"Statistics Canada's Experience in Developing a GML Road Network for Canada"
Cathy Caldwell and Brad Ruth, STATISTICS CANADA
Statistics Canada is a major supplier of geographic information as well as an important user of GIS software. Statistics Canada is committed to disseminating its' spatial products in GML format (Open Geo-spatial Consortium's (OGC) Geographic Mark-up Language) for the 2006 Census Dissemination cycle, starting in September 2005 with the release of a free Road Network File. This open source based geographic format is a relatively emerging technology and brand new for Statistics Canada.
Statistics Canada faced a number of obstacles associated with developing in this new technology. The department has faced a number of challenges in developing the application including method of delivery to users, file size, web server capacity and an adequate free viewer to read the GML files. This presentation will focus on the lessons learned, the solutions found and those areas where further research is required.