August 8, 2019
Le 8 août 2019

Horizon
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Nouvelles de PSC-GPC News
Responding to Change Proceedings
The Evolving Boundaries of Practice Workshop
Executive Summary
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Evolving Boundaries of Practice Workshop - Responding to Change

Overview

Land administration systems and their management are undergoing significant change in Canada and around the world. The drivers of that change are many and powerful. How each country adapts will impact their ability to compete and succeed in the emerging digital world. These changes include the rapid advance of location-based technology, implementation of on-line systems and an evolving public perception of expertise and a seemingly continual scrutinization of authoritative institutions including the traditional professions such as land surveying.
Professional Surveyors Canada, the Association of Canada Lands Surveyors, Natural Resources Canada, with input from the Canadian Council on Geomatics Cadastral Forum, have just completed several months of related research that culminated in the Evolving Boundaries of Practice workshop, held on May 01, 2019 at the National Surveyors Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Working groups were assembled early in 2019 to discuss the key changes flowing from technology, society and governance and policy that are impacting the land surveying profession and the delivery of land survey systems in Canada. The workshop presented the results of these discussions and research along with an overview of international developments. Discussion groups at the workshop had the opportunity to consider follow-up questions as well as think about how each theme interacts to produce the change challenges that the profession must address to meet society’s standard for professions going forward.

The primary goal for the workshop was to provide a first step towards the development of a national strategy that would help position the land surveying profession and survey systems for the future.

Read more (pdf 7kb)
Report to Membership
July 2019
We have been extremely busy continuing our efforts to broaden the public’s understanding of the professional surveyor’s role as agent, advisor and advocate for the public’s interest on issues and policies of national and international scope. Below are some of our latest accomplishments and ongoing efforts.

PSC Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors has undergone some changes. We welcome Mike Fretwell as a new Director from Alberta and Wayne Tremblay as a new Director from PEI. 

Hal Janes has stepped down as Chair, and Michael Thompson is our new Chair, while Jordan Litke has been appointed as Vice-Chair. Courtney Tripp has stepped down to better fulfill his role as President of the SLSA. We will continue to work towards our common goals for the profession.

Rapport aux membres
Juillet 2019
Nous avons été très occupés à poursuivre nos efforts pour amener le public à mieux comprendre le rôle de l’arpenteur géomètre professionnel en tant qu’agent, conseiller et défenseur de l’intérêt du public sur des questions et des politiques de portée nationale et internationale. Voici quelques-unes de nos plus récentes réalisations et de nos initiatives en cours.

Conseil d’administration de GPC
Notre conseil d’administration a subi quelques changements. Nous souhaitons la bienvenue à Mike Fretwell à titre de nouveau directeur, Alberta, et à Wayne Tremblay, à titre de nouveau directeur, Î.-P.-É. 

Hal Janes a quitté son poste de président; Michael Thompson est notre nouveau président. Jordan Litke a été nommé vice-président. Courtney Tripp a quitté son poste pour mieux remplir son rôle de présidente de la SLSA. Nous continuerons d’œuvrer pour atteindre nos objectifs communs pour la profession.

Association News / Nouvelles des associations
Land surveyors museum open on Government Ridge
The Battlefords News-Optimist
The Saskatchewan Land Surveyors Association is now operating a museum out of the old Land Titles building near the former Government House, by an agreement with the Town of Battleford, owner of the property. The site is the first known and oldest standing brick building built in the province.
Angie Stone is one of two local staff members who will be greeting visitors to the newest museum in the Battlefords, open six hours a day, seven days a week until the end of August.  Read more
In the Media / Dans les médias
Shared maple tree pits neighbour against neighbour in court battle
The Star
“What could be more Canadian than Toronto neighbours arguing about building an addition on a house?” asked Justice Ed Morgan in one of his decisions released earlier this year.
“Homeowners arguing about a maple tree, of course,” he continued.
The case involved adjacent homeowners, in Toronto’s Moore Park neighbourhood, who share a large tree straddling the boundary line between their properties.  Read more
City loses $4.5M lawsuit over water main's presence near condo development
CBC
A developer has won a $4.5-million lawsuit against the City of Ottawa over a water main that led to a costly redesign of its project.
....
According to the court decision, the problem water main was discovered after the company applied for, and was granted, re-zoning in 2005 for a highrise tower called the Continental. The company wasn't told about the existence of the water main until 2007, but the city couldn't tell Charlesfort about its condition or exact location.  Read more

La Ville d’Ottawa perd une poursuite de 4,5 M$ en raison d’une conduite d’eau
Radio-Canada
Un entrepreneur immobilier a remporté une poursuite de 4,5 millions de dollars contre la Ville d’Ottawa en raison de la présence d’une conduite d’eau qui a entraîné une refonte coûteuse du projet.
....
Selon la décision de la cour, la conduite d’eau au centre du litige a été découverte seulement après qu’un nouveau zonage fut approuvé à la demande de l’entreprise en 2005 pour la construction d’un gratte-ciel nommé Continental.
Or, les autorités municipales n’ont pas informé l’entreprise de la présence de la conduite avant 2007, sans pouvoir en décrire l’état ni l’endroit exact. Lire plus
Gravenhurst surveyors say new tech means more data and innovative projects
This is the final story in a 5-part series about innovation in Gravenhurst
MuskokaRegion
GRAVENHURST — Did you know that Gravenhurst intelligence is helping with a NASA mission in outer space?
T.A. Bunker Surveying Ltd. — owned and operated by Tim and Chris Bunker — participated in a project involving scientists from Brampton working on a laser scanner to map an asteroid named Bennu.
The project is called OSIRIS-REx, and the team of scientists plans to send a satellite, collect a core sample and bring it back to earth by 2023. Read more
Québec retire des territoires de la carte des zones inondables
La Presse
Des milliers de propriétaires poussent un soupir de soulagement. Québec a retiré, hier, 17 autres entités municipales de la « zone d'intervention spéciale » (ZIS), ce moratoire interdisant la construction de maisons ou la reconstruction de celles qui ont été endommagées par les crues. Cette troisième version de la carte depuis la mise en place du décret n'est pas la dernière, assure la ministre des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation.
Les premières modifications apportées plus tôt cet été concernaient une douzaine de municipalités des bassins des lacs Saint-François et Saint-Louis. Hier, 17 entités municipales de l'ouest de l'île de Montréal ont à leur tour été retirées de la ZIS. Lire plus

Lachute, Brownsburg-Chatham make updates to new Québec flood zoning map
TheReview
Municipal staff in Lachute and Brownsburg-Chatham have submitted changes to the Québec government about a map designating new flood zoning and regulations.
Municipalities have until August 19 to submit amendments to mapping of the Special Intervention Zone (SIZ) the government has created in response to serious flooding experienced in communities throughout Québec in the spring of 2019, and in 2017. The SIZ severely restricts development in flood –prone areas, including along Rivière du Nord in Lachute.  Read more
An Erie coincidence
Surveyors who conquered ADK conquered canal, too
The Sun
TICONDEROGA | In the late 1700s, a young surveyor was thrashing around the western Adirondacks trying to bring some sense of order to a massive tract of land where French nobles, for some reason, felt they might be able to regroup after fleeing the French Revolution’s bloody Reign of Terror.
He failed. But in the course of his career, failures were few and far between.
Indeed, the surveyor, Benjamin Wright, went on to many great successes, becoming a crucial cog in the construction of the Erie Canal. In 1969 he was awarded the status as Father of American Civil Engineering by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Read more
Pénurie d'arpenteurs-géomètres aux Îles
Radio-Canada
La demande pour les arpenteurs-géomètres est telle aux Îles-de-la-Madeleine que des firmes de l'extérieur viennent faire des contrats dans l'archipel. Un seul bureau d'arpenteur-géomètre offre le service aux Îles et les délais sont d'environ 5 mois.
Pour France Lapierre, aux Îles, le délai d'arpentage, c'est problématique. La Madelinienne est courtière immobilière pour RE/MAX Référence 2000 depuis 11 ans. Lire plus
What is a property survey and where can I get one?
Bankrate
The amount of work required after making an offer on a home and actually moving in might be more than you think. For example, some homebuyers may need to get a property survey before they close on a new place.
Property surveys are done to determine or confirm land boundaries, such as the plot of land a home sits on, and identify other types of restrictions and conditions that apply to the legal description of a property.  Read more
Where does my land end and my neighbors’ begin? - by Greg de Bruin
New York Real Estate Journal nyrej
Summer has arrived, which means many of us are gearing up to start our outdoor projects for the year. ‘Tis the season for installing pools, building fences, or perhaps breaking ground on that vacant land you want to improve. However, before these exciting projects begin, we should be asking ourselves one important question: “Where does my land end and my neighbors’ begin?”  Read more
Court gives a jolt to joint property owners
The Star
An Ontario Superior Court decision may change the law of joint land ownership and the right of survivorship when one owner dies.
Going back hundreds of years, the common-law rule has always seen the survivor of the joint owners — “joint tenants” in the language of the law — become the sole owner. That principle has been questioned by the ruling this past April of Justice Robert Reid in the recent case of Marley v. Salga.  Read more
Dr. Gladys West
The quiet dedication of a hidden hero who made satellite geodesy and global positioning possible.
xyHt
As early as high school, the focused determination of Dr. Gladys West would see her rise to make key contributions to one of the most impactful scientific endeavors of our age. In our recent interview with xyHt magazine, West gave us a glimpse into her personal and scientific journey. Read more 
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International News / Informations internationales
King Of The Hill: Guinness World Records Crowns Wales Street World's Steepest
npr
There's a new king of the hill.
The small town of Harlech in Wales has ousted Dunedin, New Zealand, for bragging rights to the world's steepest street. Guinness World Records announced the new title in a news release on Tuesday.
Ffordd Pen Llech, the name of the Wales street, winds up at a slope of 37.45 % stretch over fall, Guinness World Records said. That's in comparison to a slope of 34.97% at Dunedin's Baldwin Street.  Read more

Surveyors tackle Baldwin St cause
Otago Daily Times
A Dunedin surveyor is bringing out the big guns in his fight to restore the supremacy of Baldwin St as the world's steepest.
Toby Stoff has been vocal in his view that Welsh street Ffordd Pen Llech being measured on the inside went against good surveying practice.
Road gradients should be measured at the centre line, and he believed Baldwin St should not have been stripped of its world's steepest street title after more than 30 years, he said. Read more
TRAVEL THROUGH TIME Roman Britain map reveals the ancient roads built 2,000 years ago that you still drive on today
The 2,000-year-old highways include key routes around London, Manchester, Cardiff and Bath.
The Sun
The map shows some of the UK's most important roads today, highlighting the ones built by Roman invaders.
In nearly four centuries of occupation between 43 and 410 AD, they constructed around 2,000 miles of roads in Britain, known to its occupants as "Britannia". Read more
Tech News / Nouvelles techno
How to become a privacy ninja: Use these journalist tools
You don’t have to be a gumshoe reporter to practice a bit of surveillance self-defense.
c|net
A new privacy breach story seems to pop up every week, repeating the nagging question for most of us: When was the last time you upgraded your surveillance self-defense? You don't have to be investigating the next Watergate to command some basic privacy on the internet. Whether you're a newcomer to online privacy protection or a security-savvy pro ready to move into next-level cybersecurity training, we've got a checklist to get you started.
For the newcomer
Use a password manager
If you've heard one piece of internet security advice, it's this: Create strong passwords unique to each of your online accounts, change them routinely and never reuse old ones. Most browsers will automatically offer to store your passwords when they see you log into a new site. Don't take the bait, and don't waste your time trying to memorize them all. Instead, put a secure password manager to work.  Read more
Top smart cities in the world and how location tech is powering them
GeoSpatial world
Location is at the heart of a smart city project. At a time when cities are grappling with numerous challenges like lack of affordable housing, traffic congestion, air pollution, and ageing population, some of the smartest cities in the world have blended location technology with a human-centric approach for enhancing the quality of life of residents.
As Per the 2019 Cities in Motion Index (CIMI), introduced by IESE Business School, London and New York are the world’s top two smart cities. Read more
Upcoming Events / Prochaines activités
National Geodetic Survey Webinars
2019 CCGA Damage Prevention Symposium
Damage Prevention Symposium
Canadian Common Ground Alliance
October 8-10, 2019
Fallsview Casino Resort
Niagara Falls, ON

Registration now open

More break out sessions are being added - register for #CCGA19 before prices increase August 12!

D’autres séances en atelier ont été ajoutées - la date butoir pour une inscription anticipée est le 12 août 2019 #CCGA19
Fall Conference 2019
Manitoba GIS User Group
October 23, 2019
Club Regent Event Centre
Winnipeg, MB

Now Accepting Speaker Abstracts

GeoAlberta 2019
GeoAlberta2019
GeoAlberta
November 13-14, 2019
Sheraton
Red Deer, AB

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