CGPC will be led by Ed Kennedy, Managing Director, and Randy Gillespie, Deputy Director. Mr. Kennedy is the former President of the Geomatics Industry Association of Canada and Mr. Gillespie is the Vice President of the Canadian Centre for Marine Communications.

CGPC will capitalize on the breadth and depth of geomatics expertise in Canada to tailor solutions for clients. These solutions will involve Canadian geomatics companies working with partners from academia, government, foreign countries and the local areas in which projects are proposed.

According to Ed Kennedy, Managing Director, “CGPC’s operational costs will be recovered from successful projects. Start-up financing comes from industry, and CGPC is also pleased to have GeoConnections, the national partnership initiative led by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), as its first public-sector funding partner.” Negotiations are underway with several other potential public-sector partners as well.

“Canadian geomatics expertise and technologies are helping us make effective decisions about our health, safety, environmental issues and natural resources,” said the Honourable Herb Dhaliwal, Minister of Natural Resources Canada. “The Government of Canada is proud to support the Canadian GeoProject Centre, through GeoConnections, as it will help Canadian geomatics firms position Canada as a world leader in innovation and learning, and as a magnet for talent and investment.”

How will Canada's geomatics industry benefit? “CGPC will open international business-development doors that individual companies would have difficulty opening alone,” said Randy Gillespie, Deputy Director. “In this regard, the CGPC complements, not replaces, the international marketing efforts of Canadian geomatics firms.”

A one-stop Canadian solution, CGPC will focus on opportunities in early stages of development. Using available Canadian export development programs such as the Canadian International Development Agency Industrial Cooperation Program (CIDA-INC) and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Program for Export Market Development (PEMD), CGPC will involve Canadian consultants in defining projects.

Once a project is well defined and financed, CGPC will form teams to undertake the projects. Preference will go to members of the Geomatics Industry Association of Canada and the Canadian Centre for Marine Communications, but

CGPC is foremost concerned with ensuring that proposed solutions meet client requirements. By pooling Canada's expertise and hand-picking the organizations whose capabilities best match client needs, CGPC will improve Canada's ability to compete for large-scale international projects.

Foreign clients, on the other hand, will benefit from access to resources, expertise, and sources of financing through a one-stop Canadian solution. By tailoring solutions to complex international projects, the CGPC will help make Canada a world-leading exporter of geospatial information products, services, and expertise.

GeoConnections is a national partnership initiative led by NRCan to provide Canadians with access to geographical information, tools and services on the Internet (www.geoconnections.org). Partners include provincial and territorial governments, the private-sector