Ottawa - November 7, 2011: Geomatics Industry Association of Canada (GIAC) chair and acting president Mr. James Ferguson, OLS, OLIP, on October 24th, 2011, presented to the House Standing Committee on Natural Resources on the state of geomatics in Canada.
“Most of Canada’s national maps are antiquated, with base data often more than 30 years old; Canada’s mapping information is incomplete; and the level of accuracy and resolution of national maps is inadequate and needs to be enhanced to include detail adherent to the needs of modern cross-sectoral geomatics users.” Mr. Ferguson told the Committee. “The technology and know-how exists to create a modern “National Map” in Canada. However, without a cohesive national, multi-sector strategy to establish standards, develop an execution, delivery and maintenance model, and ensure that data when collected is stored and accessible, investments made by governments and the private sector will continue to be ad-hoc and incomplete. The benefits derived from deploying geomatics more effectively can be seen in a report prepared for the Canadian Council on Geomatics, which pegged gains to GDP at 0.6 to 1.2% or in the range of $9.5 to $18.9 billion per year.”
The GIAC has made two recommendations to government: 1) that the Government of Canada fund the development of Canada’s first comprehensive, multi-sector National Geomatics Action Plan, and 2) the Government of Canada invest up to $250 million over a seven year period in a National Imagery Acquisition Program. Recently, GIAC supported a submission by one of its’ members to the House Finance Committee as part of their pre-budget consultations, recommending a series of pilot projects that could lay the foundation to support a National Geomatics Action Plan.
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