subject: Gis Location-based Spatial Data Standards In Canada [print this page] The Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI) is the organization that is involved with harmonizing Canada's geospatial data and services. The CGDI consists of all of the standards, technology, systems of access, and set of rules that are necessary to promote common and open standards for location-based spatial data standards. The organization promotes the use of spatial standards to access and publish data on a common platform that encourages the sharing of location-based spatial data on the internet.
The CGDI approves the process and structure for organizing, utilizing, and sharing geospatial data and services that are common to a wide range of applications and users. The CGDI Geospatial databases facilitate access to Canada's geospatial databases. These databases include: aerial photos, topographic maps, nautical charts, aeronautical charts, satellite images, census and electoral areas, as well as soil, forestry, and marine and biodiversity records.
The vision as stated by the CGDI is as follows:
"To establish a Canadian geospatial information infrastructure that is accessible to all communities, pervasive throughout our country, ubiquitous for its users, and self-sustaining, to support the protection and betterment of Canada's health, social, cultural, economic and natural resource heritage and future."
GeoConnections is the governing body of the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure. GeoConnections identifies and approves the services and application standards that must comply with the CGDI. GeoConnections adopts international or national standards so that the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure can be interoperable with other world geospatial data infrastructures. GeoConnections works to develop and promote policies and standards to support the use of global geospatial information. They also work to ensure that all citizens of Canada share and use geographical information about Canada's people, land, and natural resources to support social, economic, and environmental endeavors. The GeoConnections Discovery Portal (GDP) is managed by the Mapping Information Branch of Natural Resources Canada
CGDI incorporates the following principles into the use of GIS Location-Based Spatial Data:
1. Must be based on open and shared specifications for operational transactions and information exchange.
2. Must provide a seamless chaining of services, data, and applications, or a combination.
3. Must facilitate the cooperation of sharing organizations to ensure interoperability among the organizations' infrastructures.
4. Must promote geospatial semantics sharing which permits better incorporation of information.
5. Must have geospatial update and exchange capabilities
6. Must develop partnerships with specific-sector infrastructures, regional spatial data infrastructures, and other national spatial data infrastructures, to create a global spatial data infrastructure
7. Participating organizations must contribute geospatial data, applications, and services.
8. Must define and advise on services and technologies that support rapid real-time response supporting location-based services and disseminated access to information. The CGDI has the ability to set the minimal levels of service that participants must meet in order to provide a service to the infrastructure.
Canadians have greatly benefited from the efforts of the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure and its standards because it has resulted in more informed and better decision making, improved efficiency, easier access and usability, and it has boosted growth and sales for Canadian businesses.
