Natural Resources committee  I won't speak to the multinational model. I don't think that's in our purview right now. However, as I said, we have had discussions with various provinces at the level that they provide mapping services to their clients, who would love to cooperate with the private sector and o

Natural Resources committee  When I hear discussions today of free data, as a practitioner and as a business person, I never think there's such a thing as free data. Someone has to pay for it, otherwise it doesn't get collected. Open data, in our opinion, does not necessarily mean free data. I don't think a

Natural Resources committee  I would say that's an accurate assumption, for sure, an accurate inference. We know that all levels of government—regional, municipal, federal, provincial—do want to work together as users of this data in both collecting and using it. There have been some initiatives that have b

Natural Resources committee  Absolutely.

Natural Resources committee  In the case of Google and Microsoft, they are buying data to put up on their websites. They acquire data through partnerships. Microsoft, for example, owns a company that builds digital sensors that collect data, so they actually have a commercial arrangement with them. They buy

Natural Resources committee  I haven't spoken directly to members of the GEM program, but I have asked researchers who are working on the GEM program in the field and others whether or not the program includes up-to-date geospatial mapping. I think the answer was they're not sure, because they're sourcing th

Natural Resources committee  I'm not intimately familiar with E.O. Wilson's specifications or requirements for a biosurvey of the planet, but I will say that our members in certain capacities support all types of mapping requirements and databasing, including biodiversity. In theory, our members will be some

Natural Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee members, for allowing us to speak to the committee this afternoon. I'll read a prepared brief also. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, the Geomatics Industry Association of Canada, formerly the Canadian Association of Aerial Surveyors,