What’s special about Canada’s expertise in geomatics and what is its contribution to the world?
The word “geomatics” was coined during the 1980s by the Earth Sciences Sector of Natural Resources Canada. At the time, it was coined to describe the sector’s activities in an area best described as the point of convergence between geography and information technology. This facilitated the creation of a single entity by combining geography, geospatial information and information technology. Since then, Canada has been a world leader in a number of areas — from remote-sensing applications and mapping technologies to the development of industry both in terms of hardware and software, and in recent years, the creation of spatial data infrastructure.

I will use one area of geomatics to elaborate. Canada’s Centre for Remote Sensing was established in 1968. We are involved in many international technical assistance and technological co-operation activities with the developing world and emerging economies and have also worked on many initiatives with the Canadian Space Agency to promote the use of Radarsat. Canada is a world leader in geomatics technology and its applications.

What does the National Emergency Response System do and what is its current status?
The Emergency Response System is a framework by which the Government of Canada works in conjunction with the provinces and territories to remove duplication and overlaps when responding to emergencies. One can think of it as a clearing house where provincial or territorial government requests for assistance are received and channeled through to the individual departments where they’re addressed.

There is one minister responsible for responding to emergencies. This is the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PSEPC). It’s similar to what you do through your Ministry of Home Affairs, where you have a single ministry that is responsible and accountable for coordinating the activities of various departments in the central government.

What exactly does this PSEPC do in emergencies?
Like in India, as I understand it, the responsibility of first response lies with our provinces — the equivalent of your states — then is delegated down to municipalities and individuals. So, people on the ground are the first to respond. PSEPC has the responsibility to coordinate action within the federal government and anticipate issues and problems. PSEPC’s responsibilities go beyond natural disasters to issues of crime, terrorist activities and technological failures. It’s an “all-hazards approach” with a wide range of responsibilities. Again, focussing on natural disasters, PSEPC’s responsibility is to coordinate federal response and have the technological tools and information to respond in an effective and efficient manner.

Talking about disasters, since 9/11 has there been any shift in Canada’s emergency response? Can you elaborate on Canada’s initiatives in this respect post-9/11?
I actually would prefer to pass on that question because how you respond to emergencies depends very much on what you define as an emergency. Many of the emergencies that PSEPC or the Government of Canada has a responsibility for, are dealt with suitably, be it natural disasters or man-made disasters and that’s a very sensitive area for our country. Yes, things have changed since 9/11 as they have everywhere in the world. Even just checking into a hotel this year, as compared to last year, seems to have become more cumbersome because of the security restrictions. Same is the case in Canada.

What difference has this shift in perception made to Canada’s cooperation with other countries, particularly in matters relating to transfer of technology?
What I could comment on in terms of our relationships with other countries relates to the responsibilities of my department.
The way we now work with other countries in the area of earth sciences has become more focussed and is more directly aligned with the foreign-policy initiatives of the Government of Canada. Our proactive collaboration is focussed on just a few select countries, India being one of the most active with several ongoing projects. This change in focus is a result of the foreign-policy initiative rather than events post-9/11.
In practice, we are interested in a two-way sharing of the results of our research and technologies with our friends and allies. With respect to natural hazards, much remains to be understood on processes, intensities, frequencies, locations, etc. that would help us all to be better prepared for such events.