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ALS News • 1www.alsa.ab.caSeptember 2001

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

5 President’s Message 7 Councillor’s Forum 9 Editor’s Notes13 Letters to the Editor17 Association Notes21 37th ALSA Annual Golf Tournament24 Surveyors Honour a Pioneer in the Field27 Book Reviews29 SPR Director’s Message33 SPR Corner34 Alberta’s Oilpatch is Discovering

that ADR Can Work35 Alberta Sustainable Resource

Development Update36 Legal Notes37 Public Relations38 PDC Corner41 U of C News43 ASSMT Notes

ALALALALALSSSSSnewsnewsnewsnewsnewsSEPTEMBER 2001 VOL. 30-3

Editor Advertising and ProductionBrian E. Munday: [email protected] Sharon D. Stecyk: [email protected] dates for submission of material to ensure printing are as follows: February 15th, June 1st,September 1st, and December 1st. Opinions expressed by the editor or individual writers are notnecessarily endorsed by the Council of the Alberta Land Surveyors' Association. Original articlesmay be reprinted with due credit given to the source and with permission of individual writers orwhere no writer is indicated, with the permission of the Editor. ALS News is published by theAlberta Land Surveyors' Association for circulation to the Association Membership. Address allcorrespondence to:

Alberta Land Surveyors' Association2501, 10004 - 104 Avenue — Edmonton, Alberta T5J 0K1

Tel: 780-429-8805 or 1-800-665-2572Fax: 780-429-3374 [email protected] www.alsa.ab.ca

CANADA POST PUBLICATION #40051474

PresidentG.K. (Ken) Allred

Past PresidentL.M. (Larry) Pals

Vice PresidentD.R. (Dave) McWilliam

Secretary TreasurerM.E. (Monroe) Kinloch

RegistrarJ.E. (Jerry) Rasmuson

Executive DirectorB.E. (Brian) Munday

CouncillorsD.J. (David) HagenJ.G. (Jim) HallidayD.B. (Dave) HigginsD.J. (David) McArthurN.R. (Ross) WoolgarS.T. (Steve) Yanish

Public MembersE. (Ernie) Isley (Council)L.A. (Lawrence) Kluthe (Practice Review Board)

ON THECOVER

The cover is a photo of the PeterFidler statue at Elk Point which hasbeen manipulated by the watercoloreffect in Adobe Photoshop.

Keith Smith, Ashley Robertson,Erik Holmlund and Randy Hudson

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Capitalizing onThose HiddenAssets

Time flies, summer is almostover, and the Association office isback into the swing of another busyseason.

I’ve always said in my many visitsto survey meetings and conferencesaround the world that “if you sit inthe back row of a survey meetinganywhere in the world, shut your eyesand listen to the discussion, you’dswear that you were right at homebecause the issues are so similar.” Ihaven’t been disappointed in mytravels to provincial annual meetingsso far this year.

In Newfoundland, where very fewplans get registered in the provincialland registry and become of publicrecord, a unique proposal was putforward at their annual meeting. ANewfoundland Land Surveyor hasproposed that any and, hopefully, allNewfoundland surveyors wouldvoluntary provide their records(plans) to a private corporation thathe would set up to store, index anddistribute images of those plans for afee, either to other surveyors or thegeneral public. In exchange, eachsurveyor would receive a portion ofthe fee for each search and theAssociation of Newfoundland LandSurveyors would also receive aportion of the fee, with the remaindergoing to the private corporation. It isestimated that the project couldgenerate over a million dollars peryear. In this way, each historicalrecord would potentially producecontinuous revenue and provide aservice to the public. I would like tothink that the proposal has the poten-tial to provide the Province of New-foundland with a well-needed, com-prehensive cadastre which currentlyexists in an organized fashion in thefiles of many practising, retired anddeceased surveyors.

In the Province of Québec, agraphical database is in place, man-aged by a private survey corporationwhich shows the location of other-wise non-public surveys which havebeen conducted by other privatesurveyors. Again, the data is providedvoluntarily by participating members.The only information available on thedatabase is the graphical location, thetype of survey, (stakeout, locationcertificate, topographic, and so on)and the year of the survey. If peoplewant further information, they cansend an e-mail to the surveyor whoconducted the survey (although thesurveyor remains anonymous), andthe surveyor can then determine if heor she wants to do business with thatperson. If, for instance, the originalsurvey was a confidential matter, orwas subject to legal proceedings, thesurveyor may not be in a position todisclose the details and would remainanonymous. (The website iswww.urbic.qc.ca but was still underconstruction when I last checked.)

These two instances reminded meof the RPR Index System that ourown Association is setting up toadvise the public of the availability ofreal property reports. Although ourown system is designed with aslightly different purpose in mind andwith different criteria, all threesystems are voluntary and have theeffect of adding value to professionalservices that have been performed inthe past. Over time, I expect that wewill all learn the advantages anddisadvantages of the respective

provinces’ proposals and perhaps wewill revise and expand our respectivesystems. Surveyors have always helda wealth of information in their filesbut have not had a ready means tomake the public aware of that fact.We now have innovative new tech-nology that will permit us to capital-ize on our hidden assets and providevalue- added services to an expandingclientele.

These are real projectswhich are expanding thesurveying profession aswell as capitalizing on ourhidden assets.

We also must reflect on the projectthat Alberta-based AltaLIS Ltd., inconjunction with Spatial Data Ware-house, is engaged in to providecadastral and title mapping to bothpublic and private organizations. Thisproject is obviously much larger thanthose being proposed in other prov-inces but every project must startfrom a seed somewhere. These arereal projects which are expanding thesurveying profession as well ascapitalizing on our hidden assets.

If you sit in the back row of asurvey meeting anywhere inthe world, shut your eyes andlisten to the discussion, you’dswear that you were right athome because the issues areso similar.

notesby Ken Allred, ALSpresident’spresident’spresident’spresident’spresident’smessage


Leica(repeat)


I would like to add to DaveMcWilliam’s column in the June2001 issue of ALS News.

I also have concerns with theManual of Standard Practice (MSP).The MSP has evolved from a collec-tion of a few simple motherhoodstatements through to the Manual ofGood Practice and then to its presentform as a manual to be deviated fromat one’s peril.

The Manual of Good Practice wasinitially prepared as a guide forarticling students and new AlbertaLand Surveyors.

It was intended to assist them ingaining an understanding of theprocess of carrying out legal surveysfor registration at Land Titles.

With each re-write of the LandSurveyors Act, the Surveys Act andthe regulation under the Surveys Act,we have continually dropped keypieces of information or instructionsrelating to the re-establishment orrestoration of survey evidence.

This “history,” as I call it, is key inunderstanding the process of howevidence was placed under previousacts or regulations. When a surveyoris required to re-establish the positionof a monument placed in the originalsurvey, the surveyor shall do so fromthe best available evidence and in amanner that carries out the evidentintention of the original surveyor.How can surveyors follow the inten-tion of the original surveyor when re-establishing monuments placed underprevious acts or regulations, if theyhave no understanding of the processof how the monument was placed tobegin with?

I am quite often asked by articlingstudents how I know to follow acertain procedure when restoring orre-establishing evidence. All I can sayis that it is in the history of older actsor regulations. This history has notbeen brought forward in re-writes ofnew acts and regulations or theManual of Standard Practice. It onlyexists in the memory of senior sur-veyors.

How can a surveyor follow theintention of the original surveyorwhen re-establishing monumentsplaced under previous acts orregulations if they have nounderstanding of the process ofhow the monument was placed tobegin with?

I would like to see a publication ora supplement to the Manual ofStandard Practice outlining thehistory of surveys as defined inprevious acts and regulations. Thishistory would assist a surveyor in re-establishing monuments and follow-ing the evident intention of theoriginal surveyor.

This additional information placedin the Manual would assist in bring-ing the Manual of Standard Practiceback to its original intent as being amanual of instructions.

On another point, as Past Chair-man of the Public Relations Commit-tee, I would like to commend theALSA staff and Past President LarryPals for an outstanding job of publicrelations with respect to its member-ship.

The distribution of pins, individualphotos, recognition awards for 25 and50 years of membership and recogni-tion of committee chairs was truly ajob well done.

Since we are on the subject ofpublic relations, I would like to blowthe PR horn.

The Public Relations Committeehas one of the largest budgets of allthe committees of the ALSA.

I have listed below some of theiractivities undertaken over the pastyear:1. Developed, produced and circu-lated the following brochures:(a) Understanding Easements and

Rights-of-Way(b) Real Property Report

(c) The Real Property Story(d) Alberta’s Subdivision Process(e) Owning Land(f) Educational brochure and poster.These items are free of charge andavailable from the Association office.2. Along with the British Columbia,Saskatchewan and Manitoba landsurvey associations, hosted theannual Beef and Bun Reception forUniversity of Calgary 2nd, 3rd and4th year students. All surveyors areinvited and are encouraged to attend.3. Published a number of articlesthrough the members of the AlbertaWeekly Newspaper Association.• GPS Units Display 3 Decimal

Places...But Are They Accurate To3 Decimal Places? (May 3, 2000)

• Beam Me Up, Scotty! (May 10,2000)

• New Foundation and Garage MoveCosts $5,000 (May 17, 2000)

• Hi-tech Survey Technology Comesto the Oil Industry (March 20,2001)

• Tips for the New Home Purchaser(April 2, 2001)

• 5 Steps to an Easy Real EstateTransaction (June 5, 2001).

4. Developed criteria for andawarded the first Geomatics Award ofExcellence in 2000.

The Public Relations Committee isalways looking for capable publicrelations oriented members to assistwith its activities.

notesby Ross Woolgar, ALScouncillor’scouncillor’scouncillor’scouncillor’scouncillor’sforum


Spectra Precision(repeat)


Mis-cel-la-ne-ous (ms-ln-s) adj.1. Made up of a variety of parts oringredients;2. Having a variety of characteris-tics, abilities, or appearances;3. Concerned with diverse subjects oraspects.[From Latin miscellaneus, frommiscellus, mixed, from miscere, tomix. Cmeik in Indo-european roots.]

If you haven’t guessed by now, myarticle for this issue of ALS News is amixed assortment of various matterswithin the Association.

When you call the Associationoffice, you will likely notice that it isa different voice that answers thephone. Janet Davis will be working atthe Association for the next severalmonths while Brighid McGarry takesa leave of absence. Janet will beresponsible for the ProfessionalDevelopment Committee, PublicRelations Committee and the Histori-cal and Biographical Committee aswell as taking on a number of day today administrative responsibilities.Dawn Phelan has shifted offices andis working with Lyall Pratt and thegang on systematic practice reviewsand the Practice Review Board.Dawn will also continue to be respon-sible for the Standards Committeeand the Real Property Report TaskForce.

Brighid is expected to return inNovember.

The Association has recentlyacquired several new books for itslibrary. President Ken Allred will bedoing a review of some of these newbooks which appears in this andupcoming issues. The books includeMapping the World by AlastairMacDonald. Mapping the World isabout the Directorate of OverseasSurveys whose purpose was to providenational geodetic frameworks through-out the colonial empire and to producemapping using modern methods basedon aerial photography. A little closer tohome, we also have A History of theBoundaries of Nebraska and IndianSurveyor Stories.

Even closer yet, former NAITinstructor and retired Alberta LandSurveyor Doug Barnett has puttogether Early Surveys and Settle-ments in Central Alberta. His work isa good explanation to the lay personof survey terminology and earlysurvey practices.

For those members looking forsomething with a more technicalbent, there is Dr. Buckner’s LandSurvey Review Manual and K.Michael’s Computer Aided DesignModelling and Mapping for Geo-graphic Information Systems.

Speaking of books, Council hasapproved a request from the Histori-cal and Biographical Committee toretain Judy Larmour to write a bookon the history of surveying in Al-berta. It is expected that the bookwould be published in time for thecentennial of the province in 2005.The book will give a lively overviewof many aspects of surveying andcelebrate the milestones and achieve-ments of the profession. It will be atestimony to the early surveyors ofthe province, capture memories ofolder surveyors, and provide a his-torical context for younger surveyorsas they take the profession into the21st century. Ms. Larmour hasworked with the Historical andBiographical Committee for the lasttwo years seeking out sources forresearch and helping them conductinterviews with senior members ofthe Association. Judy Larmour has aB.A. in history from Trinity Collegein Dublin and an M.A. in CanadianHistory from the University of

Alberta. She is also the author ofHow Will We Find Our Way Homeand Really Big Art.

Throughout the summer, theAssociation has been asked to com-ment on several acts and regulations.In the last issue of ALS News, wementioned Bill 21, The ElectronicTransactions Act which is expected tooutline standards for conducting e-commerce in Alberta.

We commented on the review ofthe Conservation Easement Registra-tion Regulation. We expressedconcern about the continuing use ofmetes and bounds descriptions butdid not propose any amendments.

The Subdivision and DevelopmentRegulation is also being reviewed atthis time. The Association made anumber of comments regardingsetback relaxations and definingterms such as bounded and adjacent.

The General Safety Regulationsparked a great deal of interest. In theAssociation’s response, we com-mented on the section dealing withburied facilities and the requirementsto contact owners of facilities prior todisturbing the ground.

The Association is working withProfessions and Occupations andLegislative Counsel to amend ourown Examination and TrainingRegulation under the Land SurveyorsAct. The regulation outlines ourarticling and registration provisions.The amendments will remove refer-ences to the Universities Coordinat-ing Council and to residency as wellas update the regulation as a result of

Much to my surprise, I havereceived more calls aboutAlberta Land Surveyors nolonger being required to showhot tubs on their real propertyreports ...

notesby Brian Munday, Executive Directoreditor’seditor’seditor’seditor’seditor’snotes


the recently signed Mutual Recogni-tion Agreement (MRA). The purposeof the MRA is to promote the mobil-ity of land surveyors across thecountry.

Most of the professional surveyassociations in Canada have some typeof continuing education program. Insome cases, it is mandatory; in others,it is not. At the 2000 Annual GeneralMeeting of the ALSA, the membershipapproved a professional maintenanceprogram (PMP). The PMP was de-signed to be a voluntary program thatwould provide information to memberswho wish to undertake some type ofcontinuing education.

The Professional MaintenanceProgram would have two chiefcomponents: a resource centre on theALSA website and a web-based self-assessment questionnaire. The Re-source Centre has been online for ayear now and Professional Develop-ment Committee member and NAITinstructor Allan Theriault discussesthe Resource Centre in this issue ofALS News.

The assessment questionnaire hasproven to be a more difficult subjectto address. The Association couldfind no comparable approach beingundertaken at the professional level.So, the Association circulated a fivequestion poll to the membershipbefore potentially committing largesums of money to this project. Onlythirty-eight responses were received.Twenty-six members (or 68%) hadvisited the Resource Centre and ofthose twenty-six, five had taken acourse identified through the Re-source Centre. While thirty-three ofthe thirty-eight respondents indicatedthat they were somewhat likely orvery likely to take a course based onthe results of an assessment question-naire, the Professional DevelopmentCommittee was concerned about theoverall response rate. Committeemembers agreed that there appearedto be insufficient interest within themembership for the expense anddevelopment of the proposed onlineself-assessment questionnaire. In-stead, it was suggested that the bi-annual seminar questionnaire (what

seminars you would like to see theAssociation present as opposed towhat courses you should take) wouldact as a simple form of self-assess-ment. The Resource Centre willcontinue to be online and updated.

It has been interesting for meto see the reaction fromindividuals and municipalitiesas they begin to work withthe new requirements.

It has been several months sincethe Annual General Meeting andalready plans are underway for theMay 2-4, 2002 Annual GeneralMeeting in Edmonton. The changesto the real property report standardswere certainly one of the most hotlydebated subjects. The purpose ofthose amendments was to remove so-called “nuisance items” that compli-cate the real property report but donot detract from its overall integrity.For example, Alberta Land Surveyorsare no longer required to showportable sheds or hot tubs on realproperty reports. Members of theReal Estate Transaction Committeewhich consists of lawyers, realtors,municipalities and so on, expressedtheir general support for the amend-ments.

It has been interesting for me tosee the reaction from individuals andmunicipalities as they begin to workwith the new requirements. Somehave expressed their outright delightand felt that the amendments wereoverdue. Others expressed concernabout Alberta Land Surveyors notshowing portable sheds. A flammablesubstance may be housed within aportable shed that is located on autility right-of-way. There is thepotential for danger. Some felt,therefore, that the real property reportshould show portable sheds. Onemunicipality has even gone to theextent of asking Alberta Land Sur-veyors to show trees and hedges ontheir real property reports before theywill grant a compliance certificate.

Much to my surprise, I have receivedmore calls about Alberta Land Survey-ors no longer being required to showhot tubs on their real property reportsas a municipality requires a permit fornot tubs. One caller wanted realproperty reports to show the hot tubsbut not fences—as fences create toomany headaches for him. I expect that Iwill continue to receive more queriesabout real property reports than anyother subject.

And finally, many thanks to all theland surveyors, town council mem-bers and other dignitaries who joinedus for the Peter Fidler RededicationCeremony in early July.

Net NotesNet NotesIn past issues of NetNotes, we have put to-gether lists of websites from thevarious categories of our Profes-sional Maintenance ProgramResource Centre. They haveincluded: business management,computers, legal, libraries andseminars. This time around wehave put together a variety ofsurvey-related websites.

All Surveyorswww.landsurveyors.com/netveyorLand Surveyor Reference Page

www.lsrp.comLand Surveyor’s Workshops

www.landsurveys.comOnline Resources for

Surveying and Geomaticshomepage.interaccess.com/~maynard

POB Onlinewww.pobonline.com

Professional Surveyorwww.profsurv.com

Sleeping Bear Presswww.sleepingbearpress.com/

catalog.asp?category=mappingSpatial News

www.spatialnews.comSurvey Careers

www.surveycareers.comSurvey Planet

www.surveyplanet.comSurveyor Central

www.surveyorcentral.com


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Land Measurement Systems(new)


lettersletterslettersletterslettersto the editor

CongratulationsMr. Allred:

On behalf of the Government ofAlberta, I wish to convey my con-gratulations to you on your recentelection as President of the AlbertaLand Surveyors’ Association at thisyear’s 92nd Annual General Meetingand Convention.

As you know, in my role as Minis-ter of Alberta Human Resources andEmployment, I am responsible for theLand Surveyors Act (LSA), theprovincial legislation which governsyour profession. The LSA is one ofthe earliest acts to have been pro-claimed by the Government ofAlberta, and reflects the long-stand-ing contribution your profession hasmade to the development and pros-perity of this province.

I look forward to working with youin continuing to build the positive andproductive relationship that has beenestablished between your Associationand the Alberta government. Contin-ued best wishes and, again, congratu-lations.

CLINT DUNFORD, MINISTERALBERTA HUMAN RESOURCES AND EMPLOYMENT

Mr. Pals:On behalf of the Government of

Alberta, I wish to convey my sincerecongratulations to you on yourcompletion of a highly successfulterm as President of the Alberta LandSurveyors’ Association (ALSA).

As the Minister responsible foryour Association, I am greatly appre-ciative of the dedication and commit-ment you have shown on behalf ofyour profession during your time asthe ALSA’s President. Through yourleadership, your profession hascontinued to make an outstandingcontribution to the development andprosperity of this province, while, atthe same time, ensuring the ongoingprotection of all Albertans. Continuedbest wishes.


Thank YouI would like to begin by thanking youfor supporting the scholarship pro-gram at the University of Lethbridge.

Inspired teaching, innovativeresearch, and world-class technologyare the foundation of educationalexcellence at the University ofLethbridge. These guiding principlesensure that our students are develop-ing the skills needed to be successfulin today’s competitive global market.

And, of course, scholarships andbursaries play a key role in strength-ening the quality of post-secondaryeducation. The Alberta Land Survey-ors’ Association’s support not onlygives students the opportunity toattend the University of Lethbridge, italso provides these individuals withthe experience and personal growththat will enhance their lives and makethem leaders within our community.

The University recognizes itsdonors by annually listing theirnames in various publications.

PATRICK MACHACEKDIRECTOR OF INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT

THE UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE

Applied and PureMathematics 10Thank you for your letter dated May10, 2001. I am pleased to respond toyour question regarding Applied andPure Mathematics 10.

Alberta Learning has advisedstudents contemplating entering anyfield of engineering that they mustpossess a strong mathematical back-ground and would, in most cases,require both Pure Mathematics 30and Mathematics 31 as prerequisitesfor entry into the Faculty of Engi-neering.

As you are aware, the AppliedMathematics 10 program includessome of the trigonometry and otherrelated concepts and skills requiredfor post-secondary study and careerin surveying. The Pure Mathematics

10 program also teaches these com-ponents. It is hoped that a studentwho becomes interested in landsurveying as a potential career wouldinvestigate the post-secondary pro-gram requirements to qualify as aprofessional land surveyor. If astudent decides to pursue this careerpath, he or she has the option oftransferring into the pure mathemat-ics program while still in high school,or completing the applied mathemat-ics program through to the grade 12level, and then completing the transi-tions course. The transitions coursehas been designed for those studentswho graduate with Applied Math-ematics 30 and then decide they needPure Mathematics 30 to gain entryinto the science and technology basedprogram of their choice. The transi-tions course will give these studentsthe necessary knowledge and skillsthey require in lieu of Pure Math-ematics 30.

Thank you, again, for writing.DR. LYLE OBERG, MINISTER

ALBERTA LEARNING

LegislationThank you for your May 19, 2001letter outlining your concerns aboutdelays in amending the Examinationand Training Regulation under theLand Surveyors Act.

I understand your desire to com-plete the project. Amending thedetailed requirements in any profes-sional regulation is generally a highlycomplex task, involving several


rounds of review among the profes-sion, government department officialsand Legislative Counsel. What mayseem like endless “wordsmithing” isoften the development of carefulwording aimed at clarifying yourauthorities and withstanding possiblelegal challenges.

The Professions and OccupationsUnit in my department has advisedme that the amendments to yourRegulation have now been essentiallycompleted. The department expects tomove ahead to the final phase,stakeholder consultation, this sum-mer. Pending the timely completionof this process and any resultingrevisions, it is anticipated that theRegulation can go forward in the fall.Continued best wishes.


Thank you for your submissionregarding the proposed amendmentsto the Subdivision and DevelopmentRegulation and the Subdivision andDevelopment Forms Regulation. Yourcomments and suggestions, alongwith those of others, will be used toevaluate the process and help fine-tune the drafting of the proposedamendments.

Thank you for your interest andparticipation in this important consul-tation process.

ROBIN VOGELESANT, COORDINATORPLANNING LEGISLATION

ALBERTA MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS

Government LosesConfidential MemoLetter to the Edmonton Journal:

Alberta Land Surveyors and theAlberta Land Surveyors’ Associationwork with the Alberta Land Titlessystem every day and would be thefirst to express frustration if it “can-not handle many critical transac-tions.” (Government loses confiden-tial memo,” Journal, July 27).

Instead, we have generally beenpleased with the use of technology atLand Titles. Specifically, several

years ago the Association workedwith Land Titles and others to intro-duce the SPIN (Spatial Plan Index)system. This system allows AlbertaLand Surveyors and others todownload survey plans and otherinformation from the convenience oftheir offices.

Recently, the people involved withthe development of the SPIN systemreceived a well-deserved Premier’sAward.

Like any other computer-basedsystem, funds will be needed in thefuture for upgrades.

BRIAN E. MUNDAY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTORALBERTA LAND SURVEYORS’ ASSOCIATION

Government ServicesIt was a pleasure meeting with you onSeptember 5th. I appreciate the frankdiscussion which took place and willcertainly keep your comments inmind during future deliberationsrelative to the operation of the LandTitles System.

Please accept my sincere bestwishes for your continued success.

DAVID COUTTSMINISTER OF GOVERNMENT SERVICESA VOICE

FROM ONTARIO

Golf TournamentPlease accept our sincere thanks forthe opportunity to attend your 37thAnnual Golf Tournament held onFriday, September 7th.

We are aware that arrangementswere made at the last moment toaccommodate Ray Reid and I from awaiting list. This effort was mostappreciated, and we would like tocommend those responsible formaking this tournament a memorableand fun-filled event.

KEVIN M. ROBINS, CAOCITY MANAGER, CITY OF LEDUC

ASSMT LiaisonsThis is my first year of involve-

ment, as a Council member, with theAlberta Society of Surveying andMapping Technologies (ASSMT).

Sitting on the ALSA’s Public Rela-tions Committee is a great opportu-nity to exchange ideas and promote abetter understanding of how our twoorganizations can work together. Iwant to express my thanks to themembers of the ALSA for allowingASSMT to be involved with theAssociation’s committees, activitiesand events. Thank you also to thePublic Relations Committee mem-bers, and especially Brian Mundayand Dawn Ann Phelan for all theinformation/assistance over the pastseveral months.

CHRIS PICHACH, CST

ScholarshipsOn behalf of the University ofCalgary, I am pleased to advise youthat the recipient selected for the J.H.Holloway Scholarship in GeomaticsEngineering is Mr. Steven James VanBerkel (award amount $2,500).

I would like to take this opportu-nity to express to you the thanks ofthe University of Calgary for theprovision of this award. The financialreward and support you offer to thestudents here is greatly appreciated.Please do not hesitate to call if youhave any questions or commentsregarding the administration of thisaward or the University awardsprogram in general.

Thank you once again for yourgenerous consideration of Universityof Calgary students.

LINDA SHARMA, DIRECTORSTUDENT AWARDS AND FINANCIAL AID

UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY

On behalf of the Northern AlbertaInstitute of Technology (NAIT), Iwould like to express the Institute’ssincere appreciation for your pastsupport and interest in the NAITAwards Program. Your support hasprovided assistance in recognizingstudents who have achieved excel-lence and/or require financial assist-ance in preparing for their career.


Students are aware of your awardthrough the published Student AwardsBook. Awards will be distributedduring December and March.

As a contributor to the StudentsAwards Program at NAIT, you areproviding support that will assiststudents directly in accessing practi-cal, career-oriented, technical educa-tion, helping them achieve theircareer goals. The growth of Alberta’seconomy depends on the availabilityof people with the skills required bybusiness and industry.

Again, thank you so much for yoursupport.

VINCENT E. DUCKWORTHDIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

Cansel Advertisement(repeat)

SPIN WinsFollowing our national award successlast fall it was decided this spring tosubmit the Digital Plan Registration/SPIN Project to the rigor of aninternational level competition. As aresult, we are pleased to announcethat we are a co-winner of this year’sUrban and Regional InformationSystems Association (URISA Interna-tional) 2001 “Exemplary Systems InGovernment” (ESIG) Award.

Needless to say, we are verypleased with this result and wanted toshare this news with the Associationgiven the key role your membershipplays within this process.

BILL ELLIOTT, REGISTRIESALBERTA GOVERNMENT SERVICES

Understanding EasementsI am writing on behalf of my peers atthe Alberta Energy & Utilities Board,St.Albert field centre. We have foundthe Understanding Easements andRights-of-Way brochure that yourorganization produces to be a veryuseful tool in our efforts.

As a representative of the EUB,part of our role is that of addressingand dealing with issues and concernsthat are raised by the public, landowners and residents. Some of theissues are pipeline and right-of-wayrelated and, as mentioned, yourbrochure serves a very effectivemeans for delivering information.

DARREN ERDELYSR. FACILITATOR/INSPECTOR

EUB: ST. ALBERT FIELD CENTRE

A Voice From OntarioKent McMillan, a brilliant Texas colleague of ours [weshould have more like him in Ontario] pointed me [viaPOB online] to the great posting of Lyall’s PracticeReview.

The case bespeaks of the lack of the ALS or OLS inthe field and relying on those who may not comprehendthe joys of the whole process of being professionallyallowed to be opinionated on where one starts and stops.

Naive as I am here in North Aboyne tho’, we stillspell metre metre unless we are measuring Alberta oil,then we use eye droppers per ounce, not meters perrubber bootfull.

It also demonstrates how deep the backwater is herein North Aboyne inseeing via the ALS posting of the “Internal Trade Agree-ment” that we can now inflict our Ontario land survey-ing expertise on Alberta as of June 16th.

DEREK GRAHAM, OLS

I prefer surveying for a week to spending a week infashionable society even of the best class.

ELLEN HENRIETTA SWALLOW RICHARDSU.S. CHEMIST AND EDUCATOR

(1842-1911)

As quoted in The Life of Ellen H. Richards, ch. 3, byCaroline L. Hunt (1912) from a May 18, 1869 letter toher parents when she was attending Vassar College,where she took a course in land surveying.


Howard Douglas Farnell(new)


associationassociationassociationassociationassociationnotes

#676 PATTON, William JeffreyJeff Patton wasborn in SouthPorcupine,Ontario onJanuary 2, 1975.He graduatedfrom GrandePrairie Compos-ite High Schoolin 1993 andwent on toreceive a B.Sc.Eng. from the Univer-sity of Calgary in 1997.

Ron Hall, ALS served as Jeff’sprincipal from January 1998 toMarch 2001. The topic of the techni-cal report submitted as part of thequalifying examination was Process

New Members

Changes to the RegisterMaltais Associates Surveyors Ltd.

in Calgary has a new address: 4852- 50 Avenue NE T3J 4L8.

Precision Geomatics Inc. (RoyDevlin, ALS) has recently changedinternet service providers and regis-tered a new domain name:precisiongeo.ca. The new e-mailaddress is [email protected].

Dennis Tomkinson, ALS has a newaddress: PO Box 2006, 61 Broad-way Blvd., Sherwood Park, AB T9H2C1; Tel: 446-9745; E-mail address:[email protected].

Regional Meeting DatesOctober 25, 2001, Edmonton Petro-

leum Club (Dinner Meeting)October 30, 2001, Calgary Winter

Club (Dinner Meeting)The guest speaker for the regionalmeetings will be Wolfgang Janke whowill give a presentation on SpatialData Warehouse and the titles map-ping initiative.

and Procedures of the Subdivision ofNon-patented Land in Alberta asApplied to a Part of the N2 Sec. 36Twp. 70 Rge. 6 W. 6 Mer. Commis-sion as an Alberta Land Surveyor wasreceived on March 21, 2001.

Surveying experience includes 2½years doing oilfield surveys in north-ern Alberta and 1½ years in projectmanagement.

Harley Davidson motorcycles,mountain snowmobiling and restoringold cars are a few of Jeff’s leisureactivities.

Jeff is currently employed withThe Focus Corporation Ltd. inGrande Prairie.

#679 DESROCHERS, Marc A.Marc was bornin Barrhead,Alberta onJanuary 3, 1968.He graduatedfrom LorneJenken High in1985 and fromNAIT with anHonours Di-ploma in 1988.He went on to receive a B.Sc. from theUniversity of Calgary in 1993.

Articles were served under BarryFleece, ALS from January 1995 toDecember 1996 and Aziz Dharamshi,ALS from December 1996 to June2001. The topic of the technicalreport submitted as part of the quali-fying examination was Utilizing aStrata Plan to Facilitate MultipleCondominiums Within the SameParcel of Land. Marc received hiscommission as an Alberta LandSurveyor on September 7, 2001.

Marc’s surveying experience hasbeen with Harland & Higgins (summerof 1987, Alberta Survey Control(summers of 1988-1989), UsherCanada Limited from 1990-1991,Midwest Surveys Inc. in Edmonton in1993, Nortech Surveys Inc. (Yemen)from 1993-1994, Geodesic SurveysLtd. in 1995 and Tronnes Surveys Ltd.from 1996 to present.

Marc resides in Calgary and has adaughter, Tylar, aged 5 years.

#678 ten BROEK, David CharlesDavid was bornin Vancouver,British Colum-bia on August 7,1968. Aftergraduating fromLordBeaverbrookHigh School ofCalgary in 1986he went on toreceive a B.Sc. in Geomatics from theUniversity of Calgary in 1995.

Articles were served from July1997 to June 2001 under principalJohn Matthyssen, ALS. The topic ofthe technical report submitted as partof the qualifying examination wasThe Development and Integration ofa Database for the Operations of aSurvey Firm.

From 1996 to 1997, David wasemployed by Terramatic TechnologiesInc. and was involved in real propertyreports, construction surveys, GPS andsoftware development. He has workedfor The Cadastral Group Inc. since1997 doing oilfield related surveys.

David enjoys golfing, mountainbiking and renovating a heritagehome that he and his wife, HeatherCoburn share.


Analysis of 2001Professional Exams

The Surveying ProfessionTwenty-seven candidates wrote theSurveying Professional examination;16 passed.

Answers for Questions Under 75%

1. There are 9 articles under the Codeof Ethics for Alberta Land Surveyors.Please list and then briefly state thepurpose of each one of these articles.

27 marksThe answer to question 1 can befound in the Manual of StandardPractice.

6. (b) To what body does the Director(of Systematic Practice Review)report?

2 marksThe Director of Systematic PracticeReview reports to the Practice Re-view Board.

7. During the 2000 ALSA AnnualGeneral Meeting, a recommendationfor a Coordinate Based Cadastre TestProject was brought forward. Brieflyexplain what this proposed testproject involved by explaining theobjectives, how it would be managed,its duration, and so on. Was thisrecommendation carried?

10 marksThe answer to question 7 can befound on Page 77 (Appendix “B”) ofthe Report of Proceedings of theNinety-first Annual General Meeting.

Statute LawTwenty-seven candidates wrote theStatute Law examination; 12 passed.

This year’s exam followed thesame format as in previous years andcovered the following acts andregulations: Surveys Act, Land TitlesAct, Municipal Government Act, Oiland Gas Conservation Act, LandSurveyors Act, Condominium Actand one general question on thehierarchy of evidence.

The marks ranged from 44% to88% with an average mark of 67%.46% of the candidates obtained apassing grade.

The following is a list of questionsthat, generally, students performedpoorly on (referenced section of theappropriate Act/Regulation followedin brackets):

1. Who administers the Surveys Act?1 mark

Surveys Act, Part 1 – Sec.1(k).

2. What lands in Alberta does theSurveys Act not apply to?

2 marksSurveys Act, Part 1 – Sec. 9.

9. What is the legal term used todefine the limit of a water boundary?

1 markBank.

10. Define: (a) Statutory Plan, (b)Encumbrance, (c) Registration, (d)Restrictive Covenant, (e) StrataSpace.

10 marksLand Titles Act, Sec. 1.

11. What land cannot be included inone certificate of title?

2 marksLand Titles Act, Sec. 29.

18. What four (4) requirements mustbe met before a subdivision authoritycan approve an application forsubdivision?

4 marksMunicipal Government Act, Sec.654(1).

20. How is the drilling space unitdetermined on a fractional section?

1 markOil & Gas Conservation Regulations,Sec. 4.050(1).

23. Council may make “regulations”and “by-laws.” Explain the differ-ence.

4 marksLand Surveyors Act, Part 3, Secs.15& 16. (Most candidates restrictedtheir explanations to describing the

differences on how a regulation andby-law come into force rather thandescribing the actual differencesbetween them.)

30. When a plan is registered as acondominium plan under which thebuilding or plan is to be developed inphases, what document must accom-pany the plan?

1 markCondominium Property Regulation,Sec. 35.

31. A plan presented for registrationas a condominium plan must beaccompanied by a certificate from aland surveyor. Describe the three (3)things the surveyor certifies.

6 marksCondominium Property Act, Sec.8(1).

Practical SurveyingEarlier in April, roughly half of thosepupils articling to be Alberta LandSurveyors tackled the PracticalSurvey professional exam required aspart of qualifying for registrationunder the Land Surveyors Act. Thisexam has long had the image of beingthe most difficult of the professionalexams. The problem has lied largelywith both the reference materials (orlack thereof) and the diversity of thetypes of questions that are perceivedto be fundamental to test for knowl-edge of practical surveying.

This has forced the relationshipbetween the articling pupil and theirprincipal to be more interactive as amajority of the information to begleaned has been passed down fromland surveyor to land surveyor, asopposed to textbooks. Those thathave not had this sort of privilegewill be able to attest to the high levelof difficulty one faces in learning thepractical aspects of land surveyingwithout a guide to show the “peaksand valleys” one encounters in ourprofession.

The Registration Committee has agreat deal of difficulty in the annualsetting of a well-rounded practical


exam as is obvious by the diverseareas of practice our professionprogressively deals with. It is achallenge to narrow down the funda-mental topics to test candidates’broad range of knowledge within afour-hour period. Even at four hours,there is a significant amount ofseemingly important questions thatare deleted in the interest of time.

In brief, 10 out of 35 successfullypassed the exam. The average markscored on the exam was 60% (9candidates scored less than 50%).

This year’s exam questions (andresults) spanned the following sce-narios:

1. Well Site inUnsurveyed Territory(Average mark - 56%)

In this question, the candidate had touse conventional field notes in thelayout of a lease and well center inunsurveyed territory. GPS processedUTM coordinates also providedalternative for the candidate incomputing total coordinates of thenew well center. Required to under-stand and incorporate trigonometricand GPS determined elevations.Processed elevations (ellipsoidal)were given as well as the geoidalundulations necessary to convertthem to orthometric. Manual ofStandard Practice.

2. Subdivision(Average mark - 77%)

For this question, the candidateneeded to demonstrate an understand-ing of:1. base requirements for the applica-

tion, preparation, and registrationof a (Descriptive) Plan for Subdi-vision;

2. which registered instrumentsrequire consent for registration;

3. what monumentation governs in arural setting and where monumentswould be required to adequatelydefine a new parcel for a plan ofsurvey.

3. Pipeline Right of Way(Average mark - 63%)

This question involved the five basicmonumentation layout questionsaccording to Bulletin 38. Field notesketch supplied for a pipeline right ofway through four different quartersections, including two section lineintersections. One evidence problemexisted that candidates were expectedto at least recognize was there.Required to determine areas andmonumentation to be placed.

4. Cell Tower Lease SiteAverage mark - 47%)

Mechanics are that of a well site insurveyed territory, just changed thename and removed the need forunderstanding Guide 56 of the EUB.Ample number of plans supplied tocalculate around the subject sectionand across a correction line. Need tounderstand metes and bounds de-scriptions in titles.

5. Real Property Report(Average mark - 46%)

Required to (iteratively) coordinatethe layout of a house onto an existingpie-shaped lot and be able to deriveoffset and lot coverage informationfrom that. To compute the dimensionsrequired for the subsequent RealProperty Report.

Candidates were given the optionof answering either question number4 or 5, but not both.

The following is a list of sugges-tions for those who need to write thisexam again, or who have yet to writeit. My apologies if any of you findthis list insulting, but many may findit helpful.1. Make sure you know what you can

bring/cannot bring into the exam.In the same way you would notwant to be ill prepared for aproject in the field, you should gointo the exam with all the tools you

need to answer a variety of ques-tions that may be posed. You canfind this information in your PupilHandbook. If the exam is openbook, you should assume that youneed to bring any and all referencematerials with you. I would sug-gest that candidates bring, at thevery least, current copies of theManual of Standard Practice,Bulletin 38, the Land Titles Proce-dure Manual, and the Manual ofInstructions for the Survey ofCanada Lands.

2. Read the questions first. Figureout which question is easiest foryou (relatively speaking) and startthere. This will at the very leastcalm you down somewhat know-ing that you have at least thatmuch done and out of the waybefore you start those questions/problems which are more chal-lenging to you. In theory, you willalso have more time to spend onthose questions, as well.

3. Use a hi-lighter. Two of the moresuccessful candidates on thisyear’s exam used a hi-lighterfrequently on title blocks of plans(i.e., “Distances shown on curvesare Chord Distances”), key wordsin the questions, and on metes andbounds descriptions in Certificatesof Title to help keep them on theright track and away from extrane-ous information.

4. Spend “practical” time with yourprincipal. This may require pursu-ing time together outside of regularworking hours or even spend timeworking on projects together in allphases. After all, this is the pointof having the articling process. Tolearn the practical aspects of landsurveying in Alberta by directmentorship.

5. Study with a peer. As our profes-sional practice is not documentedin textbooks as well as otherprofessions, this is vital in realiz-ing that professional judgment canend up with more than one answerto the same question. Often,


depending on whom you arearticled to, you may have learned adifferent way of solving the sameproblem. This is apparent toanyone who has attended theGetting It Right seminars.

To everyone who did not pass thisyear and will be re-writing this examin the future, don’t give up, studyhard, and good luck. Your efforts willbe worth it.

Titles MappingBackgrounderProject DescriptionA joint initiative between AlbertaMunicipal Affairs (AMA), theAlberta Association of MunicipalDistricts and Counties (AAMD&C),the Alberta Urban MunicipalitiesAssociation (AUMA) and SpatialData Warehouse (SDW) will create atitles mapping database for theprovince of Alberta (excludingCalgary and Edmonton). This willfurther enhance Alberta’s alreadyvaluable cadastral mapping data.

History• Provincial cadastral products

(formerly the urban MISAM andrural PARCEL datasets) werestarted over 25 years ago by theprovincial government.

Date Set for NextSitting ofALSA ProfessionalExaminationsThe next sitting of the Alberta LandSurveyors’ Association Profes-sional Examinations in Statute Law,the Surveying Profession andPractical Surveying will take placeon April 2nd and 3rd, 2002 inEdmonton and Calgary.

• The cadastral products depicttownship, section, subdivisions,lot, block, plan, right of way,dimensions and other informationfound on plans of survey, regis-tered at the Land Titles Office.

• Currently, the cadastral productsdo not show the extent or limitsdefined by title or ownershipinformation and, as a result, manymunicipalities have maintainedlocal information on their own.

• Spatial Data Warehouse has hadresponsibility for the maintenance,updating and distribution of thecadastral products since 1996.

• Under a joint venture arrangementwith SDW, AltaLIS has beenperforming the continued updating,re-engineering, storage, distribu-tion, value-added redistributionand general management of thecadastral products since 1998.

• AAMD&C and AUMA haverecently become members ofSDW, bringing the total number ofSDW members to eight.

Project ObjectiveTo create and maintain titles

mapping data, including all existingtitles and historical metes and boundsinformation, for the province ofAlberta. This additional data willallow municipalities to have low-costaccess to reliable and current titlemapping data and to use this data tobuild other value-added applications,such as: property tax assessment,addressing, emergency responsesystems and others.

Final ProductThe project will create an addi-

tional layer of mapping data thatdepicts (the extent of) ownershiptogether with the title “LINC” identi-fier. This additional data will be insync with and can be overlaid on topof the current cadastral mapping data.Over one million ownership polygonswill be created through titles map-ping.

Project Benefits• Creates an up-to-date, standard-

ized, low-cost, GIS-ready product;• Data will be in sync with, and can

be overlaid on top of, the currentcadastral mapping data;

• Allows municipalities and othersto have low cost access to up-to-date title mapping data;

• Enables municipalities and valueadded service providers (VASPs)to build applications that utilize aconsistent database;

• Will help identify errors andpotential conflicts between titles.

Project Structure• Funding for the creation of histori-

cal titles data is being provided byAlberta Municipal Affairs bymeans of a grant to AAMD&C andAUMA.

• Spatial Data Warehouse hasentered into an agreement withAUMA and AAMD&C to createthe historical titles mapping data.

• A project management committeeconsisting of representatives fromAMA, AAMD&C, AUMA andSDW has been set up to overseeand direct the project.

• SDW’s Cadastral Mapping Speci-fications Advisory Committee willbe a major source of input for theproject.

Project TimetableCurrently, committed funding for

the project will complete approxi-mately 75% of the titles throughoutthe province and will take approxi-mately 24 months. The first titlesmapping products will be available tousers in the spring of 2002.

For additional information and back-ground, please visit www.altalis.com.


Thank You to theTournament Sponsors:

Alberta One-Call CorporationAll Alberta Plumbing and Gasfitting Ltd.

Butler Survey Supplies Ltd.CFE Industries Inc.

Can-Am Surveys Ltd.Cansel Survey Equipment

Corporate ExpressContinential Imaging Products

Corporate ExpressCrape Geomatics Corporation

Creative ConceptsCrowne Plaza - Chateau Lacombe

D.W. Data ServicesEnsight Information ServicesFairmont Jasper Park LodgeThe Focus Corporation ltd.

FirstOrder Measurement Solutions Inc.Gemini Positioning Systems

HDF Insurance & Financial GroupHennessey Welding Ltd.Hyatt Regency Calgary

Kinloch, Underwood & Associates Ltd.LPP Services Ltd.

Land Measurement Systems Inc.Leica GeoSystems Ltd.Midwest Surveys Inc.

Olson Surveys Ltd.Pals Surveys and Associates Ltd.

Peerless Printers Ltd.Raymac Surveys Ltd.

Rose Country Communications Ltd.Russel Metals Inc.

Fugro/SESL Geomatics Ltd.Snow’s Court Reporting Services Ltd.

Stantec GeomaticsStewart, Weir & Co. Ltd.TAL Investment Group

Tarin Resource Services Ltd.Trimble Canada Ltd.

Universal Surveys Inc.Usher Canada Ltd.WesTel Supply Ltd.

333337th annual7th annual7th annual7th annual7th annualALSA golf tournament

Hole-in-One Sponsors:Continental Imaging Products 7th Hole — 2002 PT Cruiser or $30,000 cashHDF Insurance & Financial Group 16th Hole — $10,000 cashLeica GeoSystems Ltd. 3rd Hole — Robotic Total Statin System valued at $43,500(open to ALSs and articled students only)Trimble Canada Ltd. 6th Hole — Trimble 5600 DR200+ valued at $28,000(open to ALSs and articled students only)

Ashley Robertson presenting Team #8 (Chris Tucker, Al Nelson,Dwight Wiberg and Ron Hall) with the trophy for the winnersof the ALSA Golf Tournament for 2001.

Hole Prize Winners:Hole #1: ---------------Jerry Jelinek

Shortest Drive MenHole #2: ------------------ Jay Abbey

Closest to Pin (2nd shot) AnyoneHole #3: ------------- Linda Fawcett

Closest to Pin LadiesHole #4: --------------- Jamie Hume

Closest to Pin (2nd shot) AnyoneHole #5: ------------ Karen Morcom

Longest Drive LadiesHole #6: --------- David Marquardt

Closest to Pin AnyoneHole #8 --------------- Kevin Robins

Closest to Water AnyoneHole #9: --------------- Mark Sutter

Longest Drive Men

The Winners

Kevin Robins (City of Leduc)receiving hole prize from JimHalliday (Midwest Surveys Inc.)

Mark Sutter, Jamie Hume and Wade Heck.

Team #7

Bruce Winton, Bernie McKenna,John Wallace and Fred Hingley.

Hole #10: ------------ Colleen SmithShortest Drive Ladies

Hole #11: ----------Connie PetersenLongest Putt Ladies

Hole #12: -------------- Joyce BrownLongest Putt Ladies

Hole #13: ------------Mike MichaudClosest to Target Anyone

Hole #14: --------------Carol LabineBall in Sand (draw) Anyone

Hole #15: --------------Chris TuckerClosest to Pin Anyone

Hole #16: -------------- Cary GlazierClosest to Pin Anyone

Hole #17: ------------------ Al NelsonLongest Putt Men

Hole #18: ------------ Guy AndersonLongest Drive Anyone

Team #22

The sale ofmulligans raised$1,140 for theJ.H. HollowayScholarshipFoundation.


Land Surveyors Sign Internal Trade Agreement

Land Surveyors will now be able towork in any part of Canada thanks toan historic agreement signed in Trois-Rivières, QuJbec today.

Prior to the signing of the agree-ment, professional land surveyorsfaced a number of impediments toworking outside their own homejurisdiction. Although professionalstandards are almost equivalent, landsurveyors were required to article toanother land surveyor and passprofessional examinations in eachjurisdiction. Now, land surveyorswanting to work in another provinceor on federal Crown land will beexamined only in subjects that areunique to that area.

“This agreement is good forAlberta,” declared Alberta LandSurveyors’ Association PresidentKen Allred. “It means more qualifiedland surveyors will be able to servethe people of this Province while, atthe same time, allows Alberta LandSurveyors to export their expertiseacross the country.”

“This is an agreement that elimi-nates unnecessary trade barriers toensure that land surveyors can pursueopportunities anywhere in the coun-try,” announced Canadian Council ofLand Surveyors President GregBrowne. “At the same time, theagreement ensures that the public

Left to right: Michael Waschuk, SLS; Don Madore, NBLS; Ken Allred, ALS; Chantal Arguin, a.g.;Denis Blais, OLS; Gerald Pottier, NSLS; Jean-Claude Tetrault, CLS; Brent Taylor, BCLS.

continues to deal with qualifiedprofessionals regarding land informa-tion matters.”

“Canadian land surveyors arealready regarded as land informationexperts,” continued Mr. Browne,“this agreement can only enhance thatreputation.”

Ken Allred, ALS and Don Madore, NBLS signthe Mutual Recognition Agreement.

In order to work as a professionalland surveyor in any province or onfederal Crown land, an individualmust hold a license to practice fromthe self-governing professionalassociation in that jurisdiction. Toobtain a license, an individual mustusually have a university degree orequivalent, article to a land surveyorto gain practical experience, and thenpass a series of professional examina-tions. The signing of today’s agree-

ment provides professional landsurveyors with greater flexibility inoperating their practices acrossCanada.

The agreement is part of theAgreement on Internal Trade that wassigned by the federal and provincialgovernments to remove or reduceinterprovincial barriers to the move-ment of workers, goods and services.The Canadian Council of LandSurveyors is a federation of self-regulating land survey associationsworking on land related issues atnational and international levels.The Alberta Land Surveyors’ Asso-ciation, formed in 1910, is a self-governing professional associationlegislated under the Land SurveyorsAct. The Association regulates thepractice of land surveying in Albertafor the protection of the public andadministration of the profession.

The agreement is part ofthe Agreement on InternalTrade that was signed bythe federal and provincialgovernments to remove orreduce interprovincialbarriers to the movementof workers, goods andservices.

Note: Since the signing of theMutual Recognition Agreement,the Association has receivednumerous inquiries from landsurveyors in other jurisdictionswanting to obtain their commis-sion as an Alberta Land Surveyor.Three applications have beenreceived to date; one has beenconsidered and approved by theRegistration Committee.


IHS Accumap(new)


Surveyors Honour a Pioneerin the Field..........by Vicki Brookerreprinted with the permission of The Elk Point ReviewTuesday, July 17, 2001

Members of the AlbertaLand Surveyors’ Association fromEdmonton, Cold Lake, Lloyminsterand St. Paul were in Elk Point lastTuesday (July 10) for the dedicationof a new plaque honouring one oftheir pioneer counterparts, PeterFidler.

Fidler, a Hudson’s Bay Companyemployee who built BuckinghamHouse fur trading fort 13 kilometressoutheast of present-day Elk Point,also surveyed vast areas of what isnow Alberta, journeying as far as theCrowsnest Pass region to the south-west, and keeping detailed records ofall he saw along the way.

ALSA President Ken Allredcongratulated the Town of Elk Pointand the Elk Point Historical Societyon having “the vision to erect thestatue ten years ago. Peter Fidler hasbeen one of my heroes for manyyears, and I am pleased that ElkPoint took the initiative to honourhim.”

Allred had visited Fort Georgeand Buckingham House InterpretiveCentre earlier in the day, and feels“the provincial government did anexceptional job of telling the story of

the fur trade.”However, he wasdisappointed tofind more refer-ence there toDavid Thompsonthan to Fidler.

Allred calledFidler “the com-plete surveyor. Herecorded every-thing so exactly,and was veryobservant. Hisrecords becamethe geographicalinformationsystem of the day,and helped hissuccessors findareas and re-sources.”

The ALSA “hasbecome very interested in what ElkPoint has done,” Allred said. With theprovince’s centennial coming up in2005 and the Association’s centennialin 2010, “we hope to dedicate anumber of monuments to surveyors,and make the public aware of the finesurvey system we have here. It starts

at the Saskatchewan andUS borders and with it,we can identify landanywhere in the province.It’s a real Alberta advan-tage, the best surveysystem in the world.”

Allred thanked ElkPoint for honouring“Canada’s forgottensurveyor...and bringinghim back to life. There’s alot of history here.”

MP Leon Benoit con-gratulated the ALSA fortheir work in “remember-ing our history. Its impor-

tance is obvious to Canadians that thework of one individual can have suchimpact.” He said Fidler’s work “ledthe way to the orderly development ofwestern Canada.” The statue “helpsus realize we have a long history ofEuropean settlers. We have to look atwhere we came from to see where weare going, and get beyond the focuson today.” He added that everyoneshould consider “what we can do tomake people remember us.”

St. Paul mayor John Trefanenko,who had been on hand for the dedica-tion of the Fidler statue in late 1991,said that “as my first career, I was asurveyor for seven years in the 1950sand ‘60s.”

“I really commend what Elk Pointdid. The museum in itself is a touristattraction which brings people here,some of them by busloads.”Mayor Ed Buck thanks Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association

President Ken Allred for the handsome new plaque installedrecently at the Peter Fidler statue. Also present for thecermony were Museums Alberta President Erika Foley, MPLeon Benoit, Chamber of Commerce President Eugene Buckand St. Paul Mayor John Trefanenko.

Surveyors, town officials and special guests gathered to salute pioneersurveyor Peter Fidler at the dedication of a new plaque presented bythe Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association.


The plaque at the foot of thestatue reads:Created by Herman Pouline of HuBDeSIGNS St. Paul, from sketchesmade by Billie Milholland of BillDoty Edmonton House Brigade.

Chainsaw carved out of 10x10 footaged spruce beams.

The metal sextant donated byAlberta Land Surveyors.

The statue took 6 weeks to createand had to be carved laying down.

It was built in 4 pieces which took15 men 4 hours to move from thestudio to a flatbed truck where it wasbolted together.

The Peter Fidler statue stands 34feet off the ground.

Peter Fidler (1769-1822):Born: August 16, 1769 (one day after

Napoleon) Bolsover, EnglandJoined Hudson’s Bay Company—

1788Studied surveying with Philip

Turnor—1790Helped build Buckingham House—

1792Mapmaking journey to Southern

Alberta to Old Man RiverSystem—1793

Married Mary, Cree Woman fromYork Factory—about 1794

Factor at Buckingham House—1797Built Bolsover House - Meadow

Lake—1799Built Greenwich House - Lac La

Biche—1799Built Chesterfield House—

Empress—1800Built Nottingham House - Ft.

Chipewyan—1802 ALSA Plaque.

PHO

TO C

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VIC

KI B

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Mayor Ed Buck said he ishappy Elk Point has “some-thing of historic value. Thisindividual ended up shaping thecountry.” He noted Fidler hadalso been a factor at Bucking-ham House, “and it was fromhere that he left to make sig-nificant finds in the CrowsnestPass. His journals are veryinteresting.”

Buck said Elk Point plans“to keep Peter Fidler around foranother couple of hundredyears.” and very much appreciates therecognition by the ALSA. He addedthat the community hopes to do morein the way of tourism promotion inthe future.

Elk Point Historical Societypresident Vicki Brooker added herthanks to the ALSA for the honourthey accorded the pioneer surveyor.Chamber of Commerce presidentEugene Buck noted that the HistoricalSociety had been the “driving force”in the creation of the statue and therecognition of the district’s part in thefur trade of more than two centuriesago.

Fidler facts:The thirty-foot-plus statue of PeterFidler was created by St. Paul artisanHerman Poulin from huge timbersharvested in the Iron River area,using a design by Billie Milholland.

The statue was originally dedi-cated on Friday, November 8, 1991,199 years to the day after Peter Fidlerset out from the just-completedBuckingham House fur trade for hisexploration journey to the southernareas of our province. Over a hundredpeople were in attendance at theceremony, including descendants ofFidler and his native wife, Mary.

The statue was one of the projectsfunded with a $70,000 grant from theCommunity Initiatives Fund of theCommunity Futures Program whichwas utilized by the Town of ElkPoint’s Fort George/BuckinghamHouse Bicentennial Committee toenhance diversification and tourismdevelopment in the area.

Land Surveyors in attendance (left to right): Kevin Beatty,Ken Allred, Albert Rachynski, Duncan Gillmore, Bruce Drake.

Helped settle Selkirk SettlersRed River—1813; at BrandonHouse—1817; at Fort Dauphin—1819The ALSA plaque reads:The early surveyors, like PeterFidler, were explorers andadventurers. With remarkableaccuracy, they used basicsurvey instruments to providethe framework for the orderlyand peaceful settlement of theWest.

In the modern era, Alberta LandSurveyors are recognized as highly-skilled university-educated profes-sionals who use sophisticated tech-nology to resolve local and interna-tional boundary and land relatedquestions.The Alberta Land Surveyors’ Asso-ciation, formed in 1910, is a self-governing professional associationlegislated under the Land SurveyorsAct. The Association regulates thepractice of land surveying for theprotection of the public and ensuresthe peaceful and lawful enjoyment ofthe land.

This plaque is dedicated to PeterFidler and all the surveyors whoshaped our land and preserved ourfuture.


stay in surveying to avoid losing asemester or more of school time. “Icouldn’t afford to lose that time,” hesays. “I just wanted to get a job andgraduate so I could support myself.”

Andy had three job offers by thetime he completed NAIT’s two-yearsurveying program, but requiredlanded immigrant status before hecould accept any job. It was then thathe was touched by the hand of luck;in the months before Andy’s gradua-tion, Prime Minister Pierre ElliottTrudeau announced landed immigrantstatus for all of Canada’s foreignstudents.

“I walked into the immigrationoffice and said I was just about tograduate and had work waiting forme. The clerk asked for my passport,stamped it and I was a landed immi-grant,” Andy recalls with a smile.“You can’t get luckier than that.”

He accepted a job with Edmon-ton’s Gillmore Surveys and stayedthere for about four years. Often,Andy was required to brave arcticlocales including Ellesmere Islandand Axel Heiberg Island for weeks ata time. He especially recalls onecamp where workers had to cross thegarbage dump to get to the outhouse.

“It was four pieces of plywoodnailed together and a door you held

Giving BackPermission to publish the followingexcerpt from an article that waspublished in the Spring 2001 issue ofAlumnait, was given by writer DavisSheremata and photographer JohnUlan.

Helping students is thereason NAIT grad Andy Lee donatedto the NAIT Campaign, which willraise $14 million to increase students’access to high-demand programs.Over $8 million has been raised so farthrough the campaign launchedpublicly on March 20th. The NAITCampaign will increase access toareas where demand is now critical.Its main focus is raising $11 milliontoward construction of the newInformation and TelecommunicationsCentre on Main Campus. The Cam-paign will also raise $1.2 million torenovate 11 chemistry labs to create aCentre for Chemical Studies on MainCampus, while $800,000 will be usedto complete the expansion of weldingfacilities at Souch Campus. Another$1 million will establish an endow-ment fund to support NAIT’s studentsawards program.

Andy arrived in Canada fromHong Kong in 1970. “I had to suc-ceed,” he says.

Andy arrived in Edmonton with“$500 and change” in his pocket andmoved into a $35 a month basementapartment in the inner city. Andystruggled to support himself, jugglingschool and work at an Italian restau-rant, then later a Chinese eaterywhere he peeled shrimp and busedtables.

Andy planned to enroll in NAIT’sElectrical Engineering program. Butwhen he arrived to register oneafternoon in 1971, “there was a longlineup for electronics and I had to getto work or I’d be late,” Andy recalls.“There were no lineups for surveyingwhich I didn’t know from a hole inthe ground and I figured I’d sign upfor it and change later.”

Under the counsel of NAIT in-structor Ken Wong, Andy decided to

closed with a rope,” Andy recalls.“The polar bears would be rightoutside eating.”

In 1980, Andy and wife Marlenemoved to Calgary and two years laterformed Amar Surveys. At first, Amarconsisted solely of Andy, Marlene, adraftsman and a two-man crew.Today, Amar employs over 30 people,most of them technical graduates.

“This is a great program and agreat school,” says Andy, 51. “NAITgraduates are the foot soldiers, thepeople doing the work that needs tobe done.”

Grateful for his success, Andy sentthe NAIT Campaign a cheque for$10,000. In memory of his early daysin Edmonton, Andy has directed hisgift toward bursaries for financially-challenged NAIT students.

“The gift should be targeted topeople with a real need, those whohave a family to support and can’t goto school otherwise,” he says. “Allyou need is a burning desire to getthere. If you have that in you, you cando anything. I got myself an educa-tion and climbed the ladder. If I cando it, anyone can!”

NAIT President Dr. Sam Shaw iscalling on all NAIT alumni to helpthe Campaign if they can.

“NAIT is an institution that walksthe talk. 91 percent of our studentsget jobs within six months,” Samsays. “I think our alumni have ben-efited from a NAIT education. We’renow asking our alumni to help ushelp other students and keep NAIT’sprograms on the leading edge.”

Sam says NAIT is a careful stew-ard of its resources, especially intimes where government support as apercentage of revenue is in decline. InNAIT’s 2001/2002 operating budget,government base grants are estimatedto be 47.5 per cent of total revenue,down from 69 per cent in 1993/1994.

“We need some help,” Sam says.“We want to be good stewards of theresources you give us and, I think ifwe look at the results of what NAIThas achieved with its limited re-sources, they are outstanding. Wethank you.”

All you need is aburning desire toget there.


bookbookbookbookbookreviews

Mason and Dixon—Surveyors ExtraordinaireTwo recentbooks havecharted theexploits ofCharles Masonand JeremiahDixon - twoEnglish survey-ors who wereengaged to layout the firstlatitudinal boundary in NorthAmerica in the mid-eighteenthcentury. These were the days whenthe first chronometer was just beingevaluated as an instrument for deter-mining precise time (and hencelongitude) and when there were stillfrontier scalpings in the easternUnited States.

The Mason-Dixon line is theboundary between Pennsylvania andMaryland, and was legally describedas a line of latitude running through apoint 15 miles south of thesouthernmost point of Philadelphia.Initially the line was intended to bethe 40th parallel of latitude. However,because of an ambiguous legaldescription, it was amended to a morepractical location that could actuallybe laid out on the ground withoutambiguity. The survey was furthercomplicated by the already estab-lished north boundary of Delawarewhich is an arc with a 12 mile radiusfrom a church steeple in Newcastle.(Look at a map of the northeasternUnited States to get a feel for thegeometry of the intersection of theDelaware - Maryland - Pennsylvaniaboundaries.) Most people know theMason-Dixon line as the symbolicdivision line between north and southin the American Civil War or thepartition line between the free andslave states.

Mason and Dixon by ThomasPynchon is a tough read, nearly 800pages in length and written in aconversational style with a lot of

antiquated language. Pynchon’s bookis also a captivating novel based onthe Mason and Dixon story.

Drawing the Line by EdwinDanson is an historical account ofMason and Dixon’s adventures,written by an English surveyor.Drawing the Line sets the scene forthis fascinating story with a briefhistory of England and the Americancolonies in the 17th century anddescribes the backgrounds of CharlesMason, an astronomer and geodesist,and Jeremiah Dixon - the practicalland surveyor. The book sets out abrief history of the study of geodesyand navigational astronomy, develop-ment of the figure of the earth and themanufacture of early surveying andtimekeeping instruments. With hissurvey background, Danson is able todescribe the astronomical principlesinvolved in laying out this theoreticalmathematical line on the surface ofthe earth, and the practical andlaborious procedures followed bythese pioneer surveyors in demarcat-ing the boundary in a hostile environ-ment. Like many surveyors, Masonand Dixon were not very good atgiving accurate estimates to theirclients. A 6 month project ended uptaking four years, albeit with someinteresting native problems andconsiderable delays in communicat-ing with the head office in London.

Both of these books are worthreading but, for the surveyor andhistorian, Drawing the Line is prob-ably the better choice with only 232pages and lots of good illustrations ofsome very complex procedures. Bothbooks start out with an account ofMason and Dixon’s first job together,observing the Transit of Venus inCapetown, South Africa in 1761, andcover the same ground, however witha totally different writing style.Pynchon may be more entertainingbut the intricacies and complexity ofthe survey of this historic boundary isdescribed more explicitly by Danson.

Drawing the Line is available fromthe ALSA Library (H0755).

Early Surveysand Settlement inCentral Albertaby Doug Barnett, ALS, SLS, CLS

Retired NAITinstructorDoug Barnetthas recentlypublished acomprehen-sive andinterestingchronology ofthe develop-ment ofCentral Alberta from a surveyor’sperspective.

Doug takes us through the earlyexploration of Western Canada, theneed for the location of the earlytransportation routes that were sovital to the competitive fur trade andfinally the laying out of CentralAlberta in anticipation of earlysettlement.

Between the covers of this 160page soft bound publication lies ahost of photographs (both historicand current), plans of survey,sketches, field notes, maps andreports in addition to Doug’s owninteresting narrative.

Perhaps the most interestingsection of this study describes theSpecial Survey and the laying out ofthe 14th Baseline and the 5th Merid-ian by Montague Aldous in 1879 and1880. How many people realize thatthe 14th Baseline had to be shifted240 chains south after the decisionwas made to adopt the Third Systemof Surveys for Alberta? (Actually itended up being 245.5 chains becauseof a new observation for latitude).

All in all, Early Surveys andSettlements in Central Alberta givesstudent and seasoned veteran alike agood overview of the early surveys inthis part of the province. Available inthe ALSA Library (H0757).

by Ken Allred, ALS


Leica(repeat)


spr director’sspr director’sspr director’sspr director’sspr director’s by Lyall Pratt, ALSspr director’sspr director’sspr director’sspr director’sspr director’smessage

Marker Posts—A History

Nearly every day, landsurveyors place marker posts toreference statutory iron posts. Lastyear approximately 40,000 makerposts were sold or one for 4.5 ironposts sold When and why did we startplacing marker posts? I thought itmight be interesting to investigate theorigin of marker posts.

Part C, Section 3.3 of the Manualof Standard Practice (MSP) says:Where practical, iron posts shall bereferenced by a marker post placed0.3 metres distant therefrom and thedirection noted on the plan..1 Marker posts should not be placed

where they may constitute a hazardto the public or interfere in thenormal use of land. In general,marker posts should not be placedin developed urban areas.

.2 Marker posts placed along road orright-of-way surveys should besituated on adjacent fence lineswhenever possible.

.3 For surveys in unsurveyed terri-tory, bearing trees and/or markerposts are required.

.4 Where a marker post is placedother than 0.3 metres distant froma monument, both the distance andthe direction of the marker postfrom the monument shall be notedon the plan.

.5 Marker posts must be of a designapproved by the Alberta LandSurveyors’ Association.

HistoryHow did we get to here, and whenwere maker posts first introduced?Everyone is familiar with the pits andmounds placed as part of the surveymonuments for official surveys underPart 2 (township and settlementsurveys) of public lands. Written intothe surveys acts until the current Act(June 9, 1988), there was also aspecific section for road surveys and

the requirement to dig pits for allroad monuments. The Surveys ActRSA 1980 under Section 52 said inpart:52(2) The posts planted in accord-ance with this section shall be num-bered consecutively from the point ofbeginning to the end of the survey,and each post shall have its numbertogether with the letter ”R” perma-nently marked on it, and shall bedriven to within 4 inches of the top.(3) Each point marked by an ironpost as provided in this section shallbe further marked by digging 4 pits,each 2 feet square and 12 inchesdeep, and shall be placed so that 2straight lines drawn through the ironpost at right angles to one anotherwill each pass through the centers of2 of the pits, and the inside edge ofeach pit shall lie on the side of asquare whose sides are 6 feet longand whose centre is the iron post.(4) Notwithstanding subsection (3),the Director of Surveys may authorizethe use of some other supplementarymark that he considers suitable. (Thisclause was added after the adoptionof marker posts.)

Road pits were not the same sizeas were pits for official surveys. Roadpits did not include a mound, ratherthe 16 cubic feet of dirt excavatedwas to be scattered around. In con-trast, four township size pits wouldcontain 54 cubic feet of dirt, or overthree times as much material, andusually included a mound with avolume of nearly 21 cubic feet ofmaterial with the remaining material

scattered about. Speaking fromexperience, digging pits for anofficial survey under Part 2 is a lot ofshovel work. Depending on theground conditions and the monumentitself, different reference monumentsmay be called for. Bulletin 38 out-lines the various type and configura-tions of reference monuments thatwere constructed over the years.

The case for marker postsPrior to the1962 AGM, the PracticeCommittee proposed an alternativethat required an amendment toSection 52 of the Surveys Act affect-ing road posts only. The proposedamendment called for four pits, awooden post, or a rock mound de-pending on the circumstances of thecase. In the case of the wooden post,a 4x4 inch triangular cedar post 4½feet long and painted white wasproposed. On the broadest face wasto be scribed or burnt a 3 inch highletter “R.” The post was to be placedone foot into the right of way and atright angles to the preceding course.The rock mound was proposed to be18 inches square and 12 inches highcentred around the iron post. Thisproposal was presented at the 1962AGM but was not adopted. Next year,in 1963, the Practice Committeeagain raised the idea of using woodenreference posts as an alternative todigging pits for road surveys and, in1964, the following proposal wasbrought forward by the PracticeCommittee:

Bulletin 38 outlines thevarious type andconfigurations of referencemonuments that wereconstructed over the years.


Iron post forreplacing road pitsIt is recommended that road pits maybe replaced by a “T” angle iron postwith a tag. The iron post to be 6' X1¼"x 3/16" and shall be placed 12"from the road survey post on a line ofsurvey. A sample of this post will beon display at the annual meeting and,if this recommendation is accepted bythe meeting, the Legislative Commit-tee should be instructed to proceedwith changing Section 53(4) of theAlberta Surveys Act.

This proposal was adopted at theJanuary 1965 AGM. Later in 1965,Section 52 of the Act was amended(clause 4 was added) and the firstmarker posts were introduced. Theoriginal version of the marker post wasgalvanized with a metal tag attached byfour bolts. Today you still find many ofthese original marker posts as theywere rust resistant. The metal was laterchanged—likely to reduce costs. Tomake them stand out better, they werepainted red then eventually fluorescentorange. However, these more recentversions do tend to rust over time.

A look to fibreglassAn article in the 1988 fall issue ofALS News on the benefits of fibre-glass marker posts prompted aninvestigation into the issue. A proto-type was tested by the Inspector ofSurveys in 1991 and a supply wasthen ordered and offered to themembership. These fibreglass markerposts required a special driver so asnot to splinter into shards whendriven into the ground. The advan-tages, however, were clear:1. they were lighter;2. you could use the pin locator

around them;3. the tag was incorporated into the

marker.

The disadvantages must haveoutweighed the advantages as saleswere slow, and when the initial stockwas finally gone, a decision wasmade to offer only the steel markerposts.

Marker posts formore than road postsThe placing of marker posts atlocations other than road postsbecame good practice resolutionnumber 18 in 1969. It read:It shall be considered good practicein the conduct of a right-of-waysurvey to reference the statutory ironposts planted on the limit thereof withmarker posts or bearing trees. In theunsettled or forested areas of theprovince, a marker post or at leastthree bearing trees shall be used toreference each statutory iron post. Inthe settled areas a marker post shallbe placed to reference each iron poston fence line, tree lines, or in anysituation where the marker postwould not interfere with normalagricultural operations.

Much debateOver the next several years, themarker post issue was often debatedand revised. The issue seemed to bethe use of marker posts to referenceall statutory iron posts—not just roadposts as allowed for under the Actand right-of-way surveys as requiredby the existing good practice resolu-tions. At the 1981 AGM, a revisionwas made to include other monu-ments, and then finally resolved at the1982 AGM. The intent of the 1982amendment was to set a standard ofpractice as to when and where markerposts should be placed and how theyshould be shown on the plan. Afterthe 1982 AGM, a visiting delegatecommented that Alberta’s meetingscan now be shortened, since markerposts will no longer be on the agenda.

Good Practice Resolution number18 now read:It shall be considered good practiceto reference all statutory iron postswith marker posts or in the unsettledor forested areas of the province withat least three bearing trees or acombination of both.(a) Marker posts shall be placed 0.3metres from the iron post and shall besituated within a surveyed right ofway or road allowance and at rightangles thereto.

(b) Where the above does not applyor is prevented by other circum-stances, the distance and directionfrom the iron post to the marker postshall be shown on the plan of survey,eg. “Mp. 0.3m N”(c) The marker post shall be placedso that the plaque faces away fromthe iron post.(d) Marker posts should not beplaced in locations where they wouldbe impractical and constitute ahazard to the public.(e) The position of marker posts usedto reference control or W/S traversesshall be clearly shown on the plan ofsurvey.

Into the Manualof Good Practice

Seven years later (1989), all goodpractice resolutions were rescindedafter the Manual of Good Practice(MGP) was adopted. The MGPcontained a chapter 3 on Boundariesand Monumentation and Section 4dealt with marker posts. It read:4. Where practical, iron posts shouldbe referenced by a marker postplaced 0.3 metres distant therefromand the direction noted on the plan.(a) Marker posts should not beplaced where they may constitute ahazard to the public or interfere inthe normal use of land. In general,marker posts should not be placed indeveloped urban areas.(b) Marker posts placed along roador right of way surveys should besituated on adjacent fence lineswhenever possible.(c) For surveys in unsurveyed terri-tory pursuant to the Survey Regula-tion, bearing trees and/or markerposts are required.(d) Where a marker post is placedother than 0.3 metres distant from amonument, both the distance and thedirection of the marker post from themonument shall be noted on the plan.

The Manual of Standard PracticeThe membership at the 1996 AGM

adopted a re-write of the Manual of


Good Practice, and the name waschanged to the current Manual ofStandard Practice. Essentially, thesection on marker posts remained thesame. Since then, minor changeshave removed reference to the surveyregulation which was rescinded in1998, and added a clause stating thatmarker posts must be of a designapproved by the Alberta Land Sur-veyors’ Association.

Marker posts for Part 2 surveysUsing a marker post in place ofdigging pits for road surveys startedsomething. In 1987, the Director ofSurveys office decided to stop dig-ging pits on township settlementsurveys and to place two marker postsat each monument in lieu of digging

pits and a mound. One marker post isplaced on each side of the cornermonument and on the survey bound-ary. At ¼ corners and at blind linesection corners, one is placed eachside of the post with the plaquefacing the road allowance. The northquarter on a blind line is the soleexception as there are no specificrules for which way the plaqueshould face. At section corners not ona blind line, one marker post is placedon the limits south (north in the caseof a correction line) of the monumentand the other, east of the post on thesection line. This is still the currentpractice.

Can a marker post be used asevidence to replace an iron post thathas been taken out? I would say yes,if it were the best evidence. However,

I cannot personally envision a situa-tion where the iron post and its posthole (2½ to 3 feet deep which isoften deeper than the marker post)would be cut out and gone com-pletely, yet the marker post survives.We all know that marker posts aretargets for bulldozer operators, andthe more likely case is the markerpost is gone and maybe even the ironpost. A marker post, if it survives thebulldozer, narrows down the searcharea for the iron post very quickly,and a little spade work will usuallyprove successful in finding the ironpost or post hole.

newsnewsnewsnewsnewsprint

Lloydminster Sues Over Landmark Towersby Darren Stewart, Edmonton Journal Staff Writer

The City of Lloydminster has filed a$2-million lawsuit against fourEdmonton-based companies thatdesigned and built Lloydminster’s 30-metre-tall, bright orange steel towers.

The loft landmarks, popular withtourists and residents, were deemedunsafe and will be taken down nextweek.

The towers were erected in 1996 tomark the fourth meridian, whichfollows the Saskatchewan-Albertaborder.

Since their installation, the towershave shaken and twisted in the wind.

Originally, there were four towers.But the city took one of them apartlast summer when an inspectordiscovered that movement hadsheared some bolts along the base.

This summer the city brought instructural engineers and hired a

prominent metallurgist from Sas-katchewan to inspect the remainingtowers. The metallurgist said thestructures pose an immediate safetyrisk.

City council voted to take themdown.

“The only advice he could give uswas to take them down right away inthe interest of public safety,” saidTom Lysyk, director of protectiveservices for the City of Lloydminster.

Lysyk said that in ideal circum-stances, the city could modify thetowers to guarantee safety and re-erect them after recouping some ofthe initial cost of design, constructionand maintenance.

“The sad part is we’ve been leftwith no timeline on when we couldget them back,” Lysyk said. “Thecommunity wants the border marked;

that’s what we paid for. We all wantthese things to stay but we’ve beenleft with no choice.”

Lysyk has worked for the city of23 years. He said the community wasproud of the towers and had grownattached to them in the six yearsthey’ve been erected.

“This is like Calgary losing theCalgary tower,” he said.

Deconstruction of the towersbegins on Monday. It will likely takethree or four days.

Named in the suit are Edmontonarchitect Douglas Carlyle, plus localcompanies Jacobsen Engineering,Hage Engineering, Dawson WallaceConstruction and Scott Steel. The suitalso names the Lloydminster com-pany Cooper Concrete.

REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION FROMTHE EDMONTON JOURNAL

AUGUST 18, 2001 EDITION


MicroSurvey Software(new)


sprsprsprsprsprcornerby Lyall Pratt, ALSDirector of Systematic Practice Review

Case Study No. 9:Finish the Job

This is the ninth in a series ofarticles featuring problems commonlyencountered in Systematic PracticeReview. The purpose of these articlesis purely educational and, althoughthe material is taken from an actualpractice review, no names or identify-ing legal descriptions are included.Opinions expressed in this article arethose of the author.

The ProblemPoor supervision, lack of organiza-tion, or procrastination in completinga survey project can lead to anincomplete survey. If more than onefield trip is required to complete afield survey, it is important to docu-ment the work yet to be done and toensure that it is completed. If some-thing seems missing in the course of asurvey or the plan preparation, checksshould be made. Assumptions shouldnot be made, and questions should beasked and answered, before the planis registered.

The ProjectThe practitioner conducted a ruralacreage subdivision survey in thesouthwest corner of the southwestquarter of Section 25. This parcel wasbounded on the south by the northlimit of the government road allow-ance and on the west by the easterlylimit of a road widening survey.Intersections were required with tworight of way surveys that crossedthrough the parcel. In addition to theproperty corners, and the two inter-sections, the practitioner’s plan alsoindicated placing monuments at twore-establishments. One at the north-east corner of Section 23, and thesecond one at the intersection of aright of way plan with the south limitof the road allowance.

The Plan ExaminationField notes are always examined andcompared to the plan information inthe course of our plan examinations.In the field notes provided to SPR,we could not find field notes for theplacement of four monuments shownon the plan. The right of way inter-section monuments and the twomonuments are shown as re-estab-lished. We contacted the practitionerand indicated that we did not havefield notes showing some of theposting. A few days later the practi-tioner told us that he was unable tofind the notes for these postings.

The Field InspectionOur field inspection took placeapproximately 15 weeks after thepractitioner was last in the field. Thefield inspection did not locate anymonuments at the four locationsincluding the northeast 23, nor did itappear that any monuments were everplaced at the locations. It was ourconclusion that no monuments wereplaced, and this was relayed to thepractitioner in the report. The failureto place the monuments shown asplaced on a plan is a very seriousissue.

The Practitioner’s ResponseIn his response to this matter, thepractitioner said he had no explana-tion why these postings were missed.He goes on to say: “unfortunately onthis file I did not follow up theposting after I did the original calcu-lations.” From this answer, it appearsthat, after an initial field trip, compu-tations were required. It then seemsthat the practitioner expected some-one else to finish the job, and neverchecked to see if it was completedbefore he signed the plan.

Even when we requested addi-tional field notes for the postings, andhe could not find any, the practitionerstill did not question if, in fact, the

monuments were placed. It was notuntil our report and conclusion thatthe monuments were never placed,that the practitioner began to suspectthat they were never placed.

The LegislationTo be acceptable for registration inthe Land Titles Office, the landsurveyor must swear an oath, one partof which is that the survey was madein accordance with good surveyingpractices and in accordance with theprovisions of the Surveys Act.Clearly, in this instance, the surveywas not made in accordance with theprovisions of the Surveys Act, andthe practitioner perhaps unknowinglyswore a false affidavit.

Section 3(3) of the Land SurveyorsAct states: “everything done in thepractice of land surveying shall bedone by or under the supervision,direction and control of a practi-tioner.” This places an obligation onthe practitioner to ensure that, if hedoes not personally do the work, it isdone under his supervision. As theperson legally responsible, thepractitioner must be sure the worksupervised is complete before signingthe plan.

The MessageI suspect that poor supervision led tothe problems here, but poor organiza-tion and scheduling could also haveplayed a part. Before completing anyplan, the contents of the plan shouldbe compared to the field notes. Thiscomparison should be a standard partof all plan examination procedures.What the Director of Practice Reviewcan not understand in this matter, ishow monuments not shown as placedby any field notes could get shown asplaced on the final plan. Plans shouldbe made based on the field recordsfor the survey.


Alberta’s Oil PatchIs DiscoveringThat ADR Can Workby Bill Remmer P.Eng.—ADR CoordinatorAlberta Energy and Utilities Board

Appropriate Dispute Resolu-tion (ADR) processes were intro-duced to Alberta’s oil patch at thebeginning of the year. Outcomes arebeing closely tracked now by theAlberta Energy and Utilities Board(EUB) and its standing committee ofstakeholders, with the intention ofproviding reliable data demonstratingthe value of the process in an increas-ingly challenging regulatory environ-ment.

The standing committee includesrepresentation from a broad cross-section of stakeholders. Its role is toevaluate the EUB’s ADR program andissue periodic progress reports, recom-mend improvements or alterations tothe program, and maintain the roster ofthird-party service providers (currentlythere are three listings) and mediators(currently 26 listings) located on theEUB’s website at www.eub.gov.ab.ca.

The main intention of the EUB’sADR program is to directly involvedecision-makers in an interest-based,collaborative approach to develop aclear understanding of concerns andissues, discuss their interests, andthen develop options for resolution.

So Far, So GoodThe use and outcomes of ADR for thefirst six months since the programwas launched have been tracked, andearly indications are that the programis working. So far, 94 percent offacilitations undertaken by the EUBstaff with parties in dispute have ledto resolution. This demonstrates theimportant role staff facilitation isplaying in the ADR program.

During this period, 13 disputeswent through the Preliminary ADRMeeting and, subsequently, media-

tion. Of those, nine were betweenlandowners and companies. Sevenmediations were completed by presstime, of which four had been re-solved, one had been partially re-solved and had a hearing scheduled todeal with the outstanding issue, andtwo had been through hearings. Ofthe fully resolved disputes, threeinvolved landowners and one wasbetween two companies.

If direct negotiation between theparties and efforts by the EUB staff tofacilitate do not resolve the concerns,then the EUB strongly encourages theparties to engage the services of athird-party mediator and conduct aPreliminary ADR Meeting. Thepurpose of such a meeting is to bringtogether potentially affected parties todiscuss the nature and extent of theirdispute and to plan possible optionsfor resolution. The meeting shouldhelp clarify the issues under disputeand foster discussion of a suitablesystem design for their particularsituation.

Before the parties feel able tocommit to participating fully inmediation or other options, manytopics may need to be addressed andquestions answered, such as:• Who should participate in discus-

sion, and what level of authoritywill be required?

• What information will be required,and how should it be obtained? Inaddition, what assurances do theparties need to ensure that allrelevant information will bedisclosed?

• How will the mediator be selected?• What will the role of advisers (e.g.,

lawyers, EUB staff, and experts)be?

• What are the key issues?• What are the options available to

resolve the dispute?• What further process steps will be

taken?• What costs should be considered,

and how will payment be handled?• How will matters of timing and

deadlines and of confidentialityand privacy be handled?

Strong Commitmentto EvaluationThe EUB is committed to monitoringand evaluating its ADR program andis looking to the participants, theservice providers, and the mediatorsto help collect the data needed.Questionnaires have been developedfor collecting data into the database.The data will be incorporated into theEUB’s ADR annual report, expectedto be released by March 31, 2002. Ofcourse, because of the confidentialnature of ADR, it is the process andprocedures that are being monitoredand evaluated, not the matters underdiscussion among the parties.

For More InformationThe key document describing the newprogram is EUB Informational Letter(IL) 2001-1: Appropriate DisputeResolution (ADR) Program andGuidelines for Energy IndustryDisputes, which is available on theEUB Web site www.eub.gov.ab.ca.Questions may be directed to BillRemmer or Mika Madunicky at EUBor to members of the stakeholdercommittee listed on the website. Aspecial telephone line (403-297-3700)and e-mail address [email protected] also been established to receivefeedback and enquiries.


updateupdateupdateupdateupdateAlberta SustainableResource Development

Following are updates toinitiatives underway within theDirector of Surveys & TechnicalServices Section, Land Administra-tion Branch, Public Lands Division,Alberta Sustainable Resource Devel-opment.

Department re-organizationSubsequent to the major governmentorganizational change in March 2001,the Department of Sustainable Re-source Development is in the processof re-organization. Deputy MinisterDr. Bob Fessenden stated in his July2001 memorandum to all staff, “it hasbecome clear that to enable us tobetter fulfill our mandate around ourcore businesses as an integratedwhole, organizational restructuring isrequired.” Restructuring will centrearound five core businesses; forestprotection; forest land and resourcemanagement; fish and wildlifemanagement; and land use disposi-tion management.

On July 16, 2001, the ministry’snew structure, with five divisions,was implemented.Forest Protection Division—responsible for wildfire preventionand management.· Assistant Deputy Minister

Cliff HendersonLand and Forest Division—responsible for forest industrydevelopment, forest management· Assistant Deputy Minister

Howard GrayFish & Wildlife Division—responsible for enforcement,fishery management, wildlife man-agement and client and licensingservices· Assistant Deputy Minister

Morley BarrettPublic Lands Division—responsible for agriculture publiclands, public land administration,and resource data· Cliff Henderson will be acting

Assistant Deputy Minister untilthe department recruits to thisposition.

EDM calibration survey data to theDirector of Surveys and TechnicalServices Section for evaluation.b) EDM Calibration

Baseline LengthsA listing of the pillar to pillar (slopedistance) baseline lengths for the fourEDM calibration baselines in Alberta(Lethbridge, Calgary, Edmonton, andGrande Prairie) is provided. Thesevalues are based on precise measure-ment and adjustment undertaken byGeodetic Survey Division ofGeomatics Canada (NRCan). All ofthe baselines are re-measured, ad-justed and new values published on afive-year basis.

MIKE MICHAUD, ALS

Cansel Advertisement(repeat)

The Director of Surveys andTechnical Services Section, withinthe Land Administration Branch, isnow part of the Public Lands Divi-sion. The Division is also made up ofstaff from the old Resource DataDivision, and staff from the oldPublic Lands Division who were partof Alberta Agriculture, Food andRural Development. Once a newAssistant Deputy Minister is re-cruited for the Public Lands Division,additional restructuring is anticipated.

Director of Surveysweb site updatedOn August 24, 2001, the Director ofSurveys web site (www.gov.ab.ca/env/land/dos/) was updated withadditional information on the Elec-tronic Distance Measurement (EDM)Calibration Baselines.a) Guidelines

for EDMCalibrationBaselineSurveys inAlberta

These guidelinesdescribe the fourEDM calibrationbaselines inAlberta as wellas how toundertake anEDM calibrationsurvey. Theyhave beendeveloped toassist users inverifying thattheir EDMequipment isworking withinthe EDM manu-facturer’s statedspecificationsfor scale errorand constanterror. Theguidelines alsoinclude require-ments forsubmission of


by Nicky Brink(reprinted with permission from The Lawyers Weekly)legallegallegallegallegalnotes

Title Certificate Governs Ownership of Accreted Land

An Alberta judge has ruled thatownership of accreted lands formedby receding lake waters is limited bythe section, quarter-section or legalsubdivision lines described in certifi-cates of title. Landowners cannotclaim ownership of accreted landsbeyond these boundaries onto neigh-bouring lands whether or not the landhas been properly surveyed.

Queen’s Bench Justice CarolynPhillips arrived at this conclusion in acase in which the plaintiffs, owners oflands around Buffalo Lake in Alberta,about 30 kilometres northeast of RedDeer, sought compensation from theCrown for lands expropriated in 1998.

The parties agreed that the plain-tiffs were entitled to compensationfor accretions of the former bed ofBuffalo Lake, but disagreed as towhether such entitlement ended at thesection, quarter-section or legalsubdivision boundaries referred to inthe plaintiffs’ certificates of title orcontinued to the current lake edge.

J. Patrick Peacock and LorenzBerner of Peacock, Linder & Halt inCalgary argued for the plaintiffs thatland boundaries are established by theplacement of monumentation markersin the ground after surveying.

Since these markers were notplaced on the plaintiffs’ lands whenthe original survey was conducted,primarily because it was impossibleto place a monument in the middle ofthe lake, they should be entitled toaccreted land beyond the section,quarter-section or legal subdivisionlines to the natural water boundary,plaintiffs’ counsel submitted.

Sheila McNaughtan and WilliamHurlburt argued for the defendants(the province, the Minister of PublicWorks, Supply and Services and theMinister of the Environment) thatboundaries of land in Alberta areascertainable based on the TownshipSurvey System, without monumen-tation markers.

Beginning at the corner of theUnited States, Alberta, and Saskatch-ewan border, the Township SurveySystem divided land in Alberta intotownships, each consisting of 36sections. Each section comprises fourquarter-sections.

Certificates of title reflect theposition of the parcel of land incomparison to this starting point.

The defendants’ counsel arguedthat the plaintiffs’ land boundary,now exposed by the shrinking ofBuffalo lake, is capable of beinglocated, and the fact that land has notbeen surveyed or has been imper-fectly surveyed does not mean thatthe boundary does not exist.

Consequently, the defendants’counsel argued, the plaintiffs areentitled to accreted lands only withinthese ascertainable boundaries.

Both sides presented expert evi-dence of the practices and proceduresof surveying in Alberta—the plain-tiffs’ experts saying that monumentsare vital to establishing and identify-ing parcels of land, and the defend-ants’ experts stating that this was notnecessary.

Justice Phillips rejected the plain-tiffs’ evidence and accepted thedefendants’ submission that much ofAlberta is “unsurveyed and/or is lessthan perfect with respect tomonumentation.”

“To hold that a boundary is non-existent or imperfect because of lackof proper monumentation,” she said,“would throw the entire land systeminto havoc and cause many landown-ers to question their title.” Thus,whether a parcel of land is surveyedor not surveyed does not affect thevalidity of the title describing owner-ship boundaries according to theapplicable township, section, quarter-section and legal subdivision.

Justice Phillips was concernedabout preserving the integrity of theTorrens system in which “the descrip-

tions in certificates of title ought tobe respected.”

She found an earlier Queen’sBench decision, upheld by the Courtof Appeal, to be both persuasive andbinding.

In Pitt v. Red Deer (City), [2000]A.J. 1198, the court concluded that“the change of the physical bounda-ries of the watercourse cannot createan expanded title overriding theboundaries of title [the plaintiff]received.” The title to accreted land islimited by the legal description in thecertificate of title.

Justice Phillips noted that theplaintiffs’ certificates of title do notdescribe the land boundary as beingBuffalo Lake.

Rather, the title indicates that theholders are owners of land within theapplicable township, section, quarter-section and legal subdivision “that isnot covered by any of the waters ofBuffalo Lake.”

Section 91 of the Alberta LandTitles Act states that land described ina certificate of title consists only ofthe actual area within its legalboundaries and not more or less.

The judge said the Torrens systemwould not work if changes to a bodyof water expanded the plaintiffs’ titlebeyond the boundaries referred to intheir certificates.

“If we allow accretion to gobeyond the limits of the legal descrip-tion, the plaintiffs will gain title toland they were never entitled toown.” Justice Phillips wrote.

(Reasons in Johnson v. Alberta, 2115-017, 28 pp., are available from FULLTEXT.)

REPRINTED FROM THE AUGUST 24, 2001EDITION OF THE LAWYERS WEEKLY

Look for Buffalo Soldiers:Analysis of Johnson et al v.Alberta by Dr. Brian Ballantynein the next issue of ALS News.


Mind Warping—ALS Style

The leaves are turning, thedays are getting shorter, and the kids,eager to learn, are back in school.Young minds are primed and ready tobe warped. Not warped in a “WayneLee hypnotic style” but in a way thatmay influence them to somedaybecome an Alberta Land Surveyor.Now is the time for us, as profes-sional land surveyors, to give some-thing back to the community and givea career choice presentation tostudents at a junior or senior highschool. You may be responsible forchanging someone’s life.

I have had the pleasure on anumber of occasions to talk to agroup of students and tell them aboutthe land surveying profession. Theexperiences were surprisingly nervewracking and challenging but alsovery rewarding. The students weregenuinely interested in what I had tosay. Many of them had little ideaabout what to do when they grow upand were excited to receive informa-tion from a working professional.Even if none of them become landsurveyors, I feel as though I’ve madea positive contribution to their livesand the community.

Presentations can be formal orinformal, given at a structured careerday or simply as a classroom guestspeaker. Presentations to junior highstudents are especially effective as itis important to reach students beforethey make high school coursechoices. Preparation for a presenta-tion does not have to be difficult ortime consuming. The ALSA tradeshow booth is usually available andthe Public Relations Committee hasdeveloped a “canned” modularPowerPoint presentation. The AlbertaLand Surveyors’ Association officehas brochures, posters and pamphlets,as well as other support materials tohelp ensure an effective presentation.

For those who wish to organize theirown presentation it should include,but not be limited to, the following:• A description of what an Alberta

Land Surveyor is and the indus-tries in which we work.

• The types of courses required atthe high school and post-secondarylevel.

• An outline of the articling processrequired to obtain a commission.

• The career growth and earningpotential of Alberta Land Survey-ors.

• The history of the profession (butbe sure to mention that AlbertaLand Surveyors are at the cuttingedge of technology).

• It never hurts to bring along apiece of high tech equipment, likea hand held GPS receiver, for ademonstration or play a “guess thedistance” game with an EDM.

But most of all, students want toknow what employment opportunitiesare available and how much moneythey can make.

As Alberta Land Surveyors, it isour duty to reach out to the publicand portray surveying in a positivemanner. Always remember that thefuture of the profession is sitting inthe room listening to your everyword.

Accountants, doctors, lawyersarchitects, and engineers are front andcentre at almost every career day. It istime we stepped up and joined them.A presentation at a school career dayor in a classroom environment is arewarding experience for both thestudents and presenter.

The Association has retained DickBassil, ALS (retired) and BobHaagsma, ALS to make some specificpresentations to high school students.

However, all land surveyors areencouraged to not only accept anyinvitations, but also to actively seekout opportunities to give these pres-entations.

As Alberta Land Surveyors, itis our duty to reach out to thepublic and portray surveyingin a positive manner.

by Scott Westlund, ALSpublicpublicpublicpublicpublicrelations


pdcpdcpdcpdcpdccorner

Setting Your Own Course

I sometimes procrastinate and waitfor a “rainy day” to take care of someof the tasks that should be done. Theadvent of a “rainy week” at the end ofJuly surely put an end to such pro-crastination, and I undertook toprepare this article for PDC Corner.

As a recent addition to the Profes-sional Development Committee, I hadvolunteered to spend some time surfingthe internet. My mission? Simple;investigate and report on what lieswithin the Resource Centre on theALSA website and highlight someitems of interest for the membership.

The Resource Centre on the ALSAwebsite is an integral component ofthe Professional Management Pro-gram that was approved at the 2000Annual General Meeting. This non-mandatory program is based on self-motivation and the concept of respon-sible professional practice. Practition-ers determine for themselves adirection to pursue with respect toprofessional development and findtheir own path to obtain what theyneed. The trick is to set a course andto stick with it until you have reachedyour destination. Along the way, youmay decide that you need to take adifferent path; however, that does notviolate the rules of lifelong learning.

The Resource Centre on the ALSAwebsite is meant to be a tool that canassist the membership in finding theirway through the continuing educa-tion maze. As you are aware, theResource Centre was introduced tothe membership in an article writtenby Executive Director Brian Mundayin the September 2000 issue of ALSNews. In that article, Brian stated that“the Resource Centre was envisionedas a web-based listing for articles andreports of interest and links to anyAlberta-based university or college tofind courses of interest.” Brian andthe Association staff established theResource Centre and it contains amyriad of information and links to anumber of resources that are poten-

tially of interest to most land survey-ors. I say potentially, for two reasons.First, everyone has different interests.Second, you can’t judge a book by itscover and the same holds true forwebsites. This is why Brian alsostated in his September 2000 articlethat “the Association has not re-viewed the websites and cannotvouch for their claims.” I feel that itis for that very reason that the Profes-sional Development Committee hasasked for your comments as you usethese resources. If something youknow about is great and you think itshould be added to benefit the mem-bership, please let the Associationknow. Conversely, please advise theoffice if you feel that one of the siteslisted in the Resource Centre is sub-standard, or if a link is “broken.” Byproviding this feedback, you willhave made a contribution and youwill help to economically maintainthe Resource Centre.

But enough of the background andsales, what about the Resource Centreitself? What does it have to sharewith the membership?

To find out, I had to gain access tothe Resource Centre by logging onto

the Association website atwww.alsa.ab.ca.

Next you must choose the “Mem-ber Resources” button and then clickon the “Resource Centre” button onthe bottom left hand side of the page.

Since there are so many linksassociated with the centre, the infor-mation has been organized into thefollowing categories:• Business Management• Computers• Educational Institutions• Geomatics• Legal• Libraries• Media• Research Tools• Safety• Seminars

Recall that the purpose of theResource Centre was to provide anopportunity for individuals to findinformation that would assist themwith their professional development.The first step that one might take is tosee what your local educationalinstitutions are offering in terms ofcontinuing education. Just visit the

by Allan J. Theriault, P.Eng., ALS (Ret.)


“Educational Institutions” categoryand explore the opportunities. In thissection, you will find 65 links toeducational-related sites in Alberta,Canada, the United States andoverseas. As an example, if you arefrom the Grande Prairie region andyou are interested in part-time studyat Grande Prairie Regional College,you could find out more about theopportunities by linking towww.gprc.ab.ca/programsPartTimeStudy.html.

In the “Educational Institutions”category, I was able to find quite a bitof information on AutoCAD,Microstation and GIS courses. Usingthe links in this part of the ResourceCentre, I was able to quickly see whatwas available at SAIT, NAIT and theUniversity of Alberta Faculty ofExtension.

If night classes and weekendclasses are not for you, then perhapsyou could investigate some of theother formal opportunities that existonline. For example, while I waslooking at the University of Albertawebsite, I found many references to anumber of online courses on GIS andGPS. See for yourself atwww.extension.ualberta.ca/.

Or maybe you just need to brush

up on some of the latest technologicaladvances in the areas of GPS or GISand want to review some of the latestarticles in publications. In the Re-source Centre, I chose to look underthe “Geomatics” category, and spentsome time at the GPS World website,located at www.gpsworld.com/.

One of the best websites I havefound for an introduction to GPS isavailable through the GSS Informa-tion Centre. I was pleased to see thatthe Association had included this linkunder the “Geomatics” category. It isfound in the “Lecture Notes andScientific Papers” under GPS and ispublished by Peter Dana at theUniversity of Colorado. It is a littlehard to find, so here is the direct link:www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/gps/gps_f.html

Also under the “Geomatics”category is the Land SurveyorsReference Page. Check this page outto find out who’s listed in the Interna-tional white and yellow pages andwho is not: www.lsrp.com/.

Have you been unable to attend a“Getting it Right” seminar and wantto gain some insight as to what theseminar is about? I found that youcan do this by choosing the “Semi-nars” link. You will find a wealth of

information including the participantworkbook for the Getting it Rightseminars. The “Seminars” categoryalso has links to online seminars andtraining providers such as “online.ie”found at www.online.ie/training/index.adp This is an Irish website thatappears to offer over 500 computerand business courses.

Interested in courses on computersoftware, Word, Excel, PowerPointand Access? I found many localinstitutions that provide thesecourses. In addition, I found that ifyou select the link entitled “Dell”located under “Seminars” you willfind a web-based education sitecalled “Educate U” that offerscourses on productivity and businessrelated topics: www.educateu.com/learning_community/dell/frameset.html

If you are like me, sometimes youhave a bit of trouble locating some ofyour own resources and it is encour-aging to know that some of the moreimportant ones are available throughthe Resource Centre under “Semi-nars” and “Getting it Right.” Forexample, Bulletin 38 can be found inPDF format at: www.alsa.ab.ca/pdf/gir_participant/bltn38.pdf.

How about the Manual of StandardPractice? All 74 pages are availableany time online through the ResourceCentre in PDF format at:www.alsa.ab.ca/pdf/msp.pdf.

Last but not least, there is the“research tools” category. Thereexists a wealth of information hereincluding current reports on relevantissues, SPR case studies and PRBinterpretations. I have copied therelevant links below direct from thewebsite so you can see the variety ofinformation available.

Reports• Digital Plan Submission -

The Alberta Experience• Digital Plans Synopsis• Digging for Pre-1912 Posts• Enhancing Survey Plans in Alberta• Health Professions Legislation• Mutual Recognition Agreement


• Natural and Artificial Boundaries• The Need for a Statutory Boundary

Tribunal in Alberta• Project Reports vs. Technical

Reports• Title Insurance

SPR Case Studies#1—Pipeline Right of Way#2—Double Monumentation#3—Governing Evidence#4—Boundary Evidence#5—Found No Mark#6—Chains, Feet, Metres#7—Fd. No Mk. Re-established#8—Metal Detectors Can’t

Stand Alone

Practice Review BoardInterpretations#1— Position of North Quarter-

Section on Blind Line#2— Researching the Extent of Title

#3— Manual of Standard PracticePart D, Section 5

In conclusion, I feel that one of theshortcomings of using the internet tofind relevant information that canassist you with your professionaldevelopment initiatives is that thevolume of information available can

be a bit overwhelming. The ResourceCentre does an excellent job ofproviding assistance by providingshortcuts for you. I encourage you tovisit the Resource Centre (please trynot to wait for a “rainy day”) andprovide the Association office withfeedback on this initiative.

Don’t let another issue of North America’sleading Geomatics magazine pass you by!

What Are You Waiting For?

Subscribe online at www.profsurv.com

Become one of over 1,000 Canadians thatalready receive Professional Surveyor

Magazine 11 times per year


U of C Survey Camp—Kananaskis

During the KananaskisSurvey Camp, Ken Allred, RossWoolgar, Brent Taylor and BrianMunday had the opportunity to meetwith University of Calgary professorsGerard Lachapelle, Michael Collins,Bill Teskey, Nazer El-sheimy andNico Sneeuw.

Dr. Lachapelle indicated that thereare approximately twenty facultyposition within Geomatics Engineer-ing but that some of the positions are

vacant at the present time as thedepartment tries to attract appropriatecandidates. Dr. Lachapelle indicatedthat the Department has retained Dr.Caterina Valeo (Civil and GeologicalEngineering). Nico Sneeuw (Geod-esy), Dr. Matthew Tate (Industrial

Petrology) and Dr. Richard Klukas(Wireless Location). Dr. Lachapellealso indicated that an offer has beenmade to a professor whose area ofexpertise is LIS but is also a landsurveyor. The faculty is losing Dr.Vincent Tao. Dr. Lachapelle andanother professor have receivedCanada Research Chairs for theirexpertise in information technology.

In recent years, Geomatics Engi-neering has graduated just over thirtypeople. In April 2001, they graduatedthirty-four students. Soon, they willstart to graduate forty plus students asmore students return from internship.Dr. Lachapelle indicated that hewould approach the Dean to be ableto start taking fifty plus students eachyear. Out of approximately sixhundred first year students in engi-neering, geomatics is the first choicefor about seventy of them. At thecurrently time, they can only acceptaround forty.

At convocation, the University(and not the Department) conductedresearch and found out that eightypercent of geomatics graduate foundemployment. This is the best of anyengineering faculty (except Petro-chemical Engineering which onlygraduated ten students).

Dr. Lachapelle encouraged thesurvey profession to take the opportu-nity to be a guest lecturer at the

Department – in particular the ENGO500 course. Dr. Lachapelle alsoencouraged the associations andsurvey firms to participate in CareerDay even though the Alberta LandSurveyors’ Association cannot offeremployment with the students. Allthe faculty felt that the Associationwould benefit from having a displaythere in order to attract second andthird year students into the cadastralfield.

Professional LectureSeries Offered atSurvey CampThe University of Calgary Depart-ment of Geomatics Engineering hasjust concluded the annual SurveyCamp in the Kananaskis during thelast two weeks of August. During thelast three days of the survey camp, alecture series was put on through theGeomatics Engineering LiaisonCommittee. These lectures, originallyknown as the Block Week course,were intended to give the graduatingclass an insight into cadastral survey-ing and the role of the cadastralsurveyor.

The survey camp is conducted atthe University of Calgary Training

u of cu of cu of cu of cu of cnews

The students are still smiling after a week of survey camp. This group sets up their instrument in searchof the lost peg.

Ross Woolgar shows a studentproper chaining techniques.


Facility in Kananaskis during the lasttwo weeks of August. It includes fieldprojects based on the followingactivities:• Boundary Retracement• Road Design and Layout• Precise Engineering Survey• Precise Levelling• Differential GPS Positioning• “Lost Peg” Competition

This year, following the Lost PegContest, there were two days ofpractical lectures and case studiespresented by seven members of thewestern Canadian survey profession.

The lecture series consisted of:• Geomatics and Condominiums - A

Case Study - Brent Taylor, BCLS,CLS.

• History of Surveying - PatrickRingwood, BCLS, CLS.

• Role of the Professional LandSurveyor - Ken Allred, ALS, CLS.

• The Surveying Profession - KenAllred, ALS, CLS.

• Nunavut Land Claim Surveys - ACase Study - Paul Dixon, ALS,CLS.

• Environmental Mapping for aProposed Pipeline - A ProjectManagement Case Study - BryanBates, BCLS.

• Business Practices - Brent Taylor,BCLS, CLS and Bryan Bates,BCLS.

• Careers & Internship Opportunities- Jeff Skelton, SLS, P. Eng.

• Pursuing and Executing Interna-tional Projects - A Case Study -David Thomson, ALS, P. Eng.

The senior class in attendance atthe survey camp consisted of 40

students who were going into theirfinal year towards a B.Sc. inGeomatics Engineering. About onethird of the class had cadastral surveyexperience and plan to pursue acareer in cadastral surveying.

The Lost PegThe Lost Peg Competition is usuallyheld on the last day of the KananaskisSurvey Camp. Students are givencoordinates and use traditional surveyinstruments to try to find the lost peg.This year, the winning group wasteam Orange, with the followingmembers:• Mark Dempsey• Samantha Chin• Magdalena Bytnar• Voytek KubackiTheir distance was 0.029 metres.

Butler Survey Supplies(new)


by Stutt Pottruff, Executive Managera s s m ta s s m ta s s m ta s s m ta s s m tnotesassmtassmtassmtassmtassmtnotes

One of the driestsummers in fifty years isalmost history which musthave meant many hot days forall those busy survey crewsacross this prosperous province.

Just before the summer break,we certified Kenneth Grendahl as aTechnologist, Civil. He works forStantec Geomatics in Calgary. BlairRichard of Fulton & Associates andDaryl Lysack of the City of Calgarywere recertified at higher levels.

The bulk of our efforts over thesummer was to upgrade our newwebsite at www.assmt.ab.ca. You areall urged to visit it as much as possi-ble. If employers wish to place an adfor an advertised position, put itonline yourself at www.assmt.ab.ca/Classifieds/Classifieds.asp. Anapplication for certification is alsoavailable.

We have also posted a list ofcourses being presented in conjunc-tion with NAIT. When a minimum oftwelve have registered for a course, a

date will be set fordelivery at NAIT.

Courses availableare: Survey Assistant

(Chairperson), BasicSurvey Calculations,

Basic Total Station,Leveling, Surveyor Field Notes, Ad-vanced Calculations and AdvancedTotal Station/Data Collection. Formore details, check the web page orphone Glen J. Erdely at 780-461-5474. The last Survey AssistantCourse at the end of April wasoversubscribed.

Plans for the fallCouncil will be considering a newcolour brochure on September 13th

designed by our Public RelationsChair, Chris Pichach, CST of the IBIGroup. We have also taken posses-sion of the retired ALSA DisplayBooth and will be upgrading it forSAIT’s Career Directions 2001 onNovember 7th.

President Farley McKenzie and thePublications Committee are working

on a Link newsletter. Regionalmeetings will be held in Lethbridge,Edmonton and Calgary. Our commit-tees will get back at it and startplanning our next Annual Meeting in2002 in Lethbridge for a start.

Thanks go out to Councillor KenRevoy for completing certificates fortwelve students who took ourBushwork Module at Bow ValleyCollege in May. We are now concen-trating on developing survey-orientedcourses through NAIT and SAIT.

A note of sympathy is extended toRegistrar Hugh Furber on the recentpassing of his mother and father. Weare glad to see Barry Bleay on themend and look forward to his partici-pation again in our affairs.

We will certainly have a moreextensive report in December afterthe busy fall season. I hope you haveall had a pleasant summer full ofholidays and fun and are ready tostoke those fires up again. I can bereached at [email protected].

STUTT POTTRUFFEXECUTIVE MANAGER

EXEXEXEXEXCLCLCLCLCLUSIVE AUSIVE AUSIVE AUSIVE AUSIVE AGENTGENTGENTGENTGENTS FOR S FOR S FOR S FOR S FOR THE CTHE CTHE CTHE CTHE CCLS LCLS LCLS LCLS LCLS LAND SURAND SURAND SURAND SURAND SURVEVEVEVEVEYYYYYORS'ORS'ORS'ORS'ORS'PRPRPRPRPROFESSIONAL LIABILITOFESSIONAL LIABILITOFESSIONAL LIABILITOFESSIONAL LIABILITOFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE PRY INSURANCE PRY INSURANCE PRY INSURANCE PRY INSURANCE PROGRAMOGRAMOGRAMOGRAMOGRAM

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505, 10104 - 103 AvenueEdmonton, AlbertaT6H 5R7Tel: (780) 421-7188Fax: (780) 421-7717

Land Surveyors’ Comprehensive Insurance Package• Surveyors' Equipment • Office Contents• Valuable Papers (Plans) • Computer Equipment• Commercial General Liability • Extra Expense

Inc.JARDINE LLOYD THOMPSON CANADA


J.H. Holloway Scholarship Foundation

donorsKen Allred, ALSEarl AmankwahR.F. Baker, ALS

Dr. Brian BallantyneDick Bassil, ALS (Ret.)

Kevin Beatty, ALSBlaine Benson, ALS

Ken Berg, ALS (Ret.)Caltech Surveys Ltd.

Jim ChorelCam Christianson, ALS

Control Land Surveys (1982) Ltd.Don Dawson, ALS

Paul DelormeHarold DeWitt, ALSJohn Deyholos, ALS

Akram DinEnsight Information Services Ltd.

Stephen Fediow, ALSFulton & Associates Ltd.

Don George, ALSStephen Green, ALSBruce Gudim, ALS

Hamilton & Olsen Surveys Ltd.Duane Haub, ALSAlex Hittel, ALS

David Holmberg, ALS (Ret.)Norman JacquesHal Janes, ALS

K & M Survey Services Ltd.Kellam Berg Engineering & Surveys Ltd.

Doug Krempien, ALSDaniel Lachance, ALS

Gerard LachapelleRoger Leeman, ALS

L.R. Olson & Associates Ltd.Joseph Longo, ALS

Longstaff Land Surveying Ltd.Army MacCrimmon, ALS (Ret.)

Jim MacLeod, ALSBill Martin, ALS

Craig McBride, ALSDr. Alec McEwen

George Moore, ALSBrian Munday

Northland SurveysBuck Olsen, ALSGord Olsson, ALS

Henry Palindat, ALS (Ret.)Lyall Pratt, ALS

Jerald Rasmuson, ALS

March 1, 1997 — June 15, 2001Donors have contributed up to $500 to the Foundation.

Ted Rippon, ALSGail Robertson

Rose Country Communications Ltd.Russel Metals

SESL Geomatics Ltd.Kasimir Sawicki, ALS (Ret.)

Jim Sharpe, ALSShores Belzil

William SoroskiSharon Stecyk

Stewart, Weir & Co. Ltd.John Sung, ALS

Swenson Morrison Land SurveysRoss Tate, ALS (Ret.)

Allan Theriault, ALS (Ret.)Gordon M. Thomson

UMA GeomaticsDave Usher, ALSCharlie Weir, ALS

Dwayne Westacott, ALSWestacott Consulting Ltd.

Gordon WilliamsWolley-Dod & MacCrimmon Surveys

Kin Wong, ALSC.W. Youngs, ALS

Thank you for your generosity and support!

sponsorsMarch 1, 1997 — June 15, 2001

Sponsors have contributed $500 or more to the Foundation.All-Can Engineering & Surveys (1976)

Ltd.All West Surveys Ltd.

Alpine Land Surveys LimitedLou Breton, ALS (Ret.)

Cadastral Group Inc., TheCan-Am Surveys Ltd.

Challenger Surveys & Services Ltd.

Barry Clarkson, ALSCrape Land Surveys Ltd.

Focus Corporation Ltd., TheFrontier Survey Services Inc.

George Munro & Associates Ltd.Hagen Surveys (1976) Ltd.

Brian Huber, ALSLovse Surveys Ltd.

Maltais Associates Surveyors Ltd.Bob Mayne, ALS

Midwest Surveys Inc.Stanley Geomatics Ltd.Stantec Geomatics Ltd.Don Tomkinson, ALSUsher Canada Limited

Jack Webb, ALS

ALL SEASON RENTALL SEASON RENTALL SEASON RENTALL SEASON RENTALL SEASON RENTALSALSALSALSALSRENTALS OF: Ski-doo • Harley Davidson

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PHIL RENAUDBus: (403) 204-1771 A17, 416 Meridian Road S.E.Fax: (403) 204-1770 Calgary, AlbertaCell: (403) 519-2967 T2A 1X2

email: [email protected]

R. WEBER CONSULTING INC.R. WEBER CONSULTING INC.R. WEBER CONSULTING INC.R. WEBER CONSULTING INC.R. WEBER CONSULTING INC.Quality Drafting & Calculating

133 Douglas Ridge Pl. S.E.Calgary, Alberta T2Z 2T2

Office (403) 720-4801Robert M. Weber Cell (403) [email protected] Fax (403) 720-4166

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