Slashgeo

Canadian Will Have Their Paper Maps

posted by Satri on Thursday October 12, @09:22AM        Permalink  Trackback URI  Slashdotthis  Diggthis  Del.icio.us
from the nothing-is-permanent,-not-paper,-not-maps,-not-decisions dept.

As a followup on previous announcement of the end of paper maps for Canadians, we learn today that "[...] the decision to close the Canada Map Office as of next year has been reversed by the NRCan Minister." Update: 10/12 15:12 GMT by S :The Map Room blog offers much more information, including a CBC.ca news report: "But Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn announced Wednesday that the Conservative government has yanked that plan off its course, and the map office will remain open. Kathleen Olson, a spokeswoman for Lunn, said Natural Resources Canada received a flood of letters protesting the planned closure. [...] She said paper maps are vital to many people, including researchers, emergency services personnel and outdoor enthusiasts."

Trackbacks:

• NONE
• NONE
• NONE
• NONE
• NONE
• NONE
• NONE
• NONE
• NONE
• NONE

Related Stories

Industry: The End of Paper Topographic Maps in Canada? 2 comments [+]

The Globe and Mail has an interesting article about the possible end of paper topographical maps in Canada. From the article: The government isn't preparing to get out of the cartography business entirely, but it plans to put its topographic map data on the Internet where companies and individuals would be able to access the information, either free or for a fee, and then print it or pay a professional printer to do it. [...] Is the digital revolution making old-fashioned paper maps obsolete or is this just another Luddite-style worry among the kind of folk who also think computers are preventing children from learning how to print?

Paper Maps for Canadians? 1 comment [+]

The Cartography blog shares information on the Maps for Canadians project related to this previous story on the end of paper topographical maps in Canada. From the Maps for Canadians website: "The Ministry of Natural Resources Canada will discontinue the printing of paper topographic maps and will close the Canada Map Office effective January 2007. Maps will be available in digital format through the Internet. This new policy will not meet the requirements of the general public and will effectively remove access to topographic maps from Canadians and their families especially those not in major centres. "

Campaign to Update Canada's Topo Maps 1 comment [+]

Tracey Lauriault writes "Last year was a good year for topographic mapping in Canada. As you might already know, the Ministry of Natural Resources reversed the decision to close the Canada Map Office and will continue the production of print topographic maps as a direct result of many hundreds of supporters. Until February 28th, the Ministry of Finance is calling for input on its budget priorities. As with the campaign for the print topographic maps last fall, it is important to make our politicians aware that it is necessary to keep topographic maps of Canada up-to-date. Input into the government’s budget priorities is an important step to raise the awareness of mapping. If you agree please submit 50 words or less to the Ministry of Finance's online pre-budget consultations, in the priority category: Other. Sample statement: The Government of Canada must ensure complete and up-to-date topographic maps of Canada by Natural Resources Canada to: defend our sovereignty and security in the face of global realities, support our search and rescue teams, monitor Canada’s environmental and natural resources base. Link to a Min. Finance Response Area — http://www.mapsforcanadians.ca/budget.htm Link to a Template letter — http://www.mapsforcanadians.ca/letter.htm Please see www.mapsforcanadians.ca for more information."

Digital Topographic Data Soon Free for Canada [+]

The Map Room shares the great news for Canadians, the digital topographic data will soon be free. From the internal email copied on the blog: "In response to demands from users for no fee access to framework geographic data and the increasing technological shift in the marketplace, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), is pleased to announce that starting April 1st 2007, the Earth Sciences Sector (ESS) will change the way its Digital Topographic Data (DTD) can be accessed. ESS will initiate a change from a cost recovery environment to an environment providing no fee access to its current DTD products." Vector One provides interesting comments.

The Paperless Map Is the Killer App [+]

GIS Lounge links to a BusinessWeek article named "The Paperless Map Is the Killer App". From the article: "First, cell phones made the streetcorner pay phone obsolete. Now they're doing away with the need to ask for directions. A surge in phones with built-in satellite navigation capability has sparked a wave of creative mapping and locating services. And it has set off a multibillion-dollar scramble by companies to buy up digital navigation technologies. [...] As more players jump into navigation, it has triggered a wave of deal-making that reflects the nervousness of established players. Makers of car-based or other dedicated (nonphone) devices worry that competitors will gain control of essential mapping data, which show names and locations of streets, homes, restaurants, and hotels and must be regularly updated." Related are the 162 million navigation-ready cell phones hitting the streets this year.

• Hardcopy vs digital maps

  (Score:2)

  by Satri (3) on Thursday October 12, @04:51PM (#1026)
  ( http://alexandreleroux.blogspot.com/ | Last Journal: Friday March 17, @05:07PM )

  Vector one offers an interesting opinion [geovisualisation.com], "For all that digital maps do, they do not reach the simplicity that hardcopy does."