Comment by Alasdair McKay
.
One of the problems facing geo-oriented firms in N.S. is that there is no
industry organization which can maintain their interests.
At the time that I wrote this letter, both the president and the
vice-president of GANS ( the Geomatics Association of Nova
Scotia ) assured me that a submission to Industry Canada was
being made by GANS. There had been significant and lengthy discussion about
private-sector / public-sector competition during the summer of 1994 by
the Industry Committee of GANS. Many of the issues which were discussed
were about contracts of much greater value than the $70000 contract which
I had brought up, but my submission was much better documented than most
of the others under discussion and was considered a good example of what
the GANS industry committee wished to complain about. This assurance from
GANS was so emphatic
that, when I came across some additional material, I simply forwarded it
to Industry Canada and to GANS at the same time as an addendum. I was a
little surprised to hear from Industry Canada that they had not received
anything from GANS. I assumed that there had just been some secreterial
delay and forwarded most of the material directly to Ind. Can.
In early 1995, at the GANS AGM, discussion of this issue was
sidestepped, and I am somewhat unclear about the current thinking of GANS
on such topics. GANS is not specifically an industry organization and the
views of its industry committee do not necessarily carry weight with the
organization as a whole.
I had also approached the Atlantic Geoscience Society on
this point,
although, as a past president (1980 - 1982) of that society myself, I was
aware that it
has always considered itself to be purely an academic organization. I
received from AGS a reply in which it was stated that the executive
committee had determined that it would be inappropriate to involve the AGS
in the matter, but that, nevertheless, many of the executive committee
members had expressed considerable concern as individuals about the points
I had raised.
One of the problems facing geo-oriented firms in N.S. is that there is no
industry organization which can maintain their interests.
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