoBase portal.
Mapping Canada
Following extensive consultations with national stakeholder groups
in 2008, MIB began production of the
next-generation of Canadian topoVol. 65, No. 1, 2011
graphic maps. The geographic areas for
update were determined through input from
various stakeholders and clients, and
aligned with priority mapping initiatives.
Beginning in 2009, new topographic maps
were released covering the Lower
Mainland of British Columbia in support of
the 2010 Winter Olympics. By the third
quarter of 2010-11, production had surpassed 1000 new maps, with! efforts
focussing on the completion of large areas
of Canada’s North previously unmapped at
the 1:50 000 scale.
MIB developed a Map Generator to create the new topographic!maps, a specialized
production system using leading-edge GIS
technology. Through a series of processes,
the! system automatically draws data from a
geographic database, symbolizes the cartographic features, positions the text and applies
the final map surround. The Map Generator
has resulted in increased production to 800
topographic maps per year. Plot-ready digital
versions of updated maps are available online from the GeoGratis portal, while paper
versions continue to be available though a network of certified map printers and regional
distributors.
GeoConnections Renewal
In 2010, the Government of Canada
announced a renewed commitment for the
GeoConnections program (http://www.geoconnections.ca/), and provided $11 million in
funding over two years. GeoConnections supports the integration and use of the Canadian
Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI). The
CGDI is an on-line resource that improves the
sharing, access and use of geospatial information. It helps decision makers from all levels
of government, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and academia make
better decisions on social, economic and
environmental priorities.
The
previous
phase
of
GeoConnections provided funding to the
Canadian geomatics sector to develop
application for decision-makers in four priority areas of public health, public safety
and security, the environment and sustainable development, and matters of importance to Aboriginal people. With the
renewed commitment, GeoConnections
will continue to provide leadership and
coordination for the use of geospatial data
toward effective decision making and, with
key stakeholders, will lead strategic
geomatics policy development. The
renewed priorities for GeoConnections
are to promote awareness of new applications of geospatial information and
to educate stakeholders on the importance of interoperable solutions
through the adoption of operational
policies and standards.
GeoConnections objectives will be
reached through the following activities:
•
•
•
The development and implementation of long-term national geomatics strategies and policies in
partnership with CGDI stakeholders;
Advancing the operational policies and standards needed to
complete the CGDI, including the
development of tools and
resources to help organizations
integrate the CGDI into their
business practices;
Working with the geomatics community to complete the CGDI by
developing policies to support the
use of geospatial information,
encouraging standards adoption,
and providing geomatics leadership and coordination in Canada.
Looking ahead, a new geospatial
business model is being implemented
for MIB, with priorities including the
completion of mapping for Canada’s
North; implementing a unified on-line
gateway to allow Canadians to search,
discover, assess and access essential
geographic information; a fundamental rethinking of Canada’s national
mapping efforts; and demonstrating
MIB’s role in management of location-based knowledge as essential for
enhancing Canada’s social, economic
and environmental prosperity.
Ann Martin
Director, Data Dissemination Division
Mapping Information Branch
Earth Sciences Sector
Natural Resources Canada
http://ess.nrcan.gc.ca
GEOMATICA 61
Ressources naturelles
Canada – Secteur des
sciences de la Terre
Rôle de Ressources
naturelles Canada
Ressources naturelles Canada
(RNCan) est le principal partenaire
fédéral des provinces et des territoires,
de l’industrie et d’autres partenaires au
pays en vue de façonner l’avenir des
ressources au Canada. RNCan a pour
objectif de développer les connaissances et l’expertise sur la masse continentale vaste et diversifiée du Canada,
qui contribuent à renforcer la sécurité
et la protection des Canadiens, ainsi
que l’intendance des ressources naturelles et des terres du Canada.
Par l’entremise de Géomatique
Canada, qui fait partie du Secteur des
sciences de la Terre, RNCan offre une
large gamme de données géoréférencées ainsi que des connaissances et des
services d’experts utilisés pour éclairer
l’établissement de politiques et de programmes sur des questions de ressources naturelles, de même que sur les
enjeux de la santé, de la sécurité et de
la protection publiques. L’information
géographique essentielle à la gouvernance du Canada est gérée, diffusée et
utilisée; elle comprend notamment les
levés officiels du Canada, les données
de télédétection et l’information de
base pour la cartographie. À titre de
chef de file dans le domaine de la cartographie et des sciences de la Terre,
RNCan possède une longue expérience
en matière de gestion efficiente et efficace des fonds de données géographiques et fait œuvre de pionnier pour
repousser les frontières de la géographie et du savoir.
Faits saillants entre
2008 et 2011
Direction de l’arpenteur général
L’arpenteur général est juridiquement responsable de gérer tous les
levés et le canevas des parcelles des
terres du Canada et de conserver la
62 GEOMATICA
totalité des plans, des registres et des notes
d’arpentage ainsi que tous les autres documents originaux se rapportant aux levés.
Les terres du Canada englobent généralement les réserves indiennes, les parcs
nationaux, ainsi que les zones terrestres et
extracôtières des territoires du Yukon, des
Territoires du Nord-Ouest et du Nunavut.
L’arpenteur général représente le Canada
au sein de la Commission de la frontière
internationale, qui est responsable de
maintenir la frontière de 8!891!km entre le
Canada et les États-Unis. (http://sgbdag.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/index_f.php).
Système d’arpentage des terres
du Canada
Le Système d’arpentage des terres du
Canada a pour principal objectif d’établir
les bases de l’infrastructure de droits fonciers sur les terres du Canada. Pour ce
faire, il définit, décrit et documente l’étendue de tous les titres fonciers
(http://clss.nrcan.gc.ca/index-fra.php). Le
système fournit les parcelles officielles qui
soutiennent toutes les transactions de
biens-fonds enregistrées sur les terres du
Canada. Les principales activités récentes
comprennent notamment!:
•
•
•
Limites administratives des terres
autochtones sur GéoBase – Une nouvelle couche de données sur les terres
autochtones a été ajoutée à GéoBase en
juin! 2009 et a été mise à jour en
avril!2010 (http://clss.nrcan.gc.ca/geobase-fra.php).
Les Archives d’arpentage des terres
du Canada disponibles en format
KML – Le calque des Archives d’arpentage des terres du Canada en format KML, lancé en 2008, peut être
affiché à l’aide de divers navigateurs
offrant une vue globale de la Terre,
notamment
Google
Earth
(http://clss.nrcan.gc.ca/googledatadonneesgoogle-fra.php).
Conciliation avec le Registre des
terres indiennes – Plus de 80!000!parcelles de terrain ont été conciliées avec
le Registre des terres indiennes en 2009
et 2010. Le Plan de référence électronique (PRÉ) simplifie la recherche de
documents relatifs aux terres en donnant accès à un aperçu intégré de l’information sur les terres des réserves
•
(http://www.aincinac.gc.ca/ai/scr/qc/pm/infoenv/IT
fev10-fra.asp).
ISO 19152 – Modèle du domaine
de l’administration des terres –
La Direction de l’arpenteur général
participe activement à l’élaboration
d’une norme internationale relative
au Modèle du domaine de l’administration des terres (ISO19152)
(http://www.isotc211.org/).
Commission de la frontière
internationale
La Commission de la frontière
internationale (CFI) a la responsabilité d’entretenir la percée de façon à ce
que la frontière soit bien délimitée. La
Commission réglemente également
toute construction à moins de trois
mètres de la frontière et est responsable de définir l’emplacement de la
frontière dans toute affaire juridique
où la frontière est en cause
(http://www.internationalboundarycommission.org/index-fra.html).
La CFI procède actuellement à la
modernisation des systèmes d’information. L’information sera gérée à
l’aide d’un SIG comportant plusieurs
couches thématiques, notamment de
nouvelles images à haute résolution.
Le système a été utilisé pour produire
de nouvelles cartes officielles de la
frontière du Canada et des États-Unis,
les premières à être créées depuis les
années 1920.
Centre canadien de télédétection
Le Centre canadien de télédétection (CCT) reçoit et archive les données de télédétection pour le Canada,
élabore des méthodes et des applications afin de faciliter une utilisation
efficace de ces données, et fournit les
services du Système canadien de référence spatiale.
Division de l’observation de la
Terre et des géosolutions (DOTG)
La DOTG, le fondement scientifique du CCT, participe au développement de capteurs d’observation de la
Terre (OT), à l’amélioration de la qualité des données d’OT et des méthodologies de traitement des données, ainsi
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
qu’à l’élaboration de données, d’applications et de services à valeur ajoutée
fondés sur l’OT. La DOTG vise à
mettre à contribution le potentiel des
données d’OT pour trouver des solutions permettant au gouvernement de
mieux s’acquitter de son mandat, qu’il
s’agisse d’assurer la souveraineté du
Canada, de protéger sa population, de
surveiller l’état de son environnement
ou de gérer ses ressources naturelles.
Elle participe également à la mise au
point de la prochaine génération de
capteurs satellite ainsi qu’aux préparatifs scientifiques en vue d’une utilisation efficace et immédiate des données
qui proviendront des capteurs dont le
lancement est prévu pour bientôt.
Sept produits résultent des travaux
de la DOTG portant sur l’élaboration
de produits et d’applications de télédétection dans le cadre de programmes
de cartographie et de surveillance!:
•
•
•
•
Données satellite permettant de
soutenir la mise à jour des cartes
topographiques du Nord, en fournissant de l’information topographique et de l’information sur la
couverture terrestre (fiche d’information sur la couverture terrestre
http://ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/optical/lan
dcover2000_f.php; fiche d’information sur l’extraction de données 3-D de RADARSAT-2
http://ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/sarrso/3d
_f.php)
Orthomosaïque Landsat!7 de l’archipel arctique (fiche d’information http://ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/orthorectification/baffin_island_f.php)
Techniques d’imagerie satellite
utilisées pour la cartographie du
terrain et la surveillance le long du
couloir du pipeline de la vallée du
Mackenzie (fiche d’information
sur les techniques de surveillance
InRSO http://ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/sarrso/insar_f.php; publication de
l’IEEE sur les cartes géologiques à
l’aide d’images de télédétection! :
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/free
abs_all.jsp?arnumber=4779346)
Cartographie et surveillance de
l’englacement et de la débâcle des
glaces de rivière et des glaces de
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
•
•
•
lac au moyen de satellites à radar à
synthèse d’ouverture (RSO) (fiches
d ’ i n f o r m a t i o n
http://ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/sarrso/river_ice
_f.php et http://ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/sarrso/lake_ice_f.php)
Information géomatique sur un bassin
versant d’Iqaluit, au Nunavut, utilisant
des données d’observation de la Terre
et des levés de terrain (fiche d’information http://ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/geospatial/iqaluit_f.php)
Utilisation de la télédétection par satellite pour la surveillance et l’évaluation de
l’intégrité de l’écosystème et du changement climatique dans les parcs nationaux du Canada (fiche d’information
http://ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/optical/eco_inte
grity_f.php)
Cartographie de la couverture terrestre
à l’échelle nationale et continentale à
l’aide de données satellite (fiche d’information http://ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/optical/nlcc_f.php). Le site Web de la
Commission nord-américaine de
coopération
environnementale
(http://www.cec.org/Page.asp?PageI
D=924&SiteNodeID=565&AA_SiteL
anguageID=2) donne accès à une
carte-affiche et à des données sur la
couverture terrestre. Une carte similaire était offerte sous forme de supplément dans le numéro de décembre
2009 de la revue Canadian
Geographic.
Division de l’acquisition des données :
Faciliter l’accès aux données
satellite d’observation de
la Terre pour les Canadiens
La Division de l’acquisition des données (DAD) assure au gouvernement du
Canada et au public canadien l’accès à des
images satellite qu’elle reçoit par l’entremise d’un réseau d’installations régies par le
gouvernement et de services d’intendance
de données satellite d’observation de la
Terre afin d’offrir des données spatiales
d’OT dans le format requis, au moment
requis, et ce, gratuitement dans la mesure
du possible.
La DAD a mis en œuvre un nouveau
modèle opérationnel comprenant des stations de réception de données satellite
exploitées par le secteur privé et des systèmes de gestion de données satellite mis au
point, exploités et gérés par le gouvernement du Canada. Ainsi, la DAD a pu
introduire un mode d’opération modulaire qui offre la possibilité d’ajouter de
nouvelles sources de données et d’intégrer d’autres stations au réseau; qui permet d’améliorer les communications
pour la livraison et l’accessibilité des
images satellite; et qui suscite la participation du secteur privé.
Étant donné que les satellites
d’OT se déplacent sur une orbite près
du pôle Nord, la position géographique
du Canada dans le Nord lui donne un
important avantage concurrentiel dans
le domaine de la télédétection à
l’échelle mondiale. La station satellite
Inuvik (SSI) est située dans l’une des
collectivités les plus nordiques du
Canada afin d’avoir le meilleur accès à
des données satellite essentielles.
La situation de la SSI dans
l’Arctique lui permet de recevoir des
données sur le Nord canadien dès
qu’elles sont captées par les satellites,
de les livrer très rapidement et de surveiller cette région stratégique en
temps quasi réel.
La SSI a été établie grâce au soutien de 15! partenaires et intervenants
internationaux du secteur privé et de
tous les niveaux de gouvernement. Elle
est exploitée selon un modèle de partenariat public-privé. Le projet a été entrepris en janvier! 2009 et la première
antenne de la station satellite a été installée par le Centre aérospatial allemand
en collaboration avec la société canadienne PrioraNet Canada. La station
satellite a été inaugurée en août!2010 et
prend déjà de l’expansion afin de
répondre aux besoins additionnels.
Division des levés géodésiques
La Division des levés géodésiques (DLG) fournit les normes pour
les mesures de latitude, de longitude,
d’altitude et de gravité partout au
Canada et observe les déplacements
de la masse continentale pour les
besoins des géosciences et de la géomatique. Le Système canadien de référence spatiale (SCRS) est à la base de
toutes les activités nationales de géoréférencement et de cartographie, notamment l’Infrastructure canadienne de
GEOMATICA 63
données géospatiales, et constitue la
norme spécifiée pour GéoBase.
La DLG favorise le positionnement par géolocalisation et navigation
par un système de satellites (GNSS)
plutôt que par l’infrastructure vieillissante du canevas géodésique matérialisé par des repères au moyen de techniques classiques de levés au sol.
L’utilisation de l’outil Web de positionnement ponctuel précis du SCRS a
augmenté de 178!% au cours de l’année qui s’est terminée en mars! 2010,
tandis que, simultanément, l’accès au
réseau classique subissait une réduction. La DLG vise à accroître la collecte et l’analyse de données à l’aide du
système de positionnement global
(GPS), afin d’inclure également les
constellations de satellites du système
GLONASS russe et du système
Galileo européen au cours des prochaines années, alors que les premiers
résultats du système GLONASS ont
été obtenus récemment.
La modernisation du système de
référence altimétrique représente un
nouveau moyen de déterminer les altitudes au-dessus du niveau de la mer.
Le système de référence actuel
(Système canadien de référence altimétrique de 1928 - CGVD28) est
constitué d’un réseau de repères de
nivellement. La modernisation, prévue pour 2013, permettra d’effectuer
des mesures de l’altitude partout au
pays au moyen des technologies du
GNSS. La modernisation du Réseau
de normalisation canadien de la gravimétrie est également en cours, et les
mesures sur le terrain devraient être
terminées en 2012.
Les mesures géodésiques sont de
plus en plus importantes pour les applications géoscientifiques. Des mesures
précises du mouvement vertical du sol
sont actuellement utilisées pour comprendre les tendances du niveau de la
mer dans la région arctique, l’extraction d’hydrocarbures/gaz dans le delta
du Mackenzie et l’hydrologie du bassin des Grands Lacs. La gravimétrie
par satellite est utilisée pour étudier les
changements de la teneur totale en eau
dans la région des Grands Lacs et,
récemment, la collecte de données gra64 GEOMATICA
vimétriques dans l’Arctique a servi à cartographier la topographie du fond marin, permettant ainsi de déterminer la frontière
canadienne au large des côtes.
Un plan stratégique de haut niveau
pour la DLG a été approuvé et rendu public
(http://www.geod.nrcan.gc.ca/plan_f.php)
en 2009, coïncidant avec un important
renouvellement des ressources humaines et
organisationnelles. Un plan détaillé de mise
en œuvre stratégique sera lancé publiquement en 2011. La DLG vise à accroître la
collaboration de la communauté scientifique et du gouvernement fédéral en ce qui
concerne le GNSS.
Direction de l’information cartographique
La Direction de l’information cartographique (DIC) a été créée en 2008 par la
fusion de la Direction des services cartographiques et de la Direction de la gestion
et de la diffusion des données. La DIC
fournit des données géospatiales et géoscientifiques fiables sur la masse continentale du Canada, afin d’améliorer la sécurité et la protection des Canadiens, d’appuyer la gestion des ressources naturelles
et des terres du Canada, et de promouvoir
la compétitivité du secteur des ressources.
La Direction est chargée de la production
et de la diffusion des données géospatiales
utilisées par de larges segments de l’économie, notamment l’industrie canadienne
de la géomatique, et dans des applications
de grande diffusion sur des plateformes
comme les téléphones intelligents.
Données géospatiales accessibles,
fiables et à jour
Au cours de la période de 2008 à
2011, la DIC a mis à jour, amélioré et facilité l’accès à ses produits géospatiaux,
orientant les efforts du gouvernement
fédéral en vue de rendre les données
accessibles en ligne, sans frais et sans restriction. La transition vers un accès sans
frais pour une gamme de produits a été
sans contredit un franc succès, résultant en
une augmentation considérable des téléchargements à partir du portail GéoGratis
(http://www.GeoGratis.gc.ca/).
Les données topographiques de base
de la DIC sont disponibles sur le portail
GéoGratis en plusieurs formats vectoriels et
matriciels, de même que par l’intermédiaire
d’un service de cartes Web (SCW). Le service de cartes Web Toporama (SCW-
Toporama), mis à jour en 2009, comprend des données topographiques
offertes sous forme de 16!couches d’information groupées par type à différentes échelles, offrant plusieurs
options pour la représentation des données afin de répondre aux besoins des
utilisateurs. Les mises à jour des données topographiques sont diffusées à
intervalles de six mois. Les données
topographiques sont générées à partir
du Réseau hydro national (RHN) et du
Réseau routier national (RRN), et
recueillies dans le cadre de l’initiative
GéoBase (http://www.GeoBase.ca/)
par les partenaires provinciaux et territoriaux.
L’Atlas
du
Canada
(http://atlas.NRCan.gc.ca/) fournit en
ligne des cartes thématiques officielles sur divers sujets, notamment la
population et la société, l’environnement, l’économie, l’histoire, ainsi que
d’autres questions spécifiques et pertinentes, importantes pour les
Canadiens. La 6e édition de l’Atlas est
continuellement mise à jour afin de
refléter l’évolution du contexte. En
2009 et 2010, 70!nouvelles cartes ont
été publiées en ligne, y compris une
série de cartes accompagnées d’une
analyse des données nationales et
régionales obtenues lors du recensement de 2006, résultant d’un partenariat pluriannuel avec Statistique
Canada. Une série spéciale de cartes
interactives de l’Atlas du Canada a été
diffusée avant la tenue des Jeux olympiques d’hiver de 2010 à Vancouver.
Le Secrétariat de la Commission
de toponymie du Canada (CTC),
hébergé au sein de la DIC, est chargé
d’appuyer les activités de la
Commission, en maintenant une base
de données officielle des toponymes
du Canada, pour répondre à toutes les
questions courantes de toponymie
relatives au Canada (http://geonames.NRCan.gc.ca). Divers aspects
de la toponymie, tels que l’attribution
de noms autochtones et les questions
relatives au Nord canadien, sont devenus un élément clé de la contribution
de RNCan à la CTC. En 2010, les
toponymes sont devenus accessibles
sans frais sur le portail GéoBase.
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
Cartographier le Canada
À la suite de vastes consultations
avec des groupes d’intervenants
nationaux en 2008, la Direction de
l’information cartographique a entrepris la production d’une nouvelle
génération de cartes topographiques
du Canada. Les régions géographiques visées par une mise à jour ont
été déterminées d’après les commentaires de divers intervenants et clients,
tout en tenant compte des initiatives
prioritaires en matière de cartographie. En 2009, de nouvelles cartes
topographiques couvrant les bassesterres continentales de la ColombieBritannique ont été publiées en vue
d’appuyer les Jeux olympiques d’hiver de 2010. Au troisième trimestre de
la période 2010-2011, la production
avait dépassé 1000! nouvelles cartes,
et les efforts ont porté particulièrement sur la cartographie de grandes
zones du Nord canadien qui n’avaient
jamais été cartographiées à l’échelle
de 1/50!000.
Pour créer de nouvelles cartes
topographiques, la DIC a mis au point
un Générateur de cartes, un système de
production spécialisé utilisant la technologie de pointe des systèmes d’information géographique (SIG). Au moyen
d’une série de procédés, le système
extrait automatiquement les données
d’une base de données géographiques,
attribue des symboles aux entités cartographiques, positionne le texte et,
finalement, fait l’habillage final de la
carte. Le Générateur de cartes a permis
d’augmenter la production à 800!cartes
topographiques par année. Des versions numériques prêtes à tracer de
cartes mises à jour sont disponibles en
ligne sur le portail GéoGratis, tandis
que des versions imprimées sont toujours offertes par l’entremise d’un
réseau d’imprimeurs de cartes certifiés
et de distributeurs régionaux.
Renouvellement de
GéoConnexions
En 2010, le gouvernement du
Canada a annoncé le renouvellement
de son engagement pour le programme
GéoConnexions (http://www.geoconVol. 65, No. 1, 2011
nections.ca/), et y a alloué un financement
de 11!millions de dollars pour une période
de deux ans. GéoConnexions soutient l’intégration et l’utilisation de l’Infrastructure
canadienne de données géospatiales
(ICDG). L’ICDG est une ressource en ligne
qui permet d’améliorer le partage, l’accès et
l’utilisation de l’information géospatiale.
Elle aide les décideurs de tous les niveaux
de gouvernement, du secteur privé, des
organismes non gouvernementaux et du
milieu universitaire à prendre de meilleures
décisions sur les priorités sociales, économiques et environnementales.
La phase précédente du programme
GéoConnexions a fourni des fonds au secteur canadien de la géomatique afin de
développer des applications pour les décideurs dans quatre domaines prioritaires,
notamment! : la santé publique, la sécurité
publique et nationale, l’environnement et le
développement durable, ainsi que les questions d’importance pour les peuples autochtones. Grâce à cet engagement renouvelé,
GéoConnexions continuera à assurer le leadership et la coordination pour l’utilisation
de données géospatiales en vue d’un processus décisionnel efficace et, avec les principaux intervenants, permettra l’élaboration
de politiques stratégiques dans le domaine
de la géomatique. Les nouvelles priorités de
GéoConnexions consistent à promouvoir la
prise de conscience des nouvelles applications de l’information géospatiale et à sensibiliser les intervenants à l’importance de
solutions interopérables par l’adoption de
politiques et de normes opérationnelles.
Les objectifs de GéoConnexions
seront atteints dans le cadre des activités
suivantes!:
•
•
•
l’élaboration et la mise en œuvre de
stratégies et de politiques nationales à
long terme en géomatique, en partenariat avec les intervenants de l’ICDG;
faire progresser les politiques et les
normes opérationnelles nécessaires à
la réalisation de l’ICDG, y compris
l’élaboration d’outils et de ressources
pour aider les organisations à intégrer
l’ICDG dans leurs pratiques;
collaborer avec la communauté de la
géomatique pour mener à terme
l’ICDG en élaborant des politiques
appuyant l’utilisation de données géospatiales, en encourageant l’adoption
de normes et en assurant le leadership et la coordination dans le
domaine de la géomatique au
Canada.
Pour l’avenir, un nouveau modèle
opérationnel dans le domaine géospatial est mis en œuvre pour la DIC, dont
les priorités seront de compléter la
cartographie du Nord canadien; de
mettre en ligne un portail unique permettant aux Canadiens de chercher, de
découvrir, d’évaluer et d’obtenir des
données géographiques essentielles;
de procéder à une remise en question
fondamentale des efforts déployés en
cartographie à l’échelle du pays; et
d’établir le rôle de la DIC en matière
de gestion des connaissances basées
sur la localisation, comme étant essentiel pour améliorer la prospérité du
Canada sur les plans social, économique et environnemental.
Ann Martin, Directrice, Division de
la diffusion des données, Direction de
l’information cartographique
Secteur des sciences de la Terre
Ressources naturelles Canada
http://ess.nrcan.gc.ca/
http://sst.rncan.gc.ca/
Parks Canada
Historical Context
The Parks Canada Agency (PCA)
manages 42 National Parks, 4 National
Marine Conservation Areas, 167
National Historic Sites, and commemorates over 1500 places, persons, and
events of national historic significance.
The PCA has been using GIS and other
geomatics technologies to improve
decision-making since the late 1970s.
Since then, the Agency’s reliance on
geomatics has grown and we now
spend a little more than 1% of our
salary budget working directly with
GIS. Over the last thirty years, GIS
activity in Parks Canada has been
largely project-based. There are 70
GEOMATICA 65
people who use the software for more
than 50% of their average work week
and another 155 people who are occasional users of GIS.
In many organizations, GIS
matures in one or two functional
areas. At some point, the leaders of
the organization realize that there are
advantages to having it serve all functions, and Parks Canada is no exception to this pattern. Recently, our top
executive committee decided that
geomatics staff members need to
serve all functions within the agency.
Under this decision, the functional
lead for geomatics now rests with the
Chief Information Officer (CIO), geomatics specialists continue to report to
their usual managers and each of
those managers must ensure that the
geomatics priorities of the entire business unit are met.
Vision and Strategies for
Geomatics in Parks Canada:
The vision for Geomatics within
Parks Canada is a simple one:
“Geomatics is applied to the top priorities of each business unit as efficiently as possible, and is funded in
proportion to the benefit it provides to
the Agency.”
To realize the vision, Parks Canada
is using the following seven strategies:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Coordinated GIS Planning at The
National, Service Centre, and
Field Levels;
Development of Corporate
Geomatics Applications;
Development of a GIS Infrastructure;
Implementation of Geospatial
Information Management Standards;
Provision of Tools, Training, and
Best Practices;
Increased Awareness by Managers
of How Geomatics Contributes to
Business Outcomes; and
Development and Implementation
of a Geomatics Accountability
Framework.
Progress
Over the past couple of years,
Parks Canada has made progress on
some of these initiatives:
66 GEOMATICA
1. Coordinated GIS Planning
In 2007, PCA completed a GIS User
Needs Analysis (UNA) for 6 Sites across
the Agency using the Tomlinson methodology. Since then, PCA has refined the
UNA methodology and adopted it as the
agency standard for identifying GIS
requirements. Last year, Parks Canada
began a national UNA for the top priority
corporate applications, and defined
requirements for the National Integrated
Realty System, the GIS Atlas, and Internet
Maps for Visitors.
2. Development of Corporate
Geomatics Applications
Parks Canada is currently evaluating
contract proposals for the National
Integrated Realty System. The system will
increase the efficiency of 50 Parks Canada
Realty Officers. It will also enable them to
share Realty GIS data (property ownership
records, lease and licence information) with
the rest of the agency and between PCA
and Canada Centre for Cadastral
Management (Natural Resources Canada’s
Surveyor General Branch) and the
Directory of Federal Real Property (compiled by the Treasury Board of Canada).
Last year Parks Canada developed a
prototype for the GIS Atlas. The Atlas is a
web-based tool that, when implemented,
will serve basic desktop maps to the ~
4000 Parks Canada employees who do not
have the time or skills to access projectbased GIS information.
This year, Parks Canada is completing a prototype for a national Area
Closure Management System that is
required by several systems. It will help
field-staff manage and communicate areas
of national parks that are closed due to
problem wildlife or forest fires. When
implemented, the application will reduce
risk to wildlife, employees, and the public,
and help PCA document the steps it took in
the management of each closure.
Over the last two years, Parks Canada
developed two successive prototypes of an
Internet map system for visitors to
National Parks and National Historic
Sites. The system, if funded, would help
the Agency address issues of “competitive
position”, the top risk identified by the
2010 Parks Canada Corporate Plan. We
have been working with the Inter-Agency
Committee on Geomatics (IACG) SubCommittee on Web Mapping Common
Look and Feel & Accessibility to better understand how we can provide
trip-planning information to audiences
in a way that meets or exceeds federal
government standards, while offering
a fast, engaging, and visually pleasing
map application.
3. Geomatics Infrastructure
Last year, Parks Canada constructed a development-environment
GIS Infrastructure that is replicating
test GIS data from data stewards in 20
national parks to a central server. The
Infrastructure also manages a national
map-cache. To help ease the processing burden of episodic map-cache
builds (these take a couple of weeks),
Parks Canada developed a “deltacaching-script” that regularly rebuilds
only those portions of the national
map cache that need to change due to
edits of the underlying geodatabase.
Pending funding, the system will be
moved to a production environment in
the next fiscal year.
4. Provision of Tools, Training,
and Best Practices
A few years ago, PCA consolidated
software licences onto several licence
servers. This has allowed PCA to provide almost the full suites of ESRI and
PCI software to all geomatics employees, while saving tens of thousands of
dollars per year in licence costs. We also
offer shared licensing for some Trimble,
Idrisi, and Leica software products.
What is Next?
Over the next three years, Parks
Canada will continue to use the GIS
UNA methodology to define requirements of top agency priorities. Two of
the priorities identified thus far are:
1.
2.
a GIS component for an asset
management system, and
a law enforcement / incident
management / central dispatch
occurrence tracking system.
All of the Product Descriptions
from the national UNA will be rolled
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
up to refine technical requirements of the
GIS Infrastructure, and to define an
agency-wide GIS Data Model that will
be used by data stewards at their local
sites. Because everyone will be following a consistent data model, the
Infrastructure will be able to replicate
data from the national parks and historic
sites to a central database, and on to the
consuming applications. Once these data
sets have been assembled nationally,
Parks Canada will be able to share them
with other government departments and
with the public through the Canadian
Geospatial Data Infrastructure.
Within the next two years, Parks
Canada plans to develop and implement
Geospatial
Information
Management Standards. Successful
implementation of the standards will
help preserve the value of our geospatial data assets, and ensure that they
can be discovered and shared where
appropriate. Parks Canada will continue to work with the IACG SubCommittee on the Implementation of
the Treasury Board Standard on
Geospatial Data.
Remember Where the Real Work
is Happening
It is important to remember, that
while all of this organizing work proceeds at a corporate level, Parks Canada
still has about 225 people conducting
project-based geomatics activity to
meet day-to-day and year-to-year business requirements at the departmental
and field office levels. This activity
ranges from evaluating species-at-risk
habitat, creating State of the Park
Reports, modeling environmental
assessments, helping to find lost people,
and helping to manage forest fires. The
challenge for Parks Canada will be
developing and implementing the
national systems, standards, and bestpractices while maintaining the productivity of its employees.
Brock Fraser
Geomatics Coordinator
Parks Canada Agency
http://www.pc.gc.ca
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
Parcs Canada
1.
Contexte
2.
L’Agence Parcs Canada (APC) gère
42 parcs nationaux, 4 aires marines nationales de conservation, 167 lieux historiques nationaux et commémore plus de
1500 lieux, personnages et évènements
d’importance historique nationale. L’APC
utilise les systèmes d’information géographique (SIG) et la géomatique depuis la
fin des années 1970 pour aider la prise de
décision. Jusqu’à très récemment, la géomatique à Parcs Canada a principalement
été utilisée et implantée projet par projet.
L’utilisation de ces outils est croissante et
maintenant un peu plus de 1!% du budget
en salaires est consacré aux activités de
géomatique. Actuellement, il y a 70 utilisateurs principaux (plus de la moitié de
leur semaine moyenne de travail) et 155
utilisateurs occasionnels des outils géomatique, répartis entre le bureau national, les
centres de services (régional) et les unités
de gestion (local).
Dans la plupart des organisations, la
géomatique est utilisée pour répondre à un
besoin spécifique. Parcs Canada ne fait
pas exception à cette règle. Pourtant, les
avantages sont nombreux à élargir l’utilisation de la géomatique à l’ensemble des
activités d’une organisation. Dans cette
optique, le comité exécutif a récemment
décidé que les employés en géomatique
devraient fournir un soutien à l’ensemble
des activités de l’Agence.
Dorénavant, la géomatique est sous la
responsabilité du dirigeant principal de
l’information (DPI) et les spécialistes en
géomatique demeurent sous la responsabilité de leurs gestionnaires respectifs et
l’ensemble doit veiller à rencontrer les
priorités entières de l’Agence.
3.
Vision et stratégies pour la
géomatique à Parcs Canada La vision de la géomatique à Parcs
Canada est très simple!: «!La géomatique
est appliquée aux priorités de la façon la
plus efficace possible et est financée en
proportion des bénéfices qu’elle fournit à
l’Agence!».
Pour mettre en œuvre cette vision,
Parcs Canada a défini sept stratégies!:
4.
5.
6.
7.
Planification coordonnée des SIG
aux niveaux national, régional et
local;
Développement d’applications
corporatives en géomatique;
Développement d’une infrastructure SIG;
Mise en place de normes de gestion de l’information géospatiale;
Rendre disponible les outils, la
formation et les pratiques exemplaires;
Sensibilisation des gestionnaires à
la contribution de la géomatique
pour l’amélioration de la prise de
décision et l’atteinte des objectifs
stratégiques ;
Développement et mise en œuvre
d’un cadre de responsabilisation
de la géomatique.
État d’avancement
Depuis la définition de la vision
en géomatique, Parcs Canada a réalisé
des progrès sur quelques unes de ses
stratégies.
1. Planification coordonnée des SIG
En 2007, APC a complété une
analyse des besoins des utilisateurs
(ABU) de SIG pour six sites dans
l’agence en utilisant la méthodologie
de Tomlinson. Depuis, l’APC a raffiné
la méthodologie des ABU et l’a adopté
comme norme pour l’identification des
besoins en SIG. L’an passé, Parcs
Canada a commencé une ABU nationale pour identifier les applications
corporatives prioritaires et a déterminé les besoins du Système intégré
national de l’immobilier, l’Atlas SIG
et la cartographie Internet pour les
visiteurs.
2. Développement d’applications
corporatives en géomatique
Parcs Canada est en train d’évaluer les propositions de contrat pour le
Système intégré national de l’immobilier (SINI). Ce système permettra de
partager les données spatiales de la
gestion des biens (registre de propriété des biens, baux et licences) avec le
reste du personnel de l’Agence tout en
augmentant l’efficacité des 50 agents
du service immobilier. Ces données
GEOMATICA 67
seront également partagées avec le
Centre canadien de gestion cadastrale
(Direction de l’arpenteur général de
Ressources naturelles Canada) et la
Direction du Répertoire des biens
immobiliers fédéraux (compilation du
Conseil du Trésor du Canada).
L’an passé Parcs Canada a développé un projet-pilote pour l’Atlas
SIG. L’Atlas est un outil Web qui,
lorsque mis en œuvre, rendra accessibles des cartes de base pour l’ensemble des employés (environ 4!000)
qui n’ont pas les connaissances ou le
temps pour accéder aux données de
projets SIG.
Cette année, Parcs Canada est en
train de compléter un prototype pour
un système de fermeture de zones qui
est requis par plusieurs autres systèmes. Ce dernier aidera les employés
sur le terrain à la gestion et à la communication des zones de fermetures
dans les parcs en raison de la faune ou
de feux de forêt. Lorsque mise en
œuvre, l’application réduira le risque
pour la faune, les employés et le public
et aidera aussi l’APC à documenter les
étapes qu’elle a utilisées pour la gestion de chaque zone de fermeture.
Depuis 2008, Parcs Canada a
développé deux prototypes successifs
pour un système de cartographie
Internet pour les visiteurs des parcs
nationaux et lieux historiques nationaux. Ce système vise à positionner
l’Agence par rapport à la concurrence,
aspect identifié comme le plus haut
risque dans le plan d’entreprise 2010.
La collaboration avec le sous-comité
de la normalisation des sites et l’accessibilité pour la cartographie Internet du
Comité mixte des organismes intéressés à la géomatique (CMOIG) a permis
de comprendre les besoins en information pour la planification de voyages.
L’objectif est d’atteindre ou surpasser
les normes du gouvernement fédéral
tout en offrant une application cartographique rapide, participative et
conviviale.
3. Infrastructure SIG
L’an passé, Parcs Canada a mis
en place une infrastructure SIG en
mode développement permettant la
68 GEOMATICA
réplication des données spatiales de 20
parcs nationaux vers un serveur central.
Un des principaux obstacles identifiés a
été la gestion de la cache cartographique
nationale. Pour remédier à cette problématique, Parcs Canada a développé un script
de création de caches à partir des deltas
afin de réduire cette pression sur les ressources informatiques. Le script ne refait
pas la cache en entier à chaque fois mais
bien seulement les parties ayant changé
dans la géodatabase sous-jacente. Suite à
un financement, ce système serait transféré vers un environnement de production
dès l’an prochain.
4. Outils, formation et pratiques
exemplaires
Il y a quelques années, Parcs Canada a
consolidé la gestion des droits d’utilisation
des logiciels géomatiques sur des serveurs
de licences. Cette pratique a permis de
rendre accessible, à tout le personnel en
géomatique, l’ensemble des produits ESRI
et PCI tout en économisant plusieurs milliers de dollars. Des licences partagées sont
également disponibles pour d’autres produits offerts par Trimble, Idrisi et Leica.
applications corporatives et permettra
à Parcs Canada de partager les données avec d’autres organismes gouvernementaux et le public par l’entremise de l’Infrastructure canadienne de
données géospatiales (ICDG).
L’Agence planifie également de
développer et de mettre en place des
normes pour la gestion de l’information géospatiale. Ces normes aideront
à préserver la valeur des données géospatiales et faciliteront le partage et la
découverte des données. En ce sens,
Parcs Canada poursuivra sa collaboration avec le sous-comité du CMOIG
qui est chargé de la mise en œuvre des
normes du Conseil du Trésor du
Canada sur les données géospatiales.
1.
un système de gestion des biens
2.
un système de suivi pour l’application
de la loi, la gestion des incidents et la
répartition centralisée des incidents.
Souvenez-vous d’où le vrai travail
est fait Malgré l’avancement de toutes ces
initiatives nationales, spécifions qu’il y
a plus de 225 utilisateurs qui répondent
quotidiennement à des demandes
reliées aux opérations courantes de
géomatique pour les parcs et lieux
historiques nationaux. Ces tâches touchent plusieurs activités et programmes reliés au mandat de Parcs
Canada tels, l’évaluation des habitats
des espèces en péril, la création de
rapports sur l’état des parcs, la modélisation d’évaluations environnementales, l’aide pour trouver les personnes
disparues, la gestion des feux de forêt,
etc. Le défi pour Parcs Canada sera de
développer et de mettre en œuvre ces
systèmes nationaux, les normes pour la
gestion de l’information et les pratiques
exemplaires tout en maintenant les
activités et la productivité des utilisateurs de la géomatique.
L’ensemble des besoins nationaux
identifiés par l’ABU sera compilé pour
raffiner les besoins techniques de l’infrastructure géomatique et définir des
modèles de données nationaux qui seront
utilisés localement dans les différents
sites. Avec l’utilisation d’un modèle de
données commun, il sera possible de répliquer les données à partir des parcs et lieux
historiques nationaux à une base centrale
de données. Cette base centrale de données sera utilisée pour les différentes
Brock Fraser
Coordonnateur de la géomatique
Agence Parcs Canada
http://www.pc.gc.ca
Et ensuite?
Dans les trois prochaines années,
Parcs Canada continuera d’utiliser la
méthodologie de l’ABU de SIG pour définir les besoins des priorités de l’Agence.
À ce jour, les deux priorités identifiées
sont de mettre en place une composante
géomatique pour :
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
Argentia Remediation
Public Works and
(2003 to present)
Government Services Project
With an 8000 hectare former US Naval
Canada
Base the Argentia project team’s goal was
The
Public
Works
and
Government
Services
Canada
(PWGSC) Atlantic have continued to
develop innovative ways to use webbased GIS management tools since
1994. From major crown construct
projects, to complex remediation programs and nation-wide business programs, web-based GIS software has
provided the PWGSC with an efficient and remote access based system.
It provides a single, secure, audit
ready, repository of geographic and
textual data with direct remote population, query, analysis, reporting and
dissemination capabilities. The innovative use of this application with
other off the shelf applications has
enabled multiple stakeholders, both
government and industry, to exchange
information quickly and efficiently in
a safe and secure web-based environment. Using Autodesk MapGuide,
ESRI IMS, ESRI ArcServer, SQL
Enterprise and Oracle database technologies linked with other software
such as MS Share Point, the PWGSC
Atlantic has managed complex projects. These include the Confederation
Bridge construction project connecting New Brunswick and Prince
Edward Island, remediation projects
such as the Sydney Tar Ponds and
Coke Ovens Project, Cape Breton
Development Corporation (CBDC)
Mine Closure Program, the Argentia,
Newfoundland, US naval base closure, and the national business structure of the Accelerated Infrastructure
Program in the Atlantic region. GIS
based data management provides an
ongoing project management tool in
spatial organization and presentation
that is efficient and easy for multi
level usage.
The following projects demonstrate examples of how GIS was or is
used to facilitate and manage some
major crown projects:
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
to compile and summarize fifty years of
information from the US Navy as well as
integrate environmental assessment and
remediation projects into a single repository. The web-based GIS application enabled
the project team, private industry and a land
management group to quickly view environmental investigation work as well as
general project information through one
application—ESRI ArcIMS.
The Argentia GIS application includes
a site summary tool that is linked to a
library of digital documents. The site summary tool lists information regarding project files, summary of work, contaminates of
concern, remedial action plans, status, year
of work, environmental site assessments,
links to photos, and a project library.
Studies and projects were both areal
and linear. To ensure site information was
effectively captured during the close out
reporting process, reports were geographically identified using a US Army grid system overlay on the GIS. With the touch of
a button the project team was able to
access a list of all reports for any one grid
(100 yard area).
Cape Breton Development
Corporation (CBDC) Mine
Closure Program (2002-present)
A GIS application is used to manage
the CBDC mine closure program. It facilitates the management of property mapping
and aerial photographs, site photos, health
and safety, and environmental information
for over 700 sites associated with former
coal mining operations. The application
provides tools to search and sort property
details, environmental assessment reports,
and figures, analytical data and historical
mine working details—using Autodesk
MapGuide.
As an example, the former Princess
Mine Site underwent environmental site
investigations, remedial action planning,
and design and remediation construction
all aided through the information sharing
between consultants, the PWGSC and the
CBDC project managers.
The additional feature this site
offers is the extensive mapping of mine
workings and information on mine
openings. Many properties owned by
the CBDC are located on or near one of
many coal seam outcrops (intersects
between the ground surfaces). This
near surface coal was subject to bootlegging, subsidence and/or mine water
issues. In addition, many properties
were retained by the CBDC because
they are the site of former mine operations with shafts or other engineered
openings. The mine mapping GIS
overlay allows easy reference to identify any of these issues or more importantly for health and safety issues related to ground stability assurance during
remediation construction.
Sydney Tar Ponds and
Coke Ovens Remediation
Project (2005-present)
After a hundred years of steel
production, the GIS provides historical and current environmental and
remediation data in a spatial format. It
(ESRI Arc Server and SQL Server) is
linked directly to a MS SharePoint
application to ensure efficient
exchange of documents and pictures
to one location while still being accessible through multiple web-based
environments. Information gathered
and filed during the Project in
Sharepoint is linked to the GIS application to track progress as well as
store valuable information.
Alana Devanney
GIS Specialist, PWGSC
Belinda Campbell
Environmental Specialist/Engineer
Public Works and Government
Services Canada
http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/
GEOMATICA 69
Statistics Canada—
Geography Division
Statistics Canada’s Geography
Division is the centre of excellence
for geography subject matter and
Geographic Information Systems
(GIS) for Statistics Canada. The division’s services include the creation
and management of spatial data
frames and the provision of data and
tools to support the Agency’s collection activities and dissemination of
statistical data. The four major elements of the division’s program are:
management and maintenance of the
Spatial Data Infrastructure; management and maintenance of the Address
Register; development of geographic
concepts; and the provision of geographic products and services. In
addition,
Statistics
Canada’s
Geography Division collaborates with
all levels of government to foster the
development of a national geographic
system. This collaboration is essential
for developing strategies for efficient
and cost-effective acquisition of the
data required to maintain Statistics
Canada’s Spatial Data Infrastructure
and the Address Register.
The Spatial Data
Infrastructure
Geography Division develops and
maintains Statistics Canada’s Spatial
Data Infrastructure (SDI) consisting of
a series of databases in which the spatial data frame is maintained and
stored. A significant portion of this
frame is maintained jointly by
Statistics Canada and Elections
Canada
within
the
National
Geographic Database (NGD). The
NGD includes a national coverage of
roads (geometry, names, and address
ranges), the hydrographic network, and
the boundaries of the block structure.
These data are used to produce spatial
data products (e.g. maps, reference
files) and enable the geocoding of the
Address Register to geographic areas.
A key data requirement for the
maintenance of the SDI is named and
70 GEOMATICA
addressed road network source data. In
conjunction with Natural Resources
Canada and Elections Canada, agreements
on road network source data for British
Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec,
Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and the
Yukon have been established providing
provincial/territorial sources for named
and addressed road network data.
Over time, the division intends to align
its road network data to the geometry of
provincial/territorial source datasets, when
and where a high quality source is available. Once this activity is completed in a
province, the geometry of the division’s
road network will be very similar to that of
the provincial network. This should result
in more efficient updating of the more than
1.3 million kilometres of road network. It
will also make it easier for provincial data
users to integrate Statistics Canada’s small
area boundaries, and related statistical data,
within their own databases.
The Address Register
The Address Register (AR) is updated
using administrative data sources, field
listing, and survey feedback results to
maintain the list of dwellings in the AR.
Historically, the AR has been used by the
census as a coverage field check and for
the 2006 Census as a list frame for purposes of collection in mail-out areas. The
AR is now being used by other household
surveys as a frame, and this use is expected to increase over time.
The division uses several maintenance processes which contribute to the
timeliness and accuracy of dwelling
addresses in the AR. First, all civic style
dwelling addresses (i.e. number, apartment
number, street name, type, and direction)
identified within census operations are
harvested from data holdings to update the
AR. After 2006, this resulted in the inclusion of nearly 96% of all 2006 Census
dwellings within the AR. Secondly, a quarterly updating process using several
administrative data sources is used. Lastly,
a field listing operation targeting small
areas where dwelling coverage in the AR
is of concern based on analysis of administrative source data is undertaken. The
results of this listing operation are then
used to update the AR.
Geographic Concepts
Geography Division defines and
develops sets of standard geographic
areas and subsequently delineates
these areas in support of the collection, analysis, and dissemination of
statistical data. The standard geographic areas for dissemination
include both administrative areas (e.g.
municipalities) and statistical areas
(e.g. census metropolitan areas). The
division monitors the evolution of the
municipal structure in Canada in order
to ensure an up-to-date set of legislated geographic areas are available and
included within the Standard
Geographical Classification System.
The division also works with provincial/territorial focal points, and
regional and local municipalities to
define sub-municipal geographic
areas to ensure the relevance of these
small geographic areas. In addition,
Geography Division develops, in conjunction with statistical programs, sets
of geographic areas for use by collection and processing activities.
Geography Division has undertaken a comprehensive review of the
methodology used in the delineation
of census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations (CMA/CA)
towards the 2016 Census. The
methodology for CMA/CA delineation was last fully reviewed in the
mid-1970s, with some updates made
since that time. As part of the review,
Statistics Canada will be consulting
with our stakeholders. The consultation will include key federal departments, provincial/territorial representatives, and key municipal stakeholder
groups, and subsequently produce a
report on a proposed methodology.
The report will be used to conduct a
broader consultation in late 2011. The
target is to define a new delineation
methodology by the end of 2012.
Geographic Products and
Services
A comprehensive suite of geographic products and services is created and widely used in the public, private, and academic sectors. Following
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
each census, Geography Division
releases a series of reference products
(e.g. reference maps, road network
file, boundary files) that enable users
to relate statistical data to geographic
areas, increasing the interpretability
of small area data. Geography
Division also ensures that its product
line is consistent with current industry
standards in the continually growing
field of GIS.
Geography Division collaborates
with all levels of government to foster
the development of a national geographic system. This collaboration is
essential for developing strategies for
efficient and cost effective acquisition
of the data required to maintain the
Spatial Data Infrastructure. The
development of national common
geographic data will contribute to the
continued improvement in the quality
of Statistics Canada’s data. In addition, the use of common geographic
data will benefit users who integrate
statistical data from various sources.
If you have any questions regarding Statistics Canada’s Geography
Division’s products or services,
please call GeoHelp at 613-951-3889
or email [email protected] .
Joe Kresovic
Director
Geography Division
Statistics Canada
http://statcan.gc.ca
Statistique Canada –
Division de la
géographie
La Division de la géographie agit
comme centre d’excellence pour les
secteurs spécialisés en géographie et
les Systèmes d’information géographique (SIG) de Statistique Canada.
Ces services fournis par la Division
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
comprennent la création et la gestion de
bases de données spatiales et la fourniture
de données et d’outils pour appuyer les
activités de collecte de l’agence et la diffusion des données statistiques. Les quatre
principaux éléments du programme de la
Division sont les suivants!: gestion et mise
à jour de l’Infrastructure de données spatiales; gestion et mise à jour du Registre
des adresses; développement de concepts
géographiques; fourniture de produits et
de services géographiques. En outre, la
Division collabore avec tous les ordres de
gouvernement pour favoriser l’élaboration
d’un système géographique national. Cette
collaboration est essentielle à l’élaboration
de stratégies en vue de l’acquisition efficace et rentable des données requises pour
tenir à jour l’Infrastructure de données
spatiales de Statistique Canada et le
Registre des adresses.
L’Infrastructure de
données spatiales
La Division de la géographie élabore
et met à jour l’Infrastructure de données
spatiales (IDS) de Statistique Canada, qui
comprend une série de bases de données
dans lesquelles est conservé et mis à jour
un cadre de données spatiales. Une part
importante de ce cadre est mise à jour
conjointement par Statistique Canada et
Élections Canada à l’intérieur de la Base
nationale de données géographiques
(BNDG). La BNDG comprend toutes les
routes au pays (géométrie, noms et
tranches d’adresses), le réseau hydrographique, ainsi que les limites de la structure des îlots. Ces données servent à élaborer des produits de données spatiales (p.
ex. cartes, fichiers de référence) et permettent le géocodage du Registre des adresses
en fonction des régions géographiques.
Des données source du réseau routier
comportant des noms et des adresses
constituent une exigence clé pour la mise à
jour de l’IDS. De concert avec Ressources
naturelles Canada et Élections Canada, des
ententes sur les données source du réseau
routier avec la Colombie-Britannique,
l’Alberta, l’Ontario, le Québec, la
Nouvelle-Écosse, l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard
et le Yukon ont été conclues pour fournir
des données du réseau routier comportant
des noms et des adresses provenant des
sources provinciales/territoriales.
Au fil du temps, la Division a l’intention d’aligner ses données du réseau
routier sur la géométrie des jeux de
données de sources provinciales/territoriales, dans les cas et où une source
de grande qualité est disponible. Une
fois que cette activité sera terminée
dans une province, la géométrie du
réseau routier de la Division sera très
similaire à celle du réseau provincial.
Cela devrait donner lieu à une mise à
jour plus efficace de plus de 1,3 million
de km du réseau routier. Cela facilitera
en outre la tâche des utilisateurs de
données provinciales pour l’intégration
des limites des petites régions de
Statistique Canada et des données statistiques connexes dans leurs propres
bases de données.
Le Registre des adresses
Le Registre des adresses (RA) est
mis à jour en utilisant des sources de
données administratives, le listage sur
le terrain et les mises à jour consécutives aux sondages pour maintenir la
liste des logements dans le RA.
Historiquement, le RA a été utilisé dans
le cadre du recensement comme outil
de vérification de la couverture sur le
terrain et, pour le Recensement de
2006, comme base de listes, aux fins de
la collecte dans les secteurs d’envoi par
la poste. Le RA est maintenant utilisé
comme base de sondage pour d’autres
enquêtes auprès des ménages et on
s’attend à ce que cette utilisation augmente avec le temps. La Division a mis
en œuvre plusieurs processus de mise à
jour, qui permettent d’améliorer l’actualité et l’exactitude des adresses des
logements au RA. Tout d’abord, toutes
les adresses de logements de type
municipal (c’est-à-dire, le numéro, le
numéro de l’appartement, le nom de la
rue, le type et la direction) identifiées
dans le cadre des opérations du
Recensement ont été recueillies à partir
des fonds de données, afin de mettre à
jour le RA. Après 2006, il en est résulté une inclusion de près de 96! % de
tous les logements du Recensement de
2006 dans le RA. En deuxième lieu, un
processus de mise à jour trimestrielle, à
partir de plusieurs sources de données
administratives, a été mis en œuvre.
GEOMATICA 71
Enfin, une opération de listage sur le
terrain a été lancée et visait les petites
régions où la couverture des logements
dans le RA suscite des préoccupations,
selon une analyse des données de
sources administratives. Les résultats
de cette opération de listage sont alors
utilisés pour mettre à jour le RA.
Les concepts
géographiques
La Division définit et élabore des
ensembles de régions géographiques
normalisées et par la suite, délimite ces
régions pour appuyer la collecte, l’analyse et la diffusion des données statistiques. Les régions géographiques normalisées aux fins de la diffusion comprennent à la fois des régions administratives (p.!ex. des municipalités) et des
régions statistiques (p.!ex. des régions
métropolitaines de recensement). La
Division suit de près l’évolution de la
structure des municipalités au Canada
afin de veiller à ce qu’un ensemble à
jour de régions géographiques définies
par la loi soit disponible et inclus dans
le système de Classification géographique type. La Division collabore en
outre avec les coordonnateurs statistiques provinciaux/territoriaux et les
municipalités, aux niveaux régional et
local, en vue de définir des régions
géographiques inframunicipales, afin
d’assurer la pertinence de ces petites
régions géographiques. En outre, la
Division élabore, de concert avec les
programmes
statistiques,
des
ensembles de régions géographiques
devant être utilisés pour les activités de collecte et de traitement.
La Division de la géographie a entrepris un examen exhaustif de la méthodologie utilisée pour délimiter les régions
métropolitaines de recensement et les
agglomérations
du
recensement
(RMR/AR) en vue du Recensement de
2016. La méthodologie pour la délimitation des RMR/AR a été passée en revue
complètement pour la dernière fois au
milieu des années!70, et certaines mises à
jour y ont été apportées depuis. Statistique
Canada consultera ses intervenants au
sujet de l’examen de la méthodologie de
délimitation des RMR/AR pour 2016. Les
consultations se tiendront auprès des
ministères fédéraux clés, les coordonnateurs statistiques provinciaux/territoriaux
et des groupes clés d’intervenants municipaux, et produira par la suite un rapport
sur la méthodologie proposée. Le rapport
sera utilisé pour procéder à une vaste
consultation à la fin de 2011. L’objectif
consiste à définir une nouvelle méthodologie de délimitation d’ici la fin de 2012.
Les produits et services
géographiques
Un ensemble exhaustif de produits et
de services géographiques est créé et est
largement utilisé par les secteurs public,
privé et universitaire. Après chaque recensement, la Division diffuse une série de
produits de référence (p.!ex. cartes de référence, fichier du réseau routier, fichiers des
limites), qui permettent aux utilisateurs de
faire un lien entre les données statistiques et les régions géographiques, ce
qui augmente l’intelligibilité des données régionales. La Division de la géographie veille à ce que ses gammes de
produits correspondent aux normes
actuelles de l’industrie dans le domaine des SIG.
La Division de la géographie collabore avec tous les ordres de gouvernement pour favoriser l’établissement
d’un système géographique national.
Cette collaboration est essentielle à
l’élaboration de stratégies, en vue de
l’acquisition efficace et rentable des
données requises pour tenir à jour
l’Infrastructure de données spatiales.
L’élaboration de données géographiques communes au niveau national
contribuera à l’amélioration continue
de la qualité des données de la Division.
En outre, l’utilisation de données géographiques communes profitera aux
utilisateurs qui intègrent des données
statistiques de diverses sources.
Si vous avez des questions au
sujet des produits et services de la
Division de la géographie de
Statistique Canada, veuillez communiquer avec Info-GÉO au 613-9513889 ou par courriel [email protected]. !
Joe Kresovic
Directeur
Division de la géographie
Statistique Canada
http://statcan.gc.ca
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Web site: www.cig-acsg.ca
72 GEOMATICA
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
PROVINCIAL
AND
TERRITORIAL
GOVERNMENT
ACTIVITIES
2007-2011
ALBERTA
Alberta Sustainable
Resource Development
The Ministry of Sustainable
Resource Development (SRD) administers Alberta’s
Surveys
Act.
Responsibilities in the act include
coordination of geographic information components such as provincial
positioning, mapping and land-related
information systems. As such, while
geographic information is becoming a
relevant or even a key part of business
in many Alberta ministries, SRD
serves as the lead ministry for the government on these issues. Spatial information underpins much of SRD’s business, but it is also recognized as a necessary component of orderly provincial
land-use planning and development.
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
While
the
Resource
Information
Management Branch (RIMB) within SRD
is responsible for the core base-mapping
features, there exists a mix of private sector,
not-for-profit and other government delivery mechanisms to create and maintain
related products and information.
Within the Alberta government, a
strategic approach to integrated program
delivery is a key focus. Two examples of
initiatives embodying integrated approaches include the Land-use Framework and
GeoDiscover Alberta.
and GIS-mapping data, which can be
found at: http://www.landuse.alberta.ca, along with much more information. The South Saskatchewan
Regional Advisory Council is expected to provide its advice to government
in December 2010. Land-use classification maps, land-use layers and GIS
mapping data files for the region will
be available on the website at that
time. Development of the remaining
five regional plans will follow.
Land-use Framework
The
GeoDiscover
Alberta
Program (GDA) evolved from the
Alberta Sustainable Resource and
Environmental Management (SREM)
Information-Sharing Initiative sponsored by the Departments of Energy,
Environment, Sustainable Resource
Development and the Energy
Resources Conservation Board. The
objective is to further the sharing of
geospatial information across the
Government of Alberta (GoA) and
between the GoA and its stakeholders.
The GeoDiscover Alberta vision
is based on a federated model with
multiple groups working together collaboratively to develop and implement shared policies, standards, information products and services, and
technical solutions. The objective of
The Land-use Framework (LUF) is a
bold, new approach to guide the way
Albertans use the land and natural
resources. Our intent is to manage our lands
wisely and ensure that Alberta remains a
great place to live, work, and raise a family
– for ourselves, our children and grandchildren. Under LUF, seven new land-use
regions were created based on watersheds
and rural municipal boundaries. Two priority regional plans were identified and are
underway—the Lower Athabasca and
South Saskatchewan regional plans. Each
region will have a regional advisory council to provide advice to the government as it
drafts the regional plans.
Advice from the Lower Athabasca
Regional Advisory Council included landuse classification maps, land-use layers
GeoDiscover Alberta
GEOMATICA 73
the program is to facilitate information sharing through development of a
framework and supporting tools to:
•
•
•
Identify and inventory land and
geographic information products;
Simplify access to these products
by establishing a cohesive portfolio of principles, policies, standards and best practices to enable
access to and sharing of information; and
Provide online access, evaluation, and basic analysis tools
using common services that link
authorized consumers to definitive sources of data and services.
Key accomplishments in 2009
and 2010 include the following:
•
•
•
Launched successfully a portal
accessible to all GoA staff, with
more than 200 data layers and
services;
Established a Policy Framework,
including Information and Data
Management Guidelines and a
Geospatial Metadata Standard;
and
Engaged an extended group of
GoA ministries in the definition
of definitive authoritative data
sources, shared acquisition of
data and services, and potential
provisioning of additional data
and information products.
Surveys and Technical
Services Section
Cadastral Mapping
Since 1997, Spatial Data
Warehouse Ltd. in partnership with
AltaLIS Ltd., has been responsible for
maintaining, marketing, managing,
and distributing the Government of
Alberta’s cadastral mapping data.
Maintenance of the data is supported
by digital plan submissions and collection of a $100 mapping fee for plans
registered at the Land Titles office.
The data depict block lines, lot
lines, lot numbers, road limits, right of
way limits, plan numbers, dimensions,
and other information found on plans
74 GEOMATICA
and is regularly updated. Approximately
11,000 new plans are integrated yearly.
Rural data are available within 6,550 townships and urban cities and towns data are
available in 69 communities. Rural data are
available in Universal Transverse Mercator
and 10-degree Transverse Mercator projections, and urban data are available in 3degree Transverse Mercator and 10-degree
Transverse Mercator projections.
Cadastral data are available in
MicroStation design file (DGN) and
AutoCad (DWG, DXF) formats and are
based on the NAD83 datum. The cities of
Calgary and Edmonton, federal lands and
Métis lands are not included in this dataset.
Additional information on cadastral
mapping in the province, including sample
data, can be found at the AltaLIS Ltd. Website:
http://www.altalis.com/prod_prop_cad.html
Disposition Mapping
The Digital Integrated Dispositions
(DIDs) initiative, which maps all public
land activities and new applications for
licences, leases, and permits (dispositions),
was completed on October 1, 2009, and
entered into a monthly update cycle. The
DIDs initiative facilitates effective and efficient land-use management and better decision-making for sustainable resource
development. In support of this mapping
initiative, new disposition plans are being
submitted in a digital, geo-referenced format. Currently, there are approximately
240,000 disposition activities on public
land plus an additional 10,000 new applications per year. This four-year project was
initiated on August 1, 2005, through an
arrangement with the Spatial Data
Warehouse Ltd. (SDW) and is being funded through the collection of a mapping fee
for each new disposition.
Additional information on disposition
mapping in the province, including sample
data, can be found at the AltaLIS Ltd. Website:
http://www.altalis.com/prod_prop_disp.html
Geodetic Control
The Geodetic Control Unit is primarily responsible for the maintenance and
enhancement of the provincial geodetic
spatial-referencing system and its associated infrastructure. The Unit is also tasked
with provision of technical support to
internal and external clients on various
issues related to surveying, mapping,
and geodesy. The Unit continues to
focus on development of High
Precision Networks (HPN) at the
municipal level, integration of Global
Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS)
base stations, height modernization,
and general maintenance of the geodetic spatial referencing system. The
Cities of Edmonton and Calgary continue to lead the way in terms of HPN
maintenance
and
expansion.
Discussion is on-going with various
GNSS base station service providers
regarding formal integration of base
stations into the geodetic spatial referencing system. With regard to the
modernization of the height reference
system in Alberta, the Unit continues
to validate data and prepare for migration to the new geoid-based vertical
datum, anticipated in late 2013.
Alberta’s Multipurpose Alberta
Surveys Control Operations and Tasks
(MASCOT) Survey System has been
updated to a web-based server environment using ORACLE Application
Server. MASCOT is used by the Unit
to load, edit, adjust, and publish
Alberta Survey Control data and forms
the backbone of the Unit’s establishment and maintenance of the provincial
geodetic spatial-referencing system.
Various other activities have been
undertaken in support of our internal
(departmental) and external clients.
Support was provided for such things
as: the NAD83 (Original) versus
NAD83 (CSRS) coordinate transformation grid; control marker coordinate
data and analysis for LiDAR data
acquisition; geoid model use in
Alberta; generation of coordinate data
sets for external users of the geodetic
spatial-referencing system; EDM calibration survey analysis; development
of standards and specifications for
GNSS surveying; and numerous oneoff requests for data or support related
to geodesy, surveying, and mapping.
Resource Information
Management Branch
The
Resource
Information
Management Branch (RIMB) is a
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
service organization with a primary
focus on developing and maintaining
a reliable land-information base to
which all other natural resource and
land-management information can be
related. Collectively, this information
serves as the foundation for informed
decision-making by resource managers within Alberta. These landinformation data are being managed
and maintained in a central corporate
repository providing provincial coverage and available in a format suitable
to support requirements for the
Government of Alberta, key stakeholders and the public.
The spatial mapping data collectively referred to as Base Features consist of six separate, but fully integrated
themes: Alberta Township System
(ATS), Hydrography, Hypsography
(DEM), Access, Facilities and
GeoAdministrative Areas. During the
2008/09 fiscal year, 696 townships of
Base Features Access were updated, as
well as 245 townships of hydrography
polygons (used for vegetation inventory updates). The whole province was
reviewed for facility activity, with
updates made accordingly.
The
Aerial
Photography
Acquisition Program for 2008/09 consisted of a total 112 projects. Of these,
32 projects were completed for
Sustainable Resource Development
(SRD) and 81 for Transportation. The
SRD projects covered approximately
12,725 km² and supported vegetation
inventories, forest harvest updates,
forest fire updates, land-use updates,
access / hydrography updates, and
biodiversity
monitoring.
The
Transportation projects were in support of highway / bridge alignment
and condition and gravel pit volumes.
Alberta is divided into three distinct areas for administrative purposes. The Green Area, located in the
northern and western portions of the
province, is primarily the unsettled
portion of the province and forested
lands not available for agricultural use
other than animal grazing. The White
Area, located chiefly in the southeast
portion of the province, consists primarily of agricultural lands. Alberta
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
also has substantial areas of federally controlled lands, national parks, and Indian
Reserves. Capturing Alberta Vegetation
Inventory information within the Green
Area is the responsibility of Sustainable
Resource Development (SRD) and
forestry companies with forest management agreements (FMAs).
The Grassland Vegetation Inventory
(GVI) is the Alberta Government’s inventory for the grassland and parkland natural
regions within the province’s White Area.
The inventory is a comprehensive assessment of this area’s landscape including
native vegetation, range site descriptions,
lentic and lotic features, and anthropogenic characteristics such as cropping,
irrigation, pastures and industrial features.
The inventory is being captured using digital stereo colour infrared imagery at 0.4metre ground resolution. In 2008-2009,
year three of this initiative, 209 townships
were completed, bringing the total number
of townships with GVI data to about 425.
Service Alberta
Service Alberta is responsible for registering land ownership rights in Alberta.
The Land Titles Act provides the legislative framework for the department to register land-related documents that both create and terminate legal rights in property.
Alberta Land Titles System
Re-Development Status
In May of 2006, Alberta Land Titles
introduced the Phase 3 release of its
enhanced data delivery system SPIN 2
(http://www.spin.gov.ab.ca), which is the
first implementation of a multi-year project
to redevelop Alberta’s entire Torrens-based
Land Titles Registration system, ALTA 2.
Building on the success of the original
SPIN system that provided legal-description-based or cadastral-map-based Web
search access to registered plans of survey
and other Government of Alberta (GoA)
land-related information, SPIN 2 has delivered access to Certified Land Titles, registered documents (e.g., rights-of-way,
caveats, easements) and volume (bulk) data
services including the following:
•
Registered Land Titles (2,056,000 current titles—4,102,000 historical titles)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Registered Documents (29,000,000)
Registered Survey Plans (366,000)
Township Plans—for Alberta
Sustainable Resource Development
(44,000)
Field
Notes—for
Alberta
Sustainable Resource Development
(44,000)
Alberta
Survey
Control
Monuments—for SRD (20,000)
Soils—Canada Land Inventory—
for Alberta Agriculture and Rural
Development
Other GoA Land-Related Services
(e.g., cemeteries)
Day Forward Imaging of Registered
Documents
Volume Data Services—(i.e., thousands of titles)
The Phase 3 release of SPIN 2
included leading edge Web services
and spatial data search capabilities
focused on meeting today’s GoA
needs. These services provide the
ability for an external application to
directly query the SPIN 2 database
for data. This ranges from a simple
confirmation of a proper legal
description to actually receiving
detailed surface or mineral title data
back to populate their own databases
and/or applications in real time.
Using SPIN 2’s new spatial query
capabilities, another ministry’s application and/or geographical information system (GIS), can send a graphic
polygon of a geographically defined
area and receive back a detailed data
response for all defined parcels.
It should be noted that Alberta
Land Titles is a consumer of provincial cadastral and title mapping polygon data (to facilitate spatially
enabled searches in SPIN 2) and critical contributor in the update process
for these products. On a daily basis
Land Titles transfers newly registered
digital subdivision plans and land
titles to the out-sourced mapping
service provider, Spatial Data
Warehouse, for direct integration into
the cadastral and title polygon bases
within a responsive three-day time
frame on average.
GEOMATICA 75
Alberta Transportation
Alberta Transportation (TRANS)
is continuously developing and
improving
the
Transportation
Infrastructure Management System
(TIMS). TIMS’ mission is to harness
knowledge assets to maximize the
lifetime socio-economic value of
Alberta’s transportation infrastructure
investments. Geospatial data make up
the backbone of TIMS, and the GIS
application, namely the Geospatial
Information Application (GIA), is a
fundamental component. Components
such as geospatial representations of
the provincial and municipal network,
cartographic text, base map features,
and geo-administrative boundaries are
maintained by GIA. All this information is accessible through the TIMS’
WebMap using the intranet and
extranet to reach over 400 WebMap
users. Also, in WebMap contains
TRANS’ Digital Videolog Library of
near driver view video imagery, satellite imagery, aerial photography, and
over 200 geospatial features.
Further, the annual maintenance
of the geospatial representations of
the provincial and municipal network
meets the National Road Network
standards as specified on the GeoBase
website (http://GeoBase.ca). The
Alberta portion of the National Road
Network dataset contains the representation of a continuous accurate
centerline (yellow line in some cases)
for all non-restricted roads in Alberta
that are five metres or more in width
and drivable with no barriers denying
access. Included is a set of basic road
attributes, street names, place names,
and block face address ranges. This
dataset is available at no cost to the
end-user on GeoBase’s website thereby benefiting not only Albertans but
all Canadians.
Phil Mackenzie, P.Eng.
Manager, Data Services
GeoDiscover Alberta
Government of Alberta
http://alberta.ca/
∞∞∞
76 GEOMATICA
Recent Activities
Maps are constantly used to serve
a multitude of needs for government
programs, industry and citizens. The
Government of Saskatchewan uses
Geographic Information Systems
(GIS) and Geospatial data to support
business programs in most of its primary ministries and agencies. Some
of the recent mapping activities undertaken are further detailed below:
SASKATCHEWAN
Saskatchewan operates its geomatics
activities through a distributed service
model in accordance with strategic directions provided by a geomatics council of
senior executives. All ministries and agencies of the government participate in the
inter-agency geomatics business and technical committees for broader cooperation
and enterprise perspective. The Office of
Geomatics Coordination facilitates interagency development towards common
goals.
Geomatics activities are focussed
towards advancing four primary goals:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Support significant improvements in
decision making
Facilitate collaborative business models
Foster economic development and
growth
Create new or enhanced service delivery
solutions
All ministries of government have
access to and are building thematic maps on
a common base framework of digital map
information. Base layers consist of cadastral
data (land ownership parcels), topographic
data (water, roads, elevations, etc.) and
imagery (from aerial photography and satellites). The cadastral, or surface parcel map,
is continuously updated in conjunction with
the land titles registry process.
For several years, Saskatchewan has
had a policy of open access to standard
mapping information and most thematic
data can be acquired by free download. An
Internet portal (http://www.geosask.ca)
has been implemented to make mapping
products from all ministries and agencies
more easily accessible.
1.
2.
Geo-portal (http://www.geosask.ca)
is a single window entry point for
Saskatchewan’s geospatial data and
map-based business applications.
The site was initially launched in
2008/09 and continually provides
new data and information. The site
enables any user to discover, visualize, and download Government of
Saskatchewan geospatial data
through a number of services: Map
Gallery, Applications Gallery,
Spatial Data Gallery, and PrePackaged Data Gallery. Though the
site requires password authentication but is free to register and use.
Acquisition of new geospatial
imagery of the province is ongoing
through 2007-2011 with an imagery
refresh and maintenance program
thereafter. The Saskatchewan
Geospatial Imagery Collaborative,
which cost-shares on the project,
is a partnership of 30 organizations representing Saskatchewan
Government agencies, Federal
Government
agencies,
Saskatchewan Municipalities,
First Nations, Industry, community-based organizations, and postsecondary institutions. SPOT satellite panchromatic imagery of 2.5m
resolution was acquired for 100% of
the province in 2007. The acquisition of the more detailed 60cm
colour orthophoto collection (200811) is now approximately 80% complete with 100% coverage targeted
for late 2011. An online system
(http://www.flysask.ca) provides
imagery access for members and the
public. This imagery is being used in
dozens of business applications by
member agencies, the wider indusVol. 65, No. 1, 2011
3.
4.
5.
try and general public. A followup refresh program will be implemented following the initial program’s completion.
Mineral Administrative Registry
System (MARS) is an online discovery, permitting and payment
system for claiming parcels of
land for mineral exploration. This
project is presently nearing completion with initial implementation scheduled for spring 2011.
The project will utilize a number
of other recently completed infrastructure projects (Saskgrid
basemap, Imagery, & Geosask
portal), along with the new permitting and payment gateway to
provide a much faster and more
efficient system in support of
Saskatchewan’s rapidly expanding resource economy.
The Saskatchewan updated Road
Network map database is being
maintained annually through a
partnership arrangement between
the Governments of Canada and
Saskatchewan.
Saskatchewan
Highways and Transportation collects and maintains the road data
then shares the information with
Natural Resources Canada for
inclusion in the National Road
Network (NRN) available on the
Geobase
Website
(http://GeoBase.ca). This data is
also
available
from
the
Saskatchewan geo-portal.
The Geospatial Archaeological
Sensitivity System (GASS) project was completed in 2010 to
help developers in Saskatchewan
get a rapid online indication of
archaeological, paleontological
or other heritage sensitivities in
their
project
areas.
The
Archaeological
Resource
Management Section (ARMS)
currently reviews approximately
11,000 developments per year as
part of land-use planning and
Environmental
Impact
Assessments. This project shortens the administrative time for
development approval responses
and better facilitates resource
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
6.
7.
development and construction planning by industry. The new mapping/GIS dataset layer is also available through the Saskatchewan geoportal.
Saskatchewan is very fortunate to have
produced a cadastral map database a
few years ago and has subsequently
developed a surface ownership parcel
map layer synchronized with the
provincial Land Titles system. The
data is the most frequently used base
map in Saskatchewan as it represents
the base on which all map layers
defined by land parcel or survey systems are built. The data is maintained
daily and is available through
Information Services Corporation.
The Agricultural Crown Land Map V
iewer,
(http://www.infomaps.gov.sk.ca/agriculture/ACLMV/) is an online mapping
application that allows the public to search
and view information and imagery of
government-owned agricultural land.
This has enabled the Ministry of
Agriculture to make more informed decision and promote sustainable development on more than seven million acres of
agricultural Crown land and over 80,000
land parcels that it manages. The application also supports the Ministry’s Crown
Land Sale Program by making it easy for
farmers and ranchers to view agricultural
Crown land available for purchase. The
application recently received an Award of
Excellence from ESRI Canada, which recognizes outstanding achievements in the
application of GIS. The Award was presented at the 2010 ESRI Canada User
Conference in Regina.
Planned for 2010/12
A number of key projects are expected to be initiated or completed in the coming year(s) as follows:
1. Enterprise GIS – The Enterprise GIS
project was initiated in 2010 to consolidate the storage of Government of
Saskatchewan digital geospatial
information to better enable location
business intelligence in government
decision making. The system will:
• Provide a common data store and
eliminate duplicated GIS storage
systems across government
• Enable existing GIS software and
2.
3.
4.
tools to be more broadly
used within government
• Provide connectivity with
key agencies for easier
exchange of dynamic current data for critical applications
• Enable integration of business location intelligence
into mainstream web applications and services
Crown Lands Administrative
Management System – A common administrative system based
on accurate map information and
GIS analysis is planned for
development in 2011/12 by
Saskatchewan’s Land & Natural
Resource
Management
Ministries. The system will facilitate faster public application and
acquisition of appropriate permits regarding crown land.
Regulatory self compliance for
organizations using the land will
also be facilitated, through
greater and easier access to up to
date land restriction and caveat
information. The system will
enable the agencies of government to better coordinate their
efforts in managing provincial
land resources.
Hydrographic map data – Natural
Resources Canada has released
the “Level 1” National Hydro
Network (NHN) for all of
Canada. The Saskatchewan
Watershed Authority (SWA) has
compiled a seamless version of
the NHN for all of Saskatchewan
and directly adjacent areas in
Alberta, Manitoba, Northwest
Territories,
and
Nunavut.
Updating this product is underway to improved stream connectivity and flow direction information. SWA intends to make this
compiled and partially corrected
subset version available on the
GeoSask
Portal
at:
https://www.geosask.ca/Portal/
in early 2011.
Water Well Records—The
Saskatchewan
Watershed
Authority is currently developing
GEOMATICA 77
a Web-based mapping application
to allow the public to spatially
view, search, and query more than
125,000 water well records from
its “Water Well Drillers Reports”
database. The application is
expected to be publically available from http://www.swa.ca in
mid-2011.
5. Geographic Addressing project—
The Ministry of Corrections,
Public Safety and Policing
(CPSP) is developing a province
wide geographic address database.
Civic addresses in major cities are
common, but this project will
additionslly implement a civic
style address for all rural areas
then accurately geo-code all
address points with a coordinate
location. A request for proposals
was recently awarded to carry out
the work with initial implementation planned for 4th quarter of
2010. Results of this project will
integrate with the Road Network
database and be of great value to
not only CPSP but many other
Ministries and agencies and
industry
companies
in
Saskatchewan as well.
6. SaskBIZ Upgrade—SaskBIZ is a
site location and community profile
application (http://www.saskbiz.ca)
to aid new prospective new businesses in finding suitable sites
based on proximity to specific
resources and infrastructure that
may be required. This site was initially implemented in 2003 and still
receives a considerable use each
year. An application upgrade is
planned over the course of the next
1 to 2 years in accordance with
stakeholder input.
The trend towards greater utilization of online dynamic interactive
maps will continue, with increased
efforts towards storing, maintaining,
and linking map databases together to
enable greater flexibility with the map
information collected. Current and
reliable map information has long been
a key component of government operations in location based decision making and efforts will continue to deliver
78 GEOMATICA
innovative and cost effective map information and services to the public.
John Potter, P.Eng.
Senior Geomatics Business and
Policy Consultant
Office of Geomatics Coordination
Information Technology Office of
Saskatchewan
Government of Saskatchewan
http://www.gov.sk.ca/
∞∞∞
MANITOBA
The mandate of the Geomatics and
Remote Sensing Centre has been to develop and implement a provincial integrated
geospatial infrastructure by co-operating
with all public sector agencies, avoid duplication of data, and promote data sharing
within these agencies. To this end, a new
unit is being established. GeoManitoba or
Manitoba Centre for Geographic
Information, will combine the resources of
the Manitoba Land Initiative, Geomatics,
Remote Sensing, Survey Services,
Conservation Map Sales, the Digital
Orthophoto Refresh Program, and the
Cadastral Mapping Program. The purpose
of this new unit will be to provide geospatial leadership, coordination and services to
public and private entities that serve the citizens of Manitoba.
Remote Sensing Section
The Remote Sensing Section provides
services that include research and development, education, consulting, software
applications, operational project work for
planning and policy development, envi-
ronmental assessment, and resource
management initiatives.
Project involvement includes the
usage of the NOAA/AVHRR satellite
data between April 1 and October 30
for the Canadian World Crop
Monitoring Program. The Geocomp
satellite image processing system produces daily and weekly composites
detecting change “happenings” for the
Global Climate Change Program along
with the Parks Canada Program. Work
is continuing in partnership with the
Canadian Space Agency and the
Canadian Forest Service to extract land
cover information from Landsat 7
imagery. This is part of the Earth
Observation for the Sustainable
Development of the Forest Project.
Over 30 land cover classifications are
being determined from the imagery. As
part of the Kyoto Protocol, the Pacific
Forest Service and MRSC have agreed
to evaluate the deforestation that has
taken place between 2000 and 2006
using Landsat imagery and other ancillary data. The MRSC maps the Red
River Valley annually using Radarsat
1&2 data. The MRSC also is the contact and the liaison with the Canadian
Space Agency for all Radarsat imagery
ordering within Manitoba. The MRSC
also has just completed a land use land
cover map of the proposed World
Heritage Site on the east of Lake
Winnipeg. The MRSC also assists
potential users of satellite imagery to
see various types of satellites and their
potential usages. MRSC also orders
satellite imagery for various users and
stores the original data sets in a climatic and fireproof vault. The MRSC is
also providing land use land cover
mapping (17 cover type classes) for
Agro- Manitoba using Landsat 5 TM
circa 2005.
Topographic Mapping
Section
The Topographic Mapping
Section is responsible for topographic
information and is designed to help
support, evaluate, and manage
Manitoba’s resources.
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
Manitoba is now in the fourth year
of the five-year Orthophotography
Refresh Project. By the spring of 2011,
imagery for approximately 124,000
square kilometres of southern
Manitoba will have been captured. The
imagery was flown at a scale of 1:40
000, is available in both colour and
black and white, and at both 1-metre
and 50-centimetre resolution. The
provincial 1:20 000 data set is now
complete for all of Agro-Manitoba and
eastern Manitoba. This data set
includes seven georeferenced layers of
information and is available in dxf and
shape formats. This data is now being
updated from the Orthophotography
Refresh Project imagery.
The compilation of base maps for
the Treaty Land Entitlement parcels is
continuing, with severance lines
determined from contour information.
Georeferenced base map features for
24,000 square kilomtrees were compiled for the Forestry Branch in the
Highrock Forestry Area. Data collected includes designated areas, buildings, structures, roads, railways, utilities, hydrography, and some land
cover. The data was collected twodimensionally using digital orthophotography. The Topographic Mapping
Section also participated in agreements with Natural Resources Canada
for the updating of the 1:50 000
National Topographic Database and
the GeoBase National Road Network.
Cadastral Mapping
Section
The Cadastral Mapping Section
is responsible for the development
and maintenance of a province-wide
digital cadastral (property) parcel
infrastructure based on land parcels
shown on registered plans of survey.
The topologically structured data is
used extensively throughout government, by provincial utilities and by
the general Manitoba GIS community
to meet land referencing, planning,
and decision-making needs. All parcel
data is downloadable for free from the
government’s spatial data warehouse
(the MLI).
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
As a result of its 2008-2011 work,
over 200,000 land parcels have been computed, bringing the total number of land
parcels in the system to almost 600,000
province-wide. The primary focus area for
the parcel mapping coverage in recent
years has been the Capital Region, which
consists of 14 or so rural municipalities
directly surrounding the City of Winnipeg.
In 2009 the coverage area was expanded
to include flood-risk municipalities neighbouring an 80-kilometre wide corridor on
either side of the Red River south to the
international boundary with the United
States. Over 364 separate MLI digital
cadastral mapping datasets province-wide
are updated under the section’s annual
maintenance program to ensure timeliness
of the parcel data to end users.
The section created conceptual cottage lot subdivision designs for at least 20
sites under the Manitoba Cottage Lot
Program on behalf of Crown Lands. The
new sites were province-wide. Approved
designs out of this group formed an integral part of public draws for provincial
cottage lots. Opportunities for cottage lot
and economic development projects with
First Nations groups are making significant
progress
under
separate
Memorandum of Understanding agreements. These have been signed between
the Government of Manitoba and the
Black River First Nation and the Fisher
River Cree First Nation. Negotiations with
other First Nations groups for similar cottage lot and economic development projects have been initiated.
The section continued to dedicate its
efforts to develop a seamless digital
Manitoba land reference grid, which
includes a fully topologically structured
parcel-based approximation of the DLS
township/range quarter-section system in
southern Manitoba. This product is deemed
essential for meeting departmental and
public sector requirements for a general
purpose grid. It will support land-referencing and spatial-referencing needs on several levels from thematic mapping to GIS
application development. The section supports the cause by creating and maintaining
the relevant map files as well as computing
coordinates for the DLS township framework markers where they have been tied to
provincial survey control networks.
Significant strides have been made in
this respect since the posting on the
MLI in April 2006 of an initial
Manitoba reference grid product. This
grid product is dynamic and will be
upgraded periodically as higher-level
cadastral products are generated.
Manitoba is still lacking a survey quality digital DLS quarter-section grid due
in part to the significant costs related to
producing one.
Manitoba Geographical
Names Program
The Manitoba Geographical
Names Program (MGNP) will not be
part of the new GeoManitoba unit but
will remain under the auspices of the
Lands Branch. The MGNP provides a
provincial geographical names authority for the enhancement, maintenance,
and protection of Manitoba’s geographical nomenclature. This is done
through the development and implementation of policies and procedures,
the establishment and monitoring of
toponymic quality control in government documents, the research for and
processing of decisions on new and
established names, the provision of a
names information centre and the
management of the Commemorative
Names Program.
Through the MGNP’s membership on the Geographical Names Board
of Canada (GNBC), Manitoba ensures
its ability to effectively liaise with
other federal, provincial and territorial
departments to identify, evaluate, and
affect provincial, federal, and national
decisions. Work includes contributions
through a variety of committees and
subcommittees including:
•
•
•
•
Advisory
Committee
on
Automation and Delineation;
Advisory
Committee
on
Nomenclature,
Policy,
and
Research;
Canadian Geographical Names
Service (digital, Web-based data
warehouse);
Quality Control and Name
Delineation Web application spatially delineating Manitoban (and
Canadian) toponyms;
GEOMATICA 79
•
•
Developing national standards
for spatial delineation; and
Chairing a committee to examine
standards to ensure Aboriginal
inclusivity in Manitoba and
Canadian toponyms.
Manitoba maintains and disseminates
the
official
Manitoba
Geographical Names Data Base
(MGNDB) in a variety of hardcopy
and digital formats and continues to
market and distribute its two major
publications: Geographical Names of
Manitoba, which includes the origin
and location information for
Manitoba’s place names and A Place of
Honour, 2nd Ed., which contains photographs and personal information for
the majority of the 4000+ Manitobans
who have lost their lives during active
war service. The Commemorative
Names Project is naming new geographical features in honour of
Manitoba’s fatal casualties of war
including those Manitobans who have
lost their lives in Afghanistan.
Manitoba began working towards
building a comprehensive taxonomy of
Aboriginal Place Names in Manitoba,
which will include a comprehensive listing of the history and culture of each
Aboriginal name. MGNP, jointly with
the Geographical Names Board of
Canada, began development of national
standards establishing unique classifications to include cultural toponyms within existing taxonomic frameworks.
Manitoba also initiated an upgrade of its
toponymic data to enhance its accuracy
and converted from degrees, minutes,
seconds to degrees, minutes, seconds
with three decimal seconds in order to
accommodate
requirements
for
increased accuracy of location data. The
MGNP maintained an ongoing liaison
with schools from kindergarten to grade
12 and continued distribution of
Geographical Names of Manitoba to
them, promoting the heritage and history of our province while providing a
unique local resource reference. The
MGNP enhanced its service to
Manitoba’s francophone community,
including the completion and digital distribution of a bilingual glossary of
80 GEOMATICA
Manitoba’s toponyms. Manitoba also
improved its toponymic archives with continued development and coordination of existing records as well as initiating the digital
archiving of thousands of hard-copy records.
David Campbell
Acting Manager, Topographic Mapping
Manitoba Conservation
Government of Manitoba
http://www.gov.mb.ca/
∞∞∞
ONTARIO
The Ontario Public Service (OPS) has
always been a significant user of geospatial
data and its functionality. Traditionally,
geomatics has been a fixture in resource
management, environmental protection,
land use planning, and emergency
response. Over the last four years, the use
of geomatics to meet the government’s
needs has expanded into all ministries and
subject areas and is integrated very closely
with mainstream information management
activities. Several ministries have developed geo-portals, both internal and external
facing; Interactive Web-based maps have
won awards for excellence in service delivery and the distribution of geographic data
and data services is the cutting edge of
Ontario’s emerging Open Data policy.
Land Information Ontario (LIO)
Land Information Ontario (LIO),
affiliated with the Ontario Ministry of
Natural Resources, envisions all of
Ontario’s geographic information as being
well managed, accessible, easy to integrate,
and affordable. To meet these objectives
LIO supports, integrates, and makes
available the work of others such as
COSINE horizontal and vertical control, Soils, and Municipal Boundary
data. It maintains and distributes—at
no cost—the Ontario Road Network
and the Ontario Trail Network, which
are effective and dependable consolidations of municipal, provincial, federal,
and private data sets. LIO pulls together organizations to develop common
products such as satellite and aerial
imagery at much lower cost and higher
quality across large areas. It also
invests in an Ontario Parcel fabric for
provincial and municipal government
purposes as well as operating the
Ontario Geospatial Data Exchange
(OGDE). The OGDE has become a
very effective way of overcoming
legal and logistical obstacles to the
widespread sharing of data among
hundreds of public sector and nongovernmental organizations.
Land Information Ontario is now
re-inventing itself to meet the new
needs of the next decade. It is in the
process of putting in place a new governance model and a new business model.
LIO is replacing its aging geospatial
technology infrastructure in a massive
overhaul that will see tremendous
improvements in service both to and by
the OPS to Ontario’s residents, businesses and visitors. A soon-to-be-available open-source metadata software
solution is being implemented that will
allow more Ontario-centric data to be
discovered and accessed. For a current
list of data available through LIO see:
http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/
LIO/2ColumnSubPage/STEL02_16819
9.html.
Ontario Ministry of Natural
Resources (OMNR)
OMNR has initiated a significant
review of all of the data sets that it
maintains. The ministry is placing special emphasis on establishing roles for
custodianship and ownership, and is
ensuring that the data can be more easily used for multiple purposes. In conjunction with national and federal
organizations, OMNR has changed several of its data models for individual
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
features, such as Water, which has
now been consolidated into the
Ontario Hydro Network (OHN). The
2009 OMNR Geospatial Metadata
Policy ensures that all of the ministry’s digital data assets are known,
understood and accessible.
Ministry of Transportation of
Ontario (MTO)
MTO has implemented a
Geographic Information Strategy concentrating heavily on managing information as a critical resource in all
three of its core businesses: Provincial
Highways
Management,
Transportation Policy and Planning,
and Road User Safety. Like OMNR,
MTO has ceased exclusive mapping
and become part of consortia that collects and manages data together. More
recently, the Ministry has placed additional focus on geomatics to support
the operation of its highways, as well
as in Transportation Policy and
Planning. It is mandated to provide
cost-effective transportation supporting Ontario’s broader economic,
social, and environmental objectives.
Community Services Cluster of
Ontario Ministries (CSC)
The Ontario Ministries of
Municipal Affairs & Housing,
Education, Training Colleges &
Universities, Tourism, Culture, and
Citizenship & Immigration are now
serviced by a single GIS organizational structure. This reduces costs, leverages resources, extends the capacity
of the smaller business areas, and
takes advantage of centralized GISbased Project Management. Like
other geomatics users in the OPS,
CSC is augmenting its desktop GIS
tools with centralized, service-based
solutions. This allows its clients satisfactory access to their own data and
other datasets, as well as applying
business intelligence tools and
approaches to geography.
Ministry of Infrastructure
In November 2009, the Ministry of
Infrastructure (previously the Ministry
of Energy & Infrastructure) launched a
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
Website (http://www.ontario.ca/infrastructure) to track capital spending in the
Province of Ontario. The website tracks
thousands of projects worth over $9 billion, ranging in size from a few thousand
dollars to over $100 million. For many
projects, funding came from all three levels of government (federal, provincial, and
municipal). Today, Ontarians can search
by geography and view related information on infrastructure projects across the
province. This is part of the government’s
commitment to being more transparent
and accountable.
Ministry of Health & Long Term
Care (MOHLTC)
MOHLTC’s land ambulance dispatch system was one of the earliest
mission-critical geospatial tools used in
the OPS. In addition, the ministry has
recently developed a GIS strategic plan
that will see the ubiquitous use of
geospatial data and functionality
throughout the ministry. This ambitious
initiative is not merely a technology
exercise, but also a behavioural transition
that relies heavily on staff adopting good
information management practices.
Ministry of Environment (MOE)
MOE is a long-time manager and user
of geospatial data and functionality.
Recently, MOE has introduced an OPS-facing one-window, Web-based point of access
to MOE’s geospatial datasets, in direct support of the Ministry’s IM/IT vision. MOE
has also created a portal to permit the sharing of data with Ontario’s Conservation
Authorities. As one of many public-facing
geospatial tools, MOE is about to release its
new online, geography-supported Guide to
Eating Ontario Sport Fish.
Ministry of Northern
Development, Mines & Forestry
(MNDMF)
The Mining Act Modernization
initiative has significantly changed
the way the ministry conducts its
business, and has created new, imaginative, and effective ways of using
geospatial data. There are now systems in place — most of them available to the public — which support
Aboriginal Consultation, Mineral
Tenure and Private Property Rights,
and also Mineral Exploration and
Development. As well, MNDMF uses
geospatial tools as part of its forestbased economic improvement programs, its northern development
work, its on-line CLAIMaps application, and for the collection and distribution of Ontario’s Geoscience Data.
Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs (MAA)
For many years now, MAA has been
using its Aboriginal Consultation
Information System (ACIS), a Web-based
geographic information system, to provide
information on Aboriginal issues in Ontario
through a geographic interface. Recently,
MAA has expanded ACIS access to 24
ministries across the OPS, and is now in the
process of creating a publically available
version. ACIS contains information on aboriginal communities, treaties and historical
information, as well as land claims and
rights assertions.
Ministry of Economic Development
& Trade (MEDT)
As part of the Open Ontario initiative,
MEDT launched its award-winning Select
Ontario, a Web-enabled Geographic
Information System (GIS) site-selection
tool in February 2010. Select Ontario
allows users to conduct property, community, business and skills searches, generate
reports and maps, and perform advanced
proximity analysis on selected features.
Other Ontario Government
Ministries
Virtually all of Ontario’s ministries now use Geospatial data and/or
functionality to perform their core
business or share information. There
are many examples of data use among
a wide variety of ministries:
• The Ministry of Government
Services (MGS) uses geomatics
data as a primary index to records
in the 54 land registry offices
located throughout the province.
• The Ministry of Finance has
begun using maps to support consultation, development, and publication of the annual Ontario
Budget and the Fall Economic
Statement.
GEOMATICA 81
•
•
•
•
The Ontario Ministry of
Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs
manages soils and drainage tile
databases and provides geospatial
tools to analyze the economic
potential of rural areas.
The Ontario Provincial Police use
geomatics for situational awareness, tactical response, and dispatch. Emergency Management
Ontario will roll out the
Emergency
Management
Enterprise Solution (EMES) in
2012.
The
Ministry
of
Health
Promotion & Sport uses geomatics to promote trail use and tracks
Ontario’s sport capacity for
events such as the upcoming
Commonwealth Games.
In addition, several agencies
affiliated with the Government of
Ontario (notably the Municipal
Property Assessment Corporation
(MPAC) and Elections Ontario)
rely heavily on the use of geomatics. The Ontario Realty
Corporation (ORC) makes its
Ontario GeoPortal available to
Ontario ministries.
Geomatics in Ontario has come a
long way over the last four years.
Geomatics is now the classic example of
corporate information forming a major,
valuable asset. Information is becoming
properly catalogued and its full life cycle
from inception to archive mapped out.
We are proud of our achievements and
expect to keep improving.
Raphael Sussman
Coordinator, Land Information Ontario
Ministry of Natural Resources
Government of Ontario
http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/
∞∞∞
QUÉBEC
Introduction
Au Québec, l’information géographique est à la base des activités de
plusieurs ministères et organismes qui
82 GEOMATICA
l’information géospatiale propre à la
gouvernance de l’État, que ce soit en
matière d’agriculture, de transport terrestre, d’environnement ou de sécurité
civile, pour ne nommer que ceux-là.
Les bases de données
cartographiques
la produisent, l’utilisent et la diffusent pour
mieux accomplir leurs missions. Pensons
par exemple aux activités liées au développement durable des ressources naturelles et
du territoire (forêts, faune, mines, gestion
des terres publiques, etc.), à la planification
et à l’entretien des milliers de kilomètres de
routes qui sillonnent la province et aux services d’urgence rendus à la population, qui
reposent toutes sur une bonne connaissance
géographique du territoire.
Dans ce contexte, le gouvernement du
Québec est un important utilisateur, producteur et diffuseur d’information géographique. Historiquement, les différents
ministères et organismes du gouvernement
ont développé des bases de données géospatiales, des outils, des services et des
connaissances en géomatique qui répondent spécifiquement à leurs besoins et au
contexte de leurs activités.
Le présent sommaire porte principalement sur les activités du ministère des
Ressources naturelles et de la Faune
(MRNF) et de ses principaux partenaires
en matière de cartographie et de géomatique et sur celles du Plan géomatique du
gouvernement du Québec pour la période
de 2008 à 2011.
La référence géographique du
Québec au MRNF
Le MRNF a la responsabilité de produire, d’entretenir et de rendre accessible la
cartographie de base du Québec, aussi
appelée la Référence géographique du
Québec (RGQ). Celle-ci comprend les
bases de données topographiques, le système sur les découpages administratifs et
socioéconomiques, la référence géodésique
et l’imagerie. Il s’agit d’une référence
unique et officielle sur laquelle s’appuie
Les bases de données cartographiques couvrent différentes portions
du Québec selon les échelles de représentation. Sur le plan local, l’échelle
de 1/20 000 couvre le Québec méridional jusqu’au 51e parallèle, ce qui
représente la partie habitée et la partie
aménagée pour la ressource forestière. La couverture 1/20 000 à ce jour
est de 2 768 feuilles, soit une superficie d’environ 650 000 km2 et 38 % de
la superficie du Québec.
En ce qui concerne l’échelle
régionale, les efforts des dernières
années ont porté particulièrement sur
l’échelle de 1/100 000 qui couvre le
sud du Québec jusqu’au 53e parallèle :
la couverture complète a été achevée
en 2007 et compte au total 255 feuilles,
soit environ 960 000 km2. Toutes les
données à l’échelle régionale sont
maintenant offertes en format matriciel, y compris un estompage du relief.
Sur le plan national, les échelles
de 1/1 000 000 et de 1/5 000 000 qui
couvrent l’ensemble du Québec sont
depuis deux ans accessibles gratuitement sur le site du MRNF en différents formats.
Ces dernières années, le MRNF a
entrepris la modernisation de l’information géographique par le développement d’un nouvel environnement
de production et d’exploitation en
ligne (EPEL) de ses bases de données
cartographiques. Cet environnement
est à la base de l’élaboration d’un
nouveau modèle d’affaires en partenariat pour la production de la cartographie du territoire au Québec.
Le Système sur les
découpages administratifs
et socioéconomiques
Ces différents découpages sont
compilés par le MRNF en collaboraVol. 65, No. 1, 2011
tion avec les partenaires concernés
des autres ministères. Ce système
comprend les limites administratives
suivantes :
• les limites des 17 régions administratives, des 2 communautés
métropolitaines et des 87 municipalités régionales de comté
(MRC) et 17 territoires équivalents (TE);
• les limites des 1# 112# municipalités, des arrondissements, des 145
territoires non organisés et des 82
territoires autochtones;
• les frontières du Québec (frontières internationales et interprovinciales dont la frontière QuébecTerre-Neuve-et-Labrador).
Afin de supporter les applications
et les travaux d’analyse spatiale, ce
système comprend maintenant les
découpages socioéconomiques relatifs
aux élections, à la santé, à l’éducation
et à la justice.
La géobase gouvernementale
d’adresses municipales
Pour répondre aux besoins des
citoyens en matière de localisation,
un projet de création d’une géobase
gouvernementale d’adresses municipales à l’échelle de 1/20 000 a été
mis en place. Cette géobase nommée
« Adresses Québec » est réalisée en
partenariat avec le ministère des
Transports, le ministère des Affaires
municipales, des Régions et de
l’Occupation du territoire et le
Directeur général des élections. Depuis
2007 à 2008, diverses ententes ont
permis d’associer les villes de
Montréal, Longueuil, Sherbrooke et
Laval à ce partenariat. Adresses
Québec ouvre la voie à l’établissement
d’un nouveau modèle de production de
données géographiques en réseau de
collaboration avec le milieu gouvernemental et le milieu municipal afin
d’assurer la précision, la fiabilité,
l’actualité et le caractère officiel des
données d’adressage au Québec.
La référence géodésique
L’infrastructure géodésique québécoise est le fruit d’un travail de parVol. 65, No. 1, 2011
tenariat entre le gouvernement fédéral, le
MRNF, les ministères québécois, les organismes publics et les municipalités. Elle est
composée d’environ 85 000 repères matérialisés au sol (points géodésiques), dont
environ 60 000 ont été établis par des partenaires et de 26 stations GPS permanentes,
dont cinq fédérales et trois municipales, qui
permettent un positionnement spatial précis. Elle est complétée par des bases d’étalonnage servant au calibrage des instruments de mesure électroniques de distances
et par une base de données géodésiques qui
est le guichet unique permettant d’accéder
aux données produites par la Direction de
la référence géodésique et ses partenaires.
Divers ministères et groupes de professionnels utilisent l’infrastructure géodésique pour la localisation et l’implantation d’ouvrages comme les barrages, les
routes, les ponts ou les édifices. La réforme cadastrale, les arpentages officiels de
l’Arpenteur général du Québec et le
Registre du domaine de l’État s’y rattachent. La localisation des éléments liés à
la sécurité publique comme les zones
inondables ou les zones à risques de glissement de terrain s’appuie sur ces références. Les municipalités les utilisent,
entre autres, pour la gestion des réseaux
d’aqueduc et d’égout. Hydro-Québec et
Gaz Métro l’exploitent pour la gestion et
le déploiement de leurs réseaux.
L’imagerie
Le MRNF est responsable de l’acquisition d’orthophotographies numériques et
de données LiDAR pour tous les ministères
(sauf pour les fins du ministère des
Transports). Ces données d’imagerie
numérique prises à différentes résolutions
spatiales servent majoritairement à
répondre aux besoins de gestion forestière
ainsi qu’à la mise à jour des cartes topographiques. Depuis 2005, le MRNF a mis
en place, graduellement, une approche de
partenariats pour l’acquisition d’orthophotographies sur le territoire québécois. Ces
partenariats impliquent plusieurs ministères
et organismes ainsi que des acteurs du
milieu régional. Ainsi, depuis la mise en
place de cette approche, 23 projets ont été
réalisés pour une valeur d’environ 7,2 M$ et
ceux-ci couvrent une superficie de 185 721
km2. Ces projets ont été initiés par les
ministères et organismes à 12 occasions et
par les acteurs du milieu régional dans
11 cas. Ils touchent deux communautés
métropolitaines, l’île d’Anticosti et 11
régions administratives différentes.
Ces projets ont permis aux partenaires
d’obtenir des données géographiques
récentes de leur territoire en vue de
soutenir la réalisation de leur mission,
et ce, à une fraction du prix étant donné
la répartition des coûts entre plusieurs
partenaires. Outre les effets positifs sur
la collaboration accrue entre les ministères et organismes et les acteurs des
milieux régional et local, ces partenariats ont contribué à améliorer le patrimoine de connaissance géographique
de l’État et à accroître l’offre de diffusion de l’information géographique
pour les citoyens et les entreprises.
Le Ministère gère aussi la banque
de données satellitaires du Québec,
une collection gouvernementale
d’images satellite qui contient actuellement plus de 4 300 images et qui est
accessible en ligne pour les ministères
et organismes québécois. À partir de
ces banques d’images, le MRNF a
notamment produit des spatiocartes
pour l’ensemble du Québec. Dans le
cadre d’une entente avec le gouvernement fédéral (projet d’imagerie nationale), le Québec est aussi en voie de
se doter d’une couverture complète et
à jour de son territoire en images
satellite SPOT.
Information géographique
en ligne
Pour le citoyen, l’accès en ligne à
l’information est aujourd’hui devenu
une nécessité. À cet égard, le MRNF
s’est doté, ces dernières années, d’une
stratégie pour la mise en place d’un
volet géographique du gouvernement
en ligne qui comporte trois axes#: renseignement aux citoyens, diffusion en
ligne de l’information géographique et
partage entre les partenaires ministériels
et interministériels de cette information.
Plusieurs réalisations sont déjà à
souligner en matière de services en
ligne aux citoyens :
•
Le Québec géographique
(http://www.quebecgeographique.gouv.qc.ca/) est un portail
GEOMATICA 83
•
•
•
qui donne accès à de l’information sur toutes les cartes, atlas et
produits d’information géographique disponibles dans les
ministères et organismes du gouvernement du Québec.
Le Répertoire géographique des
services
gouvernementaux
(http://repertoire.atlas.gouv.qc.ca)
fait partie des localisateurs. Il
situe plus de deux mille points de
services gouvernementaux et
englobe 21#thèmes (bureaux régionaux, CLSC, CLE, CLD, etc.).
Vues d’ensemble du Québec
(http://vuesensemble.atlas.gouv.
qc.ca) offre des vues générales du
territoire sur fond cartographique
ou d’images satellite. Il présente
le Québec en sept grands thèmes#:
le relief, l’hydrographie, l’occupation du sol, les agglomérations
et les villes, les aires protégées
(collaboration du ministère du
Développement durable, de
l’Environnement et des Parcs
(MDDEP), le réseau géodésique
et la mise en valeur des ressources naturelles).
Catalogue d’information géographique gouvernemental —
CIGG (http://catalogue-geographique.gouv.qc.ca/).
Présentement, le site répertorie
des documents du ministère des
Ressources naturelles et de la
Faune, de la Commission de
toponymie du Québec, de la
Commission de la protection du
territoire agricole du Québec, la
Financière agricole du Québec, le
ministère des Transports du
Québec (Service de la géotechnique et de la géologie) et
d’autres ministères et organismes
s’apprêtent à le faire. À maturité,
le Catalogue permettra de rassembler en un seul lieu l’ensemble des produits géographiques et des cartes disponibles
dans les ministères québécois.
La géomatique au
gouvernement du Québec
Au gouvernement du Québec,
comme ailleurs dans le monde, la géo84 GEOMATICA
matique s’impose comme un outil de gestion indispensable. Elle a d’abord fait son
entrée dans les ministères et organismes
dont le mandat est lié aux ressources naturelles, à l’agriculture, à l’environnement,
au transport ainsi qu’à l’aménagement et à
la gestion du territoire. Aujourd’hui, les
applications géomatiques touchent plusieurs autres domaines tels que la sécurité
civile, la santé, l’éducation et le tourisme.
Un projet d’envergure
gouvernementale
Un projet touchant l’ensemble des
intervenants gouvernementaux en géomatique a été amorcé en avril 2008 par le Plan
géomatique du gouvernement du Québec,
lequel relève du MRNF. Connu sous l’acronyme ACRIgéo (Approche de coopération
en réseau interministériel pour l’information géographique), ce projet d’envergure
gouvernementale s’inscrit dans la lignée
des grandes orientations gouvernementales
de modernisation des services de l’État.
L’ACRIgéo rassemble actuellement 22
ministères et organismes. Le projet est chapeauté par une structure de gestion qui lui
est propre, composée de la Table gouvernementale de coopération en information géographique (Table), du Conseil de gestion et
de trois comités interministériels.
La Table est composée actuellement de
31 gestionnaires ayant des responsabilités
en matière de production, d’intégration,
d’utilisation et de diffusion de l’information géographique. Elle assume un rôle
semblable à celui d’une assemblée générale des membres de la coopération. Quant au
Conseil de gestion, il compte 10 gestionnaires membres de la Table. Il a pour mandat principal d’assumer la gestion courante
de la coopération gouvernementale en
information géographique. Cette structure
de gestion de l’ACRIgéo relève du comité
de sous-ministres qui conviennent des
orientations et des stratégies de gestion
gouvernementale.
Pour leur part, les trois comités interministériels se consacrent :
•
à la production en réseau de l’information géographique et de produits à
valeur intégrée. Ce comité mettra en
place de nouvelles pratiques pour permettre, entre autres, le partage des
données géographiques;
•
•
au développement d’outils communs (par exemple les normes et
les standards) pour faciliter l’interopérabilité, l’intégration et la
réutilisation des données géographiques;
à la mise en place des services
communs pour améliorer la diffusion de l’information géographique gouvernementale, particulièrement pour les clientèles du
gouvernement (les citoyens et les
entreprises).
Des retombées concrètes
Réseau de transport
terrestre du Québec
Un partenariat interministériel a
été constitué pour assurer le développement de la cartographie d’un réseau
de transport intégré cohérent et continu pour l’ensemble du territoire québécois. Le produit intègre l’information géographique détenue ou acquise
par Forêt Québec et le Secteur des
opérations régionales du MRNF, ainsi
que par le ministère des Transports. Il
inclura le réseau routier supérieur et
municipal, les sentiers de motoneiges
et des véhicules tout terrain, les routes
forestières et les chemins complémentaires d’accès au territoire.
Réseau hydrographique
du Québec
Ce projet, initié en 2010, vise la
mise en place d’un réseau hydrographique intégré cohérent et continu sur
l’ensemble du territoire du Québec.
Cette base vise notamment la création
d’un réseau hydrographique filamentaire qui permettra aux utilisateurs
d’ajouter divers attributs suivant une
géométrie commune et unique. Ce
partenariat intègre les connaissances
de différents ministères, dont le
MDDEP et le MRNF (Direction générale de l’administration et de la
connaissance géographique et Forêt
Québec). À plus long terme, d’autres
partenaires gouvernementaux seront
aussi invités à collaborer à ce projet.
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
Diffusion de l’information
géographique aux citoyens
et aux entreprises
Comme l’un des objectifs de
l’ACRIgéo est d’améliorer l’efficience
de la diffusion de l’information géographique gouvernementale auprès des
citoyens et des entreprises, un groupe
de travail se penche sur les différents
aspects de la question. Son but est de
proposer des principes et des approches
interministériels pour joindre cette
clientèle et lui offrir des services intégrés, conviviaux et efficaces.
Déploiement des services
Web géographiques
Une équipe s’affaire à harmoniser les initiatives des ministères et
organismes visant à rendre accessibles par services Web les données
gouvernementales actuellement partageables. Il s’agit d’automatiser ces
échanges et de puiser directement à la
source les données pour les afficher
sur le Web et les intégrer à d’autres
thématiques.
Mario Hinse, directeur
Direction de la cartographie générale
et administrative
Direction générale adjointe de
l’information géographique
Ministère des Ressources naturelles
et de la Faune
Gouvernement du Québec
http://www.mrn.gouv.qc.ca/
∞∞∞
NEW BRUNSWICK
In New Brunswick (NB) the
focus has been responding to a geomatics review that was completed in
2006. The review was an opportunity
for the province to revisit its geomatics vision and refocus its efforts. The
key contribution of the review was the
recognition and adoption of the
approach required to achieve the
desired results. It identified the need
for a collaborative approach if the
aims were to be fully achieved.
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
The review identified five Key Result
Areas that needed to be addressed to be
successful: governance, communication,
policy and standards, data, and infrastructure. Service New Brunswick (SNB), the
lead agency for geomatics in New
Brunswick as mandated in the Service
New Brunswick Act, began implementing
of the action plan to develop a spatial data
infrastructure (SDI) for New Brunswick in
2007. While there has been progress in all
areas, perhaps the most visible progress
for stakeholders has been in the infrastructure area with the launch of GeoNB in
April 2009. GeoNB is the name that has
been assigned to NB’s SDI.
The initial release of GeoNB highlighted the GeoNB MapViewer application
(http://geonb.snb.ca/geonb/). Uptake has
been steady and continues to increase.
GeoNB is receiving approximately 7,000
visitors per week as of October 2010.
Since the initial offering, the NB
Department of Environment (ENV) has
collaborated with SNB to develop and add
a flood-mapping tool to the MapViewer.
Interest in providing additional data and
services continue. These same organizations are currently developing an additional service: a wetland indicator tool.
An agreement has also been struck
between SNB and the Department of
Natural Resources (DNR) whereby DNR
will become the custodian for the authoritative hydrographic layer for NB, the New
Brunswick Hydro Network (NBHN). Work
to develop and maintain it is underway and
stages will evolve incrementally. The output from this collaboration is expected to be
NB’s contribution to the national hydrographic initiative—the National Hydro
Network (NHN). The initial release of the
NBHN is expected to be March 2011 with
subsequent versions following annually
until the full NHN is achieved within 3
to 5 years. Plans for the next three
years are currently being finalized. A
key component of this will be a vetting
mechanism with stakeholders to ensure
development and user requirements
align.
Other activities within provincial
departments include the following:
Department of Aquaculture and
Agriculture (DAA)—Work within
DAA includes aquaculture and fisheries
site delineation and resource planning.
Department of Environment
(ENV)—In addition to the collaboration with GeoNB, ENV has created an
internet based GIS system called the
Sustainable Planning Portal (SPP)
used by planning commission staff as
a tool when reviewing tentative subdivisions and development. The SPP
allows staff to view, query, and analyze provincial data sets pertaining to
environmental features and areas of
special importance (as recommended
by ENV in the provincial subdivision
review guideline).
Department
of
Social
Development (DSD)—DSD acquired
GIS software in 2007 and use it primarily for socio-economic analysis
and display.
Department of Local Government
(DLG)—DLG has switched from a
“metes and bounds” written description for municipal boundaries to a
map-based portrayal of boundaries for
any newly created or altered municipal boundaries.
Department of Public Safety
(DPS)—DPS has recognized the
strategic significance that GIS can
play in its operations and has recently
added a Geomatics Unit. As a result of
the significant investment DPS has
made in geomatics, a number of applications are now either operational or
in development. The department is
involved in both orthophoto collection
and LiDAR acquisition in support of
flood modelling.
Department of Transportation
(DOT)—DOT continues to utilize geomatics to support the Asset
Management Business Framework and
other departmental programs through
GEOMATICA 85
the integration of spatial data and
applications and distribution of the
data. The Department has implemented a network management system for
maintenance of the DOT road network
and linear referencing system as well
as department assets such as surface,
bridges, etc. The Transportation
Related Attribute Management System
(TRAMS) was implemented in the
department by Exor and forms the
foundation for the GIS architecture
that is currently being used. The
Digital Video Data Collection program
continues and has proven to be an
invaluable asset for the department.
Department of Wellness, Culture &
Sport (WCS)—The Heritage Branch
provides SNB’s PLANET application
information on Provincial Heritage
Places designated under the Heritage
Conservation Act. This information
alerts users to specific properties requiring Ministerial approval prior to any
intervention to character defining elements. In addition, the Historic Places
Section in-house activities include populating the Web-based New Brunswick
Register of Historic Places. The register
includes
a
mapping
function.
Archaeological Services, continues to
use GPS and GIS software in its management of the province’s archaeological
resources. Information, including known
sites and areas of elevated archaeological
potential, identified through predictive
modelling, is routinely used in environmental impact assessments and other
regulatory screenings.
Service
New
Brunswick
(SNB)—In addition to the work related to GeoNB, SNB utilizes geomatics
extensively in other business areas.
Geomatics is a key component of real
property registry operations and contributes to SNB’s role in supporting
the DPS civic addressing initiative.
The Director of Surveys’ responsibilities include many activities related to
geomatics. Providing leadership related to the management and operation
of active control sites by third parties
is one area. The Property Assessment
Branch has recently embraced geomatics as a tool to allow managers to
plan and analyze data, carry out oper86 GEOMATICA
ational activities more effectively and continues to expand use of geomatics within
their valuation of properties.
At the municipal level, activity continues to be impressive. Of the eight cities
within NB, the three largest have invested
heavily in geomatics and have dedicated
GIS departments providing support to operations and planning. Of these, Fredericton
has contributed greatly to the collaborative
approach to geomatics in NB.
The following is a snap shot of a few of
the City of Moncton’s activities:
•
•
•
•
•
Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) is in
place for many Public Works vehicles
as well as on regional transit buses
with Internet broadcasting on board
most buses. This information is available online via a Web mapping application;
GIS is used to assist with the municipal plan review and in fire station sitting and other analysis and modelling;
High resolution (7 to 15 centimetre) aerial imagery acquisition in 2010 and historic imagery/orthophoto production is
underway;
Moncton GIS data is available on ESRI
Community Maps Program;
Millimetre accuracy mapping using
GIS/GPS fieldwork is ongoing and
expected to support 3-D applications
when appropriate.
David Finley
Manager, Topographic Infrastructure
Service New Brunswick
Government of New Brunswick
http://www.snb.ca/
∞∞∞
NOVA SCOTIA
Service Nova Scotia and
Municipal Relations
(http://www.gov.ns.ca/snsmr/)
Service Nova Scotia and Municipal
Relations (SNSMR), is the lead service
delivery arm of government for programs
and services to businesses, individuals and
municipalities.
Geographic Information
Service
•
•
Highlights include:
Continued support of the
Province’s corporate approach to
the management of geographic
information, known as GeoNOVA
Managing the Province’s primary
geographic information databases,
including the coordination of
interdepartmental/intergovernmental geomatics activities and
the provision of an effective
access infrastructure
GeoNOVA (http://www.geonova.ca) fosters a corporate approach to
the creation, maintenance and distribution of geographic information to
accepted standards and shared
amongst all users with the Province to
support decision making and to
reduce duplication of effort. One of
the cornerstones of GeoNOVA implementation is the ability for users to
easily access geographic information
within the province. Improved access
to geographic data is the current focus
of the GeoNOVA iniative. Highlights
include:
• Nova
Scotia
Geographic
Catalogue Enhancements
• GeoNOVA Portal (enhancements
and usage)
• Enhancing Web Map Services
• Expanding Data Download
Tools—
GeoNOVA
Data
Download Service
• GeoNOVA Map Viewer enhancements
• Development of new Geographic
Data Sharing Model
• Development of an Online Atlas
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
•
•
•
Spring
into
Geomatics
Conference
Lidar Strategic Working Group
Topographic Mapping Analysis
(NSTDB)
Nova Scotia Geomatics
Centre (NSGC)
The core activity of the NSGC is
to maintain and disseminate the
province’s primary geographic data,
including the Nova Scotia Coordinate
Referencing System (NSCRS), the
Nova Scotia Topographic Database
(NSTDB), the Digital Orthophoto
Mapping program, the Nova Scotia
Civic Address File (NSCAF), the Nova
Scotia Property Records Database
(NSPRD), the Nova Scotia Geographic
Names Database (NSGNDB) and the
Nova Scotia Aerial Photographic
Database (NSAPD). In addition, the
NSGC, in conjunction with the
GeoNOVA program, provides a variety
of support services to departments and
municipalities to make geographic data
holdings accessible. Highlights of the
period include:
• Maintenance of the Nova Scotia
Topographic Mapping Database
(NSTDB)
• Continued focus on Provincial
Coordinate Referencing
• Air Photo Collection—235,000
air photos dating back to late
1950’s
• Enhancements to the Nova Scotia
Place Names File—reconciliation and harmonization of community names
• Civic Addressing Maintenance
via the Nova Scotia Civic
Address File (NSCAF)—430,000
Civic Addresses
Land and Property
Programs
The Land and Property Programs
of Corporate Registries is continuing
with the vision established in 2001, to
create a province wide modernized
electronic land registry. It features
online access to all documents, plans
and indices, e-submission of all land
documents, and increased use of GIS
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
for depiction of interests in land.
Highlights include:
• E-submission of Land Documents continues along with Online Access to all
documents and plans
• Land Related Data Linkages in
Property Online
• Creation of Property Online
Municipal Tax Link
• Mass migration of Crown lands to
Land Registry
• Conversion of land titles from the former Registry of Deeds system to land
titles
Nova Scotia Department of
Community Services
The Department of Community
Services (DCS) is committed to a sustainable social service system that promotes the
independence, self-reliance, and security of
the people in Nova Scotia. This will be
achieved through excellence in service
delivery, leadership, and collaboration with
our partners. The Department of
Community Services delivers a wide range
of social services to Nova Scotians in need.
Work is done with other levels of government and many community-based nonprofit organizations to provide this network
of social services. Highlights include:
• Child Protection Mapping
• Mapping of the distribution of
licensed child care centres
• The Geographic extent of DCS’s
Housing Services Central Region for
program and service delivery planning
• Global Microedit Summit 2006
• Client Service Delivery Location
Review Project
Nova Scotia Department of
Natural Resources
The Department of Natural Resources
(DNR) has broad responsibilities relative to
the development, management, conservation and protection of forest, mineral, parks
and wildlife resources and the administration of the province’s Crown land.
The Land Services Branch Surveys
Division is responsible for the management of all surveying activities on Crown
land, including administration of all orders
of surveys, quality control of completed
surveys, file management, as well as
development, maintenance, and data
distribution of the Crown Land
Cadastral Database.
The Crown Land Information
Management Centre is a comprehensive
registry of conveyance documents, survey plans and maps dating back to the
1700’s for 3.5 million acres of Crown
land holdings in the province. The Centre
maintains the Crown Land Cadastral
Database (CLCD) to provide access via
geographic location to information in the
registry. This information is relied upon
by property lawyers, surveyors, and
others involved in land transactions to
determine Crown Land ownership and
interests. Highlights include:
•
•
•
•
•
Migration of Crown Land into the
new land titles system under the
Land Registration Act continues
Rationalizing of all databases in
the Branch toward creation of a
central RDBMS – part of wider
project to place all information
assets into a Branch wide application – LBPIMS (Land Branch
Property Information System)
Development of a DocuShare web
application for serving scanned
documents and raster catalogue of
all mapping and plans – “onestop-shop” for all data – both spatial and attribute data for all
Crown Land
Working with Department of
Environment to designate protected areas in Nova Scotia
Utilization of GPS technology to
improve the quality of Crown Land
survey information in isolated areas
and this information is imported
into the GIS cadastral database
The Mineral Resources Branch
Digital Information Services group is
responsible for developing and maintaining the Mineral Resources Branch
(MRB) Geographic Information
System and associated databases, the
NovaScan bibliographic geoscience
database, for supplying digital data
and services to clients and staff, and
for developing and maintaining the
MRB Internet web site. Highlights
include:
GEOMATICA 87
•
•
•
•
•
Outfitting staff geologists with new
handheld PCs which were used for
data collection—the ArcPad application called Ganfield developed
by the Geological Survey of
Canada was modified to aid in the
data collection
Conversion of digital data sets
from
Universal
Transverse
Mercator (UTM) projected to new
Provincial Standard of NAD 1983
Re-design and conversion of
abandoned mine openings, mineral occurrences, drillholes, and
drill core databases into SQL
Server databases
Improvements to NovaScan – a
public search application for geoscience publications and maps
database on Nova Scotia and its
offshore regions. Upwards of 15,
716 MRB records ranging from
publications and maps, theses
and digital products
Memorandum of Understanding
signed with Nova Scotia
Department of Environment that
allow DNR to take over some
responsibilities for groundwater
resource management in the
Province
The Renewable Resources
Branch’s Forestry Division creates
and maintains comprehensive forest
resource databases using geomatics
technology. Information is used for
strategic and operational planning by
virtually every program involved with
forest resources in DNR. A sustainable state can be reached, in part, by
understanding ecological processes of
all aspects of society. Information collection, processing, and analysis are
key components of developing
knowledge of ecological processes.
Geomatics technologies are used for
further learning in the renewable
resource milieu. Highlights include:
•
•
Satellite imagery of the entire
Province for the period 2003 to
2005 is now available on-line to
department staff
Aerial photography acquired and is
used to further update forest stand
88 GEOMATICA
•
•
•
•
•
•
changes of tree species, height, crown
closure or stocking and site classification
GIS formatted Inventory Data has been
converted to a National Standard and
provided to National Forest Inventory
Forest stand boundaries now being
collected directly from colour orthoimages to improve positional and area
accuracies within the forest database
Development of a Forest Fuel—Code
online mapping service in collaboration with the Forest Protection
Division
Ongoing review of silvi-cultural treatment collection information on crown
and private land
Conducting mapping of Sirococcus
shoot blight using 3D stereo models as
a way to identify possible Spruce beetle damage on Cape Breton Island
Collaboration with University of New
Brunswick in seeking to model nutrient and moisture regimes to assist with
mapping Ecosites as part of the
Ecological Landscape Classification
Nova Scotia Community
Counts
Nova Scotia Community Counts
is a provincially supported Website
that provides data that counts for
communities. It draws on multiple
sources for statistics at both provincial and federal levels of government.
Statistics Canada’s Census of
Population provides the foundation
for statistics at the community level.
Data is displayed at thirteen levels of
geography that are familiar to Nova
Scotians. These statistics are used to
inform planning and decision-making
for community, program and policy
development. Highlights include:
•
•
•
Nova Scotia Transportation
and Public Works
The Nova Scotia Department of
Transportation and Public Works
(NSTPW) provides a transportation network for the safe and efficient movement
of people and goods and serves the building, property and accommodation needs of
government departments and agencies.
NSTPW maintains 4,100 bridges and
nearly 23,000 kilometres of road through
four district offices. It plays a variety of
roles in the development of a safe transportation system while supporting the economic prosperity of Nova Scotia. NSTPW
offers building, design and construction
services to government and is accountable
for various industrial buildings, sites, and
leased facilities. Highlights include:
•
•
•
•
Road Listing Database Clean Up
Project (RLDCUP) and subsequent
road standards and conventions
Conducting a GPS Road Attribute
Pilot Project
Developing an online Highway
Conditions Reporting System
Automatic Vehicle Location System
(AVL) pilot project conducted
•
•
Working with the Nova Scotia
Department of Justice to create
geographic boundaries for their
Justice Centres and Police Districts.
Making mapping contributions of
selected data to the GeoNOVA
Thematic Atlas.
New and updated statistical
datasets on Community Counts
throughout 2008 included 2006
Census, 2006 Income data from
the Small Area and Administrative
Database, Canadian Community
Health Survey, Cancer Care Nova
Scotia, Canadian Institute for
health Information, and Vital
Statistics. The printable maps section is currently being updated
with 2006 Census data.
Partnering with the Nova Scotia
Department of Justice and the
National Crime Prevention
Centre in an effort to assemble
data on crime and safety in Nova
Scotia’s communities.
The Social and Economic Status
(SES) tool, originally developed
for use by the Fluoride Mouth
Rinse Program in the Department
of Health Promotion and
Protection, is now being used by
school boards to identify schools
that need extra resources to help
children from disadvantaged
communities to get a successful
start in school. The SES tool is
being updated with data from the
2006 Census.
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
•
•
A Municipal Polling District
Geography has been added for
Halifax Regional Municipality to
provide a finer view of statistics in
urban areas. Discussions are underway with the Cape Breton Regional
Municipality to do the same.
Community Asset Mapping introduced via the newly created Map
Centre. Users select from over 15,000
maps at all levels of geography.
Department of Health
Promotion & Protection
Created in February 2006, this
department brings together Nova
Scotia Health Promotion, the Public
Health branch of the Department of
Health, and the Office of the Chief
Medical Officer of Health. HPP has
experienced a great many successes,
each of which has had a positive
impact on the people of this province.
A staff of experts in promotion, prevention, and protection is dedicated to
improving the well-being of every
Nova Scotian. Highlights include:
• Development of GIS metadata
and evaluation of all existing GIS
data-sets is necessary and part of
the ongoing data QA/QC process
at HPP.
• Maintenance and continuing
development of the Nova Scotia
Trails
Information
Project
(http://www.trails.gov.ns.ca).
• Development and maintenance of
Recreational and Sports Facility
Database.
• Signage of the Trans Canada
Trail in order to provide First
Responders better location data
of persons along the Trans
Canada Trail.
Provincial Geomatics
Future Overview—
GeoNOVA Perspective
into 2011 and Beyond!
GeoNOVA continues to forge
ahead championing the Province’s
commitment and approach to developing and delivering corporate geographic infrastructure and information
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
management systems. GeoNOVA’s guiding principles stand the test of time against
an ever changing and emerging information and geomatics specific back drop.
Those principles are:
1. Create data once, as close to the source
as possible, and use it many times
2. Take a “corporate” approach to the creation, management, dissemination and
use of geographic data and information
3. Adhere to the approved Standards for
Geographic Information in Nova
Scotia
4. Share data and information freely
among provincial government users
5. Make Nova Scotia’s geographic data
discoverable and ensure metadata is
managed in a sustainable way
6. Maximize the use of partnerships to
build collaborative working relationships and optimize the use of our collective resources
With those principles holding firm,
GeoNOVA will continue to lead strategic
analysis work like that recently conducted
on the Nova Scotia Topographic Database
and the Nova Scotia Civic Address File
over the next number of years. A coordinated geospatial infrastructure for the
province is now within striking distance
and the recommendations on LiDAR technology will serve the provincial geomatics
community well. The ground work is prepared in terms of an exciting new cooperative data sharing agreement called the
GeoNOVA Alliance, which will see the
Province move into a whole new era of
data sharing and cooperation among geomatics stakeholders. Highlighting the
growing geomatics presence in Nova
Scotia and “tuning” citizens into geography with such events as Geography
Awareness Day will continue to form part
of the GeoNOVA work plan. Lastly, the
strong ties formed with Municipal and
Provincial geomatics stakeholders will be
further strengthened with ongoing stakeholder forums.
Nancy Saunders
Director, Geographic Information
Services Service
Nova Scotia & Municipal Relations
Government of Nova Scotia
http://www.gov.ns.ca/
YUKON
Geomatics Yukon is the corporate
agency that delivers geomatics products and services to all parts of Yukon
Government. Geomatics Yukon also
provides corporate coordination, support, and liaison for internal government geomatics activities. In addition,
this agency provides services to a
range of external agencies including
First Nations governments, federal
departments, municipal governments,
non-governmental organizations, private sector companies, and the public.
Geomatics Yukon provides a central service to all clients by via its website: http://www.geomaticsyukon.ca/.
This website contains spatial data, and
a list of links to interactive map applications and imagery products with
downloadable footprints. This information is hosted or referenced by
Geomatics Yukon on behalf of various
Yukon Government departments and
external agencies.
Other geomatics-intensive groups
in Yukon Government include the
Department of Energy, Mines, and
Resources, and the geomatics unit of
the Department of Environment.
Other departments maintain geomatics capabilities that are more limited,
focusing primarily on operational data
creation and management as well as
departmental mapping.
Two major Yukon Government
corporate initiatives during the period
2008 to 2011 are the Corporate Spatial
Data Infrastructure (CSDI) and the
Yukon Base Mapping projects.
GEOMATICA 89
Corporate Spatial Data
Infrastructure
Yukon started CSDI development
in 2004 as a corporate initiative to
coordinate the government’s spatial
data infrastructure. The CSDI includes
the central corporate services that support the collection, sharing, and distribution of spatial data for Yukon. It
includes the following main components: corporate spatial warehouse,
operational environment, web mapping, image distribution, and metadata.
The main CSDI activities during
the 2008-2011 period are:
•
•
•
Corporate Spatial Warehouse—
The focus has been on building
content in the Yukon Government
spatial data engine (SDE) repository as a method of sharing corporate data sets. The environment is
read only and all data sets are fully
modelled and have metadata.
Operational Environment—The
focus has been on building departmental operational environments.
The spatial data requirements for
each department are evaluated and
then the data sets are modelled to
streamline the specific business
processes most effectively. The
data sets are edited in separate
SDE environments and then
migrated to the corporate spatial
warehouse for distribution. Filebased repositories are used in
some cases.
Web Mapping—The production
Web mapping infrastructure is
built on ArcIMS and Moxi
Media’s
IMF
(Integrated
Mapping Framework) technology. Yukon Government is currently transitioning to ArcGIS
Server technology to take advantage of improved Web mapping
technologies and to allow for
enhanced data content such as
imagery and annotation. The first
Web mapping applications will
be released in 2011. This infrastructure is available to all Yukon
Government branches and, in
some cases, external agencies to
90 GEOMATICA
•
present their data to the public or
internal clients.
Imagery—Yukon Government maintains a large repository of satellite
imagery and aerial photographs at various resolutions. In the past, access to
this image repository was strictly filebased; however, in 2010 ESRI’s
ArcGIS Image Server was implemented to make this imagery available to
internal users and Web mapping applications more effectively.
•
Yukon Base Mapping
In 2005, various Yukon Government
departments identified the requirement for
improved base map data. A joint project
between Yukon Government and Tr’ondëk
Hwëch’in First Nation began in 2007 to
develop high-resolution imagery and base
data products for the territory. The first
phase of this project was to identify the best
approach for improving base mapping in
such a remote northern territory. This
research has continued through the 2008 to
2011 period and a strategy has been devised
to create a framework for imagery-related
base mapping projects in Yukon.
This project has four streams:
•
•
High Resolution Stereo Community
Mapping. The objective is mapping
all Yukon communities with stereo
high-resolution imagery (approximately 50 centimetre resolution) and
create digital elevation models
(DEMs). Communities will be
mapped and then revisited on a threeto-four year cycle or more often, if
required. Once the DEM has been
generated, revisits will be focussed on
mono imagery. Most communities
have been mapped at a high resolution to date; however, few currently
have DEMs.
High
Resolution
Regional
Mapping. Large regional areas will
be mapped using high-resolution (50
centimetre) imagery. Newer satellites
such as GeoEye and WorldView
enable mapping large areas with few
ground control points which is important in remote areas. Reduced acquisition costs in recent years have made
this a feasible option for mapping
large areas. During the 2008 to 2011
•
period, three large project areas
were mapped, totalling approximately 29,000 km2. Despite the
high resolution imagery, the
resulting map accuracy is only
approximately 4 metres due to the
poor quality of DEMs used.
Mid
Resolution
Regional
Mapping. Mid-resolution (2 to 5
metres) imagery was initially seen
as a cost-effective way of mapping
large areas of the Yukon. This
option, however, is becoming less
necessary as the cost of the high
resolution imagery drops. Mid resolution imagery can be created by
resampling
high-resolution
imagery if necessary.
Regional DEM Mapping. A
strong need for regional DEM
mapping exists in Yukon; however, DEM creation is still expensive and satellite-based options
remain limited. Research continues in this area.
Lauren Crooks
Geomatics Yukon
Yukon Highways and Public Works
Government of Yukon
http://www.gov.yk.ca/
∞∞∞
NORTHWEST
TERRITORIES
In the Northwest Territories
(NWT), several departments use geomatics to assist in delivering their programs, with the lead role being played
by the NWT Centre for Geomatics
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
(NWTCG). The NWTCGprovides
geospatial data and services to all
Government of the Northwest
Territories (GNWT) departments with
the following mandate:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Technical support to meet government needs
Geomatics project work for
GNWT clients
Coordinate training requirements
in geomatics
Maintain geospatial data
Make spatial data and existing
products readily available to all
users via the internet
Represent the GNWT interests in
geomatics to the Government of
Canada and other governments
NWTCG is hosted by the Shared
Services Centre of the Departments of
Environment and Natural Resources
(ENR) and Industry, Tourism and
Investment (ITI). Geomatics capabilities within ENR are centered within
the Forest Management Division, the
Wildlife and Fish Division, and the
Protected Areas Strategy hosted by
the Land and Water Division. There
are regional geomatics expertise in
Inuvik, Norman Wells, Hay River,
and Fort Smith. Geomatics within ITI
are centred within the NWT
Geoscience Office (NTGO).
Within the Department of
Community and Municipal Affairs
(MACA), the geomatics function is
housed within the Surveys and
Mapping Unit of the Lands and
Infrastructure Administration Division.
It is mandated to:
•
•
•
Provide aerial photography
Conduct legal surveys
Develop topographic mapping
within the communities
Geomatics related to culture and
heritage is the mandate of the Cultural
Places Program within the Department
of Education, Culture and Employment.
Any geomatics requirements for
the Departments of Transportation,
Health and Social Services and
Aboriginal
Affairs
and
Intergovernmental Relations are currently supplied through the NWTCG.
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
The following are some of the key
activities and accomplishments from 2008
to present:
NWT Centre for Geomatics
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Establishment of an ongoing enhancement of an electronic spatial data
access window.
Refresh of the GNWT Spatial Data
Warehouse,
including
Web
Geographic Information Systems GIS
and Web Mapping Service (WMS)
and data download capabilities.
The Centre has downloaded all available
SPOT images covering the NWT, and a
200 kilometre buffer. Once all SPOT
images become available, the Centre will
generate a mosaic, and make the data
available on the Centre’s Portal.
Creation of metadata and formatting
of much of NWT Geomatics data
holdings for inclusion in the spatial
data warehouse.
In collaboration with the Department
of Indian Affairs and Northern
Development, the GNWT, aboriginal
groups and industry aerial photography, Digital Elevations Models
(DEM), and orthophotos were
obtained of the Mackenzie delta and
valley. These are freely available
online.
An automated process was completed
for the reception, processing, and posting of NOAA satellite imagery to the
NWTCG website. This imagery is freely
available.
Assisting Health and Social Services in
disease monitor and mapping via a
GIS.
Developed a Strategic and corresponding Operational Plans.
Coordinated
the
Mapping
Requirement for the ‘Managing Our
Land’ Report (70 maps).
Updates of Wildlife Management Area
boundaries and legal descriptions as
required.
Working with Elections NWT to create
maps for use in the October 2011
Territorial Election (anticipated to be
in excess of 50 maps when the project
is completed).
Assist and develop geospatial services
for the NWT Hydro Corporation’s
hydro development team.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Mapping and analysis for the NWT
State of the Environment Report,
2010 Biodiversity Special Edition.
Mapping of various NWT territorial
parks for the Department of Industry
Tourism and Investment (ITI).
Oil and Gas mapping for ITI
Minerals, Oil and Gas Division.
Mapping for the Department of
Aboriginal
Affairs
and
Intergovernmental Relations on
international boundaries.
GIS project management assistance to numerous GNWT personnel. For example: Created a project framework and trained ENR
contracted biologist on GIS data
capture from their field marked
classified satellite imagery.
Mapping and analysis for the
Energy Planning Division/ITI on
various projects such as hydro
electricity options in the North
Slave Region, transmission line
mapping for the NWT Power
Corporation, etc.
Mapping for ENR on a Caribou
Education Project.
Mapping for the Department of
the Executive on NWT internet
connectivity.
Mapping for the Environmental
Protection Division/ENR on road
extension options with reference
to layers of select land use data.
Departments of
Environment and
Natural Resources
•
•
Forest Management Division
(FMD) has completed the first part
of their Forest Management
Information System project which
includes the implementation of an
enterprise relational database
management system, digital forest
and fire management map templates,
and
a
Wildfire
Management application.
FMD, working in conjunction
with the Wildlife Division, have
completed the Taiga Plains
Ecozone classification and mapping project and is in the process
of doing the Arctic islands.
GEOMATICA 91
•
•
•
•
The NWT Fire history polygon
dataset was revised to include correct boundaries for fires from
1965 to 2005.
The ecology of boreal caribou in
the lower Mackenzie Valley was
completed through the use of spatial analysis and mapping to support the modeling of seasonal
habitat.
Mapped, managed, and analyzed
data from satellite and GPS collars
on grizzly bears, polar bears, barren ground caribou, and boreal
woodland caribou.
Mapped caribou movements for
use by local First nations.
Department of
Community and
Municipal Affairs
•
•
Completed a comprehensive land
verification project that documents ownership and tenure status
of each land parcel within the
municipal boundaries of communities in the NWT. This data was
used to populate the database that
supports the Administration of the
Territorial Lands Act System
(ATLAS). This data is freely
available on the ATLAS Website.
Completed a refresh of the
ATLAS website with new web
technologies.
NWT Cultural Places
Program
•
The Ice Patch Research program
continues to assess the possibility
that melting ice patches in the
Mackenzie Mountains may expose
artifacts similar to the ancient ice
patches in the Yukon and Alaska.
Landsat 7 satellite imagery was
used to reduce the number of
potential targets. This was further
augmented with aerial photography and the creation of field maps
and GPS locations. Field research
resulted in two positive archaeological sites identified.
92 GEOMATICA
NWT Geoscience Office
•
•
•
•
•
•
Developed a mobile GIS application
(ARCPad) using PC’s in geology field
projects.
Provided mobile GIS application
training to University of Alberta field
school students with support of industry partners.
Provide an outreach program that
offers geomatics and geological information and training to communities
and interested parties.
Major contributions to the Geological
Survey of Canada’s Remote
Predictive Mapping Program.
Maintenance of a Web-based spatial
data access application, NORMIN
Web Query, which is a mineral showings database with reference metadata.
Maintenance of a Web-based data
access portal, gateway providing
download access to 60 years of
scanned, industry-submitted geological reports
Government of the Northwest
Territories departments have developed
spatial data sets and possess extensive
expertise in a northern framework.
Partnerships have been an essential part of
the working environment and have been
developed with aboriginal groups, federal
government departments, and among territorial departments.
The base mapping and survey responsibilities outside the community boundaries still resides with the Government of
Canada, while the creation of thematic
maps and base data within each community resides with the NWT.
Helmut Epp
NWT Centre for Geomatics
Government of the Northwest Territories
http://www.gov.nt.ca/
∞∞∞
NUNAVUT
The Department of Community and
Government Services (CGS), Government
of Nunavut, has been providing geomatics
services to the Municipalities of Nunavut
for over thirty years. The geomatics
services provided include community
base maps, preparation of survey
sketches, site plans, legal surveys, and
acquisition of satellite images. The
Planning and Lands Section of CGS
has been given the mandate to provide
these geomatics services.
In 2006, CGS took a change in
direction and decided to acquire satellite images, instead of air photos, to
update their base maps. It was decided
to make this decision because the cost
and time to acquire the images were
substantially less. There are 25 municipalities scattered across an area
equivalent to one fifth of Canada’s
land mass (twice the size of the
province of Ontario). There is also only
a two month window to acquire images
and the weather conditions during the
summer months is unpredictable. It can
be easily determined that the acquisition of satellite images would mitigate
some of these obstacles.
The images acquired are used to
update the physical features of base
maps, such as water bodies, buildings,
and infrastructure. The images are also
used to create digital elevation models
and contours at intervals of one metre.
Images acquired in previous years
including 2006 and 2008 focused on
the built-up area of the communities
which varied with each due to their
size. It should be noted that the municipal boundaries are considerably larger
than the actual built-up areas.
It was decided in 2009 that CGS
would acquire images for the entire
area within the municipal boundaries.
This was done to map remote infrastructure such as waste disposal sites,
water sources, access roads, future
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
projects, and granular sites. In 2011, it
is anticipated that CGS will finish
mapping the land within the municipal boundaries. In the following
years, CGS will focus on built-up
areas which will enable us to update
the maps for at least 12 of the communities annually.
The following identifies images
acquired since 2008 and the type of
satellite image used:
2008/2009 – World View -1
• Kugluktuk
• Cambridge Bay
• Rankin Inlet
• Cape Dorset
• Igloolik
• Resolute Bay
2009/2010 – Geo Eye-1
• Taloyoak
• Chesterfield Inlet
• Arviat
• Whale Cove –NRCAN
• Grise Fiord
• Hall Beach
• Gjoa Haven
• Arctic Bay
2010/2011 – World View -2
• Qikiqtarjuaq
• Sanikiluaq
• Pond Inlet
• Repulse Bay
• Baker Lake
• Pangnirtung
• Kugaaruk
• Kimmirut
• Clyde River
• Coral Harbour
Acquiring the World View and Geo
Eye images have allowed CGS to obtain
images with a resolution of 50 centimetres, a RMSE of ±1 and contour interval of
1 metre. CGS confirms the accuracy of the
images by overlaying legal surveys that
depicted existing building footprints over
the satellite images. By comparing the
images with the building footprints it was
determined that the accuracy of the images
is between 50 to 70 centimetres.
In 1996, the responsibility to legally
survey lots was transferred from the
Territorial Government to the municipalities. The municipalities though, have not
been able to create an inventory of vacant
lots. The Government of Nunavut has taken
the initiative with the assistance of Federal
funding to resolve this problem. In
2008, CGS obtained $1.9 million
through the Indian and Northern Affairs
Canada Strategic Investment in
Northern Economic Development to
survey 1,700 lots across Nunavut. In
some communities, CGS has created an
inventory of lots for the next 20 years.
CGS still retains the responsibility
of approving all survey sketches for land
within the municipalities prior to survey
instructions being issued. CGS also provides drafting and planning services to
the communities.
CGS is currently in the initial
stages of developing a Geographical
Information System. Funding is needed to create an integrated database
system that will also be used by other
Government of Nunavut departments.
Development has begun and will continue on an in-house system in the
event that funding is not obtained. !
Robert Chapple
Senior Manager, Planning & Lands
Community and Government
Services
Government of Nunavut
http://cgs.gov.nu.ca/
25th International Cartographic Conference
Paris—Palais des Congrès
July 3-8, 2011
Enlightened View on Cartography and GIS
The French Committee of Cartography (CFC) organises the next International Conference on Cartography and GIS in
2011 in Paris, under the umbrella of the International Cartographic Association (ICA)
EVERYTHING ABOUT CARTOGRAPHY AND GIS IN A WEEK
•
•
•
•
•
•
A conference gathering up to 500 oral presentations
A professional exhibition gathering the major providers of GIS services, data and maps
3,500 participants
An exclusive exhibition gathering maps from around the world
A children drawings exhibition
Workshops organised by the ICA Commissions covering all fields of GIS and Cartography
AN EVENT FOR SCIENTISTS, ENGINEERS, DECISION-MAKERS AND MAP LOVERS
www.icc2011.fr
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
GEOMATICA 93
FEDERAL, PROVINCIAL TERRITORIAL
COOPERATIVE ACTIVITIES 2007-2011
The Inter-Agency
Committee on
Geomatics (IACG) and
The Canadian Council
on Geomatics (CCOG)
Decision makers in government
increasingly rely on location-based, or
geo-spatial, information to effectively
answer critical planning and policy
issues related to emergency preparedness and response, disaster mitigation,
public healthcare provision, environmental assessment, and monitoring,
and sustainable development, among
others. The questions, “Are we certain
the data we are using is current?
Accurate? Based on common standards?” are of concern to users of
location-based information. Two government committees are working
together to answer these questions
and to ensure Canadians are aware of,
and have access to data they need.
The IACG is directed by an Assistant
Deputy Minister (ADM) level Steering
Committee supported by a Director
General/Director level Working Group
and a Secretariat. The Working Group
meets regularly to discuss and recommend
solutions to common geomatics related
issues. Current membership includes 15
federal departments.
Objectives of the committee include
the promotion, maintenance and widespread use of the Canadian Geospatial
Data Infrastructure (CGDI), including current and accurate data, common data standards, and data collected once and reused
by many agencies. These objectives are
met by:
•
•
•
•
The Federal Perspective
The Inter-Agency Committee on
Geomatics (IACG) is the federal
inter-departmental coordinating body
established to encourage the effective
and efficient use of geomatics within
the Canadian government.
The IACG defines geomatics as
“the suite of activities and services
involved in the collection, management, analysis and integration of
location-based data to enable
improved decision and policy making
for Canadians.”
94 GEOMATICA
establishing cooperation
recognizing lead roles for the collection, maintenance, analysis, integration and sharing of location-based
data and information to eliminate
overlap and duplication by:
•
•
•
ensuring best efforts to reduce or
eliminate federal inter-agency
charges for access and use of
common location-based data
encouraging and furthering interoperability of location-based data
and other information systems
promoting common data standards that
comply with international standards
facilitating easy access to and use of
location-based information by all
Canadians through, for example, the
use of common data licenses, and
providing a consultative forum for the
federal geomatics community.
Goals of the Inter-Agency Committee
on Geomatics include:
•
•
•
•
•
raising awareness of how geomatics supports key government
priorities and business lines
articulating and establishing harmonized national geomatics policies
reaching agreement on a federal
governance approach for geomatics
optimizing federal approaches
and interactions with provincial
and territorial agencies
creating a forum or network to
ensure collaboration among
members of the “federal family”
Current topics of interest at the
IACG table include supporting
Treasury Board (TB) in the implementation of a federal Standard on
Geospatial Data that is consistent
with ISO standards on metadata and
visualization, as well as working with
TB IT experts on Web Mapping and
Accessibility in order to meet technology challenges of Online
Government requirements. The intent
is to develop a “help guide” that
departments without in-house GIS
expertise would use to create basic
web mapping functions.
Another area of discussion is better coordination between the geomatics and earth observations communities. Both the IACG and Canadian
Group on Earth Observations (CGEO)
acknowledge that better coordination
between federal data producers and
users, in line with international efforts,
will place Canada in a strong position
to help lead global initiatives.
To this end, a sub-group representing the interests of both the IACG
and CGEO is now discussing opporVol. 65, No. 1, 2011
tunities to better share and provide
access to location-based data of all kinds
in order to ensure effective and efficient
systems and efforts, thereby providing
Canadians with the information they
need to enable sound and sustainable
policy and decision making.
This group will be an information
sharing forum to identify and find
solutions for issues related to data
access and sharing, data archiving, IT
infrastructure, operational policies, and
international activities. It will also provide leadership to enable the exchange
of environmental and socio-economic
location-based data between federal
departments, which could eventually
include other jurisdictions.
The Federal, Provincial
and Territorial Perspective
Created in 1972, the Canadian
Council on Geomatics (CCOG) is the
federal, provincial and territorial government consultative body for the
management of location-based information in Canada. Its aims are to provide a forum for information exchange,
to enhance collaboration between
jurisdictions and to develop, promote
and support national geomatics standards and the Canadian Geospatial
Data Infrastructure (CGDI). In 2005, a
Strategic Steering Committee was
created to raise the CCOG’s collective
level of influence and the profile of
geomatics among senior government
executives in Canada.
CCOG led studies have contributed to the development of key
national initiatives. Significant
CCOG accomplishments have been:
identifying the benefits of a CGDI for
Canada, establishing the closely related GeoBase initiative, and creating
and promoting the Canadian
Geomatics Accord.
The GeoBase initiative was
developed to provide the key framework or base, data component of the
CGDI. Through the web portal
(http://www.geobase.ca) trusted federal, provincial, and territorial frameVol. 65, No. 1, 2011
work data provides context and reference
for users of Canadian location-based information. Currently the data offerings include
eight themes for Canada: administrative
boundaries, digital elevation, the geodetic
network, geographical names, land cover,
the national hydro network, the national
road network, and satellite orthoimagery.
Several of these data themes have evolved
to include more than one data layer.
Additional data themes are being evaluated
for inclusion.
CCOG collaboration has also resulted
in the development of the Canadian
Geomatics Accord. This cooperative
agreement creates a framework for federal,
provincial, and territorial collaboration in
the collection, maintenance, and distribution of geomatics data. The initial Accord,
in 2001, was signed by Ministers from
British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan,
Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova
Scotia,
Prince
Edwards
Island,
Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, and
the Northwest Territories. Federal Ministers
from the Departments of National Defence,
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Public
Works and Government Services Canada,
and Natural Resources Canada also signed
the Accord. The 2007 renewal of the
Accord added Quebec to the list of signatories. The CCOG is currently preparing
for a follow-up renewal in 2012.
Benefits of the Geomatics Accord are
increased awareness of geomatics activities, reduced duplication of effort, greater
efficiencies and more effective promotion
of the uses of location-based information
in Canada.
The Earth Sciences Sector of Natural
Resources Canada provides Secretariat
support for both the IACG and the CCOG.
More information on the Inter Agency
Committee on Geomatics can be found at:
http://www.iacg-cmoig.org
For more information about CCOG,
please visit: http://www.ccog-cocg.ca. !
Gordon W. Garrard
IACG Secretariat
Natural Resources Canada
International
Geographic
Union
Regional
Geographic
Conference
UGI 2011
United and
Integrated
with the
World
November 14-18,
2011
Santiago
Chile
www.ugi2011.cl
Corinna Vester
GeoBase Secretariat
Natural Resources Canada
GEOMATICA 95
NATIONAL SOCIETIES AND
ASSOCIATIONS REPORTS
striving to influence policy decisions; to ences, the Association is always open
Association of
create and maintain an active communica- to holding joint meetings with other
Canadian Map
tion network for the exchange of informa- map/geographic/spatial data organiamong members and the cartographic zations to share ideas and explore
Libraries and Archives tion
community; and to support the research and common themes.
professional development activities of
Association des
members through publications, conferences Advocacy and Partnerships
cartothèques et
and seminars.
Over the last few years, ACMLA
participated in the Canadian Council
archives cartograPublications
on Geomatics (CCOG) National
phiques du Canada
The ACMLA has always maintained a Mapping Strategy (NMS) initiative
strong publishing program. The Bulletin with one of our members in the
(ACMLA / ACACC)
The Association of Canadian Map
Libraries and Archives/Association des
cartothèques et archives cartographiques
du Canada (ACMLA/ACACC) is the
representative professional group for
Canadian map librarians, cartographic
archivists and others interested in spatial
data and geographic information in all
formats. Since its inception in 1967, the
achievements of the Association have
been notable. These include:
•
•
•
a vigorous publishing program.
the development of professional
standards and international cataloguing rules.
advocacy for the importance of
spatial information (in all its formats) and the contribution of map
libraries, geospatial data centres
and cartographic archives.
Objectives
The Association has as its primary
objectives: to engage in activities
which further the awareness, use and
understanding of cartographic materials (in all formats) for the Canadian
research community and the public at
large; to represent and promote the
collective interests of Canadian cartographic users by establishing contacts
with government agencies and by
96 GEOMATICA
continues to be published three times per
year as the primary vehicle of communication with our members in Canada and
abroad. Since the last report to the
International Cartographic Association
(ICA), the ACMLA has begun to explore
options for digitizing and disseminating
older editions of the Bulletin. We also offer
a popular facsimile map series of Bird’s
Eye Views, and Canada historical maps.
The Association also maintains a strong
web presence through its web site at
http://www.acmla.org and the CARTA listserv ([email protected]). The Association also maintains its
own members only listserv. Future plans
include the addition of more French language content on the Association website.
Annual Meetings
Members of the association meet
annually at venues across Canada:
Montreal in 2007 with the Canadian
Association of Public Data Users
(CAPDU); Vancouver in 2008 with the
Canadian Cartographic Association
(CCA); Wolfville, Nova Scotia in 2009
with CCA, and the Geomatics Association
of Nova Scotia (GANS); Guelph in 2010
with CAPDU; and we will meet in Quebec
City in 2011. Overall, we have found that
these joint conferences provide us with an
excellent opportunity to explore common
themes and solutions with our colleagues.
Based on the success of past joint confer-
Working Group. Overseen by the
NRCan GeoBase Steering Committee,
the goal was to forge a long-term
approach to the planning and coordination of mapping in Canada. In the
wake of our very successful campaign
in 2007 to reverse NRCan’s decision
to cease publication of topographic
mapping, this was a welcomed initiative for ACMLA to be involved in. Our
participation represented the Canadian
map users community, including the
general public and academics within
Canadian educational institutions.
Many members attended NMS round
table discussions across the country
sponsored by GIAC (Geomatics
Industry Association of Canada). The
final report, Canada’s National
Mapping Strategy is now published on
the NRCan website.
ACMLA representation on the
Canadian Committee on Cataloguing
(CCC), through our Bibliographic
Control Committee, was very active
reviewing and submitting comments
to the international Joint Steering
Committee for the publication of
Resource Description and Access – the
new cataloguing standards to replace
the AACR2 standards. The RDA was
published in June 2010.
ACMLA has also been active in
protesting changes to the 2011 Census,
particularly the surprise cancellation by
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
the Government of the mandatory long
form census. This decision could have
far reaching implications for mapping
projects and geospatial education activities in Canada for many years to come.
A public letter from the Association to
the Government can be found here:
http://maplib.blogspot.com/2010/07/ac
mla-letter-to-tony-clement-concerning.html.
In recent years, our Federal
Government has been discussing
Copyright reform legislation. ACMLA
has been active at various town hall
meetings and in writing letters to government officials advocating for less
restrictive as well as clear and consistent copyright guidelines that will aid
in the creation and sharing of geospatial and cartographic knowledge. A
public letter to the Consultation
process can be found here:
http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/008.nsf/en
g/01421.html.
Member Outreach
ACMLA launched a Mentoring
Program in late 2008 and reported a
very successful first year with many
members participating. It was developed to provide a mechanism for
encouraging and supporting new
members in their professional growth
and development and welcoming
them into the profession and
Association. The program furthers
two of the Association’s objectives: to
develop and maintain communication
networks for the exchange of ideas
and information among members; and
to support members’ professional
development activities as these relate
to the objectives of the Association.
The program is overseen by a coordinator who is responsible for pairing
members, year-end evaluation, and
reporting to the Association.
In early 2010, the Executive
embarked on a Membership
Satisfaction Survey that resulted in a
44% response rate—most responses
from new members. The survey
results clearly indicated a need to
develop personal expertise and the
teaching of spatial literacy as part of
their job portfolio. Professional develVol. 65, No. 1, 2011
opment, networking, and keeping current
were the major themes revealed from the
survey. In response to the need for spatial
literacy, the association will be developing
a teaching and learning-working group.
The Association’s Bibliographic
Control Committee organized a one-day
pre-conference map-cataloguing workshop
in Guelph this year. This introductory
workshop provided a starting point for
those cataloguers who want to learn about
cataloguing cartographic materials, specifically paper sheet maps.
This year’s recipient of the Student
Paper Award was Francine Berish for her
paper Geolibraries, a review: the challenge
of maintaining an organizational standard
alongside the promotion of interoperability
and access.
The Future
In recent years, the Association has
become increasingly active with advocacy
and outreach The Association is committed to its role to promote, protect and preserve Canada’s rich cartographic heritage
in both paper and digital format and developing a spatially literate society. Our
membership is looking forward to working cooperatively with the ICA and our
colleagues in related associations to help
achieve these objectives.
Andrew Nicholson
President of ACMLA
Canadian Cartographic
Association (CCA)
Association Canadienne
de Cartographie (ACC)
The
Canadian
Cartographic
Association (CCA) was founded in 1975
as a private, non-profit organization. The
goals and principles on which it was
founded are to further the discipline of
cartography in Canada with the following
specific objectives:
•
•
•
•
To promote interest in maps and
related cartographic materials
To further the understanding and
knowledge of maps by encouraging research in the field of cartography both historical and current
To provide for the exchange of
ideas and information and for the
discussion of mutual concerns
through annual meetings and
publications
To advance education in the field
of cartography and promote the
use of maps
The Association’s mandate is to
offer a forum for the exchange of
ideas and the sharing of cartographic
knowledge. In the new millennium,
the CCA considers its constituency to
extend beyond cartography to
embrace closely related fields such as
Geovisualization and Geographic
Information Science. Members are
kept informed about technological
changes and opportunities that affect
and influence their professional standings through annual conferences and
two publications, the refereed, international
quarterly
journal,
Cartographica, owned and published
by the University of Toronto Press,
and
the
quarterly
Canadian
Cartographic Association newsletter,
Cartouche. The CCA is administered
by volunteer members across Canada
who are elected to the Executive
Committee chaired by the President.
The CCA has five Special Interest
Groups: GIS and Geovisualisation,
Cartographic Education, History of
Cartography, Mapping Technologies
and Spatial Data, and Map Use and
Design. The membership elects a chair
for each Interest Group who serves a
two-year term. The specialty group
chairpersons are tasked with organizing a session at the Annual Meeting
and coordinating an annual report and
articles to Cartouche.
Membership
Membership is open to anyone
with an interest in any aspect of mapping and members are drawn from the
ranks of government, industry, acadeGEOMATICA 97
mia, and from the general public. Most
members are residents of Canada, but
about 25 per cent come from the
United States and other countries. The
number of members has not changed
appreciably over the last few years and
remains at slightly more than 200.
The CCA is ramping up its membership recruitment by concentrating
on post-secondary students and recent
graduates who represent the future of
the association. The CCA offers the
Norman L. Nicholson Scholarship to
outstanding students, and the
President’s Prize competition for students in both colleges and universities. The competition requires students to produce a map on assigned
themes that are then judged by a panel
of experts at the annual general meeting. Winners receive a monetary prize
and their maps become part of the
Library and Archives of Canada collection, and are also displayed on the
association’s website.
CCA and the International
Cartographic Association
(ICA)
The CCA plays a leading role in
international cartography through its
involvement with the Canadian
National Committee (CNC) for the
International
Cartographic
Association. The Canadian National
Committee, chaired by a CCA nominee (currently Janet Mersey), is
responsible for coordinating Canadian
participation in the International
Cartographic Association, and has
such specific responsibilities as
appointing representatives to ICA
commissions, working groups and
committees, preparing a biannual
exhibit of Canadian cartography, publishing a biannual national report on
Canadian cartography, and facilitating
the submission of technical papers for
presentation at meetings of the ICA. In
addition, Cartographica, is one of the
three journals endorsed by the ICA and
receives submissions of manuscripts
through recommendations from the
ICA’s Publication Committee.
98 GEOMATICA
Dan Duda, a CCA member from
Memorial University, has been active in
organizing the Canadian National Map
Exhibit at the bi-annual ICA meetings. At
the meeting in Santiago, Chile, The Atlas of
Canada’s Circumpolar Regoin Map—
International Polar Year (2008) won first
prize out of 99 entries in the Thematic Map
category. The jury report cited the map’s
“unconventional format” (the map is
round) and “beautiful design” as giving
“the user a formidable impression of the
depicted region.”
Annual General Meetings
The
Canadian
Cartographic
Association meets annually at diverse
locations across Canada, and frequently in
conjunction with like-minded associations. The CCA has a program of Awards
of Distinction, presented at the annual
meeting, that honour those individuals
who have made exceptional scholarly contributions to cartography, exceptional contributions to the practice of cartography,
and exceptional contributions to the
Canadian Cartographic Association. The
most recent meetings have been in
Saskatoon in 2007, as part of the Learneds
conference; at the University of British
Columbia in 2008 along with the ACMLA;
in Wolfville, NS in 2009 with the
Geomatics Association of Nova Scotia; and
in Regina in 2010, as part of the ‘Prairie
Summit’ that brought together the CCA,
Canadian Association of Geographers
(CAG),
Canadian
Geomorphology
Research Group and the Canadian Remote
Sensing Society. In four years, we thus
went from the centre of the country, coast to
coast and back to the centre, following the
principle of crossing the country to enable
all regions’ members to participate. The
next meetings will be held in Calgary in
2011 along with the CAG, and in Ottawa in
2012 with the US-based Cartography and
Geographic Information Society (CAGIS)
Donna Williams
President
Canadian Cartographic Association
www.cca-acc.org
Association of Canada
Lands Surveyors
The Association of Canada Lands
Surveyors (ACLS) is a national selfregulating professional association. It
has 620 members located across
Canada (and the world), who have
expertise in surveying, photogrammetry, remote sensing, geodesy, hydrography and land information systems.
Licensed Canada Lands Surveyors
(CLS) are the only ones authorized by
the Canada Lands Surveyors’ Act to
perform cadastral surveying on
Canada Lands, which are formed by
Aboriginal Reserves, Federal Parks,
all lands in the three territories and the
offshore portion that is not under
provincial jurisdiction. The objects of
the Association are:
•
•
•
•
•
•
to establish and maintain standards of qualifications for Canada
Lands Surveyors;
to regulate Canada Lands
Surveyors;
to establish and maintain standards of conduct, knowledge and
skill among members of the
Association and permit holders;
to govern the activities of members of the Association and permit
holders;
to cooperate with other organizations for the advancement of surveying; and
to perform the duties and exercise
the powers that are imposed or
conferred on the Association by
the Canada Lands Surveyors Act.
Offshore Initiatives
The ACLS is committed to raising awareness of the responsibilities
and concerns of respective stakeholders in offshore Canada lands and to
find a common strategy to move this
industry sector forward for the betterment of all.
The ACLS has been very active
in promoting the Marine Cadastre
concept. A Marine Cadastre is a system that enables the boundaries of
maritime rights and interests to be
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
recorded, spatially managed and
physically defined in relationship to
the boundaries of other neighbouring
or underlying rights and interests.
Thus, a CLS would have an important
role, as he or she has the expertise to
deal with legal boundaries and ensure
that the public’s interest is protected.
Recognizing an opportunity to
fulfill a need for a national certification
program for hydrographers and with an
aim to protect the public from unqualified service providers, a task force
formed by the ACLS and the Canadian
Hydrographic Association (CHA)
designed a certification program. In
essence, candidates would be required
to obtain the Canada Lands Surveyors
Commission in addition to some marine
training and hydrographic survey
experience. This model meets the standards established by the International
Hydrographic Organization.
Another achievement that is
worth mentioning is the publication of
the new book entitled Canada’s
Offshore: Jurisdiction, Rights, and
Management. It is truly a high-end
publication and much needed for the
offshore industry as a whole. In addition to being an invaluable tool to
train new Canada Lands Surveyors, it
will help promote the role of the CLS
in the offshore industry. Copies can be
purchased from: www.acls-aatc.ca or
www.trafford.com.
Involvement in the
Aboriginal Community
Our relationship with the aboriginal community has advanced considerably in the last few years. Of particular
note, the National Aboriginal Land
Managers Association (NALMA)
approached the ACLS seeking advice
and assistance in establishing surveytraining programs for aboriginal land
managers. The result has been the
delivery of two training modules for
NALMA’s
new
Professional
Certification Program for First Nations
Lands Managers. The modules were
delivered the first time in October of
2005 and are still in practice today.
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
National Surveyors’ Conference
The last National Surveyors’
Conference was held from May 6-8, 2010
in St. John’s, Newfoundland. It was a joint
effort by the ACLS and the Association of
Newfoundland Land Surveyors. The
Conference was a success with over 140
delegates attending.
The highlight of the Conference was
the launch of the ACLS-AOLS
Promotional Video. Many attendees were
in awe after viewing the footage. Total
investment in the project was just under
$60,000. The video can be seen in the
“Careers” section of the ACLS Web site at:
http://www.acls-aatc.ca/en/node/43. Some
of the footage from the promotional video
has been used to produce a 30 second television commercial that was shown on the
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network
(APTN) in the springs of 2010 and 2011.
Next year’s conference will be held in
the land of the midnight sun, Yellowknife,
Northwest Territories from June 21-24,
2011 at the Explorer Hotel. The conference
kicks off with a midnight golf tournament
with tee off at 8:00 p.m. on the 21st.
Labour Mobility
In the summer of 2008, the Canadian
provincial and territorial Premiers signed
an agreement to further reduce barriers to
Labour Mobility in all trades and professions. Following that event, pressure was
applied on all surveying associations to
implement full mobility.
In order to facilitate mobility, the
ACLS decided to reduce the number of
CLS professional examinations from three
3 hour exams to one 4 hour exam for individuals who are authorized to practice
cadastral surveying in a Canadian
province and who meet the hydrographic
surveying education requirement. To eliminate the time barrier for taking this exam,
ACLS is proceeding with the implementation of an on-line, on-demand Web based
exam system. We hope to have this in
place early in the year 2011.
David Thompson National
Geomatics Awards
The third annual David Thompson
National Geomatics Awards were presented
at the Gala Dinner of the National
Surveyors’ Conference, May 8, in St.
John’s, Newfoundland.
Winning the “Innovation in
Geomatics” category was Fugro
Jacques Geosurveys Inc. (Patrick
Byrne, CLS) for the project entitled
“Accuracy and Precision in 120 metres
of water”. In the category “Contribution
to Society”, the winner was
Hydrographic and Geodetic Consulting
(David Gray, CLS) for the project entitled “Geographic Definition of a
Maritime Boundary in Guyana”.
Winning in the “Unusual Application in
Geomatics” category was McElhaney
Associates (Jim Christie, BCLS, CLS)
for the project entitled “LIDAR/GPS
Terrain Modeling for Hydraulic Design
and Evacuation Planning”.
The next awards will be presented
at the Gala Diner at the end of the
National Surveyors’ Conference on
June 24, 2011 in Yellowknife,
Northwest Territories. This awards
program is open to all commissioned
surveyors who are members of a
Canadian surveying association.
The deadline for submissions for
this year’s awards was March 31, 2011.
For more information and application
form, go to: http://www.aclsaatc.ca/en/node/27
ACLS Scholarship
The scholarship program was
introduced in 2003. Two $1,500
scholarships are awarded every year to
worthy candidates. To obtain an application form and further information on
the ACLS Foundation Scholarship
Program, visit the ACLS Web site at:
www.acls-aatc.ca. Deadline for application is May 15, of each year. The
Association of Canada Lands
Scholarship Foundation Inc. is a registered charitable organization, and so it
is authorized to issue tax receipts.
Jean-Claude Tétreault
Executive Director
Association of Canada Lands Surveyors
www.acls-aatc.ca
GEOMATICA 99
The Canadian
Association of
Geographers
The Canadian Association of
Geographers (CAG), the only national
organization representing practicing
geographers from the public, the private and the academic sectors, was
founded in 1951. Its mission encompasses: 1) fostering and dissemination
of scholarly research in geography
through its Journal The Canadian
Geographer/Le Géographe canadien,
annual national meetings and a series of
regional meetings; 2) promotion of
geographic education at all levels and
improvement of teaching; 3) recognition of geographic excellence through
several annual awards; and 4) cooperation with other national and international organizations related to Geography.
Several activities of the CAG are
carried on within study groups. These
groups provide a forum for members to
focus on their particular subject in geography, namely:
• Canadian Women and Geography
• Environment and Resources
• Tourism and Recreation
• Economic and Social Change
• Marine Studies and Coastal Zone
Management
• Health and Health Care
• Indigenous Peoples
• Rural Geography
• Canadian Geomorphology
• Public Policy Issues
• Geographic Information Science
(GIS-SIG)
• Geographies of Asia
• Geographic Education
• Diversity, Migration, Ethnicity and Race
• Historical Geography
• Urban Geography
These groups organize special sessions/workshops/panels at the Annual
Meeting of the CAG where research
results are presented and discussion
forums are engaged on various topics rel-
evant to geographic research, practice
and education.
In addition, activities are conducted through the five Regional
Divisions composing the CAG, namely the Western Division, the Québec
Division, the Prairie Division, the
Ontario Division, and the Atlantic
Division. Divisions elect their own
officers and have their own annual
meetings and in some cases publish a
newsletter and their own journals.!
This year, the CAG is actively
supporting improvements in university-level geographic education aimed at
providing better training for undergraduate and better support for recent
graduates entering the teaching profession in a context of fiscal restraint. !
Anne Godlewska
Professor, Department of Geography
Queen’s University
Kingston Ontario,
www.cag-acg.ca
The XXII Congress of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
August 25-September 1, 2012
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
Melbourne, Australia
www.isprs2012.org
The Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute of Australia and I would like to welcome participants to the XXII ISPRS
Congress in Melbourne, 2012. Melbourne is my home town, and a place that I am proud to invite delegates and
friends to experience.
The Congress will run for 8 days, from the August 25 to September 1, 2012. The programme has been designed to
give visitors the maximum opportunity to enjoy all the attractions that Melbourne, the State of Victoria and Australia
has to offer, as well as providing a rich and rewarding social and technical programme. The Congress will be well
worth the journey.
In keeping with the times, and in an effort to have a Congress with minimal environmental impact (the Congress
Centre has a 6 star environmental rating) much of the communication for the Congress will now be electronic. Please
bookmark the URL for the Congress, and register for electronic updates. We will still provide hard copy for those
who cannot receive email, but we hope to keep this to a minimum.
Cliff Ogleby, Congress Director
100 GEOMATICA
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
REPORTS FROM EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS 2007-2011
Brock University:
New Collaborative
Geomatics Program
in the Department of
Geography
While
Brock
University
(Department of Geography) and
Niagara College have offered a
Concentration
in
Geographic
Information Sciences since 2000, they
teamed up in 2007 to develop a new
and improved Concentration in
Geomatics. In four years, undergraduate students in the Concentration in
Geomatics earn both an Honours
degree in Geography from Brock
University and a certificate in
Geographic Information Systems—
Geospatial Management from Niagara
College. The Concentration in
Geomatics responds to the growing
need for individuals who possess both
a solid academic background and the
applied skills and substantive knowledge needed on the leading edge of
technology in diverse areas; from
urban planning and emergency
response services to environmental
management and ecosystem monitoring. This would normally involve
attending college after gaining a university degree. However, the
Concentration in Geomatics combines
the two in a single integrated program.
The combination of a university education and college training provides an
excellent background for individuals
who are seeking a career in many of
these areas, and will likely increase the
chances for professional advancement
once in the job market. This program is
designed to provide students with a
variety of skills and abilities through
in-class lectures, hands-on laboratory
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
assignments, supervised work placements,
and applied training sessions. It includes a
solid geomatics education that provides
students with a variety of career and postgraduate opportunities.
Dr. Marilyne Jollineau
Associate Professor
Program Coordinator for the
Concentration in Geomatics
Department of Geography
Brock University
http://www.brocku.ca/social-sciences/undergraduate-programs/geography
Carleton University:
Department of
Geography and
Environmental Studies
The Department of Geography and
Environmental Studies offers undergraduate programs in Geomatics including a
B.A. Honours in Geomatics, a B.Sc.
Honours in Geography with a
Concentration in Geomatics and a
Geomatics Minor, which is open to students in all Honours programs. Geomatics
is also one of the areas of specialization at
the Master’s level. In 2010 the department
completed retrofitted its two teaching laboratories, with 56 high-end computer stations running the latest versions of commercial and open-source GIS and Remote
Sensing software.
Students gain exposure to and critical
analysis of GPS technology, spatial analysis, remote sensing and image analysis, cartography, and geomatics programming.
Faculty have worked both individually and
in teams on such diverse topics as road
design, water quality, beneficial agricultural practices, and development of new
remote sensing platforms. Students
also apply their knowledge in real
world applications by participating in
the highly successful practicum program, gaining valuable work experience and testing out career prospects.
Faculty and graduate students use
community mapping and participatory
GIS methods to examine natural
resource management, indigenous land
rights, and other related themes. The
role of geomorphology and hydrology
as critical determinants of landscape
element connectivity is also a new
research direction within the department, capitalizing on the increasing
availability of Light Detection and
Ranging (LiDAR) surveys over large
management areas in Ontario, Quebec
and other regions of Canada. Other
recent interests include the development of radar and optical remote sensing techniques to the study of Arctic
coastal ice features and to assess indicators and impacts of climate change
in the cryosphere.
Carleton also houses the
Geomatics and Cartographic Research
Centre and the Geomatics and
Landscape Ecology Laboratory
(GLEL, http://www.glel.carleton.ca/).
GLEL is a leading multidisciplinary
research group comprised of five faculty members with geography, geomatics and landscape ecology interests and
expertise. The lab provides research
infrastructure for 25-30 graduate students and visiting scientists or research
fellows, including advanced computing, vehicles, boats, remote sensing
equipment, and instrumentation for
vegetation analysis and other field
work. GLEL research seeks to improve
spatial analysis techniques and spatial
data, in particular, the mapping of
habitat at scales that are relevant to
wildlife populations. A primary goal is
GEOMATICA 101
the development of understanding of
relationships of population density and
persistence with habitat availability
and pattern. Common interests among
the GLEL researchers generally lead to
a concentration on advanced landscape
and habitat modelling and mapping to
support conservation science and
resource management. In 2009, the
group was awarded a 3 year NSERC
Strategic Project grant to investigate
the impacts of landscape heterogeneity
and agriculture practices on biodiversity in eastern Ontario agroecosystems.
Dan Patterson
Geomatics Advisor
Department of Geography and
Environmental Studies
Carleton University
Centre of Geographic
Sciences: Programs
in Geomatics
We now offer four programme
groups at the Nova Scotia Community
College—Centre of Geographic
Sciences (NSCC-COGS) site in
Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia:
Two
programmes
(Survey
Technician Certificate and Geomatics
Engineering Technology Diploma)
continue to train first and second year
surveyors, who typically find employment in the private and public sectors
of the geomatics industry. This
includes construction companies, private survey firms, oil and natural gas
exploration companies and survey
equipment sales companies.
The Diploma in Geographic
Sciences is a two-year, direct-entry
programme with five 2nd-year concentrations: Community & Environmental
Planning, Cartography, Geographic
Information Systems, Remote Sensing
and Interdisciplinary Studies. This programme replaces the long-standing
Cartography
and
Planning
Programmes and the GIS Technician
Programme with a common foundational year that allows students to get a
102 GEOMATICA
better feel of the geomatics field before
selecting their concentration.
Our Marine Geomatics Advanced
Diploma develops graduates who apply
the integrated geodetic skills of GPS positioning and hydrographic surveying.
Students apply these to marine-based
activities such as bathymetric data acquisition and analysis, energy exploration
activities, and projects dealing with the
coastal zone and offshore areas.
The fourth programme is our
Advanced Diploma in Geographic
Sciences, which accepts students from
universities and with industry experience.
This programme is an evolution of the
GIS, Remote Sensing and GIS for
Business programmes with a common first
term, then concentrations from January
through May. Graduates are employed as
GIS Analysts, Spatial Data Analysts, GIS
Programmers/Developers,
Market
Analysts, Image Analysis Specialists, etc.
We are linked with our Applied
Geomatics
Research
Group
(www.agrg.cogs.nscc.ca) in Middleton,
NS, for (a) student projects and (b) to learn
from their activities. These include weather-station monitoring, coastal-zone and
flood modelling, use of their Optech
LiDAR system, community and cultural
mapping, amongst others. We also have a
one-year Joint Masters of Science
(Applied Geomatics) with Acadia
University for qualifying graduates.
Visit us at www.cogs.ns.ca or contact
[email protected] with specific questions.
David MacLean
GIS/Remote Sensing Faculty
NSCC—Centre of Geographic Sciences
(COGS)
Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia B0S 1M0
Fleming College:
Geomatics/GIS
Department at
Frost Campus,
Lindsay, Ontario
Fleming currently has three Geomatics
and GIS programs: the entry-level
Geomatics Technician program and two
post-diploma Graduate Certificate programs, Geographic Information
Systems Application Specialist and
Geographic Information Systems
Cartographic Specialist.
The first of its kind in Ontario, the
Geomatics Technician two-year diploma program is designed for high school
graduates and combines the disciplines
of Geographic Information Systems
(GIS), remote sensing, surveying/GPS,
and Cartography. The program focuses
on geographic data collection, interpretation, presentation and dissemination.
Graduates from this program receive
advanced standing in the GIS
Specialist programs.
Fleming was the first college to
offer GIS training in Ontario, and has
been doing so for over 20 years—all
other college GIS programs have only
been established in the last few years.
We’re constantly upgrading and
changing our program to suit the current and future demands of the field.
For instance, we’ve recently revised
the curriculum to add new courses in
remote sensing, web applications and
Global Positioning Systems (GPS) for
spatial data. As well, graduates of this
program receive an Ontario College
Graduate Certificate—a credential
that recognizes the comprehensive
and advanced level of study required
in this program.
The jewel in the crown of the GIS
Specialist programs is the GIS Cooperative Project undertaken by groups
of students during the final two semesters of the academic year (January to
June). During the January to April
semester, the students choose a project
and write their project proposal.
Supplied by the GIS industry, municipalities and government clients, Co-op
projects are completed during May and
June. The Co-op project course is
designed to be a learning and working
experience for the students where they
apply the many skills they have
learned. Projects that the students
undertake may include data acquisition/pre-processing,
database
design/processing, spatial and statistical analysis, programming, web technology and cartographic presentation.
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
Graduates of Fleming’s cartographic programs have earned a reputation for excellence through their
achievements in the workplace, and
through cartographic and GIS competitions. Over the years, they have captured 80 American Congress on
Surveying and Mapping awards in
annual competitions (student category), as well as numerous awards from
the
Canadian
Cartographic
Association and the Canadian
Institute of Geomatics. Graduate
employment rates remain high and
Fleming’s reputation in the GIS
industry remains unequalled.
Lawrie Keillor-Faulkner
GIS-specialist Coordinator
Sir Sanford Fleming College
School of Environmental and Natural
Resource Sciences
Frost Campus, Lindsay, Ontario
http://www.flemingc.on.ca/
http://flemingc.on.ca/geomatics-atfleming/
grounded in applications including the creation of cybercartographic atlases such as
Antarctica; Canada’s Trade with the World;
Indigenous Artifacts and Knowledge,
Kitikmeot Place Names Atlas, the Atlas of
Arctic Bay and the Pilot Atlas of the Risk
of
Homelessness.
The
Nunaliit
Cybercartographic Atlas Framework is an
open source technology developed at the
Centre, which facilitates participatory atlas
creation and the means to tell stories. A
complete list of GCRCs publications can
be accessed from the website.
In 2010, the Centre received a twoyear grant from the Federal Government
International Polar Year Program to
extend its work with northern communities and develop a “Distributed
Management System for Northern Local
and Traditional Knowledge”. This is in
partnership with Nunavut Arctic College
and the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK).
This builds on a previous research study
entitled “Recommendations for the Data
Management of Local and Traditional
Knowledge Collected for International
Polar Year” (Pulsifer, 2009). Additional
ongoing research includes the following:
•
The Geomatics and
Cartographic Research
Centre (GCRC)
The GCRC is an official research
centre of the Department of
Geography and Environmental
Studies at Carleton University directed by D. R. Fraser Taylor, Fellow of
the Royal Society of Canada and
Distinguished Research Professor.
GCRC research includes: cybercartography, polar research, multisensory cartography (e.g. sound and olfaction), cinématographie, indigenous
knowledge, participatory cartography,
archiving and preservation, open
source technologies and interoperability, the management of geographic
information and Global Map. The
Centre is the home of the International
Polar Year Inuit Sea Ice Use and
Occupancy Project (ISIUOP) led by
Dr. Claudio Aporta. Our research is
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
•
•
2010 to 2012—The GCRC under
Principal Investigation Claudio Aporta is
awarded was awarded a 3-year SSHRC
Standard Grant entitled The Northwest
Passage and the Construction of Inuit
Pan-Arctic Identities. D. R. Fraser
Taylor is the Co-applicant.
2010-2012 - Gwich’in Goonanh’kak
Goonwandak: The Places and Stories
of the Gwich’in which is a sub-grant
of Canadian Heritage grant to
Gwich’in Cultural Society entitled
Gwich’in Place Names Atlas D. R. F.
Taylor sub-grant PI.
2009/12, A Cybercartographic Case
Study of the Lake Huron Treaty
Relationship Process, D. R. Fraser
Taylor, Principal Investigator, with
Co-applicant: Nancy Doubleday
(Geography and Environmental
Studies, Carleton University and
Sebastien Caquard (Universite de
Montreal); has as a broad objective to
increase the understanding of the
requirements for improved treatybased relationships with Canada’s
indigenous peoples and in particular,
the Anishinaabeg (or Anishinaabe
peoples), through the development of an online cybercartographic atlas module of the Lake
Huron Treaty Relationship. This
is part of the Indigenous
Knowledge Research Theme.!
Tracey P. Lauriault
The Geomatics and Cartographic
Research Centre
Carleton University
Réseau GEOIDE
Network 2007-2011
Since its inception in 1998,
GEOIDE (GEOmatics for Informed
DEcisions) has nurtured researchers
by different means in order to deliver
successful projects, consequently contributing to the well being of Canadian
society. GEOIDE is a research network group assembling researchers at
28 universities across Canada, in a
range of fields including cartography.
GEOIDE continues to host an
Annual Scientific Conference (ASC),
an Annual Summer School (GSS), a
Students’ Network (GSN), workshops
and significant knowledge exchange
activities. GEOIDE’s 2010 ASC was
different from previous years since it
was a joint Conference with other institutions in the geomatics field. Under the
name Canadian Geomatics Conference
(CGC), it was held in TELUS
Convention Centre in Calgary from
June 15-18, 2010. According to the participants, one of the most successful
components of GEOIDE sessions was
the Student Showcase, organized by the
GEOIDE Students’ Network.
We continue to have an ongoing
relation with our national and international partners including student
exchange in particular with Germany,
Mexico, France and Europe. One of
our international workshops coorganized with our French partner
(CQFD) in our 2010 Annual
Conference led to an international
GEOMATICA 103
publication through an issue in! the
Revue Internationale de Géomatique
to be published in March 2011. One of
the most exciting news from
GEOIDE’s Business Centre is its collaboration with a group of international networks. Recently, six networks
including GEOIDE Network, Canada,
Korean Land Spatialization Group
(KLSG),
Korea,
Cooperative
Research
Centre
for
Spatial
Information (CRCSI), Australia,
CentroGeo, Mexico, National Centre
for GeoComputation, Ireland, and
Future Position X, Sweden are creating a Global Network for Networks.
This group’s mission is to promote the
links between the existing projects
among the members as well as developing new projects. The Network for
Networks plan to look for new funding and subsidies from international
organizations such as World Bank and
the United Nations.
Our funding from the Networks of
Centres of Excellence (NCE) was
renewed in 2008 for the last phase
(Phase IV) which started in April 1,
2009 and will end in March 30, 2012.
Phase III ended with 34 projects and
Phase IV started with 8 projects and 8
more projects joined in 2010 through
the Strategic Investment Initiative
(SII). Current research themes in
GEOIDE
projects
include:
Environmental change, Distributed
sensors and Mobility. GEOIDE is
planning to have a new one- year projects in 2011-2012. Also, there is a new
funding available for workshops and
publications promoting the result of
prior GEOIDE projects, particularly
those funded in Phase III (2005-2009).
In 2009, a Special Issue of
Geomatica Vol. 63, No. 4, 2010, was
consecrated to the GEOIDE Network
following those of December 2001 and
September 2005. This issue assembled
ten articles first-authored by students.
Over the years, GEOIDE has
contributed to a growing list of activities that support a vibrant geomatics
industry. The list of spin-offs grew in
this period with the creation of
Miovision (winner of our Phil Lapp
Award in 2009, and now a company
104 GEOMATICA
with 46 employees) and Intelli³ (winner of
prizes for entrepreneurship).
Nicholas Chrisman, Scientific Director
GEOIDE Network,
Université Laval, Québec QC
www.geoide.ulaval.ca
Queen’s University:
Department of
Geography
Certificate in Geographic
Information Science:
The Geography Department of the
Faculty of Arts and Science offers a study
option leading to a Certificate in
Geographic Information Science (GISc).
This option is available to all Queen’s
University undergraduate students regardless of their degree concentration, and is
intended for those who wish to enhance
their undergraduate degree with a GISc
Certificate. Students will select from a
suite of courses in geographic information
systems (GIS), remote sensing, spatial
modelling, statistics, computer science
and math. The Department of Geography
operates two lab facilities that focus on
GISc course delivery. For details on the
Certificate in Geographic Information
Science, please visit: (http://www.queensu.ca/calendars/artsci/Certificate_in_Geo
graphic_Information_Science.html).
Undergraduate and Graduate Research:
The Department of Geography at
Queen’s has two research facilities emphasizing GISc. These include the Laboratory
for Remote Sensing of Earth and
Environmental Systems (LaRSEES)
directed
by
Dr.
Paul
Treitz
(http://www.geog.queensu.ca/larsees/) and
the Laboratory for Geographic Information
and Spatial Analysis (LaGISA) directed by
Dr. Dongmei Chen (http://gis.geog.queensu.ca/). In addition, in 2010 we were successful in two Canada Foundation for
Innovation (CFI)—Leaders Opportunity
Fund (LOF) grant applications to establish
two new lab facilities related to GISc. First,
Dr. Dongmei Chen is establishing the
Queen’s
GeoComputation
and
Analysis Laboratory (GCAL) for
Population Health and Disease
Modelling. Dr. Chen and her research
team will develop disease spread protocols by combining mathematical,
environmental, and multi-level agent
models to: (i) simulate transmission
and impact of disease spread; and (ii)
evaluate the vulnerability of different
communities to the potential outbreak
of communicable diseases. Dr. Ryan
Danby received a CFI—LOF grant to
develop a new lab facility dedicated to
research on forest-tundra dynamics in
a changing climate. Dr. Danby’s
research will integrate field ecology
with geospatial analysis to address
questions related to the manner in
which the forest-tundra transition has
responded to climate change and variability in the past and examine the
physical and biological variables that
interact to influence the establishment
and growth of trees and shrubs across
this transition.
For more information on our
facilities, academic programs and
research themes, please visit the
Department of Geography website
(http://geog.queensu.ca/).
Paul Treitz, Head
Department of Geography
Queen’s University, Kingston, ON
[email protected]
http://geog.queensu.ca/
Simon Fraser
University: Spatial
Information Sciences
at the Department of
Geography, Faculty
of Environment
In 2009, Simon Fraser University
(SFU) inaugurated the Faculty of
Environment which became the new
home for the Geography Department
and its Spatial Information Sciences
(SIS) teaching and research programs.
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
The SIS stream includes the subject
areas of remote sensing, GIScience,
geovisualization, collaborative decision-making, spatial analysis and
modeling. From its establishment in
early 1990s until present, the SIS program has grown from two to five fulltime faculties. As a result of an early
retirement in 2009, we are in the
process of recruiting a tenure track
assistant professor in the area of environmental remote sensing to begin in
summer 2011.
The Spatial Information Systems
(SIS) Certificate is a key educational
program in our department and has a
large undergraduate student intake.
Since September 2005, an undergraduate GIScience major program is being
offered jointly with the Faculty of
Applied Sciences. Quite recently, a SIS
concentration was added to the
Physical Geography stream. There are
twelve undergraduate and four graduate courses offered within the SIS programs, with healthy enrolments per
course in both the lower and upper
divisions. The geography department
possesses three state-of-the-art SIS
Labs equipped with over 50 high-end
computers, a spatial data warehouse,
and industry-standard software dedicated to support undergraduate student
training. In last three years, 37 students
have obtained the SIS certificate, and
three students have graduated with a
GIScience major.
The SIS research programs conducted within the Department of
Geography at SFU is internationally
recognized and generously supported
by major federal and provincial funding
agencies. There are four research laboratories: Remote Sensing lab,
Geospatial Data lab, Spatial Analysis
and Modeling lab and Spatial Interface
lab, all hosting and training dynamic
teams of graduate students, research fellows, and post-doctoral scholars. Over
12 graduate students at the Masters and
PhD levels have completed studies, and
there are 14 are currently in training.
The SIS research conducted cover a
range of applied areas such as visualization of hazards, population health,
health care, land-use/land cover change,
Vol. 65 No. 1, 2011
forest diseases, and archeology among others. Publications from these research efforts
have appeared consistently in leading international and national journals. SIS faculty
members are further enhancing the visibility
of the department and the SIS research program by serving as editors or associate editors of the International Journal of Remote
Sensing, The Canadian Geographer and
Geomatica journals, and by editing the
Springer book series on Advances in
Geographic Information Science. Moreover,
faculty members serve on the editorial
boards of leading international journals;
serve as the executive committee of the
Canadian Spatial Knowledge and
Information (SKI) conference; co-chaired or
served on the program committees of important conferences such as GeoComputation
and GIScience among others; as well as are
active members of various commissions of
the International Geographical Union (IGU)
and International Cartographic Association
(ICA). The SIS program at SFU provides a
vibrant and intellectually stimulating
research, teaching and learning environment.
Suzana Dragićević, Professor
Department of Geography
Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC
www.sfu.ca/geography/
Trent University
Trent University offers a robust
Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
undergraduate education and training program through the Department of
Geography and the Environmental and
Resource Studies Program since 1993, and
recently through the Department of
Anthropology (Archaeology). GIS is
instructed at Trent University through a
range of introductory, intermediate and
advanced undergraduate courses using its
Geomatics laboratory facilities, and
through a wide range of research applications in graduate training. Moreover, in collaboration with Sir Sandford Fleming
College, Trent University offers an
Emphasis in Geographical Information
Systems. The Emphasis is available to students in the Honours B.Sc. or B.A. program
at Trent University in Geography or in
Environmental & Resource Science.
Students admitted to the program register as full-time Fleming students during
the third year of their Honours program. Classes are held at the Fleming
College Campus. Students who successfully complete all three semesters
of the GIS Application Specialist or
GIS Cartographic Specialist program
with a minimum grade of 60% in all
courses receive the corresponding
Ontario College Graduate Certificate
along with upper-level Trent Science
credits to complete a single- or jointmajor
degree.
“Emphasis
in
Geographical Information Systems
(Applications)” or “Emphasis in
Geographical Information Systems
(Cartography)” is noted on their Trent
transcript. These students are eligible
to return to Fleming following completion of their Trent Honours degree to
complete the requirements for the GIS
Application Specialist or GIS
Cartographic Specialist Ontario
College Graduate Certificate. With this
articulation agreement students can
obtain, in effect, a Trent University
Honours Bachelor of Science or
Bachelor of Arts Degree in either
Geography
or
Environmental
Science/Studies and a Geographical
Information Systems Ontario College
Graduate Certificate in four yearsinstead of five. In addition to undergraduate education and training, GIS
and Remote Sensing applications to
research and graduate education span a
wide variety of research projects
through Trent’s Environmental and
Life Sciences and the Applications of
Modelling and Quantitative Methods
Graduate Programs. Many of these
projects are in partnership with the
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
(OMNR). Trent’s Watershed Science
Centre,— a joint venture with the
OMNR and Fleming College, offers a
variety of on-demand GIS training
courses to staff of Ministries,
Conservation Authorities, NGOs and
private sector. From physical and
human geography, to DNA, wildlife,
landscape ecology and archaeology, to
computer modelling, climate change,
and aquatic science, GIS and Remote
GEOMATICA 105
Sensing applications to research are
rich and strong at Trent University.
Internationally, Trent University has
strong collaboration ties in GIS and
Remote Sensing applications with the
Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations (FAO) and the UN
Environmental Program (UNEP) in a
variety of international projects in
Latin America: the Amazon Basin
(including 8 countries), Mexico, Cuba,
and Central America; in Africa: Kenya,
Ethiopia and Lybia; and in the Middle
East: Lebanon and Jordan. The Centre
for Earth Systems Observation and
Geospatial Analysis (CEOSGA)
involving Trent University, Fleming
College, the OMNR, Conservation
Agencies, NGOs and local government
in Peterborough, is in its formative
stages and it is envisioned that it will
become a hub for Geomatics training,
research and development activities in
the Peterborough and the Kawartha
Lakes region.
Raul Ponce, Associate Professor
(GIS and Remote Sensing instructor)
Department of Geography and
Environmental and Resource
Studies Program
Trent University, Peterborough,
Ontario K9J 7B8
http://www.trentu.ca/geography/
University of Guelph
New Undergraduate Program
in Environmental Geoscience
and Geomatics
Beginning in September 2011,
the Department of Geography at the
University of Guelph will offer a new
BSc
Honours
Program
in
Environmental Geoscience and
Geomatics. The objective of the program is to provide students with a
solid foundation in two increasingly
interrelated areas of scholarship; geoscience (the study of the Earth and its
systems) and geomatics (a discipline
which integrates the acquisition, modeling, analysis and management of all
types of spatially referenced informa106 GEOMATICA
tion). Recent innovations in both fields,
coupled with on-going development and
application of new technologies, highlight
the value of an integrative program to
address both student interest and employment opportunities.
The Environmental Geoscience and
Geomatics Major will provide the opportunity for study of the processes and properties of the biophysical environment along
with a core foundation in spatial analytical
techniques such as remote sensing, geographic information systems, and cartography. Graduates of the program that select
courses required for a “Professional
Geoscientist” designation will meet the
academic eligibility requirements for membership as an Environmental Geoscientist
in the Association of Professional
Geoscientists of Ontario (APGO), allowing
for use of the P.Geo. designation. Ontario’s
legislation under the Professional
Geoscientists Act, 2000, requires registration with the APGO of anyone wishing to
practice geoscience in Ontario.
In addition to Majors in Geography
(BA), Environmental Governance (BA),
and Environmental Geography (BScEnv),
the Department of Geography continues to
offer a BSc Minor in Geographic
Information Systems. This popular option
attracts students in a range of disciplines
who recognize the applicability of spatial
analytical techniques to numerous research
areas in the natural and social sciences.
More information about all Geography programs at the University of Guelph can be
found at www.uoguelph.ca/geography/.
Janet E. Mersey, Associate Chair
Department of Geography
University of Guelph
Université de Moncton:
Département d’histoire
et de géographie / Études
de l’environnement
The sector of Geography uses geomatics in different undergraduate courses,
essentially as a tool.! A few! courses are
directly related to geomatics (Thematic
Cartography, GIS Introduction,
and! Advanced Geomatic Projects)
while other courses use GIS, photogrammetry or other spatial methods
and techniques (Geomorphology,
Physical Geography Laboratory,
Urban and Rural Studies, Regional
Geography, Territorial Planning,
among others). The B.A. Honours in
Geography offers the opportunity to
students to do either an Honour thesis
or a field training. The use of geomatic
tools are frequently used to achieve
those projects. A geomatic laboratory
is available for our students.
The Université de Moncton also
offers a Master Degree in
Environmental Studies (M.A.) in
which geomatic is used as an efficient
tool in many thesis related to environmental problems such as coastal erosion, watershed management, landscape planning, assessment of green
energy potential.
Guillaume Fortin, PhD
Professeur adjoint de geographie
Université de Moncton
Département d’histoire et de géograhie
Moncton, NB E1A 3E9
[email protected]
University of Northern
British Columbia,
Natural ResourcesEnvironmental Studies
The
collective
geomatics
resources at UNBC from 2005-2010
have focused on the Western
Canadian Cryospheric Network
(WC2N), funded by the Canadian
Foundation for Climate and
Atmospheric Sciences (CFCAS). This
multi-investigator project, led by
Brian Menounos (UNBC) involves
six western universities and one in the
US, as well as government departments and corporations. We have also
contributed to the European Space
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
Agency sponsored GlobGlacier project (2007-2010), aimed at increasing
global mapping of current glacier
extents. The ongoing results of both
projects include the acquisition at
UNBC of the following hardware,
software and data:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Two photogrammetric workstations using Cardinal Systems VR
Mapping software to extract glacier extents and elevation models
Thousands of photogrammetrically scanned historical air photos of glaciers in Alberta and
British Columbia from provincial
and federal libraries, the latter
through
Mike
Demuth,
Geological Survey of Canada
Digital elevation models (DEM)
from SPOT imagery and LiDAR
for selected glaciers (the latter
through Mike Demuth, GSC);
four complete DEM sets from
NTDB, BC TRIM, SRTM and
GDEM (ASTER) for the whole
western region, along with
assorted DEMs from historical
aerial photos and maps. TRIM
and SRTM DEM data were
assembled by Erik Schiefer as a
postdoctoral
fellow
(now
Northern Arizona U.)
Satellite image archive from
Landsat, SPOT and ASTER for
western glaciers. A glacier inventory for 2005 was generated from
Landsat imagery by postdoctoral
fellow Tobias Bolch, (now ETH
Zurich). These data were supplied to the glacier database,
coordinated by the Global Land
Ice Measurements from Space
(GLIMS) project
Six (Topcon) survey level GPS
units, capable of Real-Time
Kinetic data collection
Continuing field measurements
in spring and summer from a
local glacier site (Castle Creek
Glacier), including maintenance
of weather stations, and remote
data retrieval
True 3D Geowall with dual
Panasonic PT-5500U DLP based
projectors for display of moun-
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
tain glacier image-elevation models,
as part of the UNBC High
Performance Computing Centre:
http://www.unbc.ca/geowall
Associated publications:
Bolch T., Menounos B., Wheate R., 2010.
Landsat-based inventory of glaciers in
western Canada, 1985-2005. Remote
Sensing of Environment, 114, 127–137
Beedle, M. J., B. Menounos, B. H.
Luckman, and R. Wheate, 2009.
Annual push moraines as climate proxy,
Geophysical Research Letters, 36,
L20501, doi:10.1029/2009GL039533.
Moore, R.D., Fleming, S., Menounos, B.,
Wheate, R., Fountain, A., Holm, C.,
and Jakob, M., 2009. Glacier Change
in Western North America: Influences
on Hydrology, Geomorphic Hazards,
and Water Quality. Hydrologic
Processes, 23, 42-61.
Schiefer, E., Menounos, B. & Wheate, R.,
2008. An inventory and morphometric
analysis of British Columbia glaciers,
Canada. Journal of Glaciology,
54(186), 551-560.
Schiefer, E., Menounos, B. & Wheate, R.,
2007. Recent volume loss of British
Columbia
glaciers,
Canada.
Geophysical Research Letters, 34,
L16503, doi:10.1029/2007GL030780
Roger Wheate, Associate Professor
UNBC, 3333 University Way
Prince George, BC
Tel: 250-960-5865
email: [email protected]
University of Toronto:
Department of
Geography and Program
in Planning
The Department has an active agenda
in GIS-related matters: in our undergraduate program, in graduate and faculty
research, and in our GIS and Cartography
Office. The department operates over the 3
university
campuses
(Downtown,
Scarborough and Mississauga), and details
differ at each, but the similarities are
greater than the differences.
At the undergraduate level, there
are a series of second- and third-year
courses in GIS for geographic analysis,
mapping, and remote sensing. These
lead to upper year courses in advanced
GIS techniques, a group GIS Research
Project, or more specialized courses
targeted at cartographic design, watershed hydroecology, forest management, and emergency response management. Electives of these are
required for the GIS minor program
which is offered by the department. Of
course they are all available to nonspecialized undergraduate students as
well. This year we are offering at St.
George a course in the Evolution of
Geographic Information, for the first
time. The Mississauga campus (UTM)
also offers Major and Minor programs
in Geographic Information Science,
with courses available aimed at transportation systems analysis, land
resource analysis, spatial modelling
and statistics, as well as a course on
communication with maps.
Graduate and faculty research
using GIS has ranged far and wide. A
few examples: the Remote Sensing
and GIS Lab in the Physical Geography
Building at St. George (spatially explicit
carbon and water cycle modelling), the
Transportation and Environmental
Change Lab at UTM (spatial structure of
cities and regions, and the sustainability of
human activities), and the Cities Centre of
the University of Toronto (interdisciplinary research on urban issues, with
which a number of Geography and
Planning faculty are associated.)
The department also houses the
GIS and Cartography Office, which
undertakes GIS and mapping work for
researchers within and outside of the
department, designs and publishes
maps to illustrate their results, in print
or interactive web formats. Recent
projects illustrating the diversity of this
work include web-mapping collaborations with the Records of Early English
Drama project, the Injury Prevention
Research Office (St. Michael’s
Hospital), and the Canadian Century
Research Infrastructure project. The
GEOMATICA 107
Office has also publishes a Technical
Paper series documenting projectbased GIS work, and has created and
maintains GIS data collections including the Neptis Foundation Geospatial
Data Collection on Urban Issues.
Byron Moldofsky, Manager
GIS and Cartography Office
University of Toronto
University of
Winnipeg: Department
of Geography
The Department of Geography at
the University of Winnipeg offers 3year, 4-year and Honours Bachelor of
Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees
in Geography. This reflects the diversity of expertise that exists within the
Department.
The University of Winnipeg is
aggressively pursuing consolidation
and expansion of its geomatics program through a number of initiatives.
With the recent hiring (September
2010) of a new geomatics faculty
member,
the
Department
of
Geography is revamping and streamlining its offerings in geomatics, offering logical stepped course progressions
in geostatistics, cartography, remote
sensing, and GIS.
Upper level geomatics courses
focus on specialized training in various
geomatics areas (e.g., radar, hyperspectral) as well as project-based courses, in
which teams of students undertake geomatics projects for external clients.
Field-based activities and courses are
being developed, in areas such as
research methods, data collection protocols to supplement our classroomand laboratory-based instruction.
The University of Winnipeg
recently completed an articulation
agreement in GIS with Red River
College. Through this articulation
agreement, the Advanced Diploma in
GIS that is available through Red
River College has been integrated into
108 GEOMATICA
the 4-year B.A. and B.Sc. streams offered
by the University of Winnipeg’s
Department of Geography. In essence this
joint program offers students the opportunity to graduate with both a 4-year
University of Winnipeg B.A. or B.Sc.
degree plus the 1-year Red River
Advanced Diploma in four years rather
than the usual five years.
The geomatics offerings at the
University of Winnipeg also benefit from a
long-standing site license agreement with
ESRI, whereby the full suite of ESRI products are available through a campus-wide
research and teaching site license. This
allows us to offer training using the latest
generation of state-of-the-art GIS software.
Geomatics training at the University
of Winnipeg also benefits from the availability of the state-of-the-art Planetary
Spectrophotometer Facility associated
with the Department of Geography. This
federally- and provincially-funded facility
houses over $1 million of remote sensing
infrastructure, including a variety of field
portable and laboratory imaging and point
spectrometers, offering capabilities ranging from the ultraviolet to the far-infrared.
Geomatics faculty at the University of
Winnipeg are involved in diverse research
projects that employ a number of undergraduates every year. Current and recent
projects include geological mapping of
regions on the Moon and Mars, fieldbased studies of planetary analogue environments, and urban-rural fringe mapping
in Argentina.
Edward Cloutis, Professor
Department of Geography
University of Winnipeg
http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/index/geography-index
Vancouver Island
University: Advanced
Diploma in GIS
Applications (ADGISA)
Vancouver Island University is now
offering two versions of post-graduate
program in GIS applications. Students
have the option of taking the ADGISA
program either face-to-face or online
(http://www.viu.ca/adgisa/index.asp).
The face-to-face is an intensive, 8month program where students have
the opportunity to interact with
instructors and colleagues in a classroom setting and engage in a workstudy practicum. The online version
extends over a 16-month period and
has been designed for those unable to
relocate to Nanaimo, British
Columbia for the face-to-face option.
In both options, students learn
how to will learn to use GIS, Remote
Sensing, GPS and Mapping techniques as a spatial information and
problem-solving tool in addressing
real-world issues or problems. The
face-to-face program has a 9 credit
work-study practicum; the online version includes course work with a number of GIS project assignments. The
range of GIS skills acquired in each
version of the ADGISA program are
the same – a skill set where graduates
are well positioned to secure full-time
employment in the field of GIS.
Course titles for the face-to-face
ADGISA version are Foundations of
Geographic Information Systems;
Geodatabases;
General
Spatial
Analysis; Advanced Applied Spatial
Analysis; Visual Programming for
GIS; Management Issues in GIS; GIS
Applications Project: Practicum; and
Internet GIS.
Course titles for the online ADGISA version are Foundations of
Geographic Information Systems;
Geodatabases; Remote Sensing &
Digital Image Processing; General
Spatial Analysis; Programming
Foundations; Advanced Applied
Spatial Analysis; Global Positioning
Systems (GPS) and Survey Analysis;
Visual Programming for GIS;
Management Issues in GIS and
Internet GIS.
Two years ago, ADGISA team
participated in the Spatial Data
Infrastructure development project for
the Republic of Lithuania. As part of
this large, nation-wide project to
develop a Geographic Information
Infrastructure (GII), the country of
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
Lithuania’s National Lands Service
contracted
Vancouver
Island
University to develop nine GIS courses (http://www.viu.ca/sdi/index.asp).
ADGISA developed and participated
in deliver the courses. These courses
were to provide civil servants with a
set of geomatic tools and techniques
that would strengthen Lithuania’s
geographic information infrastructure
at the local and national levels. Over
180 GIS professionals from various
ministries and local governments participated in the training program,
which was delivered over a 1-year period
from May 2007 to May 2008.
Course titles for the SDI ADGISA version are Fundamentals of geographic information systems; Geographic database management systems (DBMS); Geodesy and
cartography fundamentals; Spatial analysis
and modeling; Applications of geographic
information systems; Geospatial standards
and specifications; Project management for
geographic
information
systems;
Fundamentals
of
Spatial
Data
Infrastructure; and Web programming for
geographic information systems.
VIU’s post-graduate programs in
GIS applications enable students to
strengthen their theoretical knowledge
of GI Science and SDI, at the same
time, develop and hone their skills in
using industrial software packages
and technologies. !
Michael Govorov
University-College Professor
Advanced Diploma Program in GIS
Vancouver Island University,
Nanaimo BC
http://www.viu.ca/adgisa/index.asp
This year’s conference will be held in the land of the midnight sun: Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, from June 2124, 2011 at the Explorer Hotel. The conference kicks off with a midnight golf tournament starting at 8:00 p.m. on the 21st.
The program consists of: seminars and workshop on June 22nd and 23rd on the following interesting subjects:
Aboriginal Land Claims and Negotiations, Natural Boundaries, Getting it Right, and The Role of the Surveyor in a
Canadian National Parcel Map.
There will be an ACLS Business meeting and Gala Dinner on June 24.
As well, many activities for accompanying persons and a full slate of social events are planned. Exciting activities
include exploring the natural wonders of Yellowknife in guided tours, a tour of the facilities of the famous “Ice Pilots”
(Buffalo Airways) and DC-3 flight over the city, and discovering the history of the city and surrounding areas.
Details will be posted on the Web site and surveyors from all jurisdictions are welcomed at http://www.acls-aatc.ca
La septième Conférence nationale des arpenteurs-géomètres aura lieu dans le territoire du soleil de minuit!:!Yellowknife,
Territoires du Nord-Ouest, du 21 au 24 juin 2011 à l’hôtel Explorer. La conférence débutera par un tournoi de golf de minuit
avec départ à 20!h le 21 juin.
Le programme comprend les!séminaires et l’atelier de travail suivants les 22 et 23 juin!:!Revendications territoriales
des Autochtones, Limites naturelles, Getting it Right (Bien faire les choses) et le Rôle de l’arpenteur-géomètre dans un plan
parcellaire national canadien.
Il y aura l’Assemblée générale de l’AATC et le souper du président le 24 juin.
De plus, il y aura de nombreuses activités pour les personnes accompagnatrices de même qu’un programme chargé
d’événements sociaux. Parmi les activités palpitantes, on compte l’exploration des merveilles naturelles des environs de
Yellowknife dans des excursions guidées, la Buffalo Airways Experience – les désormais célèbres pilotes des glaces (série
télévisée), visite du centre opérationnel de Buffalo Airways avec visite aérienne d’une heure de la ville en DC-3 ainsi que
la découverte de l’histoire de la ville et de ses environs.
Les détails sont affichés sur le site Web à : http://www.acls-aatc.ca. Les arpenteurs-géomètres de toutes les juridictions
sont bienvenus.
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
GEOMATICA 109
THE ICA INTERNATIONAL MAP EXHIBITION
A selection of Canadian maps was submitted to the 2009 International Map Exhibition in Santiago, Chile, and these entries are
described below. A set is also being readied to send to the 2011 International Map Exhibition in Paris, France, but is not yet finalized.
24th International
Map Exhibition,
Santiage, Chile,
November 15-21, 2009
Introduction
The maps and atlases listed below
were selected as the Canadian content
of the International Cartographic
Exhibit
at
the
International
Cartographic Association’s (ICA) 24th
International Cartographic Conference
held in Santiago, Chile from November
15-21, 2009. The same exhibit was also
displayed at the Canadian Cartographic
Association’s conference in Regina,
Saskatchewan from June 1-5, 2010.
The map Circumpolar Region—
International Polar Year (2008) won
first prize in the Thematic Map category—congratulations to the cartographers from NRCan for their creative
work. Another map in the category of
Maps based on Satellite Imagery won
second place. It was part of the
American Environmental Atlas, Land
Use 2005 and was a result of a multinational mapping partnership among
Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Thank you to all the map makers and
distributors who participated with this
ICC project.
Danial Duda, Map Librarian,
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Thematic Maps
Geological Map of the Arctic.
Harrison, J C; St-Onge, M R; Petrov,
O; Strelnikov, S; Lopatin, B; Wilson,
F; Tella, S; Paul, D; Lynds, T;
Shokalsky, S; Hults, C; Bergman, S;
Jepsen, H F; Solli, A., Geological
Survey of Canada, Natural Resources
Canada. Scale: 1:5,000,000, size:
110 GEOMATICA
1397 mm x 1397 mm, date published:
November 18, 2008, language(s) of the
legend: English.
As part of the International Polar Year
(IPY) 2007-08 and 2008-09 activities, and
related objectives of the Commission for
the Geological Map of the World
(CGMW), nations of the circumpolar
Arctic have cooperated to produce a new
bedrock geology map and related digital
map database at 1:5 M scale. It includes
complete geological and physiographic
coverage of all onshore and offshore
bedrock areas down to 60 degrees north.
Circumpolar Region – International Polar
Year (2008). Atlas of Canada Program,
Mapping Information Branch, Natural
Resources Canada, Atlas of Canada
Program, Mapping Information Branch,
Natural Resources Canada. Scale:
1:10,400,000, size: 813 mm in diameter
(trimmed round), date published:
December, 2008, language(s) of the legend:
English and French.
This recently revised bilingual map
was produced as a special product for the
International Polar Year. It was produced
from the Atlas of Canada Reference Map,
MCR0001, North Circumpolar Region
(2008). Its round shape shows detail from
north of 55 degrees latitude. All national
boundaries are shown along with
Canadian provincial and territorial boundaries and Canada’s 200 nautical mile offshore Exclusive Economic Zone. National
capital cities are displayed along with
other cities, towns, villages and hamlets;
all have been updated to 2008. A number
of significant northern features can be
found such as the minimum permanent
polar sea ice extent for 1972 to 2007, tree
line, undersea relief and undersea feature
names, land relief, historical surveyed
locations of the Magnetic North Pole from
1831 to 2007 and updated glaciers, ice
fields and coastal ice shelves.
Discover Canada’s Watersheds. Atlas of
Canada Program, Mapping Information
Branch, Natural Resources Canada,
Published by: Atlas of Canada
Program,
Mapping
Information
Branch, Natural Resources Canada.
Scale: 1:5,000,000, size: 838 mm x
1080 mm, date published: May 1, 2007,
language(s) of the legend: English.
Natural Resources Canada’s Atlas
of Canada, the Government of
Canada’s RésEau - Building Canadian
Water Connections initiative and the
Canadian Wildlife Federation have
collaborated to produce this map that
promotes the importance of watersheds
through education. Canada’s five ocean
watersheds are colour-coded on the
map: Pacific Ocean, Arctic Ocean,
Hudson Bay, Atlantic Ocean and Gulf
of Mexico. Each of these five massive
landscapes contains a hierarchy of
watersheds. This map depicts 594
watersheds, most of which are connected and ultimately flow into an ocean.
The scale of the map is 1:5,000,000
and the vertical near-side projection
has been used.
Drawing the Line. Steven Fick, Canadian
Geographic Enterprises. Scale: 1:20,000,
size: 270 mm x 400 mm, date published: July 1, 2008, language(s) of
the legend: English.
The map summarizes the littleknown history behind the determination of the four main sections of the
Canada-U.S. border. The style
reflects on older styles of cartography. Inset maps highlight various
snapshots from the history.
Wind Energy in Canada (two-sided
poster map). Steven Fick, Canadian
Geographic
Enterprises.
Scale:
1:800,000, size: 685 mm x 500 mm, date
published: June 1, 2007, language(s)
of the legend: English and French.
The map was included as a pullout map in the June 2007 of Canadian
Geographic magazine. This poster
map shows wind speeds, access to the
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011
electrical grid, and location of operating and planned wind farms.
Greater Toronto Coast. Catherine
Farley, Sharis Shahmiryan, David Beer,
Doreen Martins, Toronto Star
Newspaper. Scale: Varies, size: 660 mm
x 2545 mm, date published: August 2,
2008, language(s) of the legend:
English.
The map was originally published
as a five part series of the Greater
Toronto coast which stretches from
Hamilton to Clarington, Ontario. Icons
are used to highlight the walking and
bike trails, facilities and activities that
run across the over 150 km stretch.
The Cultural Mapping Project—
Downtown Regina and Wascana
Corridor. Christine Ramsay and
Kathleen Irwin, Christine Ramsay,
Kathleen Irwin (Arts Action
Inc./University of Regina) and Julia
Siemer (University of Regina). Scale:
Varies, size: 280 mm x 432 mm, date
published: October 1, 2007, language(s) of the legend: English.
The map represents the first stage
in mapping the entire City of Regina
and provides an overview of professional cultural institutions, cultural
services and industries, and non-professional cultural organizations. This
map is instrumental in finding support
for strategic cultural development and
in developing the city’s identity and
unique sense of place for all its citizens.
Inuit
Regions:
2006
Census
Subdivisions (CSDs) within Inuit
Nunaat with an Inuit Identity
Population of 100 or more. Statistics
Canada. Size: 431 mm x 279 mm, date
published: January 1, 2007, language(s)
of the legend: English and French
These maps were published for
the 2006 Census of Canada. They are
available on the Statistics Canada
website (www.statcan.gc.ca).
Topographic Maps
Vancouver 2010 Olympic and
Paralympic Winter Games Region.
Marc-Alain Poupart (JLC géomaVol. 65, No. 1, 2011
tique), John Donner, Gord Robertson,
Florin Savopol and Eva Siekierska (Centre
for Topographic Information), published by
Centre for Topographic Information,
Mapping Information Branch, Earth
Sciences Sector, Natural Resources
Canada. Scale: 1:250,000, size: 1065 mm x
1120 mm, date published: July 1, 2009, language(s) of the legend: English and French.
This topographic map covers the 2010
Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
region, encompassing Vancouver, Victoria
and Whistler, in British Columbia. The map
is produced from various provincial, federal and U.S. digital topographic datasets,
updated with SPOT imagery. The cartographic style is similar to the Canadian
National Topographic System map series.
shade base and three grid overlay. On
the other side, historic sites information and maps will help to explore each
location and entice understanding on
why it is a national treasure.
Canadian Topographic Map—Port
Coquitlam. Yvan Désy, Topographic
Mapping Initiatives Program, Centre for
Topographic Information, Mapping
Information Branch, Earth Sciences
Sector, Natural Resources Canada. Scale:
1:50,000, size: 990 mm x 690 mm, date
published: June 1, 2009, language(s) of
the legend: English and French.
Canadian Topographic Maps are
generated through a semi-automated map
publishing process that limits human intervention to the final editing of the text placement (two hours). The source data
consists of a variety of provincial and
federal datasets. Physical features have
been revised using Spot Imagery contributed by the Province of British Columbia.
Horse Country. Steven Fick, Canadian
Geographic
Enterprises.
Scale:
1:1,000,000, size: 120 mm x 130 mm,
Date published: September 1, 2008,
language(s) of the legend: English.
The map illustrates an article
about a trip to the Big Bar Guest Ranch
in the Caribou region of British
Columbia. The map is designed to look
like it is a piece of rawhide. The relief
shading of this mountainous area is
made to look like it is part of the texture of the leather, and the typography
reflects an older style of map labelling.
Protected Heritage Places of Eastern
Newfoundland. Tracy Harvey, Cynthia
Chute, Debra Calder, and Dawn Allen, Parks
Canada. Scale: 1:50,000, size: 990 mm x
660 mm, date published: July 1, 2008, language(s) of the legend: English.
The
map
shows
Eastern
Newfoundland’s protected heritage places.
The layout provides visitors with the geography of the area and key information
that communicates the significance of the
landscape and style of each place. It displays community place names, roads,
hiking trails and location of public facilities offered within the Park and Historic
sites. On one side, a 1!:50,000-scale topographical map of Terra Nova National
Park was designed with an elevation hill
Banff, Yoho and Kootenay National
Parks of Canada. Michael Mitchell.
Scale: 1:185,000, size: 980 mm x
1210 mm, date published: January 1,
2009, language(s) of the legend:
English and French.
Travel Maps
Ontario Travel Reference Map. Lan
Joyce, ed., ITMB Publishing Ltd. Scale:
1:1,000,000 (south) and 1:500,000
(north), size: 990 mm x 686 mm, date
published: January 1, 2009, language(s)
of the legend: English and French
Canada is a huge country and
mapping it is exceedingly difficult due
to its size. Ontario is one of the largest
of the ten Canadian provinces and the
most populous, but geographically,
only the southern half of the province
has been habitated or developed. This
map shows the entire province on a
double-sided sheet. It involved cartographers from Vietnam, Ontario, and
Vancouver. This map was a complex
undertaking. Combining the lakes and
rivers with the dense network of roads
with different standards along with the
mass of towns and cities made this a
very demanding project.
GEOMATICA 111
Atlases
Kitchener Atlas. Leslie Sharpe, with
contributors Melanie Wawryk, Sean
Thirtle, Amy Schmidt, David van
Riel, Justin Thibert, Mike Elliott,
Nancy Steinfield under the guidance
of Dianne Adams and Jeff Ham, The
Corporation of the City of Kitchener.
Number of pages: 138, size: 280 mm
x 430 mm, date published: April 22,
2009, language(s) of the text: English
The Kitchener Atlas is a book of
maps which summarizes and displays
some of the information contained in
Kitchener’s Geographic Information
System. It is intended to be used as a quick
reference by office and field staff.
South America – Travel Atlas. Lan Joyce,
ed., ITMB Publishing Ltd., Number of
pages: 112, size: 145 mm x 215 mm, date
published: January 1, 2008, language(s) of
the text: English
ITMB has developed a comprehensive digital database of South America
over a thirty year period. Over 55
maps have been published including
maps of each country. It was decided
to bring this information into a book
format and took two years to do so.
Thirty different cartographers worked
on this project.
Newfoundland and Labrador Seabed
Atlas. Types: Digital Atlas, Type:
Primarily vector GIS but includes
OGC Web Mapping. !
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112 GEOMATICA
Vol. 65, No. 1, 2011