Posted by
Bob Gibson on
May 27, 2006; 4:34pm
URL: http://civicaccess.416.s1.nabble.com/Time-Travel-Maps-tp641.html
A wonderful illustration of the progressive effects of data liberation!
Trouble is, without these demonstrations, the opposite (the retrograde
effect of restricting data access) is never brought to light. In the
eighties the Canadian government clamped restrictions on its GPS data
properties (it still restricts access) which had the same effect on the
Canadian information industry as did the cancellation of the Avro Arrow on
the aerospace industry and Canadian R&D in general. If the Canadian
government had had any foresight, we could have led the world in this field,
thanks to the headstart we had from the resource and forestry industries who
were pioneers in this area. As it turned out, US and UK firms took the lead,
because they could access government data easily. This story, which as far
as I know has never been told in print, deserves its own chapter in
"Collosal Canadian Failures."
I'd be interested in your thoughts on this, Marcel. Is my impression
correct? Is there any sense of missed opportunity in the Canadian GPS world
over this? Any attempt to correct the federal government's misguided
thinking?
Bob Gibson
[hidden email]