INAC Recognized for Innovative Land Management Tool for Indigenous Peoples

OTTAWA, Esri Canada User Conference - October 12, 2017– Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) received today the Esri Canada’s Award of Excellence for their innovative approach in using geographic information system (GIS) technology. The INAC Geomatics Services group has been using a service-oriented architecture for many years and provides various critical geospatial services to the entire organization, such as geographic data, geographic analysis and mapping, geographic technology and geographic infrastructure. In partnership with the INAC Lands and Economic Development (LED) Sector, they have built a land use planning tool prototype with the objective of helping Indigenous communities sustainably manage their land and environment.

INAC’s Geomatics Services group built the online GIS application using Esri’s ArcGIS Online and Web AppBuilder for ArcGIS in 2016. The prototype was presented to selected communities in the spring of 2017. The tool allows users to visualize “open datasets” from the federal government, such as land tenure, treaty areas, infrastructure investment, transportation routes and ecologically sensitive areas, which are relevant to environmental and land use planning.

“Using ArcGIS Online allows Indigenous communities to dramatically improve the way they manage their land,” says Alex Miller, president, Esri Canada. “With easy access to up-to-date, comprehensive data and tools, they can make land use decisions better than ever before.”

“With the advances in GIS and cloud technologies, platform-as-a-service and open data, we now have the capabilities to quickly provide value-added services and leverage modern technology,” says Hélène Lachance, national manager of Geomatics Services at INAC.

The Land Use Planning tool displays open data from the Federal Geospatial Platform and other available web services. It can provide several benefits for Indigenous communities:

• Ease of access to authoritative, relevant mapped data
• Platform for sharing community collected data
• Enhanced decision-making for local environmental management and land use

Feedback from the communities participating in the pilot has been positive. There is a strong desire from the Indigenous communities to create and contribute their own data in the future. The communities are looking forward to accessing additional digital geographic data at a higher resolution such as the provincial land parcel fabric layer that supports land management activities, as well as training on how to use GIS to inform land use decisions.

Learn more about ArcGIS Online at: esri.ca/arcgisonline

About INAC
Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) is one of 34 federal government departments responsible for meeting the Government of Canada's obligations and commitments to First Nations, Inuit and Métis, and for fulfilling the federal government's constitutional responsibilities in the North. INAC supports Indigenous peoples (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) and northern peoples in their efforts to improve their social well-being and economic prosperity, develop healthier, more sustainable communities and participate more fully in Canada's political, social and economic development.

For more information about INAC, visit https://www.canada.ca/en/Indigenous-northern-affairs.html

About Esri Canada
Founded in 1984, Esri Canada provides enterprise geographic information system (GIS) solutions that empower businesses, governments and educational institutions to make timely, informed and mission-critical decisions by leveraging the power of geography. The company distributes the world's leading GIS software from Esri, Schneider Electric, Cityworks–Azteca Systems, LLC and other technology partners. Headquartered in Toronto, the company serves over 10,000 customers from 16 regional offices across Canada. Esri Canada joined the elite rank of Canada’s Best Managed companies in 2012 and became a Gold Standard winner in 2015. The company has also been named to the Branham300 and Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures. More information can be found at esri.ca. Follow Esri Canada on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.

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For media inquiries, please contact:
Esri Canada: press@esri.ca
INAC: PAU@aandc-aadnc.gc.ca, Phone: 819-953-1160