IN-PERSON OGC Canada FORUM
My Session Status
Join us for the OGC Canada Forum! We’ll dive into key topics like the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI) and how Building Information Modeling (BIM) integrates with Geographic Information Systems (GIS). This event gathers experts from industry, academia, Indigenous organizations, and government to explore these technologies' impact on Canada’s built environment. We'll also cover how OGC standards boost interoperability and innovation. All Canadian organizations and those operating in Canada are welcome, whether you're an OGC member or not.
Here’s a preliminary agenda of what to expect:
| Time | Presentation | Speaker |
| 1:00 - 1:15 PM | Welcome and Introduction | Ryan Ahola, Geospatial Expert, Peter Rabley, CEO, Open Geospatial Consortium |
| 1:15 - 2:30 PM | 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 |
| 2:30 – 3:00 PM | 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) | Bo Lu, Program Advisor, Natural Resources Canada |
| 3:00 – 4:15 PM | 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, Director, buildingSmart Canada Andy Hoggarth, Vice President, CARIS at Teledyne Geospatial Paul Churcher, Engineering Services Department of National Defence Dr. Farzad Jalaei, Research Officer- Digital Coonstruction Processes Lead, National Research Council Canada Dr. Erik Poirier, Professor, École de technologie supérieure |
| 4:15 – 4:20 PM | ISO TC 211 Mirror Committee Learn about how to become involved in the creation of ISO geospatial standards through the ISO TC 211 Mirror Committee | Graham Wilkes, Geography Activity Leader, Natural Resources Canada |
| 4:20 – 4:30 PM | Closing Remarks
| Ryan Ahola, Geospatial Expert, Natural Resources Canada |
For any questions or inquiries, please contact Rosie Chen, OGC Community Manager at rchen@ogc.org.
Who's Attending
