Minister launches geospatial Web portal

Dr. Rey Pagtakhan reviews a student poster that was part of the GIS Day exhibition in the Department of Geography.

Dr. Rey D. Pagtakhan, Minister and Secretary of State for Science, Research and Development came to the University of Ottawa on November 19 to announce the launch of the GeoBase portal. The announcement was made as part of the Geographic Information Systems Day.

This joint project involving federal, provincial and territorial governments � allows Canadians to access geospatial data on the Internet at no cost and with no restrictions for users. Canada is one of the first countries in the world to provide such information on the World Wide Web free of charge.

�The geospatial digital data will be used in the context of geomatics programs like that within the department of geography to train future geomaticians in environmental and social issues of concern to Canada now and in the future,� said Dr. Michael Sawada, a professor in the Department of Geography.