GIS-SIG STUDY GROUP OF THE CAG

	GIS-SIG STUDY GROUP OF THE CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF GEOGRAPHERS (CAG)

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The second annual GIS Power Lunch is a joint meeting among members of the CAG, Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives, Canadian Cartographic Association, and Congress of the Social Science and Humanities. It is hosted by the GIS-SIG Study Group of the CAG.

The Power Lunch will be held on the downtown, St. George's Campus of the University of Toronto. Sidney Smith Hall is located on Wilcocks St., between Huron and St. George.

Maps of the campus and Sidney Smith Hall can be found at http://www.osm.utoronto.ca/map/

If you haven't reserved already, reservations are requested by this Monday night.

Please email Renee Sieber, Sieber@geog.mcgill.ca.
The cost of lunch will be $15, due at the door.

The topic this year will be:

ACCESS TO GEOSPATIAL DATA: CAN IT HURT TO KNOW?

Canada has long struggled with the issue of public access to spatial data. On the one hand, arguments are made for its democratization--access to geo-spatial information allows the public to be more informed about their communities, understand the process of decision making and even provide an essential check on government activities when the public makes its own maps.

On the other hand, Canadian public data access is restricted because of Crown copyright law, which has produced an aggressive cost recovery structure. Add to that issues of data confidentiality and privacy and it's a wonder that any data is available at all.

September 11 called into further question the rights of Canadians to know about their communities, because information that could inform the public, for example, the location of public works and social services, could also be used by terrorists.

Therefore, we ask the question: can we be hurt by access to geospatial data? How do we balance the need for information with the desire for security? Selected speakers will talk about the issues and then we'll open the discussion for a broad exchange of views.

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