March - Alberta Land Surveyors` Association

Transcription

news
ALS
MARCH 2008 VOL. 37-1
ISSN
0703-4228
PRODUCED QUARTERLY FOR CIRCULATION TO THE MEMBERS OF THE ALBERTA LAND SURVEYORS' ASSOCIATION
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ALS news
March 2008 Vol. 37-1
23
contents
28
38
features
21 Multimedia Data as Boundary Determination Evidence in Alberta by Dr. Michael Barry
23 Relating GPS Boundaries to Ground Distances and Bearings by Dr. Rob Radovanovic, ALS
28 Keeper of Lost Records by Andreas N. Corsos
38 Land Survey System Featured at the History Centre by Gordon E. Olsson, ALS
44 Self-Regulating Professions - Balancing Competition and Regulation
by the Competition Bureau of Canada
regulars
5
7
9
11
13
19
25
35
37
39
41
43
47
49
51
52
President’s Message
Councillors Forum
Editor’s Notes
Letters
Association Notes
Nominations for Council
Book Review
Professional Development
Public Relations
Safety Sense
Discipline
Alberta Sustainable
Resource Development
Education
Legal Notes
ASSMT Notes
History
Cover photo is of the main lobby at the Fairmont Chateau Lake
Louise courtesy of Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.
President
Past President
Vice President
Secretary Treasurer and Registrar
Executive Director
Acting Director of Practice Review
Councillors
Public Members
R.M. (Bob) Wallace
D.H. (Dirk) VandenBrink
R.O. (Ron) Hall
D.R. (Dave) McWilliam
B.E. (Brian) Munday
D.R. (Don) George
B.A. (Bruce) Beairsto
B.W. (Bruce) Gudim
T.J. (Tim) Harding
T.W. (Terry) Hudema
R. (Rob) Radovanovic
B.D. (Brian) Ross,
D.R. (Russell) Barnes (Council)
R. (Rudy) Palovcik (Practice Review Board)
Editor
Brian E. Munday ([email protected])
Advertising and Production
Sharon D. Armstrong ([email protected])
Deadline dates for submission of articles to ensure printing are as follows: February 15th, June 1st,
September 1st, and November 15th. Advertising deadline dates are as follows: February 1st, May
15th, August 15th, and November 1st. Opinions expressed by the editor or individual writers are
not necessarily endorsed by the Council of the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association. Original articles
may be reprinted with due credit given to the source and with permission of individual writers
or where no writer is indicated, with the permission of the Editor. ALS News is published by the
Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association for circulation to the Association Membership. Address all
correspondence to:
Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association
Suite 1000, 10020 - 101A Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta T5J 3G2
Tel: 780-429-8805 or 1-800-665-2572
Fax: 780-429-3374 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.alsa.ab.ca
Canada Post Publication #40051474
ALS News March 2008 . 3
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president’s message
bob wallace, als
I wish to acknowledge the input I received at
the regional meetings. This has allowed me
to present different scenarios for generating
revenues. Please think about this issue and
please present your ideas at the AGM, this year
in Lake Louise.
O
ur ALSA landscape has changed rather abruptly this
year as our economy slows down. In the past five
years, our profession has seen unprecedented growth
which has translated into increased revenue for
our Association. This has given our committees greater funding
enabling such endeavors as public awareness, youth education,
scholarships, and the creation of a vision for the future.
We have been fortunate to have a full-time staff comprised of
talented and dedicated individuals. With the backing of this staff,
it has allowed our Council and committees to concentrate on
being proactive on issues facing our profession as well as providing the opportunity to look ahead. The daily operations have been
handled by the staff, as well support for committees by providing
agendas, minutes and research. Our staff handles numerous inquiries and concerns from the public, removing this burden from our
members.
The ALSA revenue is based upon iron posts memberships and
miscellaneous. Our iron posts sales are down 40% this year which
will translate into a projected overall deficit of $150,000. In order
to balance the budget, Council will have to reduce expenses and/
or increase revenue. In the interim, we can supplement the budget
with a transfer from the financial stabilization fund which was
created during the years that the ALSA had budget surpluses.
There are three areas that make up our budget: Systematic
Practice Review (SPR) comprises 35% of the budget (not including indirect costs), administration 46% and committees 19%
respectively (and 8% other). Council is struggling with what
areas would receive budget cuts in order to lessen the impact to
the membership.
As we evolve into Phase 4 of SPR, there may be a solution that
demands fewer resources in order to achieve the same results. A
combination of continuing education and SPR may put a greater
onus on the membership. We wait in anticipation for the results
of the SPR survey and resulting recommendations from the
Practice Review Board. In the short term, major budget cuts may
hamper our ability to conduct the practice review program for the
remainder of Phase 3 in a timely fashion.
Committee expenses represent a small portion of the overall budget, therefore a cut in this area of any substance would
severely compromise some committees’ ability to do their work.
Committee work enables our Association to deal with issues confronting our profession in Canada.
Strategic decisions were made over a decade ago to enhance the
profile of the ALSA, in order to heighten the public’s perception
of our profession and to attract new members to our ranks. We
have succeeded in both of these areas. The result is an association
that is vibrant and has strong demographics in all age categories.
Other land surveying associations in Canada are struggling with
an identity crisis plus an aging and declining membership. This
has resulted from a lack of resources to address solutions to these
problems. Many other provincial councils struggle to keep up
with the workload of the day-to-day business of running their
associations, let alone have the resources to be proactive.
If we are to maintain or perhaps increase the level of service we
offer our members, then we must increase our revenue in existing
areas or develop other potential revenue sources. We have not had
an increase in the iron post surcharge since 1988, but our costs
have risen dramatically in that time. In the past, the sheer volume
of post sales has allowed the ALSA to meet its expenses. Council
has recently requested the authority (from the provincial government)to increase the iron posts surcharge by $1.50 for general
revenue as well as a $2.50 for the creation of a Boundary Dispute
Fund. This proposed increase will give the public greater access to
boundary dispute solutions as well as continued support for legal
survey concerns.
The argument still persists, that the firms that plant iron posts,
fund a major portion of our Association. Perhaps we have to look
at a more equitable method of obtaining revenue.
Our membership fees have remained very stable over the past
decade, although our corporate revenues have increased dramatically. Compared to other survey associations and professions, our
fees are very low. This is further accentuated when you factor in
what an ALSA member receives in services, representation and
public relations.
This year, Council has recommended
a slight increase in most categories of
membership dues. Future increases will
be facilitated through a proposed bylaw
change which will require the ratification by the membership at the upcoming
AGM.
is calculated). This will take time to design
and implement.
Other provincial associations derive
their revenue from the sale of plan stickers. Prior to a plan being registered, a
sticker, purchased from the association
must be affixed to the document. To make
Future increases will be facilitated through a
proposed by-law change which will require the
ratification by the membership at the upcoming
AGM.
Careful consideration must be given
to the assessment of corporate dues. Dues
should be incremental as per the size of
the business. The levy could be based
upon the number of land surveyors, associate members and articled students in a
firm or upon the gross amount of billings
(similar to the way our liability insurance
this fair in Alberta, the sticker system
could be applied to all products currently
certified by an Alberta Land Surveyor.
This would include wellsite plans, legal
plans, Real Property Reports, grading certificates, site surveys or any other endorsed
product.
It seems reasonable to assume, with
our enhanced technology that a coordinate based system may evolve which may
lessen the requirement to plant iron pins.
In order to supplement this lost revenue
the ALSA may have to look had creating
a levy per coordinate. This would lessen
the dependence on having to renegotiate
with the provincial government for rate
changes on the iron post surcharge as well
as reduce the need for iron posts. The
resulting energy savings from the manufacture of iron posts will help reduce the
overall Alberta carbon footprint.
I wish to acknowledge the input I
received at the regional meetings. This
has allowed me to present different
scenarios for generating revenues. Please
think about this issue and please present
your ideas at the AGM, this year in Lake
Louise. By putting the time in to design
a viable solution will not only ensure
our survival, it will ensure we have the
resources to continue our quest to remain
at the forefront of our industry.

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6 . March 2008 ALS News
publication: ALS News
docket #: A14943
councillor’s forum
bruce gudim, als
Let’s not miss the opportunity our 100th
anniversary provides for proclaiming our pride
and promoting ourselves through celebration
of our profession’s accomplishments in the
last 100 years. Your 2008 Council needs your
recommendations and direction at the 2008
Annual General meeting in Lake Louise.
ALSA 2009 Centennial Celebrations
T
ic-tock tic-tock, opportunity knocks and time runs
out for preparations for the Alberta Land Surveyors’
Association’s 100th anniversary celebration. Our
centennial celebration is linked through history to the
Pagan practice of celebrating birthdays, astrology, horoscopes, and
fortune telling. Just like astrologers, many of our fellow surveyors
have looked to the stars and, just like astrologers, we must now
divine what’s best for our future centennial celebration before it’s
too late.
It’s time to release your enthusiasm, share your ideas for our
centennial celebration and join your fellow surveyors in action, as
much preparation remains before us. We can all take advantage
of this centennial celebration, because it really is a once in our
lifetime opportunity to brag about ourselves and get away with it
gracefully.
Council provided centennial terms of reference to the Historical and Biographical Committee and to the Convention and
Social Group. Through research and intense brainstorming, these
groups sifted thoughts and ideas to come up with recommendations. But, the recent downturn in the economy has negatively
unbalanced the Association’s budget, thereby ruling out any costly
celebratory recommendations.
Due to costs in the order of $300,000, a monument or statue
at Edmonton’s Louise McKinney Park was ruled out by the
Historical and Biographical Committee because there just wasn’t
enough “bang for the buck” even when considering government grants. Similarly, an idea for a twelve-page glossy insert for
the province’s major newspapers was dismissed because costs of
$77,000 are just too high for the non-lasting effect.
The Historical and Biographical Committee investigated
both Heritage Park and Fort Edmonton Park for viable options.
Perhaps a history display or a centennial monument could supplement the pits and mound monument exhibit at Heritage Park or
alternatively a park bench with accompanying plaque would be
suitable.
An ALSA glossy centennial publication similar to the Law
Society’s 111 page centennial magazine was considered. The Law
Society’s publication contained some history, some stories and
many photographs celebrating their 100 years—their 6,000 copies
quickly ran out of supply. Having a glossy publication is quickly
running out as an option for us, not just because there is so little
time left, but also because costs of over $8 per copy are prohibitive.
The Centennial Annual General Meeting’s preliminary theme
“look to the future and honoring the past” will make for easy
bridging of activities starting from the opening icebreaker through
to the closing president’s ball. A heritage survey has been approved
for the Annual General Meeting along with a series of historical displays containing old-time pictures, survey art, equipment,
history books and profiles of prominent Alberta Land Surveyors.
Vice President Hall’s and Executive Director Munday’s suggestion that Thursday’s theme “look to the future” include “exhibitor’s skits on future technology” promises good entertainment.
Friday’s theme “honoring the past” may involve a constume party
where memers dress in business attire similar to the early 1900s.
Saturday’s theme may become “living in the present” with a gala
celebrating the past and present with our comrade organizations.
Culminating with the traditional “bagpipe marching-in” of the
new president, vice president and Council.
I have outlined some other centennial ideas below for you to
champion should you choose:
t A centennial video presentation suitable for the ALSA website.
t A commemorative centennial postage stamp.
t A limited edition centennial painting commission for sale to
the membership.
t Edmonton CapitalEx (aka Klondike Days) and Calgary Stampede Centennial Exhibits.
t Parade floats for Edmonton CapitalEx, Calgary Stampede and
other municipalities. Each parade float would need to reflect
Eastern
Drafting
Half Page
Vertical
Repeat
the parade theme and the ALSA centennial theme. Once a
design is agreed upon, groups would take charge of props, costumes, signage lettering, and frame-work. Calgary firms could
collectively compete against Edmonton firms for the bragging
rights of having the best float. Centennial buttons could be
thrown from the floats or candies wrapped with the ALSA’s
centennial logo—author’s preference is for something gluten
free and sweet.
t ALSA Centennial Flags, table skirts and banners could be
displayed on the floats, at the David Thompson Brigade, and
at the AGM. A combination of fifty table skirts, banners and
flags would cost about $5,000.
t Proactive contacts with the provinces major newspapers would
result in press releases and news coverage for the ALSA AGM
centennial celebration.
t Contest for design of a centennial button to be worn and
handed out by our members and their employees. Ten thousand 1.5” buttons with three colors would cost about $2,500.
Conclusions
I’m certain many other centennial ideas remain to be brought
forward from our members. Let’s not miss the opportunity
our 100th anniversary provides for proclaiming our pride and
promoting ourselves through celebration of our profession’s accomplishments in the last 100 years. Your 2008 Council needs
your recommendations and direction at the 2008 Annual General
meeting in Lake Louise.

Annual General Meeting Agenda
April 25-26, 2008
Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise
Friday, April 25, 2008 - 9:00 a.m.
Call to Order
Introductions & Greetings
Moment of Silence
President’s Report
Treasurer’s Report
Director of Surveys Report
Committee Reports
Recommendaiton #1: Bylaw Amendments
TILMA Presentation & Signing
Recommendation #2: Wellsite Certification
CCLS Report
PRB Report
Saturday, April 26, 2008 - 9:00 a.m.
Elections
ASSMT Report
CBEPS Report
Other Standards Committee Recommendations
Open Forum
Volunteer Recognition
Induction of New Council
Incoming President’s Address
New Business
*subject to change
editor’s note
brian munday
...notification and access by surveyors and their
crews on to private land...is an issue that Alberta
Land Surveyors and the Alberta Land Surveyors’
Association has treated seriously and we must
remain diligent in our efforts.
I
have written about the subject of notification and access
by surveyors and their crews onto private land a number of
times in the past. I have usually written these articles from
the perspective of surveys in urban areas. I have gone on
record as saying that the number of calls and e-mails that the Association receives on this issue is relatively small given the amount
of work that Alberta Land Surveyors do but notification and access are still the biggest concerns that the Alberta Land Surveyors’
Association hears about. Alberta Land Surveyors and their crews
can enhance the public image of the profession greatly when they
let landowners know that they are coming onto the land to do a
survey and take care of any damage they may cause in the course
of doing the survey.
In my article today, I want to switch from an urban focus
to a rural focus. It seems to me that rural landowners are better
informed about their boundaries and land surveying issues but, in
recent years, have become more sensitive to land surveyor access
and notification – particularly as it may relate to surveying for the
oil and gas industry.
Last fall, a representative from the Farmers’ Advocate Office
made an appointment to see me and wanted to discuss access and
notification onto farmers’ lands by Alberta Land Surveyors. They
told me that they had received an increased number of phone
calls concerning notification and damage recently. The Farmers’
Advocate Office indicated that they wanted to work with the
Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association to put something together to
deal with these concerns including, perhaps, a survey notification
and access to private land agreement which might be similar to
the “Commitment to Property Mitigation Document” which was
approved as a supplement to the Manual of Standard Practice.
The Farmers’ Advocate’s concerns were relayed to Council
which referred the matter to the Oil & Gas Ad Hoc Committee.
The Association has learned that there is a Land Agents’ Advisory
Committee in the province consisting of representatives from
different government departments, land agents, and others. The
Association understands that this Land Agents’ Advisory Committee is discussing these same topics that the Farmers’ Advocate
had raised with the Association. It was felt that it is important for
all stakeholders (a much over-used term but you get the meaning)
involved in the discussions to come up with a clear and consistent way of dealing with access, notification and damage issues.
Alberta Land Surveyors have always said that it is important to
work together with all of the parties and this is a case where that
is absolutely critical. Alberta Land Surveyors are accustomed to
balancing the interests and needs of landowners with those of
their clients and government regulatory authorities.
A meeting of the Association’s Oil & Gas Ad Hoc Committee
to discuss these issues was eventually cancelled until the Association could find out more about the Land Agents’ Advisory
Committee and where that was heading. However, I did have the
opportunity to speak with several members about this issue and
there seemed to be a consensus that this is not a big issue as most
land surveyors, if not all, already contact landowners and do their
best to not cause any damage to the land or deal with the problem
if damage has occurred. It is great that members are already treating this concern seriously but I thought it would be worthwhile
to emphasize again what can be done to ease landowner concerns.
Even if a land surveyor does all the proper things 99% of the
time, the other 1% can end up being a lot of landowners and a lot
of grief.
Ross Metcalfe was kind enough to send his comments to the
Association about this issue and I want to paraphrase them for the
benefit of the rest of the membership. Mr. Metcalfe said that all
survey firms and their employees should have the courtesy to notify landowners when they need to go on their land and to do so
without doing damage, or if some damage is done, to reimburse
the landowner in some negotiated manner. Any land surveyor or
survey firm that does not take this seriously may find themselves
subject to a formal discipline complaint. Mr. Metcalfe went on to
say that even when Alberta Land Surveyors do have permission,
they still need to keep the landowner informed as to what they
did and when they completed their work. If Alberta Land Surveyors do not do this, then they could be blamed for damage created
by others. I have received phone calls in the past, again usually in
an urban setting, where a landowner is complaining about a hole
dug up on their lawn and it is presumed to be the fault of a land
surveyor. The hole may or may not have
been dug by a land surveyor or his field
crew but since these incidents have been
known to take place in the past, the land
surveyor can be an easy target. Finally, Mr.
Metcalfe notes that land surveyors quite
often enter land under the permission
acquired by others. This can be a dangerous pitfall as these others may not be
aware of where exactly the Alberta Land
Surveyor may need to go or need to do.
When I met with the Farmers’ Advocate,
it was noted that there may be a delay
between the time a land agent negotiates
the surveyor’s access to the land and the
time that the survey crew actually appears
on site. The landowner may be aware that
a land surveyor will be coming on to the
land but if the landowner does not know
when, there may be conflict or a confrontation.
This is an issue that Alberta Land
Surveyors and the Alberta Land Surveyors’
Association has treated seriously and we
must remain diligent in our efforts.

Net Notes
Everyone loves a mystery. At least that’s what they say. Here are some
links to some fun and brain-teasing mystery games on the internet.
Elementary, you say!
Mystery.Net
http://www.mysterynet.com/
Access Excellence Mysteries
www.accessexcellence.org/AE/mspot/
Mystery Case Files
www.MysteryCaseFiles.com
Mystery! : Games
www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/game.html
Stickman Murder Mystery
http://www.normandcompany.com/STICKMAN/
Marathon Manufacturing
1/2 Page - Repeat
letters
Remembering A Part of
Peter Timoschuk’s Life
I send condolences to the family and
friends of Peter Timoschuk. I got to know
Peter over my years as an Alberta Land
Surveyor, but especially as a new ALS
when I worked with him at Canadian
Engineering Surveys Ltd. in Edmonton
from 1968 to 1970.
Peter was always searching for new,
easier survey methods to measure, locate
or place survey iron posts. In those years,
when I was with CES, we were parallel
surveying the Trans-Canada Pipeline to
eastern Canada. I particularly remember
his rapid use of a subtense bar and the
calculation of distances along the pipeline
to locate the existing iron posts marking
the previously marked right-of-way. He
could do the isosceles triangle calculation
in his head to yield the remaining distance
we would use to locate those buried iron
posts. It was a challenge for us shorter
crew members in working with him to
remember to set the instrument up to his
operating height.
Peter had a phenomenally analytical
mind. He liked determining methods to
take measurements directly or indirectly
around obstacles, over rivers, swamps and
hills. He could compute anything with
his logarithmic tables and later his field
calculator. His biggest delight was to wade
in to a boundary curve calculation or
an astronomic observation to calculate a
starting azimuth for a survey.
When you met him, with his mild
manner, once the greeting exchange was
complete with a comment or two on the
weather, the conversation quickly moved
to his thoughts on the problem he was
analyzing that day. This was not a surface
discussion but right into the deep detailed
math analysis and theory. During the
discussion, out came the pouch of tobacco
and the cigarette papers to roll a cigarette
by hand. We might have to stand close
to shield the breeze until he could get the
“tabacie” onto the paper. The rollup of the
paper was finished of with a lick to glue
the paper together and a twist at each end
to keep the tobacco in. The twisted end
was useful, as then the paper would stick
to Peter’s lip as he talked. Then out came
the lighter to light the other twisted end
and after three or four drags, it would go
out but continue to stick to his lip for
a while. In reality, he didn’t smoke that
much volume of tobacco as the weather,
calculations, rolling, twisting and talking
didn’t leave much time for smoking.
It was a privilege to me, when I received my commission as a Canada Lands
Surveyor, to understand that I was joining
ranks with a dedicated fellow like Peter.
He was one of the original Dominion
Land Surveyors before they renamed us as
Canada Lands Surveyors.
The obituary published in the Calgary
Herald (and in the Fall 2007 issue of ALS
News) was very well prepared, covering
his lifetime in one page. The details of his
life’s work would fill volumes, much like
the many field notes he made over the
years. The influence that Peter had on his
colleagues and students would take many
more pages.
My circumstances did not permit me
to attend Peter’s funeral but I hope that
these recollections pay tribute to his life.
Munroe Kinloch, ALS, CLS (Ret.)
An Unwise Wager
It is with a bittersweet sentiment that
I enclose a donation of $500.00 to the
J.H. Holloway Scholarship Foundation.
Obviously, the act of contributing to this
scholarship is a sweet experience, but it is
the nature of the contribution that leaves
a bitter taste.
This donation (and confession) is the
end result of an unwise wager I made with
Mr. Chris Tucker. Mr. Tucker and I were
engaged in a discussion of whether or not
there ever existed a commercial, single-frequency real-time-kinetmaic GPS system.
While I recognized that several kinematic,
single-frequency systems existed in the
past, the systems I was familiar with were
not real-time, but rather required postprocessing (i.e. “stop-and-go” surveying).
I could not believe that a real-time
system existed as it would be incredibly
cumbersome to use. Solving for ambiguities on-the-fly with single frequency data
requires long time spans of clean data
when compared to the dual-frequency
case. Essentially, any time lock was lost,
you would have to either remain stationary for at least 10-15 minutes or return to
a previously known point and re-initialize.
I might add the certainty of correct ambiguity resolution is much reduced with
only single-frequency data.
Unfortunately, it was subsequently
confirmed that Trimble offered a singlefrequency RTK solution early-on, but that
it was unpopular due to above-mentioned
difficulties. Essentially, the system was
only useable in prairie areas and under
good ionospheric conditions. For practical
RTK operations, dual-frequency data is
required, but this distinction was not part
of the finalized wager.
In conclusion, coming out on the
short-end of this wager, I am required to
announce – “Mr. Tucker, you were correct, and I was wrong.”
Dr. Robert Radovanovic, ALS
Scholarships
The value of post-secondary education
is immeasurable, but the cost can often
be prohibitive. The task for us begins by
bringing the best and most deserving
students to the University of Lethbridge
and assuring they receive the financial
resources they need to succeed. As we
strive to attract the brightest young minds
from across the country, our scholarship
program is vital. Through the creation and
growth of annual and endowed scholarships, we can nourish the talented and
diverse students who choose to begin their
futures at the University of Lethbridge.
Thank you for your support and encouragement of the students who are pursuing
their university education.
The 2007 recipient of the Geographical Information Science Scholarship is Ian
Larsen. Mr. Larsen finished high school in
Keg River and is enrolled in the Bachelor of Science program with a major in
Archaeology & Geography.
Ruth Hummel
Director, Development
University of Lethbridge
On behalf of SIAST Palliser Campus and
the Scholarship Committee, I would like
to extend our sincere appreciation for
your continued support of our students
and programs through your sponsorship
of the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association
Scholarship.
The Awards Presentation on December
7th was a great success.
Tawnia Stephanson
Scholarships & Development Coordinator
SIAST Palliser Campus
I’d like to thank the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association for this award.
To me, it is nice to be recognized for
the hard work that I have put into the
Geomatics Program so far.
My plans are to complete the program
at the SIAST Palliser Campus and then
complete the program at BCIT to gain
my degree; ultimately striving towards
my goal of becoming either an SLS or an
ALS.
Nathan Gibson
Thank you for your support of the
Geomatics Program at NAIT. It is greatly
appreciated to know that industry is
supporting the education of students
interested in the survey profession.
I personally thank you for the $1,500
scholarship I was awarded on behalf of the
Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association. This
award will be put to good use as I hope
to be a full member of the Alberta Land
Surveyors’ Association in the near future.
Each year, thousands of worthy students
at the University of Calgary receive
scholarships and bursaries made possible
by generous donors in our community.
A student award can mean the difference
between attending university of not, having to work and taking longer to graduate,
or being recruited to another school.
I would like to take this opportunity to
thank you for your support and share in
your excitement as we announce that the
recipient of the Alberta Land Surveyors’
Association Scholarship and the J.H. Holloway Scholarship in Geomatics Engineering through the University of Calgary is
Amy Christine Spiers.
Student awards make the difference
between just having a dream and reaching it. Receiving a University of Calgary
scholarship or bursary might well be the
deciding factor that attracts promising
young people to our campus or sustains
them during their years of study—and
encourages their pursuit of personal or
academic excellence. Your contribution to
the University’s student awards program
is much appreciated and touches lives. At
www.ucalgary.ca/giving you’ll be able to
access an electronic copy of the Donor
Impact Report.
Claudia Barrett, Interim Director
Student Awards and Financial Aid
University of Calgary
A.D. (Denis) Hosford
Scholarship
The A.D. (Denis) Hosford scholarship
is funded in perpetuity through a lump
sum donation by several surveying firms
and Denis’ business associates, creating an
annual scholarship of $2,500. The recipient of the scholarship for 2007 is Dustin
James Engen.
J. Fred Welter, President
North West Geomatics Ltd.
Thank You
Bernie Friesen
NAIT Geomatics Engineering Student
I have been selected by the Geomatics Engineering Technology program to receive
the J.H. Holloway Scholarship Foundation University of Calgary/SAIT transfer
scholarship. I would like to thank the
Foundation for donating this award. It is a
great privilege to receive an award and you
have made it possible. Thank you.
Travis Lindquist
I would like to thank the J.H. Holloway
Scholarship Foundation for awarding me
with the University of Calgary/NAIT
transfer scholarship. I hope to one day
become a member of the Alberta Land
Surveyors’ Association. You generosity
puts me one step closer to achieving my
goal.
Mitchell Rose
On behalf of all the Geomatics Engineering students here at the U of C, thank you for
your generous donation to our Engineering Week T-shirts. They were a huge success, and
helped Geo win their first Engg week in several years (and the first time ever where we’ve
won Frosh week AND Engg week the same year).
Dan Grover
association notes
New Members
#787 LAURIE, Byron D.
Byron Laurie was born in Calgary, Alberta in November 1974. He graduated from
Mount Baker Secondary High School in Cranbrook, BC in 1992, from the Forestry
Technology program at the College of the Rockies (COTR) in 1995 and from the University of Calgary in 2005 with a B.Sc. Geomatics.
Articles were served under Alberta Land Surveyors Mark Selander and Tim Martin
from July 2005 until he received his commission on December 6, 2007. Byron is currently employed with Midwest Surveys Inc. in Medicine Hat. He is also an engineer-intraining with APEGGA.
Surveying experience includes a mix of oil and gas and municipal. He is currently a
member of the ALSA’s Public Relations Committee.
Other activities that Byron enjoys include skiing, camping and fly fishing. He is married to articled student Lesley Laurie.
#787 Byron Laurie, ALS
#788 FORSYTH, Matthew
Matt Forsyth was born in December 1982 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He graduated from
Lord Beaverbrook High School of Calgary in 2000 and from the University of Calgary
with a B.Sc. in Geomatics in 2005.
Jerry Quinlan, ALS served as Matt’s principal from June 2005 until he received his
commission on January 23, 2008. He is also an engineer-in-training with APEGGA.
Matt worked for Caltech Surveys Ltd. in Calgary during the summer of 2004 and
from May 2005 he has been employed with McElhanney Land Surveys (Alta.) Ltd. in
Grande Prairie. He presently serves on the ALSA Public Relations Committee.
Travelling, skiing and hiking are some of Matt’s leisure activities. Matt and his wife
Katherine reside in Grande Prairie.
#788 Matt Forsyth, ALS
#789 CHRISTIAN, Andrew W.
Andrew Christian was born in Edmonton, Alberta in April 1981. He graduated from
Assumption High School in Cold Lake in 1999 and from the University of Calgary with
a B.Sc. Engg. in 2004.
Articles were served under Alberta Land Surveyors Bruce Drake and Dwight Wiberg
from June 2004 until he received his commission on January 29, 2008. Andrew is also an
engineer-in-training with APEGGA.
Surveying experience is mostly in land development and Andrew is currently involved
with land use planning as well.
Andrew enjoys travel, music (guitar), sports and is learning Spanish. Andrew and Tara
Abbott reside in Edmonton where is he currently employed with a Focus Surveys Limited
Partnership.
#789 Andrew Christian, ALS
#790 HATCH, Paul J.
Paul Hatch was born in Lewin’s Cove, Newfoundland in May 1977. He graduated from
Pearce Regional High School in 1995 and went on to receive a diploma in Geomatics
Engineering Technology from COGS and a B.Sc. in Geomatics Engineering from the
University of New Brunswick in 2003.
A. James Hume, ALS served as Paul’s principal from June 2004 until he received his
commission on February 12, 2008.
Surveying experience involves mainly oilfield work in Alberta and BC as well as experience in the municipal sector. Paul is currently employed with Millennium Geomatics
Ltd. in Calgary.
Other activities include woodworking, camping, quadding, fishing and softball.
#790 Paul Hatch, ALS
#791 HOWDEN, Jeremy D.
Jeremy Howden was born in North Vancouver in December 1976. After graduating
from Elphinstone Secondary High School in 1994, he went on to receive a Diploma of
Technology in Geomatics from BCIT and a B.Sc. in Geomatics Engineering from the
University of Calgary in 2003.
Jay Abbey, ALS served as Jeremy’s principal from December 2004 until he received his
commission on February 20, 2008. He is also an engineer-in-training with APEGGA.
Surveying experience includes oilfield and land surveying in Fort St. John, BC in
1998, hydrographic surveying in Houston, Texas from 1999-2000, offshore surveying in
the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea from 2001-2004 and land surveying with Midwest
Surveys Inc. in Alberta from 2004 to the present. Jeremy also serves as a member of the
ALSA Standards Committee.
Golf, skiing, baseball and travelling are a few leisure activities that Jeremy enjoys.
#791 Jeremy Howden, ALS
#792 McMAHON, Ryan P.
#792 Ryan McMahon, ALS
Ryan McMahon was born in October 1979 in Middleton, Nova Scotia. He graduated
from Middleton Regional High School in 1997, from the College of Geographic Sciences
in 1999 and went on to receive a B.Sc. Eng. from the University of New Brunswick in
2002.
Alberta Land Surveyors Bob Fulton and Purdy Smith served as Ryan’s principals from
September 2002 until he received his commission on February 20, 2008. He also holds
membership in APEGGA and is currently employed with Measurement Sciences Inc. in
Calgary.
The majority of Ryan’s survey experience is in the municipal survey sector. He served
as a member of the ALSA Professional Development Committee for 2005-2006.
Mountain biking, snowboarding, hunting or any other outdoor activity is where Ryan
spends his leisure time. Ryan is engaged to be married to Kimberly Johnson.
#793 THOMPSON, Michael A.
#793 Michael Thompson, ALS
Michael Thompson was born in Rosetown, Saskatchewan in July 1982. He graduated
from Dr. E.P. Scarlett Collegiate in Calgary in 2000 and went on to receive a B.Sc. Eng.
(Geomatics) with internship.
Jerry Rasmuson, ALS served as Michael’s principal from June 2005 until he received
his commission on February 28, 2008. Michael is an engineer-in-training with APEGGA.
Michael has been employed with Maltais Geomatics Inc. since 2003 and is currently
their High Level branch manager. He is currently involved with the ALSA Future of the
Association Ad Hoc Committee.
Leisure activities include playing guitar, martial arts (Black Belt, Zen Karate), traveling, baseball and curling.
#794 ADAIR, Jeffrey A.
# 794 Jeff Adair, ALS
Jeff Adair was born in 1981 in Calgary, Alberta. He graduated from Bishop Grandin
High School in 1999 and from the University of Calgary with a B.Sc. in 2004.
Ron Hall, ALS and Roy Pominville, ALS served as principals from October 2004 until
he received his commission on March 4, 2008. Jeff is also an engineer-in-training with
APEGGA.
Jeff has been involved in oilfield surveying throughout western and central Alberta. He
currently serves on the ALSA Safety Committee.
Some leisure activities include hockey, skiing, mountain biking, Tim Horton coffee
and spending time with his girlfriend, Erin.
Jeff is employed with Focus Surveys Limited Partnership in Calgary.
ALSA Register Updates
ACTIVE
All former Crape Geomatics Corporation employees have new Altus
Geomatics Limited Partnership e-mail
addresses in the format of firstname.
[email protected]. Chris Chiasson and Michael Stewart are located
at the Grande Prairie office of Altus
Geomatics Limited Partnership.
Jeff Adair received his commission as ALS
#794 on March 4, 2008. Mr. Adair is
employed with Focus Survey Limited
Partnership in Calgary.
Rick Beaumont - new e-mail address:
[email protected]; new phone
number: (520) 207-7450 (Arizona).
Andrew Christian received his commission as ALS #789 on January 29,
2008. Mr. Christian is employed with
Focus Surveys Limited Partnership in
Edmonton.
Cam Christianson - new fax: (403) 3622514.
Kent Croucher has moved with Focus
Surveys Limited Partnership to Medicine Hat.
Matt Forsyth received his commission as
ALS #788 on January 23, 2008. Mr.
Forsyth is employed with McElhanney
Land Surveys (Alta.) Ltd. in Grande
Prairie.
Paul Hatch was registered as ALS #790
on February 12, 2008. Mr. Hatch is
employed by Millennium Geomatics
Ltd. in Calgary.
Jeremy D. Howden received his commission as ALS #791 on February 20,
2008. Mr. Howden is employed by
Midwest Surveys Inc. in Calgary.
Don Lantz - new e-mail address: d.lantz@
aamhatch.com.
Byron Laurie received his commission as
ALS #787 on December 6, 2007. Mr.
Laurie is employed by Midwest Surveys
Inc. in Medicine Hat. His direct phone
number is (403) 866-2466.
Syd Loeppky received approval for retired
membership on January 29, 2008.
Bob Mayne is now operating as a sole
practitioner and can be contacted at
4211 - 109 Street, Edmonton T6J
2S2; Phone: (780) 435-4210; E-mail:
[email protected].
Ryan McMahon received his commission
as ALS #792 on February 20, 2008.
Mr. McMahon is employed with Measurement Sciences Inc. in Calgary.
Huong Nguyen is on a one-year leave
from Focus Surveys Limited Partnership.
Mike SexSmith - new e-mail address:
[email protected]; new phone number: (403) 652-3486 (cell).
Jeff Stockdale has taken employment
with Caltech Surveys Ltd. in Calgary
effective December 10, 2007; Tel:
(403) 716-3866; E-mail: [email protected].
David Thomas - new e-mail address:
[email protected].
Michael Thompson received his commission as ALS #793 on February 28,
2008. Mr. Thompson is employed with
Maltais Geomatics Inc. in High Level.
Dwayne Westacott - new e-mail address:
[email protected]; new phone number: (780) 907-1364 (cell).
Murray Young - new e-mail address:
[email protected].
ARTICLED PUPILS
Tariq Al-Barwani signed articles with
Colin Jeschke, ALS of Maltais Geomatics Inc. in Calgary on November
21, 2007.
Rheal Bourgouin transferred articles to
Roger Leeman, ALS of MMM Geomatics Alberta Limited in Calgary on
January 11, 2008.
Jason Deschamps transferred articles to
Bruce Gudim, ALS of Maltais Geomatics inc. on December 22, 2007.
Mr. Deschamps works out of the
Calgary office.
Ryan Dobson transferred articles to Mark
Dempsey, ALS of McElhanney Land
Surveys (Alta.) Ltd. on December 19,
2007.
Jennifer King mutually terminated
articles with Ross Woolgar, ALS on
January 16, 2008.
Shawn Hubert signed articles with
John Stephens, ALS of Focus Surveys
Limited Partnership in Edmonton on
February 5, 2008.
Lesley Laurie transferred articles to Rob
Scott, ALS of Stantec on January 21,
2008. Ms. Laurie will be working out
of Stantec’s field office in Medicine Hat
at 641 - 4 Street SE T1A 0L1; E-mail:
[email protected].
Sachin Mahendru transferred articles to
David Marquardt, ALS of Midwest
Surveys Inc. in Calgary on January 1,
2008.
David Mazurkewich signed articles with
Al Jamieson, ALS of Raymac Surveys
Ltd. in Calgary on January 7, 2008.
Hector Muniz signed articles with Ed
Oh, ALS of Altus Geomatics Limited
Partnership in Edmonton on February
5, 2008.
Jason Nickerson is now employed with
Stantec Geomatics Ltd. in Edmonton.
Peter Pelletier’s articles with Ross Woolgar, ALS were terminated on January
16, 2008.
Kris Ritchie signed articles with Kevin
Jones, ALS of Jones Geomatics Ltd. in
Calgary on December 10, 2007.
Tyler Robinson signed articles with Kent
Croucher, ALS of Focus Surveys Limited Partnership in Medicine Hat on
December 17, 2007.
Randy Waye mutually terminated articles
with Bob Baker on December 8, 2007.
Timothy Willms transferred articled to
Peter Lapainis, ALS of Fugro/SESL
Geomatics Ltd. in Calgary on September 21, 2007.
AFFILIATE
Patrick Boudreau is now employed with
Stewart, Weir & Co. Ltd. in Sherwood
Park; E-mail [email protected].
Jade McLeod - mailing address has
changed to Midwest Surveys Inc. 2318
B Assiniboine Avenue E., Regina, SK
V4P 2P5
Paul Standing’s affiliate membership was
terminated on January 9, 2008.
ASSOCIATE
Darcy Pittman was approved as associate
member AS056 on January 29, 2008.
CORPORATE
Alpine Land Surveys Limited has moved
to 1151 Sidney Street, Suite 116A,
Canmore T1W 3G1
Boss Geomatics Inc. was registered as
a surveyor’s corporation with permit
number P238 on January 4, 2008. Terry Beblow is the Alberta Land Surveyor
responsible for supervision, direction
and control of the corporation. The
contact information is 2628 Millwoods
Road East, Suite 403, Edmonton T6L
5K8;
Tel: (780) 440-5121 or 456-3333;
Fax: (780) 328-1001;
E-mail: [email protected].
Can-Am Geomatics Corp. has moved to
110 - 11 AVE NW, Swift Current, SK
S9H 1B8.
Challenger Geomatics Ltd. has closed its
Fort McMurray branch office.
Halma Surveys address has changed to
918 - 3 Avenue S., Lethbridge. Postal
Code and all other information remains the same.
Maltais Geomatics Inc. in High Level
has updated their address to remove
reference to the post office box. The
postal code, phone, fax and e-mail
remain unchanged.
Northland Surveys Ltd. - new e-mail address: [email protected].
SexSmith Surveys Ltd. - new e-mail address: [email protected].
UMA Engineering Ltd. was cancelled as
a surveyor’s corporation as of December 31, 2007.
Westacott Consulting Limited - new
website address: www.wcltd.ca.
tive Committee and Executive Council
and has held many positions on various
committees and boards of directors.
Her education includes the completion
of three business management certificates
as well as numerous certificates in administration, bookkeeping and accounting.
Kerry was born in Three Hills, Alberta
and grew up in and around Brooks, in
Red Deer and in Medicine Hat. In 2002
she and her husband moved to Edmonton, where they reside with their dog
Boots. She enjoys running, sewing, camping, traveling and entertaining family
and friends. She is glad to be utilizing her
experience with the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association and is looking forward to
working with everyone at the ALSA.
Director of Internal Trade. Some notable
achievements during his tenure were
the creation of the Alberta Real Estate
Assurance Fund, and Alberta Real Estate
Foundation, the Real Estate Council of
Alberta, and initiation of the provincial
free trade agreement between Alberta and
British Columbia (TILMA).
Rudy and Dianne are avid travelers
and have visited many parts of the world.
Other interests include wine tasting, reading and occasional golfing. Recently, Rudy
joined PROBUS, a social networking club
for retired business and professional men
and women.
Dick Bassil Retires
New Public Member
New Staff Member
Kerry Barrett joined the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association on January 14, 2008 as
an administrative assistant.
Kerry has amassed a vast range of
experience during her twenty-three-year
career. For the past seven years she was
employed as the chief administrative and
financial officer of a large provincial nonprofit organization as the elected secretary
treasurer. Some of her accomplishments
while with that organization included
organizing successful large scale events,
including the organization’s largest ever
Annual School in Jasper and largest ever
Annual Kid’s Camp. She has many years
of experience as a member of the Execu-
Rudy Palovcik is owner/operator, with
his wife Dianne, of TPI Sherwood Park
Travel, a full service travel agency serving
Strathcona County for more than ten
years. He retired from the Alberta Government in 2006 after 24 years service.
Raised in southwestern Ontario, Rudy
attended Acadia University, graduating
with a Bachelor of Commerce. He is
also a graduate in 2004 from the Senior
& Executive Managers’ Development
Program at the University of Alberta. He
worked in finance and marketing with
Canadian General Electric, anti-dumping
and consumer affairs with the Government of Canada, sales with Mutual Life,
and retail management with Radio Shack
before joining the Alberta Government.
Some of the positions he held included
Deputy-Superintendent and Superintendent of Real Estate, Director of Co-operatives, Director of Industry Standards and
The Associaton staff held a farewell lunch
for retiring Registrar Dick Bassil just
before Christmas. Dick served as the Association’s registrar from 2003 to 2007.
Executive Director Brian Munday is
shown in the picture presenting Dick
with an artist’s rendition of a map of the
Howse Pass in commemoration of the
David Thompson Bi-centennial.
All of us thank Dick for the integrity
and knowledge that he brought to the registrar’s position and the profession overall.
We wish you well!
Historical Foundation Up And Running
The Alberta Historical
and Educational
Foundation for Land
Surveying is not just a
reality but has money in
the bank.
The AHEFLS was officially launched in
late 2005, however some operational delays in becoming registered as a charitable
organization delayed a formal fundraising
and membership drive.
The Foundation was originally
conceived back in 2002 as a charitable
foundation to raise funds to preserve the
history of surveying and promote the
profession through traveling displays in
Alberta museums. Somewhat akin to
the mandate of the ALSA Historical &
Biographical Committee, the AHEFLS as
a charitable organization will be able to
issue tax receipts for donations of historic
the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association.
There are currently only three shareholders being the founding directors, Jim Halliday, Dave McWilliam and Ken Allred.
Alberta Land Surveyors are invited to join
up as shareholders of the Foundation.
The AHEFLS has had discussions with
the Historical & Biographical Committee of the ALSA to assess projects which
the two bodies can move forward on a
collaborative basis. Among the potential
projects being discussed to date have
been the David Thompson Centennial
Canoe Brigade, traveling survey displays
for smaller museums and the 100th Anniversary of the Alberta Land Surveyors’
Association.
The Alberta Historical and Educational
Foundation for Land Surveying will be
holding its second annual meeting in
conjunction with the ALSA Annual Meeting at Lake Louise in April. All members
of the ALSA are invited to attend and
participate.
At present, the Foundation is starting
off small but hopes to work closely with
the Surveyors Historical Society in the
The Alberta Historical and Educational Foundation
for Land Surveying will be holding its second annual
meeting in conjunction with the ALS Annual
Meeting at Lake Louise in April. All members of the
ALSA are invited to attend and participate.
survey equipment as well as cash contributions. The Foundation is set up with
a similar corporate structure as the J. H.
Holloway Foundation but does not plan
to compete with the JHH for contributions. The AHEFLS is looking to obtain
legacy grants as well as the donation of
survey artifacts. The Foundation is also
set up so that it can receive donations of
shares which will give the donor significant relief from capital gains.
The Foundation’s charter allows it to
sell a maximum of 1,000 non-negotiable
shares which are restricted to members of
United States, working together to preserve and publicize the rich history that
land surveying has played in the development of North America.
The Surveyors Historical Society holds
an annual rendezvous at various locations
to commemorate significant events in survey history. Recent events have included a
David Thompson rendezvous in Spokane
in 2005, a tribute to George Washington
in Virginia in 2006 and a Rendezvous
on the Mason Dixon line in 2002. From
September 11 to the 13th, the SHS will
celebrate the birthplace of the Public Land
This is the birth of what
Alberta Land Surveyors
will look back on as
a significant stepping
stone to acclaiming
our place in the
development of Western
Canada.
System in Akron, Ohio. A Museum of
Surveying and park was created some
twenty or so years ago in Lansing, Michigan and is now joined by a new National
Museum of Surveying <www.surveyhistory.org/national_museum_of_surveying.
htm> in Springfield Illinois, in the Land
of Lincoln, another of America’s great
surveyor presidents.
Perhaps one day the AHEFLS will be
in a position to emulate our American
colleagues in establishing a survey museum to display our proud history.
The Foundation will also liaise with the
FIG Permanent Institution for the History of Surveying and Measurement. The
FIG Institution continues to work with
the United Nations to establish World
Heritage sites commemorating significant
survey achievements such as the Struve
Arc through Europe and the north south
longitudinal arc through Africa. A possible heritage site might be the Dominion
Land Survey System in western Canada
which has been acclaimed as the greatest
engineering feat of all times. Perhaps we
can change that to be the greatest surveying feat of all times.
This is the birth of what Alberta
Land Surveyors will look back on as a
significant stepping stone to acclaiming
our place in the development of Western
Canada.
G. K. Allred, ALS
FOR PRESIDENT
R.O. (Ron) Hall, ALS
R.O. (Ron) Hall, ALS
t Born in Calgary, Alberta.
t Received diploma in Surveying Technology from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) in 1981.
t Received Bachelor of Science degree in Survey Engineering from the University of Calgary
in 1987.
t Received Alberta Land Surveyor (ALS) commission in 1989 under the supervision of Len
Leiman, ALS.
t Received Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) designation in 1989.
t Received commission as a Canada Land Surveyor (CLS) in 1991.
t Received MBA, with distinction, through the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of
Business in 2005.
t Began surveying career at Midwest Surveys in 1987 until 1993.
t In 1993 joined Focus Corporation and moved to Grande Prairie, 1993-2001.
t In 1996 was appointed Vice President of Focus’ Oil and Gas Surveys Division and in 2000
was appointed to the position of President and COO of the organization.
t Ron has served on the Board of Directors of Focus Corporation since 1995.
t Currently, Ron holds the position of Executive Vice President–Geomatics.
t Ron is a member of the Focus Executive Leadership Team which oversees the management
of the organization and its divisions.
t Involved in many ALSA committees including: acting as ALSA’s representative on the
development of the MRA-2001, Chairman of the Registration Committee, sitting on
Council, and serving as Vice President for 2007–2008.
t Also involved in other professional associations including the Canadian Institute of Geomatics (CIG), APEGGA, ACSM and the Association of Canadian Land Surveyors (ACLS).
t Resides in Cochrane, Alberta with wife Shirley and two teenage boys, Aaron and Matthew.
FOR VICE PRESIDENT
D.R. (Don) George, ALS
D.R. (Don) George, ALS
t Born in Edmonton, Alberta.
t Began surveying career in 1966.
t Received diploma in Survey Technology at NAIT in 1969.
t Articled to Hugo Engler and received ALS commission (#397) in 1975.
t Shareholder and manager of W.D. Usher and Associates (branch office) in Camrose in
1975.
t Sold shares in W.D. Usher, bought assets and started Cam-Alta Surveys Ltd in 1984.
t Sold Cam-Alta Surveys Ltd. to Maltais Associates Surveyors Ltd. in 1993.
t Joined the ALSA January 1994 as Assistant to the Director of Practice Review.
t November 2007 became Acting Director of Practice Review and Assistant to the Acting
Director of Practice Review until the present. Became my own boss, ha!!
ALSA Activities
t Member of Council 1988 to 1990.
t Over the years, a member of various committees and sub-committees of the ALSA [Standards and sub-committees of Standards (13 years), Legislative, ALSA Liaison, to mention a
few].
t Was a presenter at various seminars (Getting It Right, Evidence and Field Staff).
Personal
t Hobbies are grandchildren, traveling, outdoor activities with my wife and our grandchildren and mentoring.
t Resides in Edmonton and married to my lovely wife Eileen.
t Five children and eleven fantastic grandchildren.
t Future goals are semi-retirement and involvement with the Executive of the ALSA.
nominees for council
T.W. (Terry) Hudema, ALS, CLS, P.Eng.
t Born in Willingdon, Alberta; raised in Lethbridge.
t Graduated from the University of Alberta with a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering in 1971.
t Received Professional Engineer status in 1973.
t Articled to Jerald Rasmuson, ALS.
t Obtained ALS Commission in 1976.
t Received Canada Lands Surveyor Commission in 1982.
t Previously employed by JTR Survey Services Ltd., Government of Alberta (contract) and
Stantec.
t Employed with Raymac Surveys Ltd. since 1998. Currently a partner and director.
t Served on numerous ALSA committees as a member, from 1976 to present including Standards, Legislation, Vision 2000, Discipline and Boundary Panel.
t Served as South Sub-Chairman on the rewrite of the Land Surveyors Act and Chairman
of the Legislation Ad Hoc Committee Surveys Act Section 3 Monument Governing Status
rewrite.
t Member of the ALSA Council since 2006.
t Council Liaison to Legislation Ad Hoc Committee (2006 and 2007) Future of the Association Ad Hoc Committee (2006) and Director of Surveys Review Committee (2007).
t Member of APEGGA and ACLS.
t Member of the Alberta Central Zone Referees Committee from 1979 to 1995. Instructor
from 1988 to 1995.
t Off-ice official with the WHL Calgary Hitmen since 1995.
t Involved with Special Olympics Calgary, Alberta and Canada Floor Hockey program since
2003.
t Leader on the 2003 ALSA Geomatics Award of Excellence presented to Raymac Surveys
Ltd.
t Three adult children: Christopher, Nicole and Stephanie.
T.W. (Terry) Hudema, ALS
FOR COUNCIL
J. (John) Haggerty, ALS, CLS, P.Eng.
t Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1974.
t Graduated from U of C with a B.Sc. in Geomatics Engineering in 1997.
t Worked for Haggerty Surveys Ltd. (previously Diamond Willow Planning and Surveying
Ltd.) from a young age.
t Has worked for Challenger Surveys Ltd., Stantec Geomatics, and the Regional Surveyors
Office of Geomatics Canada.
t Employed by Can-Am Geomatics Corp., 1997-present (Edmonton, Fort McMurray and,
for the past 4 years, Grande Prairie).
t Served articles under Roger Ross, ALS, CLS and John Wallace, ALS.
t Obtained ALS Commission in 2003 and CLS Commission in 2007.
t Served on the Historical and Biographical Committee for four years and was involved in
the research and editing of Laying Down the Lines.
t Served on the Registration Committee for the past three years.
t Vice president of the Grande Prairie Pipes and Drums. Further, he enjoys hunting, camping, and gardening.
t He and his wife, Elke, have two children, Emma(4) and Gordon(2), and live in Grande
Prairie.
J. (John) Haggerty, ALS
J.I. (Jim) Maidment, ALS
J.J. (John) Matthyssen, ALS
C.R. (Connie) Petersen, ALS
J.I. (Jim) Maidment, ALS
t Born in Peterborough, Ontario in 1954.
t Attended Ryerson Polytechnical Institute 1971 to 1975.
t Employed by Horton & Wallace Surveys, Ontario, 1973 to 1979.
t Moved to Calgary in 1979.
t Employed by Sunbow Consulting, 1979 to 1992.
t Articled to Ed Lyster and received ALS commission in 1986.
t Founder and Manager of Maidment Land Surveys Ltd. 1992 to present.
t Extensive experience in most areas of municipal surveying with a couple of years
working in the “oil patch.”
t Served on various ALSA ad hoc committees including RPR and Co-ordinate Based
Cadastre.
t Served for many years on the Registration Committee.
t Hobbies include biking, sailing, canoeing, and traveling.
t Married 29 years to Joan with two grown children; Greg & Lisbeth.
J.J. (John) Matthyssen, ALS, CLS
t Born in St. Thomas, Ontario in 1957.
t Began surveying in 1976.
t Graduated from the University of Toronto, Erindale College Survey Science Program
in 1980.
t Articled to Kirk White, ALS 1981 to 1983.
t Received ALS commission in January 1984.
t Received CLS commission in April 1988,
t Employed by Loeppky Matthyssen & Assoc. Ltd. from 1981 to 1997.
t Extensive experience in municipal construction, subdivision and condominium surveys.
t Currently employed by Focus Surveys L.P., successor to Cadastral Group Inc., 1997 to
present.
t Extensive experience in oilfield, wellsite, pipeline and facilities in patented and Crown
lands.
t Served on several ALSA committees including: Registration, Public Relations, Standards, Boundary Panel.
t Enjoys tennis, golf, skiing and boating.
t Resides in Calgary with wife Shannon and two teenage sons; Ryan and Kyle.
C.R. (Connie) Petersen, ALS
t Born in New Denmark, New Brunswick.
t Received Geomatics Engineering degree from University of New Brunswick 1977.
t Member of APEGGA since 1981.
t Articled to J. Keith Smith, Vince Ziegler and Irwin Maltais.
t Received Alberta Land Surveyor commission in 1998.
t Employed in the survey industry in Nova Scotia, Alberta, British Columbia and Virginia from 1977-2004.
t Documents examiner at Edmonton Land Titles Office in 1983-1986.
t Branch Manager for Maltais Geomatics in High Level from 1997-2000.
t Served as High Level Town Councillor 1999-2000.
t Member of Lethbridge Home Builders Association executive 2002-2003.
t Currently employed by Midwest Surveys Inc. in Brooks and Medicine Hat.
t Served on Legislation Committee 1997-2001.
t Chairman of Legislation Committee 1999-2001.
t Served on CPD Subcommittee 1997-1998.
t Served on Association Finances Ad Hoc Committee 2000-2001.
t Served on Registration Committee 2001 to present.
t Chairman of Registration Committee 2005-2006.
t Hobbies include golf and travel.
Multimedia Data
As Boundary Determination Evidence In Alberta
I
n June-July 2007, I sent out a
questionnaire to land surveyors in
Alberta which explored the use of
cameras and videos as part of the
data gathering process in cadastral surveys.
Unfortunately only four questionnaires
were returned, but, unsurprisingly a
number of land surveyors were more than
willing to discuss the issue informally.
It appears that a significant number of
field crews performing cadastral surveys in
Alberta carry digital cameras and use them
to record evidence related to boundaries.
One surveyor indicated that, at times,
his company’s crews use video cameras or
still shots on their cell phones to transmit evidence to the land surveyor in the
office and discuss and assess the different
evidence before them with the office while
they are in the field before making a decision on the most probable position of the
boundary or monument in question.
As with all electronic evidence, this
creates a number of interesting dilemmas.
First, the land surveyor has visual and
audio evidence available which a few years
ago perhaps would not have been readily
available. Moreover, in the case of images
transmitted by cell phone, the dialogue
assisted by imagery permits informed
decisions to be made while the crew is
in situ. It can be expected that these new
tools should reduce the instances where
poor judgement is made regarding the
most probable position of a boundary.
Challenges arise as to the admissibility of this form of data in the event of
court action. I should emphasize the
greater weight of circumstantial evidence
available, the lower the chance of a case
appearing in court. This is especially so if
the mathematical evidence derived from
survey observations is combined with
imagery of the physical evidence available
and the different items of data collectively
suggest the same conclusion about the
most likely position of a boundary. In
any event, land surveyors should employ
standards of practice which would make
court action an extremely unlikely event.
Consider the example of a search and
possible replacement of a lost monument.
Images of existing fence positions in the
same frame(s) as holes dug to search for
evidence of the monument as predicted
from mathematical evidence, along with
the audio record of the discussion between
the land surveyor and the field crew
should provide an idea of the zone of uncertainty which exists about the position
of the monument.
It is, of course, trite that exact boundaries or edges exist only in geometrical
theory. In practice, a zone of uncertainty,
or fuzzy zone, exists even if the original
monuments are in position, as the monuments may have been disturbed or in the
case of large monuments (e.g. mounds,
cairns, stone blocks), it may not be certain
if the centre or one of the edges of the
monument defines the original boundary or if the monument has eroded or
weathered unevenly. This zone of uncertainty may be amplified considerably
when the monuments are lost and have to
be replaced based on an evaluation of the
evidence available.
passed on. If we adhere to this maxim,
then ideally the audio record of the cell
phone discussion and the accompanying
video or still photos should form part of
the evidence before the court. This data
should form part of the survey record, and
be stored in a manner which would satisfy
the court that it has not been altered from
its original form, or at least not altered so
that meaningful evidence has been omitted or the emphasis or meaning of the
whole multimedia record (photographs,
audio files, video clips) has changed.
Counsel for both parties should be able to
promote or challenge the admissibility of
this evidence.
Perhaps what the literature has not
examined to date is what might have been
omitted from a video or discussion. Digital video files use an enormous amount
of storage space. My experience of using
evidence to record claims to land rights
in a number of situations is that practically one has to keep the use of video to a
minimum. This means that one may omit
discussion which might be important.
...in the case of images transmitted by cell
phone, the dialogue assisted by imagery permits
informed decisions to be made while the crew is
in situ...these new tools should reduce the instances where poor judgement is made regarding the most probable position of a boundary.
In the event that a case does come
before the court, the problem of admissibility of evidence arises. The issue of
video evidence and admissibility has been
covered in depth in an article by Oliver
MacLaren and me in ALS News of June
2007. Historically, the surveyor’s documented field notes should be available
in an unaltered form for inspection and
investigation long after the surveyor has
Very important items of evidence may be
mentioned as an aside outside of a formal
interview when the camera is not running.
Nowadays, I record an audio track from
the start to the finish of the process without any breaks as audio on its own creates
a far smaller digital file.
Dr. Michael Barry
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INTEGRATED WIRELESS
VIBRANT SCREEN
Relating GPS Baselines
to “Ground” Distances
and Bearings
by Dr. Robert Radovanovic, ALS
Author’s Note:
This article was created at the SarWiki site (www.sarpigroup.com/
sarwiki). This site is a repository of survey-related articles and workspaces. Anyone can join and then contribute to articles and projects
on the site. In particular, the site features discussion groups that may
be of use to surveyors and articled students on topics ranging from
using GPS to studying for professional exams.
S
urveys incorporating GPS (and particularly RTK) derived
information are today commonplace. However, despite
the widespread use of GPS-derived information, there
has been little Association-wide discussion with regards
to how to appropriately use this information on a plan of survey.
Instead, individual practitioners usually rely on procedures provided to them by equipment and software suppliers which are not
necessarily optimal for surveying in Alberta. This article discusses
how to transform GPS-derived data into “plan-ready” bearings
and distances and provides a standard that allows surveyors to
directly compare their work.
GPS processing, whether via RTK or post-processing, is
intrinsically done in the WGS-84 reference frame. The resulting
baseline vectors can be considered “pseudo-observations” in a
subsequent adjustment, relating coordinate differences between
observed points in WGS-84 (i.e. [dx dy dz]). For the rest of this
article, we will use the term “GPS observation” to actually mean
these baseline vectors, rather than the raw observations (satellite
ranges) themselves.
Given a set of points tied together via GPS observations, the
coordinates of these points can be rigrously determined in the
WGS-84 reference frame. Note that under normal surveys, the
coordinates of one or more points in the network must be known
to establish a datum. In special circumstances, the coordinates
of the points may be determined directly, for example using
NRCan’s Precise Point Positioning service. It is important to bear
in mind that when using RTK or DGPS, the coordinates of the
receiver points are NOT directly observed via GPS, but rather,
the inter-receiver coordinate differences are the observables and
the coordinates are subsequently derived based on applied datum
constraints (i.e. the assumption of a coordinate for at least one
point in the network).
As an aside, one should be aware that some knowledge of the
location of the network is actually required for the processing
of the raw observations (i.e. to solve the baselines), but that the
results are only weakly dependent on the inital assumptions about
the position of the network. If you took a set of GPS observa-
Important Note
Regarding Base Initialization
tions located near
Taber, and fixed a Although the coordinates of the base station only
coordinate of one have to be roughly determined for correct relative
quantities to be calculated, gross errors (>
point such that it baseline
100 m) in the base station position will cause even
was incorrect by
the relative baseline quantities to be incorrect.
100 metres, the
Usually, an autonomous receiver position at
resulting baseline the base (i.e. the “here” solution) is sufficient for
everything to work fine. However, sometimes the base
vectors would
station will determine a hugely incorrect position for
still be correctly
itself (elevations of -3000m inside the earth, latitude/
calculated within
longitudes in other countries, etc). This usually hapa few millimetres. pens if the base station is suddenly turned off without
properly ending survey (i.e. power is pulled) and the
However, if you
base station is restarted at a different job. This behavsaid the network
iour has been detected in Leica and Trimble systems.
was near Peace
Unless you check the base station position when
you start the day and confirm it is “reasonable” you
River, errors in
might go about your day surveying and incurring
even the relative
a huge (>100 ppm) scale factor error that is totally
quantities would
undetectable unless you compare to prior surveys, or
result. Suffice it
set up the base station in a different spot and re-tie
in points. During this doomed survey, the base will
to say that using
show it is properly tracking satellites, and the rover
the automomous
will fix ambiguities and show decent quality control
(i.e. handheldresults. The only hint something is amiss MAY be a
derived) position
“Reference Coordinates Differ from Expected” message.
of a single reNEVER pull the plug on the base station to turn
ciever will allow
it off and ALWAYS confirm that the base station is
processing of the
using a reasonable (within 20 m) coordinate for itself.
baselines to sufThis can be done with a handheld receiver, using the
ATS fabric to calculate a rough lat/long for the point
ficient surveying
the base is set over, or even using a NTS map.
accuracies. Once
the baselines are
determined, they can be directly translated to “better” known
coordinates.
Since coordinates can be rigorously transformed between
WGS-cartesian and WGS-lat/long/height formats, it makes no
difference whether the results of GPS processing are presented as a
set of WGS-84 cartesian coordinates or latitude/longitude/height
triplets. Indeed, even mapping plane coordinates can be considered “complete,” if map projection parameters are provided. From
an adjustment perspective, the cartesian solution is best, but from
a semantic perspective, map projection results are more understandable. It’s tough to have a “feeling” of what a vector of [640 x,
240 y, 300 z] looks like in the WGS-84 frame, but “390 N, 635 E
and 40 up” makes some sort of physical sense.
In the case of land surveying, arbitrary bearings are shown
on a survey plan, along with “ground distances.” The concept of
“ground distance” is ambiguous, as it implies a constant refer-
ence surface for the entirety of the survey.
This poses a problem even for terrestrial
surveys, as demonstrated in the diagram
below. Assume that three stations are
set up in a direct line. Each station is at
significantly different elevation and interstation distances are measured. We will assume that no atmospheric effects exist and
that there are no error sources present in
the results. The stations are arranged such
that the distances on the ellipsoid between
stations A and B, and B and C are exactly
3 km. Since the measurements are perfect,
the distance on the ellipsoid between A
and C is exactly 6 km.
If one would like to represent the
measured distances on a plan of survey, it
will become quickly evident that a single
reference surface is required to be defined
or else artifical (and purely compuational)
misclosures will be introduced. The choice
of this reference surface is completely
arbitrary to the surveyor. Furthermore, if a
subsequent surveyor attempts to replicate this experiment, they will come up
with different results unless they use the
same choice of reference surface. In the
observations. A common reference surface
must be defined for all projects in an area
or discrepancies will become evident.
Although these discrepancies are small
(a 10 m change in elevation would alter
the reduced distance of a 10 km line by
2 cm), they are certainly within the accuracies achievable and ranges utilized for
conventional GPS.
The simplest reference surface to use
would be the ellipsoid. However, due
to the requirements for survey plans to
indicate “ground distances,” this is not
appropriate. Instead, a solution is to
break up the province into townships over
which a particular map projection applies.
Since GPS observations can be direcly
and consistently transformed between
WGS-84 and any given map projection,
surveyors would be able to directly compare observations and derived quantities
such as the bearing and distance between
two surveyed points.
An appropriate map projection to use
would be a modified transverse mercator
projection with a latitude and longitude of
origin corresponding to the latitude and
diagram above, Surveyor A could assume
the 300 metres level is ground, and say
the distance from A to C is 6.0 km + 28
cm. Surveyor B could then replicate the
survey, assume 900 m is ground and come
up with 6.0 cm + 84 cm. Neither is right,
neither is wrong, but Plan A does not
correspond to Plan B (granted, they do
within 1:5000, but that is a poor example
of sweeping today’s problem under the
1960s rug).
A similar issue arises in the use of
GPS-derived observations since the
baselines are fundamentally line-of-sight
longitude of the NE 33 of the township.
This would immediately result in derived
bearings referred to the central meridian
of the township, thus being very similar
to bearings expected from past work based
on original township surveys. This map
projection would also closely approximate
the design of unsurveyed territory.
Rigorously, a proper survey would require a direct occupation of the NE 33 to
determine its latitude and longitude and
ties from this point to the survey would
be made. However, simply using the ATSderived latitude/longitude of the NE 33
and ensuring that the relative position of
the survey network with respect to the NE
33 is known within 20 metres (achievable via the single-point solutions of the
receivers) will result in a properly-rotated
network. If the NE33 is directly tied at a
later date, coordinates can be appropriately translated.
A consistent scale factor can be derived
for the “township tiles” by assuming an
average elevation for the township, derived from an appropriate DTM. In this
case, we have derived such elevations using the results of the Space Shuttle Topography Mission, and sampling 144 points
per township. Even in the foothills, where
elevations can change significantly over a
township, use of the average elevation is
suitable, since what we are seeking to do is
provide a consistent reference surface for
the comparison of GPS observations. If a
GPS baseline is then compared to a terrestrial survey, a discrepancy will exist, but
the amount of the error will usually below
the typical terrestrial surveying accuracy.
The resulting map projection parameters for each township within Alberta is
available as an excel spreadsheet available
at the SarWiki site (www.sarpigroup.com/
sarwiki) in the forums section under the
topic of “GPS and Geodesy Issues.” The
lat/long of the NE 33 of every township
in Alberta is provided, as well as a scale
factor to use for every township.
By using these projections, one can set
up appropriate mapping tiles for use with
RTK or static GPS operations. The significant advantage of this process is that, if all
surveyors use the same tiles, surveys can
be directly compared for distances AND
bearings (as opposed to distances and
angles). A simple notation in the affidavit
that “all bearings are derived from GPS
and are referred to the central meridian
of Township xx, Range xx, WxM” is sufficient to allow rigorous comaprisons of
results. This system also greatly facilitates
the building of “survey databases” within
a surveyors’ own operations. In addition,
in the field, if all the required projections
are loaded on a data collector, an operator simply has to specify the township,
range and meridian they are operating in
and the datum used will automatically
correspond to prior surveys in the area.
A single known coordinate is all that is
required for complete consistency with
prior surveys.

book review
and ended, once and for all,
the old American dream of
Manifest Destiny.”
I had the opportunity
to read and learn about
the surveying of the 49th
Parallel when Judy Larmour
was researching and writing
Laying Down the Lines for
the Association. In Tony
Rees’ book, he expands on
the story into a 370-page
book. Arc of the Medicine
Line is not a technical book
focusing on how the surveys
were done or what kind
of equipment was used.
Instead, Tony Rees gives
life to the characters and
shows what their personalities were like, both good
and bad. Captain Donald
Cameron was Chief Commissioner of the British and
Canadian contingent but
ISBN 13:978-1-55365-278-6
it appears that he was appointed based on his politio here I am, between Christmas
cal and social connections rather than any
and New Years, trying not to
experience as a surveyor. He apparently
think about work. It had been a
brought his wife and family with him to
busy fall at the ALSA office and
these wild outposts and would occasionI was looking forward to some relaxing
ally go on picnics with his family rather
time coaching my son’s hockey team in a
than attend to the surveying work at
local tournament (his team won gold by
hand. Accompanying Cameron was Chief
the way). So one day, I went to my local
Astronomer Samuel Anderson who is
Chapters store to pick out a new book so
described in the book as relaxed and conI could spend much of my break readgenial, popular and well-respected who
ing and relaxing. As I go up and down
would ask a great deal of his men and they
the aisles trying to decide between this
would rarely disappoint him. Another
book or that one, I came across Arc of
prominent character in Arc of the Medicine
the Medicine Line: Mapping the World’s
Line is Lieutenant Albany FeatherstonLongest Undefended Border Across the
haugh. Lieutenant Featherstonehaugh is
Western Plains by Tony Rees. So much for
described as a quiet and reserved man but,
not thinking about surveying during my
“more than once Anderson would note his
Christmas holidays.
colleague’s ‘irritable’ manner.”
Arc of the Medicine Line tells the story
I am presuming that the Canadian and
of Canadian, British and American surBritish records for this survey work were
veyors undertaking one of the largest surbetter preserved as Tony Rees does seem
veying jobs ever in all of North America.
to give more time giving more life to the
From 1872 to 1874, “they endured snow
British and Canadian characters than to
storms, mosquitoes, flash floods and the
the American ones.
seething tensions from the aftermath of
Tony Rees himself was born in the
the US Civil War, the Metis uprising and
United Kingdom and came to Canada in
the ongoing Indian Wars, all the while
1957. He has an MA in English Literature
mapping and placing markers across
from the University of Western Ontario
nearly 900 miles of unforgiving terri(my alma mater) and was supervisor of
tory. In drawing the ‘Medicine Line’ they
the City of Toronto Archives before movdefined the final shape of a new nation
ing west to become Calgary’s first city
S
Arc of the Medicine
Line tells the story of
Canadian, British and
American surveyors
undertaking one of
the largest surveying
jobs ever undertaken
in all of North
America.
archivist in 1981. Mr. Rees was on the organizing committee for the 1988 Calgary
Winter Olympic Games and was chief
archivist at the Glenbow Museum until
1993 when he took to writing books. Rees
is also the author of Hope’s Last Home:
Travels in Milk River Country and Polo:
The Galloping Game.
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to do a presentation to some young
home-schooled students. I gave them an
unmarked map of North America and
asked them to draw Alberta’s boundaries
and it was fun to see what the results were.
When someone gives you a map showing
the boundaries of Alberta or Canada, it
seems “obvious” that that is where they
are and where they should be. When they
are not marked on the map and certainly
when they are not marked on the land,
it is “obvious” how difficult the problem
really is.
“The logistical challenge in organizing men and material involved in the
apparently simple act of drawing a thin
line across 49 degrees north was becoming
clear. For the 1873 season, her Majesty’s
Commission would deploy a total of
270 men, including 18 officers and 23
non-commissioned officers and staff.
They would move with the aid of 100
horses, 59 ponies and 48 oxen pulling 112
vehicles of every sort and size.”
Arc of the Medicine Line was not what
I had intended to buy when I walked into
my local bookstore but it was a great book
to read over the Christmas holidays and
into the New Year.
Brian Munday
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the keeper of
lost records
David Thompson Taking an Observation, C.W. Jefferys, C.W. Jeffery fonds, Library and Archives Canada
by andreas n. korsos
I
ntroduction
Working on several projects related
to the travels of David Thompson,
it seemed natural to also reflect
on another historic figure that may be
considered a ‘forgotten’ explorer and
trader. Simon Fraser’s 2008 bicentennial is quickly approaching, marking his
successful descent of what is now known
as the Fraser River, aptly named by David
Thompson well after the event.
Few exploits of exploration in Canadian history surpass Simon Fraser’s journey
to the sea and back in 1808 and while
rediscovering this remarkable expedition,
it became clear that there is a connection
between David Thompson and Simon
Fraser that, to date, has not been recognized or fully studied.
It is well known that Thompson
explored, surveyed and mapped more of
this continent than any other surveyor
or mapmaker of his time. He has been
depicted as a versatile individual, and has
been often described as a writer, surveyor,
scientific explorer, cartographer, naturalist
and a fur trader. However, as a result of
an indirect link to Fraser’s 1808 expedition, Thompson can be heralded for yet
another accomplishment that not even he
could have been aware of.
Simon Fraser
Descended from a noble Scottish Highland clan, Simon Fraser’s family fled to
Canada in 1784 with thousands of other
loyalists, following the conclusion of the
American Revolution. After the loss of his
father, Fraser’s family moved to Montreal
where Fraser would eventually attend
school and soon after, begin his career in
the fur trade apprenticed to the North
West Company in 1792. By 1799, Fraser
was serving as a clerk at Fort Chipewyan,
in the Athabasca Department, and by
1801, he became a partner of the North
West Company; no small feat for a man
of only 25 years of age.
Figure 1: Simon Fraser 1776–1862 (BC Archives)
Over the Mountains
Explorations as early as the 17th century along the Pacific coast had found
the mouth of a large river near the 46th
latitude, but it wasn’t until May of 1792
that Captain Robert Gray, an American,
actually entered the mouth and named it
the Columbia River. Following Mackenzie’s exploration to the Arctic Ocean in
1789 and his successful breakthrough to
the Pacific Ocean at Bella Coola in 1793,
the North West Company took a serious
interest in the prospects for trading furs in
the Far East.
Finding an overland route to the Pacific would enable the company to shorten
the distance to the Far East by establishing
a fort from which to ship their furs from
so that they may trade for other more
precious commodities more economically.
Mackenzie’s route had taken him over the
upper portion of what is today’s Fraser
River and maps of the Pacific coast created
shortly afterward included Mackenzie’s
route, referring to the upper portion of
that river as, among other names, the
Columbia River (Figure 2). It was clearly
thought that the upper portion of the
Fraser River was the headwaters of the
Columbia River.
While many were deliberating whether
the two rivers were connected, Mackenzie’s explorations overland were followed
by expeditions along the eastern slopes of
the Rocky Mountains by the great surveyor and pathfinder David Thompson,
together with his North West Company
partner Duncan McGillivray, in 1800
and 1801 with little success. Simon Fraser
was ultimately instructed to determine
whether the upper portion of the river
that now bears his name was in fact the
headwaters of the Columbia, and he
began his attempts in the autumn of 1805
which culminated with the 1808 expedition.
Mapping Simon Fraser’s
Expedition
While researching Fraser’s movements
from 1805-1808 in order to create a
thematic map on the topic, a number of
different sources were utilized, including a
transcript of Fraser’s original journal and
a version edited by W.K. Lamb in 1960.
Through Lamb’s edits, it became clear that
Simon Fraser relied heavily on his invaluable lieutenant, John Stuart, who played a
considerable role in Fraser’s 1808 descent
and ascent of the river that now bears
Fraser’s name.
According to Lamb, Fraser assigned
Stuart two significant responsibilities
during the expedition. The first was the
keeping of the official logs of the journey
and the second, the surveying of the river
as they descended it. The task of surveying required that Stuart not only keep a
running survey of their course, but also
that he take sextant observations for position. Unfortunately, John Stuart’s original
log and survey notes of that expedition
have long since disappeared, and we are
without his written record or calculations
of this historic journey.
But secrets of the past can sometimes
appear in unexpected ways, and so it was
that during the research on Thompson,
a partial written record and a full visual
record of John Stuart’s work emerged.
Figure 2: Aaron Arrowsmith’s 1812 map of British possessions in North America clearly connects the known lower
portion of the Columbia River with the upper Tacoutche-Tesse River (today’s Fraser River) as named and explored by
Alexander Mackenzie. The dotted line connecting the two rivers is labeled by two names; an inidication of the question as to whether the two rivers were connected. (David Rumsey Historical Map Collection: www.davidrumsay.com)
Simon Fraser’s name. The first, ‘Alexander Mackenzie,’ traveled along the upper
reaches of the river on his journey to the
Pacific in 1792, and the second, ‘John
Stewart2, (Figure 3) was the aforementioned lieutenant to Simon Fraser during
the 1808 expedition.
John Stuart
John Stuart was born in 1780 and joined
the North West Company in 1796. Stuart
was sent to Fort Chipewyan a short time
later, subsequently served at various
posts in the Athabasca department and
The Great Map of 1814
In 1812, David Thompson left western
North America for retirement in Terrebonne, Quebec. While in retirement,
Thompson would create a series of maps
that was paid for by the North West
Company. From this series of maps, came
the map that would chart western North
America and become known as the ‘Great
Map of 1814.’ The Great Map however
is not just a compilation of Thompson’s
own surveys, but the surveys and travels of
other notable people of the era.
Two of these persons are identified by
Thompson1 within the legend of the map
in respect to the river which now bears
in 1805 he was an assistant to Simon
Fraser. That fall, the two men established
Rocky Mountain Portage House and the
following year Fort St. James on Stuart
Lake. Stuart spent the winter of 1806 on
McLeod Lake at Fort McLeod, established
in 1805, and with the arrival of extra men
and supplies in the fall of 1807, preparations began for the descent of the river
erringly thought to be the Columbia and
now known to be the Fraser.
On May 28, 1808, second-in-command John Stuart left Fort George, at
present day Prince George, with Simon
Fraser, Jules Quesnel3, and twenty-one
men on the epic journey down the river.
Although Stuart was charged with charting their course, we do not know the
extent of Stuart’s training as it relates to
using a sextant or surveying, though it was
most likely very basic and just enough to
get by on.
Comparison of
Stuart’s Survey Data
With Modern Maps
In order to perform a proper examination
of the river as charted by David
Ironically the use and acknowledgement of David Thompson’s
surveys and work was non-existent during his lifetime.
David Thompson clearly misspells John Stuart’s name.
3
Jules Maurice Quesnel was at Rocky Mountain House in the fall
of 1806, and was likely involved in assisting David Thompson with
his preparation of crossing Howse Pass the following spring; the
success of which would have been passed onto Fraser and Stuart.
1
2
Figure 4: An older John Stuart 1780-1847
(BC Archives)
turing proper longitudes for the river. The
skill he demonstrated in judging distances
and taking compass bearings proved
excellent. His records of the river’s course
as depicted by Thompson allow the map
reader the ability to associate large bends
and changes in direction to present day
course and location with relative ease.
Figure 5: Fort George at the confluence of the Nechako and Fraser Rivers (BC Archives)
Thompson from John Stuart’s notes,
Thompson’s 1814 map would have to be
compared to the course of the river today.
Given the terrain, it is certain that, aside
from minor man-made adjustments, the
river has changed very little in the two
hundred years since Fraser’s descent.
With modern computer-aided mapping software, a comparison is easily done
by a process called geo-referencing within
a geographic information system. This
process uses real coordinates to correct
digital images, making them positioncorrect spatially. The ability to perform
this task is dependant on whether or not
the digital image one is trying to reference
contains enough known points that can
be compared directly to its equivalent on
the ground.
With respect to David Thompson’s talent as a cartographer, he provided the best
possible points to draw equivalents from,
and those are the intersections of latitude
and longitude that he placed in the 1814
map. Once a digital image of the 1814
map was geo–referenced onto contemporary 1:2 million data (Figure 13), a visual
record began to appear of John Stuart’s
notes as mapped by David Thompson.
son never saw the Fraser River during his
western explorations. Between 1808 and
1814, there were no further excursions
down the great river and therefore the
data could only have come from Stuart’s
notes and journals of the actual journey.
Furthermore, Thompson’s 1814 depiction
of the river’s course is far too accurate to
dismiss this as anything but John Stuart’s
survey.
In terms of a running survey, Stuart
does an exceptional job despite not cap-
River is mapped by
Thompson from
Stuart’s surveys.
Example of course
similarities.
Thompson’s Visual
Record of Stuart’s Notes
The Overall Course of the River
David Thompson’s mapping of the Fraser
River was not accomplished through his
own experiences simply because Thomp-
The Tributaries
Another clear indication that the river
Thompson plotted was based on the notes
of John Stuart is the level of accuracy with
regard to the mapping of the tributaries
on the river and the reference to them by
name. During his descent of the Fraser,
Simon Fraser names two rivers, noting
both in his journals. The first was the
Quesnel River4 and the second was the
Thompson River5. Modern examination of the confluence of these two rivers
reveals that Stuart’s notes are extremely
accurate with respect to actual position on
the ground, and as it relates to the shape
of the river.
In fact, the majority of the tributaries
plotted by Thompson from John Stuart’s
notes are extremely accurate. Their position in relation to the shape of the Fraser
River makes them easily recognizable
when referencing them on a contemporary map. Of interest is that Stuart does
not record all of the rivers and creeks be-
Fraser River today.
Figure 6: Thompson’s 1814 map geo-registered displaying river course similarities. (Champlain Society, David Thompson’s Narrative of his Explorations in Western America, 1784-1812; edited by Tyrrell, Joseph Burr)
4
5
The Quesnel River is named specifically after Jules Maurice Quesnel, the second lieutenant of Simon Fraser’s expedition.
It is interesting to note that David Thompson did not label the river named after himself on the 1814 map.
tween Fort George and the Pacific Ocean.
It is likely that, with the river in freshet
and moving very fast during their descent,
only those of significance were noted.
Either the creek or river was large and
noticeable enough to warrant inclusion by
Stuart, or they were places where Fraser’s
party stopped to rest, eat or camp for the
evening6. Such stops would certainly allow
for the accuracy demonstrated by John
Stuart.
Latitude and Longitude
Throughout Fraser’s journal, there is no
mention of Stuart taking latitude readings during the journey until they reach
the Straight of Georgia on July 2/3 of
1808 where Fraser notes in his journal the
latitude of the mouth of the river as being
to far north to be that of the Columbia
River7.
Recording a latitude observation was
less complicated than that of a longitude,
and it is therefore not unreasonable to
believe that, at the very least, John Stuart
was taking an observation for latitude at
every camp during their descent, weather
permitting. This would have been important to David Thompson in charting the
river on the 1814 map as it would help
confirm the course recorded by Stuart on
a day-to-day basis.
As for longitude observations, we know
little of the ones that John Stuart observed
other than the six recorded in Fraser’s
notes. Of these that were recorded, the
closest in accuracy that was achieved was
the second observation recorded by Fraser
taken on June 9, 1808 near Leon Creek
and was approximately 0.9 degrees east,
63 kilometres or 39 miles, from its true
position. The other five longitudes were
considerably inferior. This is not surprising when it is known that Stuart was not
a surveyor by trade. Thompson appears
to have been mindful of this fact, since
he ignores Stuart’s longitude observations
when charting the river on the 1814 map.
The Anomalies
Even given Thompson’s skill as a cartographer and his intimate knowledge
of surveying, there emerge two types of
anomalies in Thompson’s charting of the
river in his 1814 map.
1. Reflected Anomaly
The first anomaly that appears in Thompson’s map is best described as a ‘reflected’
The two reflection
anomalies present
in the 1814 Map
Figure 7: Thompson’s 1814 map geo-registered displaying reflected anomalies in the 1814 Map.
(Champlain Society, David Thompson’s Narrative of his Explorations in Western America, 1784-1812; edited by
Tyrrell, Joseph Burr)
anomaly. This anomaly appears on two
occasions on the 1814 map. This reflected
anomaly is a result of a left-to-right reversal that creates a likeness in which the
left and right are reversed in a geographic
feature (Figure 7). The reflections that
Thompson plots from Stuart’s notes are
uncharacteristic of Thompson’s skill as
a cartographer and are most likely the
result of the manner in which Stuart kept
his running survey and was not something that David Thompson could have
been aware of. It is not known whether
Thompson actually had an opportunity
to speak with Stuart while he was creating
the map of 1814; given these anomalies, it
is unlikely.
2. Continual Increase In Longitude Error
The second anomaly that occurs is the
error in longitude that takes place in the
course of the river after approximately
June 8, 1808. Generally speaking, the longitude of the river as charted by Thompson is relatively close given that he relied
solely on the notes of another person not
formally trained as a surveyor. However
the error in the river’s course consistently
moves the river further to the east (Figure
13) from its true position on the ground.
This consistent error remains until the
expedition reaches the mouth of the river
on July 2/3 of 1808.
The sudden appearance of this error
and its consistency are strange to say the
least; however Stuart’s running survey as
it relates to the actual shape of the river
appears to remain accurate. There are
four interesting arguments for the error,
including one that is factually viable given
the era of the survey.
The first is the lack of longitude readings. Fraser recorded ‘bad weather’ and
rain between June 16 and June 23, 1808,
which indicates that it was impossible to
take any sextant observation because the
bad weather during this period obscured
the stars that he utilized to perform that
task. But considering Stuart’s inaccuracy
with longitude prior to this period of the
expedition, which did not affect Thompson’s mapping, it becomes unreasonable to
base the error on this. Furthermore, Fraser
records that the weather was acceptable
from June 8, when the error first appears,
to June 16, 1808.
The second argument is that the manner in which John Stuart kept his running
survey with the compass created the error.
Judging from Thompson’s depiction of
the Fraser River based on Stuart’s notes,
Stuart’s ability to estimate distance and
direction proved extremely accurate early
in the expedition. Therefore, it is fair to
argue thirdly that the cause was faulty
equipment.
It is unfortunate that there is no indication of whether the
tributaries were captured on the descent or ascent of the river.
Such indications would provide excellent clues to where Fraser
camped on the lower portion of his journeys.
7
What is puzzling however is; why didn’t Fraser didn’t mention
latitude readings in his journals? He surely knew that the
farther south they traveled the closer he would be to 46 degrees
latitude and therefore the mouth of the Columbia.
6
symmetrical, therefore
the amount of deviation
is not consistent and it
varies depending where
you are located geographically.
In the early 1800s,
the declination at 49°
latitude was 20° and
at 60° latitude was a
declination of 30°.
More importantly,
the expedition would
pass these variations in
declination much more
frequently. This is unlike the prairies, where
these men were accustomed to traveling and
these extreme variations
in declination did not
Figure 8: Magnetic Declination in the year 1800 (Robert H. van Gent)
exist. Having limited
knowledge of such variations in declinaIn fact, the first hint of a problem with
tion, Fraser and Stuart were perplexed.
the compass appears in Simon Fraser’s
This fact was probably not expected,
journal when on June 8, 1808 Fraser
and most likely would have made for an
writes, ‘I myself with Messrs. Stuart,
interesting conversation between him and
Quesnel and Baptiste went down a foot
Fraser9.
upon the left shore by a well beaten
path… here Mr. Stuart’s compass being
In the final analysis, regardless of the
deranged I lent him mine….’8 It is also
extent of the declination in south western
from June 8, 1808 onward that the consisBritish Columbia in 1808, even the
tent error begins placing the river farther
slightest compass inaccuracy due to this
and farther to the east as they traveled.
deviation would lead to a consistent error
If it is the result of the compass, it could
in the plotting of the running survey; and
be that the compass Fraser supplied was
without longitude readings to verify an
not accurate or that neither compass was
east/west position, such an error could not
inaccurate and there was another factor at
have been discovered by Thompson as he
play.
charted the river.
The fourth and strongest argument is
that the extreme variation in declination
Thompson’s Written Record
that existed in southern British Columbia
of Stuart’s Notes
in the early 1800s was the true culprit
Along with the mapping of the river’s
(Figure 8). To understand declination one
course from Stuart’s notes, Thompson
must first realize that there are two north
added a series of related observations bepoles; one which is at the true geographic
ginning with the point of commencement
north at the top of the world and the
of Fraser’s journey at Fort George to the
other; a north pole that is represented
mouth of the Fraser River; many of which
by the magnetic pole. Therefore defined,
can be directly correlated to entries made
declination is the deviation of the compass
by Fraser in his two existing journals of
from magnetic north and true north. It
the expedition. Among the many recorded
is a quantity that has been a nuisance to
notes are the following examples:
navigators and surveyors for centuries.
Because the magnetic pole is constantly
moving from year to year, adjustments
French Bar Canyon
must be made to the compass for the
Simon Fraser description of the river durcontinual differences in the deviation
ing his descent was awe-inspiring. Fraser’s
from magnetic north and true north.
party would reach present-day French Bar
What further complicates the deviation
Canyon on June 9, 1808, a portion of
is that the magnetic field is not perfectly
the river he had been warned about from
Figure 9: The Fraser River near French Bar Canyon
(Kumsheen Rafting Adventures)
his First Nations’ guides. On that day,
Fraser wrote of the rapids approaching the
canyon: ‘here is an amazing strong rapid
which is the one called La Rapid Couvert
so long talked of…’10 This reference to
the La Rapid Couvert matches the date
and location of the French Bar Canyon
and the notation ‘La Rapid Couvert’
on the 1814 map. It is clear that Stuart
recorded the same conclusion understood
by Fraser.
The Snake
Figure 10: Western Rattlesnake (Ministry of the
Environment, Government of British Columbia)
Fraser’s last line for his journal entry of
June 21, 1808 was ‘Mr. Stuart in the
course of the day saw a snake as thick as
his wrist’11, but does not identify the species of the snake. John Stuart had to have
identified it however as a rattlesnake12. For
this reason, Thompson noted on the 1814
map the comment ‘Rattle Snake’ at the
location and date of the occurrence.
Fraser, Simon. Second Journal of Simon Fraser From May 30th to
June 10th 1808, transcript: Copy from Bancroft Collection, Academy of Pacific Coast History, British Columbia Archives, p.25.
9
It should be also noted that although it is possible to determine
declination as a surveyor on the ground, this could not be accomplished by Stuart because the bad weather during this period
obscured the stars that he utilized to make his sextant observations
and determine the points of the compass.
10
Fraser, Simon. Second Journal of Simon Fraser From May 30th
to June 10th 1808, transcript: Copy from Bancroft Collection,
Academy of Pacific Coast History, British Columbia Archives,
p.26.
11
Fraser, Simon. Journal of a Voyage from the Rocky Mountains
to the Pacific Ocean performed in the year 1808, transcript: Copy
from Toronto Public Library, British Columbia Archives, p.30.
12
In British Columbia, a small population of Western Rattlesnakes
exists and is restricted to the dry valleys of the southern interior,
including the stretch of the Fraser Canyon that Fraser and Stuart
were traveling through.
8
The Seals
Figure 11: Harbour Seal in the Fraser River (Ministry
of the Environment, Government of British Columbia)
As Fraser made his way down into the
lower portion of the river on June 30,
1808, he entered a widening of the river
slightly upstream of Sumas Peak. He
wrote that day: ‘Continued our course
with a strong current for nine miles,
where the river expands into a lake – Here
we saw seals…’13 Once again a correlation
can be made with this journal entry and
the 1814 map. Thompson, at the matching location records the words ‘Seals Seen.’
They Came from the Sea
Also included on the map is an intriguing
piece of information that is not directly
related to Fraser’s journals. On the 1814
map is a note that says ‘To this Place the
white men have come from the Sea.’
Figure 12: Thompson’s recording of ‘To this Place
the white men have come from the Sea.’ (Champlain
Society, David Thompson’s Narrative of his Explorations
in Western America, 1784-1812; edited by Tyrrell,
Joseph Burr)
Fraser in his journals, at numerous
times during the descent of the lower portion of the river, mentions the appearance
of European trade articles. He also relates
specific occurrences in which First Nations’ peoples inform him of ‘white people’ visiting the coast of British Columbia.
At no time however is the phrase ‘To this
Place the white men have come from the
Sea’ relayed to Fraser in his journals. This
phrase could have only come from Stuart’s
notes; passed on to him by First Nations’
peoples14.
Conclusion
David Thompson’s
ability to translate
Stuart’s notes and
surveys to a recognizable cartographic
product is to be
commended. The
map of 1814 that
Thompson created
is not just a visual
Fraser River is mapped by
David Thompson from
record of his own
John Stuart’s Survey
exploration and
travels but of others
as well. Within the
map, Thompson
denotes the great
The Fraser River Today
river that Simon
Fraser descended as
‘Fraser’s River’ and
The confluence
more importantly
of the Fraser and
clearly indicates in
Thompson Rivers
the legend that the
river was plotted
based on the notes
and surveys of John
Stuart; notes that
Figure 13: Thompson’s 1814 Map has been geo-registered in order to display the difference between the survey and the Fraser River today. (Champlain Society, David
were said to have
Thompson’s Narrative of his Explorations in Western America, 1784-1812; edited by
been lost forever.
Tyrrell, Joseph Burr)
To say that
Stuart’s notes have been lost forever is not
Fraser’s explorations of British Columbia
entirely true. As demonstrated, Thompand more specifically the intricacies in the
son’s extraordinary map-making over
1808 descent of the Fraser River; Intricatime, has become an informal archive for
cies that had not yet been realized. It is
the explorations of others whose notes
clear that along with David Thompson’s
and surveys have long since vanished.
many remarkable accomplishments we
Through Thompson’s map we have a
can add yet another, the ‘Keeper of Lost
further insight into the complexities of
Records.’

13
Fraser, Simon. Journal of a Voyage from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean performed in the year 1808, transcript: Copy from Toronto
Public Library, British Columbia Archives, p.38
14
With respect to the location of the notation, there appears to be evidence that prior to 1808, Europeans made an expedition 170 kilometres
(105 miles) up the River from the sea. This would not be the first time such a journey was under taken. In 1792, Captain George Vancouver
sent his lieutenant up the Columbia River for 100 miles and as a result, the first accurate survey of the lower portion of the Columbia River was
conducted. The answer to this mystery of who were the ‘white people’ lies in another paper.
Sources
Fraser, Simon. Letters and Journals 1806-1808, Lamb, W. Kaye (Ed). MacMillan of
Canada, Toronto, Reprint 1966.
Fraser, Simon. Journal of a Voyage from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean in
the Year 1808, transcript: Margaret Hall, Toronto Public Library, 1913.
Fraser, Simon. Second Journal of Simon Fraser - From May 30th to June 10th 1808,
transcript: Copy from Bancroft Collection, Academy of Pacific Coast History, British Columbia Archives.
Map of North America from 84° West, Public Record Office, Kew, England.
Map of the North West Territory, Archives of Ontario.
Geomatics Canada, Department of Natural Resources, Ottawa.
Ministry of the Environment, Government of British Columbia.
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professional development
Mandatory
Continuing
Education
M
andatory Continuing Education (MCE) discussion
goes back as long as professional organizations started
to evolve and will be one of the hot topics
to be discussed among professionals.
Like any other professional matter
there always will be pros and cons. Each
and every professional looks at the issue
from his/her point of view. That point
of view might change dramatically from
those who work for big companies versus
those who work for small companies;
those who work for themselves versus
those who work for somebody else; and
those who work in rural areas versus those
who work in the urban areas.
Mandatory continuing education is a
very complex topic. The purpose of this
article is by no means to take a position
for or against such a complex matter.
Instead, it is to make the membership of
Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association aware
that the discussion of this topic is by no
means dead, but alive and well regardless
if we choose to take part in it or not.
Presently, around 40 states in the United States require continuing professional
development as a requirement for professional engineers to renew their licenses. In
Canada, the trend looks to be going that
way as well. Presently, the Saskatchewan
Land Surveyors’ Association and the Association of New Brunswick Land Surveyors
mandate continuing education.
The rationale behind mandatory
continuing education for professional land
surveyors is as follows:
t public interest above all other consideration;
t competent and ethical practice of land
surveyors;
t creative scientific applications;
t continuous learning for professional
growth;
t acquisition of new skill and knowledge required to maintain professional
competence;
t to raise the ethical standards within the
professional community, and so on.
All of the points in the above rationale
are valid and should not be points of
contention. The discussion point is how
we should get there? Can we accomplish
the same goal without making it mandatory? How may it fit in our professional
practice? Are there other tools that fill the
shortcoming, if there are any? Again, is it
practical in our current economic environment?
My point of view is that the question
should be put in front of the membership to brainstorm. A suggestion should
be made at the Alberta Land Surveyors’
Annual General Meeting to set up an ad
hoc committee to come up with a report
by analyzing other professional mandatory
education practices and its practicality in
our economy, geographic distances and
compatibility with our regulations.
Since mandatory continuing education
“means participation in activities, beyond
the basic educational requirements,” as
a member of Professional Development
Committee (PDC) of the Alberta Land
Surveyors’ Association, I suggest the matter should be brought before the members
of our Association to discuss the pros and
cons. Taking a proactive approach to this
topic could be instrumental in avoiding
the surprises that will come later on when
it will be brought in front of us by others.
Metin Timocin, ALS
Alberta Land Surveyors Mike Fretwell, Pat Moloney and Ross Woolgar recently completed a Train-the-Trainer course
put on by the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association and presented by Darcey-Lynn Marc. Seven Alberta Land Surveyors
took part in the Train-the-Trainer session last November which will help them present upcoming Getting It Right and
other seminars.
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public relations
We recently had a field safety broadcast the
other day which had a little statement regarding respect.
T
his message made me think about the whole
concept of respect. I thought about everything
and everyone that I respected and how it
had been earned. I then thought about ways that the
Association can earn its respect for the land surveying
profession through us as its members. Associations earn
my respect when I can understand what they are and
what their objectives are. Other people earn my respect
when I watch that they are respectful and morally
considerate to one another and my leaders earn my
respect on how they lead by example.
In our land surveying field, I have
noticed that one of the recurring issues concerns respect and landowners.
Most recently, I have come across angry
landowners whose anger can erupt over
anything, whether it is because we are on
their land doing a residence tie, or because
they are unhappy with the whole oil and
gas industry. In all these instances, I have
noticed that, in most of the cases, anger
was caused as a result of misunderstanding. The problem is that not everyone
understands the concept of land surveying or what land surveyors really do. Of
course now, if I saw a surveyor looking for
evidence in my backyard, I would know
exactly what they were doing and have
no problem with it. I believe I would be
quite friendly to them since I would be
able to relate and I would understand
what they are doing. However, if I didn’t
have this understanding and I noticed
someone randomly digging holes in my
land, I think I would be furious. The key
is to calm down the aggression and try to
explain the facts of who we are and what
we do. Most of the time, once the landowner learns about our intentions, the
anger fizzles away. To prevent that initial
anger, we could earn their respect initially
by bringing awareness to the public. Our
code of ethics outlines our moral obligation to serve and to protect the public. By
The bottom line is that respect should be something earned and not demanded.
initially contacting the landowners and
letting them be aware that we will be in
the area, some of the misunderstanding
can be prevented. The Commitment to
Property Damage Mitigation prepared by
the Association lists courtesy guidelines to
instruct the field crews and could be used
as a type of oath that a party chief takes
before working out in the field.
With all that we have going on in
our daily lives with deadlines and issues
outside of work to deal with, it is hard to
always be cordial. I struggle sometimes to
keep my smile sincere with my crew mates
after I have spent so many long hours
with them. I have, however, discovered
that taking our job seriously and enjoying
it by being civil to one another is indeed
contagious. The way we react with other
people reflects upon our identity. I know
that when I see someone treating another
person badly, I cannot help but feel intimidated by this person, regardless of how
kind he or she is treating me. Wouldn’t it
be great if we as surveyors spread joy to
the public by showing the dignity of our
profession?
As an articling student, I know that
I try to absorb as much as possible from
my principal and the more experienced
land surveyors. I really appreciate the fact
that those above me lead by example. Our
code of ethics reminds us of our moral
obligation to serve and protect the public.
I particularly enjoy listening to stories
from the field from other landowners and
about their massive searches for evidence
or even about how things out in the field
were different when they did not have the
technology that I get to work with today.
It makes me think that I should never
have a reason to complain with all that we
have to help us in the field nowadays. We
should think about what we are doing and
ask ourselves if we would be proud to talk
about what we are doing to lead someone
else to do. When I see other land surveyors follow the code of ethics, it makes me
feel proud to follow in their footsteps with
the hope to one day pass it along.
The bottom line is that respect should
be something earned and not demanded.
Our Association must continue to earn
its respect by creating awareness about
what we do and simply passing along
those smiles to serve the public and our
colleagues.
Jennifer Setiawan
Land Survey System
Featured at the History Centre
Edmonton Public Schools, through the “History Centre,” has a unique approach in exposing
students to Western Canadian history. The program gives students an opportunity to learn
through hands-on experience. The History Centre is a partnership between the Edmonton Public
School Board and the Edmonton and District Historical Society. It is the only such partnership
in Canada.
At the invitation of Lisa Maltby, President of the Historical Society, I was able
to observe a class in session. The class was divided up into small groups which
rotated through the various activities. The students sat in a trading post and
learned about early life in Rupert’s Land, fur traders and the Hudson Bay
Company. They gathered in a settling of tepees and learned about the treaties
with the First Nations. And they learned about homesteading which included
an activity of laying out sections in a township using a miniature chain.
wnship. After
t sections in a to get to select a
ou
g
yin
la
ts
en
Stud
p, they
out the townshi r which they are
they have laid
fo
n
tio
sec
a quarter
homestead for
le.
tit
of
te
ca
given a certifi
secret code that
No—it is not a
e iron survey
th
on
d
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is stam
explains that
is
av
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g
post. Dou
scribe the
de
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p and range for
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tow
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marked by
the land location
the post.
Learn
ing ab
out fu
r trad
A second session explores the arrival of the
North West Mounted Police, the coming of
the railway and the continuation of the settlement of the West. What I found most impressive is the ability of the staff and volunteers to
show how all these activities formed integral
parts of the opening of the West.
The History Centre, offers sessions on the
history of Canada’s West for grade 4, 5 and 7
students. It also offers sessions for teachers of
social studies of grades 4 to 8. It is located on
the third floor of Queen Alexandra School,
7730 106 Street, Edmonton (website www.
historycentre.ca).
Gordon E. Olsson, ALS
ers an
d The
Huds
on’s B
ay
A Fir
st Na
Comp
tions
any.
Camp
.
safety sense
Drug & Alcohol Testing In the Workplace
General Information For Employers
A
growing area of concern for employers is
the ability to test and
discipline employees who are
abusing drugs and alcohol.
Unlike our neighbors to the south, this is
a relatively new area of law for Canada.
Many cases have been dealt with through
our legal system but the fine line of what
is acceptable and what is not is still very
much under development. Various aspects
of law must be taken into account such
as Human Rights, Privacy Laws and
Occupational Health and Safety Legislation. Presently the law is trying to find a
balance between the employee’s rights and
the employer’s right to run a productive
and safe work environment. There are very
few absolutes regarding right and wrong
when dealing with drugs and alcohol in
the workplace. However, the following
general information may help employers
understand some of the issues that we are
currently facing.
The Tests
There are tests available for alcohol that
can deliver an accurate reading on the
level of current impairment. The use of
these types of tests can provide employers
with definitive information on whether
an employee is fit to perform the tasks
required for their job. Specific limits have
been legally accepted to determine when
someone has had too much to drink.
The tests for drugs are not as advanced.
The current tests, usually blood or urine,
can tell employers how much of a particular drug is in the individual’s system. This
does not determine current impairment
levels. There are numerous other factors
such as metabolism, frequency of use, the
method used to introduce the drug into
the body, that all factor into impairment
in different ways for different individuals.
Decisions
to Date
There are many cases
that have set precedents
on drug and alcohol testing. As more and more
are challenged through
the court system the
level of what is acceptable is being molded.
The following are some
general principles that
seem to be recurring in
many decisions.
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or alcohol, whether
perceived or real, is a
‘disability’ protected
under Human Rights
Law.
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duty to accommodate
disabled employees
(both actual and perceived) up to the
point of undue hardship.
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program that includes employee and
family assistance programs, education,
monitoring, and so on.
t *OPSEFSUPUFTUGPSESVHTBOEBMDPIPM
there must be a connection to the duties of the job. (i.e. safety sensitive)
t 5FTUJOHDBOOPUCFEJTDSJNJOBUPSZ*U
must be a ‘bona fide occupational
requirement.’
In 1999 the Supreme Court of Canada
set out a three part test that employers
must meet to justify testing as a ‘bona fide
occupational requirement.’
The Meiorin Test
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policy for purposes that are rationally
connected to the task(s) that must be
carried out to perform a job.
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policy with an honest and good faith
belief that it is necessary to fulfill work
related purposes.
t ɨFUFTUJOHQPMJDZJTSFBTPOBCMZOFDFTsary to accomplish the required workrelated purposes.
General Information on
Different Types of Testing
There are a number of different types
of testing that may be included in a
company policy on drugs and alcohol.
Regardless of the type that is used, the
employer is responsible for carrying out
the testing in a reasonable manner. Some
general rules to keep in mind include:
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well in advance;
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and their protocols observed;
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followed by a second test to confirm the
result;
t UIFQIZTJDJBOTIPVMEJOGPSNUIFFNployee of the test result;
t BQPTJUJWFUFTUTIPVMEOPUMFBEUPJNmediate termination; and
t FNQMPZFFTUFTUJOHQPTJUJWFTIPVMECFSFferred to a substance abuse professional
for assessment and treatment.
Pre-Employment Testing
This is testing that may take place prior
to receiving an offer of employment,
upon receiving a conditional offer of
employment, to progress from a probationary placement to a permanent one
or a non-safety sensitive position into a
safety-sensitive one. Some general rules to
consider include:
t 1SFFNQMPZNFOUESVHBOEBMDPIPMUFTUing may be allowed for safety-sensitive
positions only. The factors surrounding
the circumstances will still be considered by the courts.
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employees and applicants that test
positive. Companies are not permitted
to withdraw an offer of employment
simply because of a positive test.
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perspective employees as much information as possible as far in advance as
possible in regards to testing. Companies may wish to consider posting
their Drug and Alcohol Policy on their
website as well as the ‘wash out’ rates
for the drugs that they screen for.
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may be made if employees are required
to cross the US border and comply with
American federal legislation.
Pre-Access Testing
This is testing where a large employer
may require a clean drug and/or alcohol
test before allowing people to enter the
site. It is usually extended to contractors
and sub-contractors. It is not defined as a
pre-employment test as it also applies to
existing employees.
Some general rules to consider for testing existing employees include:
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sensitive position.
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that their testing policy has a safety purpose and shows tangible safety results.
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notice of testing and information about
specific drug ‘wash out’ rates.
t &NQMPZFFTXIPHFOFSBMMZXPSLVOTVpervised may be candidates.
As a company you should be prepared for
how you will handle the situation when
it occurs and ensure that it is followed
consistently and fairly.
Reasonable Suspicion Testing
This is testing that that is due to issues
such as a reasonable suspicion that an
employee is under the influence of drugs
or alcohol while at work, post accident
situations where there is a reasonable belief that the employee may be at fault and
near miss situations that are likely to have
been much worse had the situation been
just slightly different.
Some general rules when applying this
type of testing:
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or unfit to perform his/her duties or
there are specific extenuating factors
that create a reasonable suspicion that
the employee is impaired. Training for
supervisors and managers on how to
identify impairment and other factors is
strongly recommended.
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employee was impaired at the time of
an incident or near miss the employer
must ensure a fair and consistent approach is taken before testing occurs.
The incident or near miss by themselves
does not necessarily constitute cause.
An investigation should be conducted,
even if only a preliminary one and the
employee under suspicion should be
interviewed and allowed to explain the
situation from his/ her point of view.
Random Testing
This is testing that is for the most part unannounced to employees. It may include
a few employees, in response to a specific
concern or be done as blanket testing of a
group of employees.
Some general rules when applying this
type of testing:
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employees who hold safety sensitive
positions.
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sensitive positions is still likely not
allowed in the absence of evidence of a
serious abuse problem at work.
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staff that are returning from a rehabili-
tation program. If so, this should be
clearly defined in writing in a return to
work agreement that is signed by the
employer, employee and the union if
applicable.
t &NQMPZFSTNBZXBOUUPDPOTJEFSVTing a computer program to randomly
choose individuals for testing to ensure
the process is unbiased.
Policies should be
developed with
careful thought to
repercussions and
employer obligations.
Obviously the issues facing employers
in regards to drug and alcohol testing are
more complex than the general points
outlined here. The laws surrounding this
topic in Alberta and in Canada are still
very much under development and will
continue to be formed by legal cases well
into the future. If you are considering
the implementation of such a policy, or
even if you have a general one in place
now, it is important to contact a lawyer
for a professional opinion. As a company,
you should be prepared for how you will
handle the situation when it occurs and
ensure that it is followed consistently
and fairly. Policies should be developed
with careful thought to repercussions
and employer obligations. They should
also be flexible enough to deal with
each unique situation based on its own
merits. Although there are some notable
issues to overcome when developing and
implementing a testing policy employers
continue to push forward in a desire to
create an effective and safe work environment for their staff.
Carrie Desjarlais
Past Chair, Safety Committee
discipline
Findings and Order of the
Discipline Committee
Dated December 13, 2007
In the matter of the Land Surveyors Act (RSA 2000, Chapter L-3) and in the matter of a
hearing of the Discipline committee of the Alberta Land Surveyors Association concerning the
conduct of and Alberta Land Surveyor held in Edmonton on December 13, 2007. The Discipline Committee hereby makes the following findings and order in respect of a complaint by an
Alberta Land Surveyor dated May 4, 2007.
Allegation
That subsequent to the registration of
Subdivision Plan, [practitioner] or persons
authorized by [practitioner]moved certain
survey monuments that were placed and
intended to govern the boundaries as
registered by the above plan without fully
considering the requirements of Section
45(4) of the Surveys Act and Section 91
of the Land Titles Act.
Findings of Fact
1) [Practitioner] was registered as an
Alberta Land Surveyor. At all times
referred to in these findings he
was registered as an Alberta Land
Surveyor in good standing with the
Alberta Land Surveyors Association.
2) [Practitioner] is registered in good
standings with the Alberta Land
Surveyors’ Association and has a valid
permit to practice.
3) [Practitioner] commenced a subdivision on Lot 6, Block 20, Plan 962
0709 in early 2006.
4) The onsite survey for the subdivision
was completed on or about May 4,
2006.
5) The subdivision received numerous
revisions between the completion of
the initial survey and June 1, 2006.
6) The subdivision plan was registered
on September 11, 2006. Registered
concurrently was a right-of-way plan.
The subdivision plan was not registered under Section 47 of the Surveys
Act which allows for delayed posting.
7) Subsequent to the initial survey
carried out before the numerous revisions, no field notes were recorded
showing the shifting of the survey
monuments to reflect the final lot
orientation as registered.
8) [Complainant] on April 2 and 3,
2007 attended the site and attempted
to perform construction surveys to
facilitate the construction of two new
homes. He discovered that the survey
monuments defining the easterly
limit of the properties he was surveying appeared to disagree with the
registered survey plan by one metre
(1.0).
9) [Complainant] notified his client of
the potential problem but at no time
did he inform [practitioner] of the
problem.
10) [Complainant’s] client contacted
[practitioner] and informed him of
the problem.
11) [Practitioner] dispatched a field crew
on April 5, 2007 and, according to
the field notes recorded by the crew,
they pulled 7 (seven) monuments
which had not been placed according to the dimensions on the plan
and in turn they placed 7 (seven)
monuments at the correct position as
shown on the plan.
12) A complaint by was sent to the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association on
May 4, 2007.
13) The complaint was referred to the
Chairman of the Discipline Committee for an investigation on May 10,
2007 who in turn on June 4, 2007
referred the complaint to the Vice
Chairman of the committee due to a
conflict.
14) The Vice Chairman of the Discipline
Committee referred the matter to
the Discipline Committee for the carrying out of a hearing on October 9,
2007 after carrying out his investigation.
15) [Practitioner] is of the opinion that
since the plan showing the monu-
ments in the position that they were
in was never registered, the monuments could be moved to where the
plan that was registered intended
them to be.
16) [Practitioner] throughout this whole
process was extremely cooperative
and responsive.
17) [Practitioner] upon moving the
survey monuments informed the land
owners and the municipality of the
changes he had made to the monuments and all involved were okay
with the changes.
18) Due to the ongoing complaint,
[Practitioner] continued to record the
changes he had made to the monuments. On November 17, 2007,
corrections on the original plans were
registered at Land Titles. The Director of Surveys in a letter of November
30, 2007 feels that the goal of giving
the new monuments governing status
has not been met.
Findings of the Hearing
1) The Discipline Committee finds that
[Practitioner] is guilty of unskilled practice for moving survey monuments which
had been place in the ground to govern
the position of boundaries as registered on
his plan of survey.
Reasons
1) [Practitioner] admits that he and his
staff moved the survey monuments
defining the boundaries. The Committee believes this solution to the
problem is not allowed under existing
legislation.
2) Only after the complaint had been
filed did [Practitioner] seek some
advice as to the method to resolve
this problem.
3) [Practitioner] in the route that he
is proceeding to record the changes
that he has made to the position of
the survey monuments has failed to
record anywhere the removal of the
original monuments that were placed
at the time of plan registration.
In consideration of these findings, the
Discipline Committee hereby orders that
1) [Practitioner] to pay 50% of the costs
of this hearing up to a maximum of
$4,000.00. The full amount to be
paid by March 31, 2008.
2) That this order be published in ALS
News anonymously so that other
members can be informed of the
seriousness of moving survey monuments without taking the necessary
steps to record those changes on the
registered plans.
The Committee further recommends
that [Practitioner] and his legal council
continue to review the actions attempting to give official status to these monuments as placed. Maybe they reconsider
the Judge’s Order confirming the actions
taken. Possibly there is another route such
as performing a different plan correction
on the original plan of survey or registering another subdivision plan.
Lawrence M. Pals, ALS
Vice Chairman, Discipline Committee
Cast Your Ballot on
Election Day
9:00 a.m.
April 26, 2008
Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise
For President.......................
R.O. (Ron) Hall—Calgary
For Vice-President........................
D.R. (Don) George—Edmonton
T.W. (Terry) Hudema—Calgary
For Council............................................................................................
J. (John) Haggerty—Grande Prairie J.J. (John) Matthyssen—Calgary
J. I. (Jim)Maidment—Calgary
C.R. (Connie) Petersen—Medicine Hat
Additional nominations may be made by two Alberta Land Surveyors, with the consent of the
nominees in each case, up to and including at the Annual General Meeting being held between
the dates of April 26th to 28th, 2007 at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.
Cypress Stake & Lath
1/2 Page - Repeat
alberta sustainable resource development
The Surveys and Technical Services
Section of Alberta Sustainable Resource
Development is working to improve
and update its services to you and all
Albertans.
incorporate the concepts from the Supplement to the Manual of
Instruction for the Survey of Canada Lands (Blue Book) as much
as possible while dealing with the unique problems concerning
these townships. Field observations confirm the distance between
township corners along the baseline is approximately 490.8
chains and not 486 chains as shown on the township plans.
Director Of Surveys Approves and
Confirms Official Surveys
In May of 2007, the Department of Sustainable Resource Development rolled out its new look and feel website. The new address
for the Director of Surveys Office is http://www.srd.alberta.ca/
lands/directorsurveys/default.aspx. By scrolling down the tabs on
the left hand side, users can access a multitude of useful information related to Land Surveys and Geodetic Control in Alberta.
Since January 1, 2007, the Director of Surveys, Mike Michaud,
has approved and confirmed four official plans in accordance with
Section 33 of the Surveys Act. The first plan is registered at the
Land Titles Office as Plan Number 072-5374 and is an addition
to the Chipewyan Indian Reserve No. 201A. The second plan
is registered at the Land Titles Office as Plan Number 072-5376
and is an addition to Chipewyan Indian Reserve No. 201E. The
remaining two plans are second edition partial township subdivisions for 96-09-4 and 96-10-4 in the Fort MacKay area. Official
survey plans are available from the Service Alberta Land Titles
online Spatial Information System (SPIN 2) website at www.spin.
gov.ab.ca.
Townships 95 To 98, Range 4,
West 4th Meridian Policy
On October 10, 2007 the Director of Surveys Office prepared a
policy document for the theoretical projection of Townships 95
to 98, Range 4, West of the 4th Meridian. This document aims
to assist Surveys and Technical Services Section staff and Alberta
Land Surveyors in dealing with the theoretical projection of
the townships in a uniform consistent manner. The intent is to
New Director Of Surveys Web Address
Altitudes In Alberta Publications Available
In November of 2007, the Director of Surveys Office made
the two publications Altitudes in Alberta South of 15th Baseline
and Altitudes in Alberta North of 15th Baseline available on the
Director of Surveys website. These two books provide elevation
information (in feet above sea level) of topographical features in
the southern and northern portions of Alberta as published by the
Department of Mines and Natural Resources, Canada in 1947.
See the website for further information.
Derek Loowell Joins The Director Of Surveys Office
On January 14, 2008, Mr. Derek Loowell joined the section as
a senior technologist. Derek has worked in the survey profession
for several years and his private sector experience will be an asset.
Welcome Derek!
Mike Michaud, ALS — Director of Surveys
Jardine Lloyd Thompson
1/2 page Repeat
E
xecutive Summary
Despite comprising a significant
part of the service economy in
Canada, perhaps as much as one
fifth, the professions comprise one of the
overall economy’s least productive sectors.
According to the Conference Board of
Canada, professional services rate in the
bottom quintile for productivity per hours
worked. In addition, labour productivity
in the professions in Canada is approximately half that of the professions in the
United States. At the same time, the
professions are one of the most regulated
sectors of the Canadian economy, and the
regulation in place in the professions is
more restrictive in Canada than in many
member nations of the Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development .
Given a considerable body of evidence
that shows that reducing regulation improves competition and, as a result, productivity, it is reasonable to ask whether
and how professional services could be less
regulated in Canada. The Competition
Bureau is ideally placed to answer this
question, since one of its primary responsibilities is advocating for competition in
Canada. On several occasions, the Bureau
has advised Canadian regulatory bodies on how to improve their approach to
regulation to realize the benefits of competition. The Bureau also has considerable
experience investigating anti-competitive
behaviour in the professional services sector.
The five groups of professionals—
accountants, lawyers, optometrists,
pharmacists and real estate agents—the
Bureau chose for this study of the selfregulated professions in Canada are vital
to the Canadian economy and are of
great importance to Canadians in their
daily lives. Access to advanced, innovative
and competitive professional services is
essential for individual Canadians as well
as businesses. These professions affect the
cost of many other services as well as most
goods, including the most basic consumer
goods.
These professions are also self-regulated,
meaning that they have been given some
powers that normally only governments
hold. The organizations given self-regulating powers may therefore put in place
restrictions that have the force of law. At
the same time, these organizations have
Self-regulated
Professions
balancing
competition
and
regulation
Competition Bureau of Canada
The Bureau does, however, advocate that to
be effective, regulatory decisions must be fully
informed, keeping in mind the many direct and
indirect impacts they may have on consumers
through reduced competition.
potentially conflicting concerns and interests—their own and those of the public.
This is all the more reason to ensure that
competition, from which both professionals and consumers benefit, is protected.
The Bureau selected these particular
groups of professionals based on their
volume of commerce as well as on the volume of complaints about anti-competitive
behaviour in these professions it received,
both from the public and from within the
professions themselves, which gave it good
reason to believe that existing regulation
might be restricting competition excessively. However, the Bureau’s findings are
transferable to other professions, since it is
reasonable to expect the type of regulation
found in these professions generally exists
in others.
Competition and Regulation
Competition is generally the best means
of ensuring that consumers have access to
the broadest range of services at the most
competitive prices and that producers
have the maximum incentive to reduce
their costs as much as possible and meet
consumer demand. However, professional
services markets are characterized by
particular qualities that can justify some
form of regulation to protect consumers
and ensure service quality. At the same
time, there are compelling economic arguments that regulation can have the effect
The Bureau is of the view that there is a risk that
the Council’s accreditation policies are formed
and evolve based on conditions of supply and
demand in the US and do not necessarily reflect
conditions in Canada.
of severely limiting competition, thus
preventing consumers from benefiting
from the many advantages of a competitive environment.
The Competition Bureau does not argue blindly for competition at the expense
of all other policy objectives, since there
may be legitimate public interests other
than the efficient allocation of resources at
issue. The Bureau does, however, advocate
that to be effective, regulatory decisions
must be fully informed, keeping in mind
the many direct and indirect impacts they
may have on consumers through reduced
competition. Regulation that is excessive
or restricts competition more than an
equally effective alternative comes at great
cost and should be removed or modified.
This is an important message for all
professions. Regulators—comprising
provincial and territorial governments,
and self-regulating organizations—must
evaluate regulatory decisions through
a balanced, evidence-based assessment,
taking into account the numerous channels through which regulation can be
beneficial or harmful to consumers of
professional services. To this end, the
governance structure of each profession
must ensure broad representation. It is the
Bureau’s hope that this study will increase
awareness of the competitive impact of
regulation in professional services and
motivate an expansive deliberation among
regulators of the effects—favourable and
not—of regulation.
Findings and
Recommendations
This study is the Bureau’s first effort to
identify potentially unnecessary and
anti-competitive restrictions that exist in a
representative group of self-regulated professions and that may well be present in
other professions. (The specific examples
below are just that, examples to illustrate
the Bureau’s findings. Chapters 3–7
contain all the recommendations.) The
Bureau’s recommendations are not based
on findings of wrongdoing; rather, they
reflect opportunities the Bureau believes
regulators should seize.
Restrictions on
Entering the Profession
Most professions maintain substantial entry qualifications, coupled with continuing education requirements. The Bureau
found that these qualifications are, in
some instances, noticeably uneven across
the country.
In general, the Bureau supports the
need for entry requirements to assure
quality in the provision of professional
services. However, any proposed increase
to required entry qualifications should be
justified as being the minimum that will
reasonably ensure consumer protection.
Furthermore, jurisdictions that maintain
higher standards than others should look
to the outcomes of less regulated jurisdictions when defining the minimum necessary level of qualification.
The Bureau was interested to find that
the authority to accredit all Doctor of
Optometry programs in Canada and the
United States rests with the US-based
Accreditation Council on Optometric
Education, which almost entirely comprises members of the American Optometric Association. The Bureau is of the
view that there is a risk that the Council’s
accreditation policies are formed and
evolve based on conditions of supply and
demand in the US and do not necessarily reflect conditions in Canada. As a
result, provincial and territorial colleges of
optometry should consider ways to ensure
that the Council takes conditions of supply and demand in Canada into account
when developing accreditation policies.
The Bureau also reviewed empirical studies on the effect of market entry
restrictions on the price and quality of
professional services. Generally, the studies found that the incomes of members of
professions with restrictions on entry are
higher than the incomes of comparable
professionals who do not face restrictions.
The effect on quality is unclear.
Restrictions on Mobility
Generally, the professions are moving in
the right direction with respect to interprovincial and international mobility. In
each profession, the majority of provinces
have signed a mutual recognition agreement to remove unnecessary barriers to
mobility of qualified professionals and
to establish the conditions under which
professionals registered or licensed in one
jurisdiction may have their qualifications
recognized in another. Further work can
be done to get all Canadian jurisdictions
on board and to develop strong disputehandling mechanisms and consistent
implementation of these agreements.
Most professions use various mechanisms to assess the qualification of foreign
professionals wishing to have their credentials recognized in Canada. Many of these
mechanisms take the form of national
organizations that assess basic educational
or professional qualifications on behalf
of the provinces and territories. However, the pharmacy profession in Canada
does not use any of these mechanisms,
relying instead on each province to set
its own evaluation and entry criteria and
assessment process. Given that the roles
and responsibilities of pharmacists are essentially the same across the country, there
is no apparent reason for the variation in
the admission requirements for foreigntrained pharmacists. When the requirements are higher than necessary, the cost
of entry can be needlessly high, resulting
in fewer foreign-trained professionals applying to become pharmacists in certain
provinces and territories.
Restrictions on
Overlapping Services and
Scope of Practice
The Bureau has identified a number of
instances in which professionals who
provide overlapping services are requesting
that their scope of practice be expanded
to include one or more activities currently
beyond their authorization. Regulators
should conduct a thorough assessment of
the overall effect of any proposed expansion. A full evaluation should take into
An examination of competition in the selfregulated professions is a legitimate exercise
at any time, since the right to self-regulate
brings with it the responsibility for regulators
to consider the greater good in all that they do,
including competition.
account both the potential costs, in terms
of public safety, and the potential benefits,
in terms of lower prices, increased choice
and enhanced consumer access to professional services.
For example, the Bureau learned that
members of some accounting designations
in some Canadian jurisdictions are not allowed to provide the full extent of public
accounting services. Such restrictions limit
the number of accountants who can offer
this important service and therefore limit
competition. The Bureau recommends
that regulators reconsider these restrictions
so that all accountants who are qualified
to provide public accounting services may
do so.
Restrictions on Advertising
The Bureau has identified numerous restrictions that appear to go beyond what is
necessary to protect consumers from false or
misleading advertising and, as a result, limit
consumers’ access to legitimate information
that greatly benefits competition. Among
these are restrictions that limit the use of
certain words and expressions and those that
limit the size of advertisements. The Bureau
is particularly concerned by restrictions on
comparative advertising. Such restrictions
obstruct competition between service providers and make it difficult for new entrants
to advertise any distinct features of the
services they offer, protecting incumbents
from the full forces of competition.
The Bureau found many such restrictions on lawyers in many Canadian
jurisdictions. Removing these restrictions
would go a long way toward bettering this
profession’s competitiveness. Moreover,
the Bureau recommends that the regulators in all professions review existing
restrictions on advertising and remove
those that go beyond prohibiting false or
misleading advertising.
The Bureau also reviewed empirical
studies on the effect of advertising restric-
tions on the price and quality of professional services. Generally, these studies
found that restrictions on advertising
increase the price of professional services,
increase professionals’ incomes and reduce
the entry of certain types of firms. The
effect on quality is small, except that the
restrictions may result in fewer consumers
using the service.
Restrictions on
Pricing and Compensation
Some regulators publish suggested fee
guides, which they claim to be non-binding. Fee guides that are purely voluntary
in nature, while unquestionably preferable to any mandatory directive, remain
a source of unease from a competition
perspective, since they risk facilitating
overt or tacit collusion. Given the negative
effect of collusion on consumer welfare,
the Bureau urges regulators to look to less
intrusive means than fee guides to provide
consumers with the information they
need about prices. In addition, regulators
should ensure that any maximum prices
they set are not functioning as fixed prices
in practice.
In the real estate industry, all provinces
and territories but Quebec restrict agents’
remuneration to either a fixed amount or
a percentage of the selling price. Ontario
goes even further and uses the phrase but
not both in its restriction, meaning that
real estate agents may not, for example,
ask for a fixed amount for their initial
work and then a percentage of a property’s
selling price. Such a restriction disallows
two-part fees, a type of pricing arrangement one would expect to arise in a competitive real estate market in which some
fixed level of work is generally required,
but anything beyond it is uncertain. This
approach prevents what would otherwise
be a perfectly acceptable compensation
arrangement that should spur competition among agents, since it maintains the
incentive for them to work to get a higher
selling price for their clients while ensuring that they will be fairly compensated
for the preparatory work they do.
Restrictions on
Business Structure
The Bureau is of the view that certain
restrictions on business structure, namely
restrictions on multidisciplinary practices
between complementary service providers,
have the potential to significantly reduce
the benefits of competition.
Lawyers and public accountants, for example, appear to be natural complements
to one another in terms of the services
they provide. By working together, they
would also be able to realize business efficiencies. However, the Bureau uncovered
some restrictions in some provinces that
prohibit or discourage members of these
professions from working together or with
other professionals in multidisciplinary
practices.
Professions justify restrictions on
multidisciplinary practices as preventing possible conflicts of interest, which
is a laudable goal. However, the Bureau
recommends that regulators consider less
intrusive mechanisms than an outright
prohibition on multidisciplinary practices to circumvent possible conflicts of
interest, such as requiring all participants
in collaborative relationships to adhere to
similar rules of conduct.
Conclusion
An examination of competition in the
self-regulated professions is a legitimate
exercise at any time, since the right to selfregulate brings with it the responsibility
for regulators to consider the greater good
in all that they do, including competition.
The professions in general, and those included here, currently face a situation that
is rich with opportunities to benefit from
increased competition. These benefits
will accrue not only to the professions
themselves but also, and perhaps more importantly, to Canada and Canadians. This
study is, as such, only a starting point.
There is ongoing work for regulators to
do. For the Competition Bureau’s part, it
plans to review in two years whether the
professions have addressed the recommendations this study presents.

education news
Dr. Mark Petovello, Assistant
Professor in the area of GNSS
The Department is pleased to announce
that Dr. Mark Petovello has accepted the
position of assistant professor in the area
of Global Navigation Satellite Systems
(GNSS) effective January 1, 2008.
Mark has Bachelor and PhD degrees
in Geomatics Engineering from the
University of Calgary. Prior to joining
the University of Calgary he was a senior
research engineer in the PLAN group at
the University of Calgary where he was
responsible for the execution of several
GNSS and GNSS/INS related research
projects.
His research has been primarily in the
areas of GNSS and its integration with
dead reckoning sensors such as INS. His
current activities focus on GNSS software
receiver development, including ultratight GNSS/INS integration.
Career Day 2008
Many thanks to all the Alberta Land
Surveyors involved in Career Day 2008 at
the University of Calgary. The annual Beef
& Bun reception the night before was also
a big success. The Beef & Bun reception
is jointly presented by the Alberta Land
Surveyors’ Association, the Association of
British Columbia Land Surveyors and the
Saskatchewan Land Surveyors’ Association.
Graduate Theses Online
t Enhanced Cellular Network Positioning
Using Space-Time Diversity, Ahmad
Reza Abdolhosseini Moghaddam
(M.Sc. thesis), December 2007, UCGE
Report 20262.
t Alternative Methodologies for the
Quality Control of LiDAR Systems,
Mohannad M. Al-Durgham (M.Sc.
thesis), September 2007, UCGE Report
20259.
t Sensor-based Animal Tracking, Andrew
Hunter (Ph.D. thesis), September
2007, UCGE Report 20258.
t Multipath Mitigation in TOA Estimation Based on AOA, Dingchen Lu
(Ph.D. thesis), Department of Electrical
and Computer Engineering, University
of Calgary, August 2007.
t Interference Effects on GPS L2C Signal
Acquisition and Tracking, Donghua Yao
(M.Sc. Thesis), August 2007, UCGE
Report 20257.
www.geomatics.ucalgary.ca/research/
publications/GradTheses.html
University of New Brunswick
GGE Students Participate
in a Google Sponsored Contest
During the winter and spring of 2007,
Google sponsored a contest for students
open to all universities across North
America. The objective was to use Google
SketchUp software to create a 3D reconstruction of their campus. Geodesy and
Geomatics Engineering at UNB answered
the call and a team of ten individuals
worked tirelessly to digitally reproduce
over sixty buildings on campus. The team
was led by Tristan Goulden and included
Alix d'Entremont, Ben Doherty, Burns
Foster, Chris Fox, Erin Grass, Harsil Jani,
Suresh Jeyaverasingam, Sarah Moore, and
Landon Urquhart. Although the team
narrowly missed a top finish, the product
that was produced is featured in Google's
3D warehouse at http://sketchup.google.
com/3dwarehouse/cldetails?mid=a53ab5
5e821c56c1fe2a5ce568a518ff&prevstar
t=0.
GGE Students Make a
Difference in Brazil
During the week of November 7th to the
15th, the Department hosted 13 visitors from Brazil. The visitors were here
under the auspices of a Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
project in Brazil, which is managed by
UNB. The overall goal of the project is to
improve the geomatics infrastructure in
Brazil and it has several important social
components, touching the lives of many
Brazilians.
The visitors included a group from the
Mangueira Women's Association. They
are working on acquiring a safe house for
health information, training, and daycare
for some of the poorest women in Rio
de Janeiro. There were also visitors from
Castainho, a Quilombolo community
(called a Quilombo) in Pernambuco, in
north-eastern Brazil. The Quilombolo are
descendants of slaves and their communities are similar to communities that existed in Nova Scotia up to the 1970s. The
Department is assisting them in mapping
their community boundaries so that they
will be able to gain title to their lands.
Over the course of the week, the visitors participated in workshops and then
visited First Nations communities and
black cultural groups in Nova Scotia. The
highlight of the trip was spending four
hours in a Tim Hortons in Amherst after
the bus broke down in a snowstorm. A
true Canadian experience!
Before the visitors arrived, it was
explained to the undergraduate students
that the people coming had probably
never experienced snow and would not
have the appropriate clothing. The students put out a call for clothing loans and
were able to outfit all of the visitors for
winter. The students went one step further
when they arranged a chili sale and raised
just over $400, which they put together
with a $200 donation from their society
- the Geomatics Undergraduate Engineering Student Society - for a total of $600.
They presented a cheque for $300 to the
Mangueira Women's Association and one
for $300 to Quilombo Castainho.
On November 30th, the students
received a message from Dr. Andrea
Carneiro, a professor at Universidade
Federal de Pernambuco, one the Brazilians involved in the CIDA project, telling
them about the donation to the Castainho
community and how they helped. The
community decided to buy an industrial
stove to put in their school. "Now the
children who are at school can receive
cooked food," said Dr. Carneiro. She also
reported that the symbolic cheque will be
kept on the wall in a frame to show the
community and its visitors the donation
made by Canadian students.
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legal notes
Application for declaration that plaintiffs
were owners of a small piece of property.
Plantiff T had owned her property since
1981. Plaintiffs’ driveway ran along the
western edge of their property from the
road back to the garage attached to the
right hand side of their house. It was there
when T bought the house and, other
than being paved, it had not changed
in location or configuration. Defendant
purchased the property to the west of
plaintiffs’ property in 1987. He had it
surveyed in 2005 and a stake was put in
the pavement of plaintiffs’ driveway to
denote the lot line. He constructed a fence
and tore up and removed the pavement to
the west of the new posts. The new fence
prevented access to approximately the
right hand quarter of plaintiffs’ driveway.
Plaintiffs claimed ownership of the disputed portion of land by reason of adverse
possession.
Real
Property
Adverse Possession
Plaintiffs were granted adverse
possession of a small piece of
property on defendant’s land.
HELD: Application granted. The small
parcel was on defendant’s side of the
boundary line. Defendant was aware
that plaintiffs were using this part of his
property and did nothing to take exception. To prove a prosessory title, plaintiffs
had to establish actual possession through
the statutory period; intention to exclude
the true owner from possession; and effective exclusion of the true owner. This was
not a case of mutual mistake. Plaintiffs
possessed the disputed parcel under a
mistaken belief it was theirs but defendant
knew the location of the true boundary,
that plaintiffs were using the property, and
did not object when they spent money
to improve it. A required intention to
exclude defendant from using the disputed land did not present an obstacle to
plaintiffs’ claim. They occupied and used
the disputed property from 1981 to 2005,
believing it was theirs. Their occupation
was open and notorious and with the
explicit knowledge of defendant.
Tucker v. Moffatt, [2007] O.J. No. 5060,
Ont. S.C.J., Glithero J., Dec. 27/07.
Digent No. 2736-020 (Approx. 6 pp.)
This article originally appeared in the
February 1, 2008 issue of The Lawyers Weekly
published by Lexisnexis Canada Inc.
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assmt notes
Are you burnt out? Are you tired all
the time? Do you hate going into
work? Maybe its time for a change.
Several years ago, right in the middle of Stampede week I got a new robotic
total station. With the assistance of two rodmen I was dragged into the 21st
Century of survey equipment.
“What a time to start new I
thought...I don’t have time
to learn new things.”
“What a time to start new I thought.”
“Here it is right in the middle of construction season and I don’t have time to
learn new things.” But the old instrument
was gone and we had to get the new one
operational really quickly.
Uploading all our data was easy because that process hadn’t changed. Then
came the setup. The faceplate has to be
on the instrument the first time. Everything is set up and then the instrument
is turned off and the faceplate is removed
and connected to the pogo stick. Turn on
the faceplate and everything is working so
far.
We are set up on a control and require
a back site. Off I go with the pogo and
faceplate. I get to the back site and I’ve
lost the radio link. “Oh great I really don’t
have time for this.” Back to the instrument I go and find that I have forgotten
to connect the antennae to the instrument. Up close the radio link was fine but
nothing worked at a distance. This was
one of the many little glitches that I had
to overcome in the next several weeks.
Then we started the layout. What a
miracle! After thirty years in surveying I
had an instrument that worked without
me standing behind it. I could walk away
and be right where the layout was to take
place. I could see what the area was like. I
could set the point. I could check for accuracy. I could instruct my rodman as to
what was needed. Now this was exciting
and the layout was so much faster than
before.
Several years earlier another surveyor
tried to show me the advantages of his
new robotic instrument and I had said I
was too busy. Wow what a mistake. With
my new robotics I love coming to work
and learning so many new things. This is
fun.
change
your “checking” procedures.
Everything has to be revised.
Control checks have to be accurate.
Layout has to be checked. Pickup data has
to be correct. Your checks have to satisfy
yourself and everybody else on a construction site.
Once you can accept the technology,
learning new programs and processes
is so much fun.
Cross-sections are easier since along
with the robotic total station we also received a 360 prism. The instrument when
turned to and locked onto this prism will
track you where ever you go so long as
you have inter-visibility. One man can
then work alone to cross-section an area
while the other crewman can do calculations or set up files. Data collection is so
much faster.
When doing as-builts you can be out
on the site and know exactly how the
pickup is done. Working together as a
crew you can be sure that everything is
picked up and you don’t get called back.
Of course, with your new equipment and layout capabilities, you have to
Most importantly for yourself is that
you have to learn to trust and accept the
technology. If you constantly fear that the
data being collected might be incorrect,
most likely something will be wrong.
Once you can accept the technology,
learning new programs and processes is so
much fun. I can comfortably do a right
angle offset layout and now I have taken
that one step further and can do offsets
from the offset.
Of course, now my comfort level has
stabilized. Maybe I’m ready for something
new. The new data collectors are coming.
We are getting more RTK GPS units all
the time or maybe I’ll just sit back and go
into retirement mode. Not likely!
Hugh Furber CST
history
This is the latest in a series of articles on the history of the ALSA and its
members. For more information, check out www.landsurveyinghistory.ab.ca.
1940-1942
difficult to believe
I
n 1939 the Second World War had
broken out, but unlike the earlier
unpleasantness of 1914-1918, it
did not result in any extensive
enlistment of Association members in the
armed forces. A majority of the members
were in any case beyond enlistment age,
nearly half still being members who had
first become registered in 1911. Only two,
Messrs. McCutcheon and Inkster, both
of whom joined the RCAF, saw active
service, while the rest remained on the
home front and did their best to cope
with the tremendous demands for survey
work which were generated principally by
war-time needs and military projects that
materialized in Alberta and more northern
areas, especially after the United States
entered the war.
Nevertheless, although the members
suddenly found themselves very busy, the
Association as a body remained almost as
inert during the first years of the war as
it had been during the Thirties. Nothing
of note happened in Association affairs
in 1940, except the presentation at the
Annual Meeting of a paper entitled “The
Coming of the Dominion Land Surveyor,” by Mr. J.N. Wallace, which was subsequently published in the April 1940 issue
of The Canadian Surveyor and contained
much interesting information and opinion
on the early development of the western
land survey system and the careers and
capabilities of several of the more promi-
...the rationing of gasoline and tires for civilian
use was instituted, which seriously hampered
the mobility of land surveyors...
nent surveyors who were associated with it
in its infancy.
In 1941, the rationing of gasoline and
tires for civilian use was instituted, which
seriously hampered the mobility of land
surveyors and, at the 1942 meeting, the
members of the Association were glad to
avail themselves of the good offices of the
Institute which interceded to some effect
with the authorities in Ottawa in that
connection.
In 1942, it had become evident that
the Red Army was not going to fold up
under Hitler’s onslaught and there was a
growing conviction that the war would
somehow be ultimately won, which gave
rise to thoughts about ways and means of
bringing veterans into the surveying profession as they returned to civil life. It was
recognized that many men in the armed
forces were getting training in survey technology and that this would attract some of
them towards subsequent careers as land
surveyors. It was felt that the Association
should prepare itself to offer them every
encouragement but, on the other hand,
there was some fear that after the war the
economy would sag as it had done after
the first war and that the prospective need
for many more surveyors at that time was
doubtful. As the president of the Association put it as the 1942 meeting: “The past
year has been more prosperous for the
members of our profession than for many
years previously. This activity arises largely
from the vast expenditures of public
funds occasioned by the war but, while
taking advantage of it, the prudent man
will reflect that such prosperity, founded
as it is upon the destruction of wealth,
cannot endure. A period of exhaustion
will certainly follow these years of unusual
exertion.
At the time, this seemed logical
enough, and the severity of the Depression during the Thirties had made it
difficult for many people to believe that
any noticeable prosperity could be long
sustained in peacetime. However, it was
obvious that the members of the Association were not getting any younger and
that the profession ought to have an infusion of new blood as soon as trained men
became available to enter it and, from that
time on, the education and recruitment
of new land surveyors became a matter of
primary concern to the Association.
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March - Alberta Land Surveyors` Association

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