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February 6, 2018
Le 6 février 2018
Join PSC and Together Let’s
Make It Happen!
Join us! Build a national brand for surveyors – P.Surv and awareness of the Professional Surveyor, improve underground infrastructure safety, and standardize mapping for underground infrastructure. To hear the latest news, read the January Quarterly Report.

Your Professional Surveyors Canada membership in 2018 will support these important initiatives. 

Join here to become a member. Email us or call 1-800-241-7200 to check if you’re a member.

New PSC Directors

We would like to welcome three new Directors: Claude Levasseur and Daniel Roberge for Quebec, and James Dorland for Ontario. Please feel free to contact a Director directly or PSC staff with your comments and questions. Click here for a complete list of Directors and their email addresses.
Association News / Nouvelles des associations
ACLS Webinar: "Indian Land Registries"
Association of Canada Lands Surveyors
Webinar presenter, Brenda Power, is a Lands Registration Officer for Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Brenda will discuss the topic of Indian Land Registries in this Friday's webinar.

The webinar will show you how to maneuver within the Indian Land Registry, First Nation Land Registry and the Self Governing Land Registry, specifically on how to search for various registered instruments and parcels of land. The webinar will also include a brief overview of the Erip (Electronic Registration Index Plan) and explain how to produce various reports such as Parcel Abstract Reports.

The webinar takes place this Friday February 9, 2018 at 12:00-1:30 pm EST. The webinar is free of charge and will be made available on GeoEd. If you are interested in registering for this webinar,
In the Media / Dans les médias
You may remember the CBC Nova Scotia article where a "Nova Scotia family abandoned home after neighbour blocked road access". CBC | Nova Scotia July 8, 2016

Here's an update:

CBC Investigates | Settlement reached after man's lengthy fight over access to little dirt road
Mark White complained to the province when his neighbour blocked access to the public Little York Road
CBC News | Nova Scotia
A Nova Scotia man who abandoned his home on a stretch of dirt road in Colchester County after his neighbour restricted road access to his property has reached a settlement with the province.
"The province and [Mark] White have reached an agreement and both parties consider the matter resolved," a Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal spokesperson confirmed. "The terms of the agreement are confidential." Read more
Homeowners should always get neighbours’ permission before taking down boundary trees
Pay heed to the judge's ruling in this relevant case before removing a tree that grows on multiple properties, writes Bob Aaron.
The Star
Can a person be convicted of illegally removing a property-line tree when the City has issued a permit authorizing it?
That was the issue in an appeal decision of the Ontario Court of Justice this past November.
Mart Gross and Scott Scheuermann are neighbours on Fallingbrook Cres., in Toronto. A Norway maple tree was located on the property line between the two lots. Under the Forestry Act, it was a boundary tree, which is defined as a tree whose trunk is growing on the boundary between adjoining lands. Read more
Residents weigh in on Hillman and Morrill survey issues
Morrison County Record
Residents in Hillman and Morrill townships packed the St. Michael’s Church Hall in Buckman Tuesday, to hear about how their property lines may be inaccurate. Residents in five sections of land in the area were contacted by the county.
The problem began in the 1850s, when the land that would later become Morrison County was being surveyed, said David Meyers, a lawyer and professor from St. Cloud who specializes in these issues.
When the surveyors staked out the land, they placed eight markers in a section. Read more
When You Find Out Your Neighbors Own Your House and They Try to Evict You
Vice
When veteran Danny Shedd bought his house, he didn't actually buy his house, but some property to the north. Then his problems started. Read more
Creating Washington, D.C.
Morrisville and Buckingham share a linkage to the nation’s capital
The Intelligencer
I’ve always admired surveyors and the precise way they go about topography using specialized instruments. But an Arnold chronometer and a sextant like that used by a Buckingham native to lay out Washington, D.C., are of no use 110-feet below the surface in one of Florida’s subterranean rivers. Read more
Blockchain et finance: beaucoup de paroles, mais une révolution lointaine
La Presse
Dans l'univers des banques et de l'assurance, l'affaire semble entendue : la «blockchain», technologie derrière les monnaies virtuelles comme le bitcoin, va révolutionner le secteur. Mais, sous ce discours omniprésent, les applications concrètes restent lointaines et l'ampleur de cette rupture incertaine.
«La blockchain est (...) l'une des ruptures technologiques majeures en faveur de l'intérêt général», assurait fin janvier François Villeroy de Galhau, gouverneur de la Banque de France, lors du Fintech Forum, événement organisé à Paris en présence de nombreuses jeunes entreprises du secteur financier. Lire plus
Blockchain technology threatens the middleman in real estate transactions
The Globe and Mail
In Canada's commercial real estate market, there are countless extra fees and processes involved in purchases that go beyond the price of the property. But blockchain technology could hold the key to cutting down some of those costs by reducing the intermediaries.
Blockchain is essentially an online ledger that manages recorded transactions. What makes it innovative is that the ledger is distributed, meaning anyone connected to the network has a copy of it. The implications of this in commercial real estate are numerous, from purchasing to leasing to management. Read more
Importante cyberattaque sur la cryptomonnaie au Japon
Le Devoir
Tokyo — Le régulateur financier japonais a annoncé lundi qu'il passerait en revue si nécessaire toutes les plateformes d'échange de cryptomonnaies et a ordonné à Coincheck de prendre des mesures après l'un des plus importants vols jamais perpétrés sur ce marché.
La Financial Services Agency (FSA) a exigé que Coincheck, plateforme basée à Tokyo, améliore son fonctionnement après qu'elle eut suspendu vendredi ses transactions sur toutes les cryptomonnaies, bitcoins exceptés, à l'issue d'une cyberattaque. Coincheck a annoncé dimanche qu'elle allait rembourser à ses clients près de 90 % des 58 milliards de yens (650 millions de dollars canadiens) des pièces de cryptomonnaie NEM qui se sont volatilisés. Lire plus
Hacked Japanese cryptocurrency exchange to repay owners $425 million
CNBC
Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck said on Sunday it would return about 46.3 billion yen ($425 million) of the virtual money it lost to hackers two days ago in one of the biggest-ever thefts of digital money.
That amounts to nearly 90 percent of the 58 billion yen worth of NEM coins the company lost in an attack that forced it to suspend on Friday withdrawals of all cryptocurrencies except bitcoin. Read more
Mi’kmaq, PEI property rights dispute heads to court
The Globe and Mail
A long-simmering property rights dispute between Mi'kmaq people on Prince Edward Island and the provincial government that has landmark potential will be aired in a PEI court this week. Read more
Discovery on Grizzly Peak
The American Surveyor
When First Lieutenant Montgomery M. Macomb arrived in Carson City, Nevada, from Washington D.C., on July 28, 1878, his assigned survey crew from the 4th Artillery was waiting and ready for the new field season. At age 25, Macomb was the leader of Party No. 2 of the California Section of George M. Wheeler's Geographical Surveys West of the 100th Meridian.
....
The note left on Grizzly Peak by Macomb and Callahan somehow remained hidden in the rock cairn for the next 77 years, unnoticed by countless hikers until September of 1955. Nine-year-old Ronnie McClintock of Sonora was excited when his father, Robert McClintock, announced that the family would make an outing to the mountains. Read more
Intelligence artificielle: la pénurie d'experts freine les entreprises
MaPresse
Alors que l'intelligence artificielle (IA) fait fureur et que Montréal s'impose comme un pôle mondial, les entreprises québécoises sont à peine 23 % à vouloir investir dans ce domaine. Au banc des accusés : la pénurie d'experts dans ce domaine, selon le portrait annuel qui sera publié ce matin par la firme NOVIPRO. Explications.
88 %
Pourcentage des entreprises canadiennes de 100 employés et plus qui comptent faire des investissements technologiques importants dans les deux prochaines années. C'est ce que constate le portrait 2017 NOVIPRO basé sur un sondage Léger, effectué auprès de 476 répondants sélectionnés. Une entreprise sur deux prévoit investir dans des solutions d'infrastructures et 43 %, dans des solutions d'affaires. L'intelligence artificielle arrive au dernier rang avec 23 %. Lire plus
Virginia Association of Surveyors searching for young professionals
VHSV3
A surveyor is necessary any time someone plans new construction — it's been one of the most necessary careers for development in America since the nation's founding.
But, in 2018, the average age for surveyors is 58-years-old.
The Virginia Association of Surveyors (VAS) is looking for ways to bring that number down by appealing to young people. They are working on a strong initiative for workforce development by reaching out to high school students, and even middle school students, to tell them about surveying, according to VAS incoming President, Kevin Shreiner. Read more
International News / Informations internationales
Paperless property: Land Registry moves towards digital deeds
BuyAssociation, UK Housing Market
Paper deeds could become a thing of the past after the government has approved a change in legislation to allow the Land Registry to offer fully digital conveyancing in property transactions across the UK.
From 6 April this year, existing rules will be adapted enabling the modernisation of the current land registration system – with changes being made to Land Registration Rules 2003, Land Registration (Electronic Conveyancing) Rules 2008 and the Land Registration (Proper Office) Order 2013. Read more
UK Government Announces New Geospatial Commission
Geomatics World
In his budget on 22 November, the Chancellor announced a new Geospatial Commission which is committed "to maximise the value of all UK government data linked to location, and to create jobs and growth in a modern economy."
The Commission will work with government and the Ordnance Survey (OS) to work out how Mastermap can be made freely available, particularly to small businesses. Read more
Selling property can end up being a risky business – for the seller
CPH Post Online
Under Danish law, anyone selling a house is responsible for any damage or deficiencies that might come to light for up to 10 years after the sale.
However, this potentially costly timebomb is usually mitigated by a special insurance policy, ejerskifteforsikringen, which the seller takes out based on a survey that he has an expert conduct before the sale. Read more
Tech News / Nouvelles techno
Laser mapping uncovers dozens of ancient Mayan cities
CNN Style
Advanced laser mapping has revealed more than 60,000 ancient Mayan structures beneath the jungles of northern Guatemala.
Set across dozens of hidden cities, the discoveries include houses, palaces and a 90-foot-tall pyramid that was previously thought to be a hill.
Made possible through special laser-equipped airplanes that can "see" through dense jungle, the groundbreaking research suggests that Mayan metropolises were far larger and more complex than previously thought. Read more
Upcoming Events / Prochaines activités

GITA Phoenix 2018
GITA Phoenix Conference
March 5-6, 2018
CGA 811 Excavation Safety Conference & Expo
March 6-8, 2018
Phoenix, AZ

2018 Joint Canadian Hydrographic and National Surveyors’ Conference
2018 Conférence conjointe des hydrographes et des arpenteurs nationaux du Canada
Land and Sea Shaping the World
Terre et Mer Façonnant le Monde
March 26-29, 2018
Victoria, BC

LandPRO Conference 2018
Wednesday March 28, 2018
Paramount Conference Centre
222 Rowntree Dairy Road
Woodbridge, Ontario


UESI Pipelines 2018 Conference
July 15-18, 2018
Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel
Toronto, ON

Advertise with PSC /
Annoncez par l’entremise GPC
Please contact Ria van der Veen, Executive Assistant for information.

Pour de plus amples renseignements, veuillez communiquer avec Ria van der Veen, Adjointe exécutive.