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Success Stories

Everybody loves a winner and here you can discover how partners are using the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI) to protect the environment, make Canada safer, manage public health, and deal with issues of importance to Aboriginal people.

And despite the breadth and depth of these success stories, they are but a sample of the hundreds of potential stories available.

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Success Stories associated with GeoConnections : 55

Cree Geospatial Portal to Facilitate Land Use Planning and Tourism Development in Eeyou Istchee
The Cree Outfitting and Tourism Association (COTA) was identified as a treaty obligation under the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement signed in 1975 and it was incorporated as a non-profit organization in December of 2000.

Yukon Land Use Planning Council works with GeoConnections to Improve Land Use Planning
Implementing Yukon land use claims requires linking resource planning and management processes. The Yukon Land Use Planning Council is responsible for preparing landscape planning documents by compiling information on current land use activities, regional resource assessments, and likely future scenarios.

Building the Business Case for Investments in Geospatial Information Technology
Keeping Canada’s infrastructure in good repair requires millions of dollars of investment in people, processes, and technology. Because this infrastructure typically involves roads, utility lines, rights of way, service areas, etc., geospatial information technology (GIT) can play a big part in maximizing the value of these investments. Specifically, GIT can help organizations track and manage their assets, operate more efficiently and effectively, and choose from among competing projects.

GeoTango aligns with Microsoft to access worldwide market
It's the dream of every high-tech start-up: develop innovative technology, sell your company to a well-established suitor, and provide your innovation to thousands or even millions of people around the globe.

CARTS Produces National View of Canada's Protected Areas
CARTS enables Canada to report internationally on its protected areas, which include parks, migratory bird sanctuaries, and ecological reserves managed by a range of governments/organizations.

Ottawa River watershed management transcends borders
A not-for-profit, Canadian environmental organization, Pollution Probe is striving to make it easier for authorities to work together to protect the Ottawa River.

Public Health Map Generator Reveals a Path to Better Health Care
The Public Health Map Generator equips health professionals to produce custom online maps that reveal disease patterns across the country, leading to faster and more effective targeted responses.

HealthNet Offers Bird's Eye View of West Nile Virus
the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) recently developed a web-mapping application to better track and analyze the locations of dead birds infected with the West Nile Virus.

Web-based Mapping Brings Breath of Fresh Air to New Brunswick Lung Association
Thanks to a new web-mapping system based on the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI), Lung Association health officials can now better monitor air quality and improve health care for Canadians.

Inuit Communities Now on Firm Footing with Land-use Planning Application
When the northern Inuit community of Kujjuaq looked to expand its waste-disposal site, land-use planners produced a multi-layered online map to assess how such an expansion could affect local streams and rivers.

Resource-Management Tool Fires Up BC Forest Service
Each year, British Columbia sees 3,500 wildfires on average. When these fires threaten communities, endangered species habitats, or valuable timberlands, halting their spread becomes vital. This dangerous task falls to the Protection Branch of the BC Forest Service, an organization that now has the ability to use the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI) to help battle 'and conquer' the province's wildfires.

New Environmental Management System Helps Responders Clean Up Spills
The Environmental Emergencies Branch has created a system'the Environmental Emergency Management System or "E2MS"'that capitalizes on the CGDI's vast reservoir of interoperable geographic data layers. By combining spatial-information management tools and technologies with spatial data and information, E2MS uses the CGDI to enable emergency organizations, federal government departments, and provincial emergency-measures agencies to respond more effectively to oil and chemical spills.

GeoConnections and U.S. FGDC streamline cross-border geospatial data sharing
GeoConnections and the U.S. Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) have been working together since 1999 to adopt common geospatial data standards for both Canada and the USA.

Prince Edward Island Department of Transportation uses the National Road Network
The province of Prince Edward Island has adopted the GeoBase National Road Network (NRN), produced by NRCan's Geomatics for the Sustainable Development of Natural Resources program, as its official provincial road network.

Small Canadian data mining company adds GeoBase to its resources
Data Forest Mining Inc. is using leading-edge statistical methods of data mining and visualization to identify high potential oil and gas exploration sites.

ESRI Canada's Geography Network Builds on GeoBase
ESRI Canada provides solutions for many industries including local government, utilities, public safety and defence, business demographics, education, natural resources, and transportation.

University of Ottawa Geography Researchers Utilize GeoBase
Geography researchers utilize GeoBase in climate, telecommunications and visualization research. Michael Sawada of the University of Ottawa's Laboratory for Applied Geomatics and GIS Science (LAGGISS) for projects ranging from telecommunications to climate change as well as for the introduction of geomatics concepts into the teaching curriculum of multiple programs.

Miramichi River Environmental Assessment Committee (MREAC)
Beginning in 2001, MREAC developed this GIS pilot project to target water quality for shellfish harvesting by identifying and assisting in the remediation of pollution sources in a 34 km2 area of the Miramichi River.

Kivalliq Inuit Association (KIA)
The future of Kivalliq, Nunavut rests on its ability to make the best decisions regarding its land and sea resources.

Beaver County, Alberta
In 1999 the local councillors of Ryley, Tofield, Viking, Holden and Beaver County decided to learn more about how GeoConnections' Sustainable Communities Initiative (SCI) could help their communities.

Rural Municipality of Hanover, Manitoba
Hanover's interactive on-line mapping system builds on the municipality's existing parcel mapping system, using upgraded software and hardware, and a 2001 Ikonos high resolution satellite image.

Black Loyalist Heritage Society of Birchtown, Nova Scotia
With the financial assistance of the Sustainable Communities Initiative (SCI) -a component of GeoConnections- the Society is using GIS to preserve and protect the history of the Black Loyalists in Canada, not only for Canadians, but people around the world who have Black Loyalist roots.

Wikwemikong, Ontario
On the eastern border of Manitoulin Island in Georgian Bay, lies the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve. Already a leader in geographic information systems (GIS) among First Nations, the Wikwemikong Forestry / Fish & Wildlife Department had computer-generated maps in several different software formats.

Wahnapitae First Nation
The Wahnapitae First Nation, in partnership with GeoConnections' Sustainable Communities Initiative and Natural Resources Canada's Minerals and Metals Sector, and with financial assistance from Indian and Northern Affairs, has embarked on an extensive geographical information systems (GIS) program.

Îles de la Madeleine
The islands are home to over 100 species of birds, including the endangered Piping Plover and the Roseate Tern, which depend on the Islands' lagoons for their survival.

Eel Ground First Nation
With the assistance of Sustainable Communities Initiative (SCI), a component of GeoConnections, the GPS will help Eel Ground bolster their digital maps.

Lheidli T'enneh Nation
In September of 2000, the Lheidli T'enneh Nation set out to create an on-line map resource. The Band Council and membership had been dealing with geographical information systems (GIS) for a number of years, and wanted to expand the use of this technology to allow them a higher level of involvement in the management of the local resources.

"KISS" - Kugluktuk Information Sharing Service
Like many other small northern communities, Kugluktuk, Nunavut, knows firsthand the difficulty of staying connected to its residents, many of whom must leave the community for part of the year for work.

Central Yukon Sustainable Communities Initiative
In terms of GeoConnections' Sustainable Communities Initiative (SCI), the Central Yukon Sustainable Communities Initiative (CYSCI) is unique.

Bowen Island GeoLibrary
Bowen Island has been described as a "community in transition." While it is a traditional recreation area for Vancouver residents, about 40 per cent of its population commutes to Vancouver every day. Bowen Island is also part of the Islands Trust so there is a split between rural and urban mandates.

Blood Tribe
The Blood Tribe considers land as an extension of their cultural and traditional connection to nature.

Lake Ontario--St. Lawrence River Framework Data Project examines ups and downs of water levels
GeoConnections is helping stakeholders better understand how fluctuating water levels may affect their livelihoods, pastimes, and interests.

St. Lawrence River Framework Data Project examines ups and downs of water levels on Lake Ontario
When water levels rise in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, recreational boaters tend to rejoice. But cottage owners, facing potential erosion of their shorelines, have less reason to celebrate.

Inter-departmental teamwork produces national-scale watershed framework
When Wayne Gretzky picked Canada's 2002 Olympic gold medal hockey team, he chose players with complementary skills. Had he stocked the team only with scorers or entirely with defensive specialists, Canada would have watched the gold medal go to another nation.

Comité ZIP du Sud-de-l'Estuaire fights pollution and coastal erosion with GIS
Farm-animal manure used as agricultural fertilizer can pollute rivers and streams with fecal coliform bacteria.

Manitoba conservation districts overflowing with praise for new GIS
An old Scottish proverb says, "We'll never know the worth of water till the well go dry." The West Souris River Conservation District and the Little Saskatchewan River Conservation District in southwestern Manitoba are using modern geomatics techniques to heed the proverb's wisdom.

Quadra Island Mapping Project charts new course with GeoConnections' Sustainable Communities Initiative
Faced with the collapse of salmon stocks and a forestry industry in decline, residents of Quadra Island, British Columbia, have turned to an advanced geographic information system to help boost tourism and protect the environment.

Galdos springboards to international success on GML standards
One of the first things we learn in school is the importance of sharing. Galdos Systems Inc. of Vancouver, British Columbia, is applying this lesson to deliver geographic information over the Internet and boost international sales.

PCI Geomatics gives geospatial images a web-friendly makeover
By assisting PCI Geomatics to develop software that enables users to create and integrate maps, photographs, and spatial data, GeoConnections has played a key role in PCI Geomatics' success, both in Canada and internationally.

Compusult leverages CGDI standards to build business in Canada and around the world
When opportunity came knocking, Compusult Limited of Mount Pearl, Newfoundland, answered the door. This information technology company has capitalized well over the years on its work with GeoConnections and the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI).

Go for Green blazes new trails in web mapping
Go for Green operates a website called "TrailPAQ" that describes some 3800 trails in Canada.

Students and teachers go on-line for geomatics lessons
Students learn better when classroom lessons relate to real-world issues. That's why Claude Brun del Re, a geography teacher at Woodroffe high school in the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, helped develop the Geomatics for High School Curriculum website with representatives from GeoInsight Corp. and ESRI Canada.

Geodata conferencing to aid emergency response efforts
In emergencies, no one can afford miscommunication. In our earthquake example, seismologists could use the conferencing system to produce a map based on sensor readings that model the earth's movement.

Earth Sciences Sector Portal streamlines data searching
Knowing how to locate what you're looking for is the first step in finding it. That's why the GeoConnections Discovery Portal (geodiscover.cgdi.ca) has gained such favour with professionals, researchers, teachers, and students alike.

Land Information Ontario adds value with geospatial web services
"GeoConnections has endorsed a web-based vision for the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure for some time," says Mr. Maloney.

Standards help CubeWerx level the competitive playing field
When Federal Express Chief Executive Officer Fred Smith founded his overnight courier company in the 1970s, he devised a hub-and-spoke distribution system. Rather than fly cargo directly from originating city to destination city, he first routed it through a distribution centre in Memphis, Tennessee, even if that detour added hundreds of miles to a package's journey.

Alberta Métis leverage geomatics to manage natural resources
Many northern Canadian communities sit amidst valuable woodlands or on top of rich oil and gas deposits.

B.C. Government relies on information sharing to protect resources
Sustaining B.C.'s fisheries is one goal of the Cooperative Ocean Information Network Pacific (COINPacific). A joint initiative of MSRM, GeoConnections, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), and the Canadian Centre for Marine Communications (CCMC), COINPacific makes ocean information available over the Internet. People will be able to use this information to better balance ocean industries with environmental responsibilities, develop Canadian ocean technology, and promote the Canadian marine industry locally and internationally.

Bay of Fundy Marine Resource Centre plots success with GIS
Each year, dozens of oil tankers move through the Bay of Fundy off the Nova Scotia coast to and from oil refineries in St. John, New Brunswick. What would happen should a tanker spill its cargo?

Vantage Point International Overflowing with Enthusiasm for New Online Flood Mapping Service
Triggered by heavy rain the preceding fall, an uncommonly high winter snowfall, and 90mm of snow in April, the Red River flooded with a vengeance in 1997. The flood, the largest in 171 years to strike the Red River Drainage Basin, forced 28,000 people from their homes in Manitoba and several northern U.S. states and caused millions of dollars...

Isosceles Turbo Charges Web Mapping Business with GeoInnovations
Just as different car models often use the same engine, Isosceles Information Solutions Inc. of Manotick, Ontario, often employs the same software to produce its Internet maps.

Intelec Geomatics Inc. and GeoInnovations Speed Sleuthing for Geospatial Data
Looking for a needle in a haystack would be much simpler if you knew the needle's exact location. The same can be said for finding specific information among the multitude of geospatial data sources available today.

Grande Prairie Region Improves Emergency Response Tools
Paramedics in Alberta's Grande Prairie region can now reach accident victims more easily... thanks to a Sustainable Communities Initiative (SCI) project involving the Grande Prairie Regional Emergency Medical Service (EMS), the City of Grande Prairie geographic information system (GIS) department and TELUS Geomatics.

EMS Provides Health-care Sector with Missing Link
Understanding why diseases occur is the most important step in combating them. Thanks to some pioneering software from EMS Technologies, Canadian health practitioners now have a powerful new web mapping tool to track diseases and help keep them in check.

GeoConnections helps Aguanish bridge its winter blues
For most of the year, the communities in and around the North Shore of the St. Lawrence River rely on snowmobile roads for the transportation of goods and services, and for communication between towns and villages.