Date

In regards to: Production of up-to-date national topographic maps of Canada

Hon. Gary Lunn
Minister of Natural Resources
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

Dear Minister:
Your October 2006 decision to keep the Canada Map Office open was an important first step in ensuring Canada’s mapping needs are met. Maps provide the base knowledge for good public policy and government. To support current policy imperatives, such as defense of sovereignty and national security, and to support our search and rescue teams, the government must continue to revive and restore Canada’s ability to provide high quality maps.  We are asking you to ensure that in the upcoming budget, the Government of Canada provides funding to ensure complete and current geographic information to support critical services to Canadians.

Canada’s national topographic maps are seriously out-of-date. Less than one % of the printed maps have been updated in the past 10 years, and despite the progression to digital, the digital maps are also shockingly out-of-date. Owing to insufficient funding of mapping programs and activities at the national level in Canada, today less than 10% of the mapping information from the printed topographic maps continues to be updated in Geobase.

Google Maps, Google Earth, and similar initiatives, are not a substitutes for high-quality topographic maps and dependence on them by Canadian decision-makers and the general public is unwise.

Canada has a distinguished history in map-making and Geomatics technology. In technical terms, Canada has an impressive program to develop a spatial data infrastructure but lacks a long term commitment and plan to sustain this. While the rest of the world has in recent decades, pushed forward with mapping legislation, policies and programs, Canada has since the 1980’s, fallen seriously behind. Unlike other Western countries, Canada lacks national mapping legislation and a budgetary commitment.

Accurate and up-to-date map data are essential for effective public policy.

Sincerely,

c.c   Member of Parliament for {constituency}
House of Commons