CAssocoiationm of Canmada Landus Sunrveyoirs quVol. e9 No. 2 M.J. O’Sullivan retired on May 19, 2005 “Making a Difference” It is perhaps all that we should hope for, at the end of a career, to be able to look back and say: “I think that I have made a difference”. Michael Jefferies O’Sullivan was born in Toronto and after graduating from St. Michael’s college, found his way to Ottawa not only to work but also to raise a family. During his time in both the private and public sectors he has faced many of the ups and down faced by most land surveyors associated with land development or the bureaucracy of government. Mike’s professional career has been extraordinary. His career began in the late fifties and has spanned some 46 years. During that period he has seen some of the greatest technological advancements experienced by a profession. At the start of his career 300’ chains were used to measure distances, through the Sixties and Seventies came the first of the electronic measuring devices, followed in the eighties by the development of geographic information and global positioning systems. Later, Mike guided Legal Surveys Division of Natural Resources Canada through a review of all federal government programs and more recently this included a reorganization of the Earth Sciences Sector of NRCan from a capacity-driven organization to one that is more in line with the today’s government agenda. Mike talks fondly of those days of his 25 years in the private sector. He moved to Ottawa with Paul Winarski in the late Fifties, and by the mid sixties; he, along with George Annis, had their own firm and by the Seventy and Eighties Annis, O’Sullivan and Goltz and later Annis O’Sullivan Vollebekk was one of the largest survey firms in Ottawa. He continually demonstrated the importance of local knowledge: the region and practice, the history, the development market, the good surveyors and the bad surveyors and as with all things in the private sector the “bottom line”. Mike sold his interest in Annis O’Sullivan Vollebekk in 1988 and joined Legal Surveys Division in 1989 as the Assistant to Gerard Raymond the Surveyor General at the time. Mike’s career achievements in the civil service are many. To name just three: he navigated the Division through Program Review and oversaw its reorganization: he was the first to hold the duel role of Surveyor General of Canada Lands and International Boundary Commissioner; and finally he saw the creation of the Association of Canada Lands Surveyors for which he served as a Council member since 1999. Mike has been active in the affairs of the Association of Canada Lands Surveyors (ACLS). As Surveyor General he sat on the ACLS Council and provided guidance through the formative years of this association. Mike is also now almost a 40-year veteran of the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors. Continued on Page 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS M.J. O’Sullivan Retires 1 Executive Director’s Notes 10 President’s Message 2 Hydrographer Joins Order of Canada 11 Introduction to Electronic Signatures 4 FIG Working Week 2005 12 Summary of Council Meetings 5 FIG Congress 2010 14 AGM 2005 8 Amendments to the Bylaws 14 Letter to the Editor 9 New Board of Examiners a Reality 16 Videos for Sale 9 Practice Review Update 16 SEPTEMBER 2005 COMMUNIQUE – 1 President’s Message Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to serve our Association as President for 2005/2006. When I was initially asked to let my name stand for Council, I was a sole practitioner in the Okanagan Valley of B.C. Shortly after being elected to Council my firm was purchased by a larger company. I have recently taken a position as an instructor in the Geomatics Department at the B.C. Institute of Technology, which provides a different perspective on the geomatics sector. On Council this year we have seen the retirement of some senior members, Past President Carl Friesen, lay member Dale Scrivens, and Senior Councillor Paul Torrance and Michael O’Sullivan, Surveyor General. Carl brought valuable knowledge of the North that only a northern practitioner can provide and was a valuable representative with the CCLS. Dale has been on the ACLS Council since self-regulation in 1999 and has served diligently, even being an active member of our CPD Committee. Dale was made an ACLS honorary member at our AGM in P.E.I. Paul also has been a real workhorse for you while running his business as a sole practitioner in Elliott Lake, Ontario. Paul made it clear when he came onto Council that he was willing to serve 2 to 3 years. If you are asked to let your name stand for Council please be aware that there are no expectations to serve a 6 year “sentence”. Michael has also been on Council since self- regulation, in fact he appeared to testify before Parliament when our Act was read in the house. His retirement party in Ottawa was a great deal of fun and he was made an honorary life member of our Association at our AGM this year. Our longest serving Board of Examiner member, Tim Koepke was also awarded ACLS honorary life membership. Our new councilors, this year, include Varick Ollerhead of Yellowknife, and George Schlagintweit of Victoria. Varick has a private company and is well known in both private industry and government in the territories and brings the ACLS valuable northern representation. George is manager of quality control with the Canadian Hydrographic Service in Sidney B.C. He brings us much needed representation from the hydrographic community. Our recommended new lay member’s name has been submitted to the Minister of Natural Resources and we hope for confirmation shortly. We will be working with the Acting Surveyor General until the post is officially filled. The strategic plan has helped Council focus on the Association’s objectives, several of which are coming to fruition this year such as the consolidation of the Western Canadian Board of Examiners and the ACLS Board of Examiners, the representation of the ACLS on college and University Advisory/Liaison Committees, the marine cadastre initiative, and the certification of hydrographers. Thanks to Bruce Calderbank and his team, we expect to be publishing a new edition of Offshore Property Rights in Canada in the near future. Combining our Annual General Meeting with the Association of Prince Edward Island Land Surveyors was a great success in providing professional development, networking, business meetings, and as a cost savings for all attending associations. The 2006 Annual General Meeting will be held in Kelowna, B.C. in the heart of the Okanagan Valley, home to Canada’s finest wines, warmest lakes, best golf courses and sweetest fruit. Ian M. Lloyd, BCLS, CLS, P. Eng. President COMMUNIQUE – 2 SEPTEMBER 2005 Continued from Page 1 Mike has a passion for hunting and fishing. His enthusiasm for fishing is legendary. He does give life to the phrase: if you have to travel take along a rod you never know just when you will have the opportunity to stick a line in the water. It can safely be said that Mike has dropped a line in both oceans, a couple of seas, a bay or two, a great many lakes and innumerable rivers. Marilyn and he have enjoyed many winters day ice fishing from what is a very comfortable fully loaded ice-fishing hut on the Ottawa River. Mike is also the consummate sailor. He has been a member of the Britannia Yacht Club since the early sixties and has participated in all aspects of this sport. At Britannia, he has been on the Board of Governors, participated in race committees, judged match racing and is considered an authority on the rules. He is the proud owner of a C&C 27 named “Thumper”. Each Tuesday and Thursday nights and at every opportunity on the weekends there is another race to be won. When asked what he was going to do on the first day of his retirement he said that he was going to sleep in. However, on the second day, he was going to putter around on his boat. For a sailor there is nothing more enjoyable than spending a day puttering around on boats. Among Mike other talents is that he is a musician. He has been the organist of the Holy Cross Catholic Church for the last thirty years. Each Christmas or Easter when asked what he would be doing for the holidays he would say that he would be playing the organ at his church. There have been many business trips where he has hurried back so that he could play for the regular Sunday morning service. Mike has been married to Marilyn for thirty-five years and they have two children Patricia and David. Undoubtedly Mike should be able to look back and say that he has made a difference. Doug Culham CLS, OLS SEPTEMBER 2005 COMMUNIQUE – 3 Introduction to the Concept of Electronic Signatures Throughout the years, the surveyor’s profession has undergone significant change and surveyors have had to adapt to changing technology. Amongst other things, documents used to be handwritten; now various surveyors’ documents and plans are produced using digital technology. Nowadays, we can scarcely imagine exercising our profession without information technology. This technology was more efficient, but until recently, we could not use it to produce official documents because we could not sign the documents. Paper copies were therefore the only official versions of these documents.