Ryan Ahola, Geospatial Expert, 
Natural Resources Canada

Peter Rabley, CEO, Open Geospatial Consortium

Towards a Collaborative National Geospatial Strategy Panel

Following on a series of virtual round tables and online engagements hosted by CCMEO and the Canadian Council on Geomatics (CCOG) from February-April 2025 on SDI modernization, this panel will respond to some of the highlights and priorities raised by partners and stakeholders on the core elements of a collaborative geospatial strategy for Canada. Panelists will be asked to respond to aspects of vision, top strategic priorities, quick wins, roles and critical success factors for strategy implementation in the current geo-political context, also considering best practices from other countries or regions that have successfully implemented collaborative geospatial strategies. Session participants will have the opportunity to engage in the discussion by responding to online questions and polls throughout the panel discussion, and participate in a Q&A/discussion session following the panel.   

Moderator 

Eric Loubier, Director General of Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation, Natural Resources Canada

Panelists

Dr. Tracey P. Lauriault, Associate Professor, Critical Media and Big Data, Carleton University 

James Serendip,  Environmental GIS Specialist, Kahnawà:ke Environment Protection Office, Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke 

Alex Miller, President and Founder, Esri Canada

Chris Hemmingway, Director, Marine Spatial Data Services and Licensing, Canadian Hydrographic Service 

GEO.ca Presentation: Enhancing Geospatial Discovery with OGC Standards

The GeoDiscovery team, part of the Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observations (CCMEO), has developed GEO.ca as a go-to source for authoritative open geospatial information for Canadians. The platform applies Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards—including Catalogue Services for the Web (CSW) and OGC API – Records—to enable seamless discovery and integration of data from federal, provincial, and territorial sources. The presentation will highlight how these standards are implemented within GEO.ca and across CCMEO, discuss the benefits and challenges encountered, and outline the use of public cloud infrastructure and cloud-native geospatial technologies. Key takeaways will include lessons learned and best practices to support similar digital modernization efforts in other organizations. (waiting for Bo’s confirmation)

BIM & GIS Convergence Panel

Building Information Modeling (BIM) and spatial data are increasingly converging to support the development of digital twins, immersive 3D visualization, and more intelligent infrastructure management. BIM provides detailed 3D models and structured project information, while spatial data captures the geographic context of objects and events. As data sources grow and digitization advances across industries, the integration of these two domains is unlocking new levels of efficiency and innovation in infrastructure planning, design, construction, and lifecycle management. This session will explore how recent advancements in spatial data infrastructure are creating new opportunities to leverage BIM in ways that were not feasible just a decade ago, offering both competitive advantage and long-term value for organizations embracing digital transformation.

Moderator:

Paul Churcher, Chief of Site Infrastructure Spatial Data Team - Infrastructure and Environment, Department of National Defence

Panelists:

Prashant Shukle, Board Chair, Open Geospatial Consortium

Andy Hoggarth, Vice President, CARIS at Teledyne Geospatial

Bradford Dean, GIS Manager, Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke

Dr Erik Poirier, Professor, École de technologie supérieure

Closing Remarks