The First Twenty-five Years The idea for the formation of what was to become the Canadian Council of Land Surveyors is credited to Mr. John Pope, N.S.L.S., of Sydney, N.S. John was the current president of the Association of Nova Scotia Land Surveyors and on his way to the CIS convention in Edmonton in 1968 when he thought it would be a good idea if the presidents of all the provincial land surveyors associations could get together once a year to discuss matters of common interest. John mentioned the idea to several of his fellow presidents who persuaded him to push forward with it. The first meeting of provincial presidents was held on February 6, 1969, in the Champlain Room of the Chateau Laurier Hotel in Ottawa in conjunction with the Annual Convention of the Canadian Institute of Surveying (C.I.S.). The meeting was called by the C.I.S. Land Survey Committee to explore the feasibility of organizing an Annual Meeting of Provincial Presidents. The concept was found feasible and plans were made for the presidents to meet regularly. Meetings were held twice yearly, the first in conjunction with the C.I.S. convention and the second in the fall of the each year. At the fifth meeting in Toronto in 1971, considerable discussion centred around the formation of a permanent national coordinating organization. The meeting, chaired by Mr. L.R. Feetham of Nova Scotia, passed the following resolution. Resolution to Investigate Creation of CCLS Moved by Mr. R.A.E Tate, (Alberta) seconded by Mr. K.C. Kirkup (Ontario) WHEREAS there is a recognized need for a closer cooperation between the individual provincial land survey organizations. WHEREAS there is a recognized need for continual discussion and consultations on such matters as education, licensing, standards and ethics. BE IT RESOLVED THAT: This meeting approve in principle the creation of a permanent coordinating body consisting of representatives of all provincial land survey associations, and The Provincial Presidents be requested to discuss this matter with their respective Associations and The chairman of this meeting, R. Feetham, be charged with the responsibility of organizing the continuing investigation and study of ways and means of achieving the goals of this resolution, and An interim report on the investigation and study be submitted at the Presidents' luncheon at Quebec, on February 3, 1972. Motion carried unanimously. The next meeting of Provincial Presidents was held in the Chateau Frontenac Hotel in Quebec City, on February 2, 1972 at the time of the Canadian Institute of Surveying convention. The Chairman was Mr. L.R. Feetham of Nova Scotia. A draft Letters Patent was discussed but not dealt with. A standing committee, to be known as the "Special Committee" was established to do the investigations and other work related to the establishment of a permanent coordinating body. Mr. Feetham was appointed chairman of the committee with Mr. Fred Pearcem (Ontario), M. Marcel Leveque (Quebec) and Mr. Bernard White (B.C.) as members. The seventh meeting of Provincial Presidents was held at the Constellation Hotel in Toronto on September 22, 23, 1972. Mr. J.B. Bolton of New Brunswick was the Chairman. The following resolution regarding the formation of CCLS was passed: Resolution of Approval in Principle to Create CCPS - Canadian Council of Professional Surveyors Moved by Mr. R. Feetham, seconded by Mr. M. Gaudreault WHEREAS presidents at a meeting in October 1971 approved in principle the creation of the Canadian Council of Professional Surveyors WHEREAS this meeting has again studied and endorsed this decision and WHEREAS there is a need for exchange and researching of information, standardization of qualification, reciprocity and co-operation on other professional matters, THEREFORE IT BE RESOLVED THAT each association/corporation at an annual or special meeting be asked to approve the following: Approval in principle of the formation of a Canadian Council of Professional Surveyors in co-operation with the CIS. Assessment of four dollars ($4.00) per active member to contribute to the development of such an organization. That the results of (a) and (b) above be submitted for the April 24, 1973 presidents meeting with a tentative date for completion of April 1974. Resolution carried. Whenever discussions were held on the creation of a new organization, part of the discussion centred around what sort of organization should it be and what should be its structure. As meetings and discussions progressed the structure of the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers came into favour. It was this structure that was finally adopted. The bylaws of the CCLS are closely patterned after the CCPE bylaws in use at the time of incorporation. Much discussion was centred around whether the new association should remain within the Canadian Institute of Surveying or be established as a separate organization. There was genuine concern among a number of presidents that a separate organization would seriously weaken CIS and that could not be allowed to happen. Others thought the long term objectives of the new organization were significantly different from those of CIS and therefore the new body had to be independent. Creation of CCLS - Canadian Council of Land Surveyors Mr. C.H. Weir, the President of C.I.S. delivered a welcoming address to the tenth meeting of Provincial Presidents held in the Hotel Vancouver, Vancouver, B.C. on April 2, 1974. Mr. Maurice Gaudreault of Quebec was Chairman, In his address Mr. Weir presented a draft charter for the creation of CCLS as drawn up by CIS. He indicated the charter was intended to be a compromise between those provinces wishing CIS to be an active participant and those who were of the opinion that CIS should not be part of CCLS. The charter was discussed during the meeting and then referred to the Special Committee for study. Incorporation of CCLS Eventually, the decision was made that CCLS should be a separately chartered Corporation and at the eleventh meeting in Ottawa, there was considerable discussion regarding an official agreement with the Canadian Institute of Surveying. A "Memorandum of Agreement" was subsequently drafted and approved by the presidents at the twelfth meeting in Fredericton, New Brunswick, subject to the ratification of the Association of Manitoba Land Surveyors. At the thirteenth meeting, held at the National Arts Centre, Ottawa, Ontario on October 25, 1975, Chairman Grenville T. Rogers of Ontario, reported that incorporation of CCLS was now a matter of finalizing details. In Mr. Feetham's report, mention was made that the agreement with CIS had been sent to all provinces for agreement but would have to wait until after incorporation before CCLS could approve it. CIS reported it would approve the agreement without delay. The fourteenth meeting of the Provincial Presidents was held on February 16, 1976 at the Inn on the Park Hotel, Toronto, Ontario. Mr. Grenville T. Rogers of Ontario was again the Chairman. This meeting took place just after incorporation (February 10, 1976). However, the three applicants for incorporation, Messrs Pearce, Blanchet and Feetham, were still the only three Directors so CCLS was not really operational. It was hoped that by the time of the CIS Annual Meeting in Winnipeg, CCLS could be operational. The meeting dealt with many organizational tasks such as setting up committees to deal with operational functions and matters of common concern. First Members Meeting of CCLS In conjunction with this fourteenth meeting, the first meeting of the Members of CCLS was held. Messrs Pearce and Blanchet met for this purpose (Mr. Feetham was absent). Mr. Pearce was appointed chairman of the meeting. The minutes of that meeting state, "Then he produces the Charter and declares "The Canadian Council of Land Surveyors - Le Conseil Canadien des arpenteurs-géomètres as an incorporated body." Elections for the first Board of Directors were held in which Mr. Pearce was elected President; Mr. Feetham, Vice President and M. Blanchet, Secretary-Treasurer. The first meetings of the Canadian Council Of Land Surveyors, (under that name) were held at the Holiday Inn, Winnipeg, Manitoba, on May 18 and 20, 1976. The May 18 meeting was opened with Mr. A. MacTaggart, President, Association of Manitoba Land Surveyors in the chair. A discussion immediately followed concerning the structure and activities of the new corporation. A nominating committee was then appointed to nominate a slate of officers. Mr. J.R. George of Saskatchewan was elected President, Mr. M. Gaudreault of Quebec was elected Vice President and Mr. D.W. Crandall of Manitoba was elected Secretary-Treasurer. Mr. George assumed the chair as the first President of the Canadian Council of Land Surveyors. Accomplishments The objectives of the Corporation are listed in the letters patent. Over the years, CCLS has made good progress in accomplishing these objectives. It has formulated and distributed to member associations a national Code of Ethics for land surveyors. It has adopted a Reciprocity Policy which has been accepted by its member associations. It has inaugurated a university accreditation program. Under this program the Universities of New Brunswick, Laval, Toronto (Erindale College) and Calgary have all applied for CCLS accreditation. The Surveying Engineering or Survey Science programs in these universities have been accredited over the past five or six years. A policy on the Procurement of Surveying Services has been formulated and adopted by member associations. A comprehensive Professional Liability Insurance Program has been established. Eight of the nine member associations are members of the program. Studies have been conducted on the feasibility of instituting a self funding program. These studies indicate the proposal is feasible but problems related to start-up costs have not been resolved. The problem of national standards have been addressed on an ongoing basis. A notable example is the Surveyors Real Property Report. This document was formulated as the result of pleas from national lenders for a product that was consistent in format and content across Canada. This has been achieved while allowing for variations due to local requirements. CCLS has maintained an active education committee. It has cooperated with member associations on continuing education projects and with the Canadian Institute of Geomatics on projects such as the Survey Law in Canada textbook. The discussion of topics of mutual interest and concern still remains a high priority for CCLS. Resulting from these discussions, CCLS is presently involved in projects related to Co­operation Within The Survey Profession, Environmental Concerns, Public Relations, NAFTA, Internal Trade, Copyright, and Title Insurance. Through the 1990's In 1992, CCLS was looking to its next phase of growth. It had accomplished many of its original objectives and was now actively planning for the future. At about this time, L'Ordre des arpenteurs-géomètres decided to withdraw its support for CCLS. This created a tremendous short-term decrease in the funds available to perform all of its functions. However, like all land surveyors at this time, changes were made to adjust to lower revenues. In 1993, CCLS adopted a comprehensive strategic plan that would cover the years 1993-1996. The plan was adopted by the Board of Directors and approved in principle by each of the member associations. The plan brought forth three important principles: The CCLS Director's term should be for 3 years in order to promote continuity. CCLS will continue to maintain a small number of standing committees but most tasks will be handled on a "project management basis." Greater emphasis should be placed on communication. With an eye to improved communication and the impending retirement of the Secretary-Treasurer, a call went out to find a person who could take over the administration of the office but would spend most of her time on communications activities. Diane Sims was hired in 1993 as the Office Manager. She created, in conjunction with the Editorial Committee, a new glossy magazine called Focus which would be published twice per year and be self-supporting through advertising revenue. A shorter newsletter called Bulletin was also created and was intended to be published six times per year. In 1995, Ms. Sims resigned from CCLS to take on a new position. The Association of Ontario Land Surveyors put forth a proposal in which it would provide a base of operations for CCLS activities and Brian Munday, an AOLS staff member, would become CCLS Executive Director. This proposal was accepted by the CCLS Board in July 1995. In 1998 Brian Munday accepted the position of Executive Director of CCLS member, the Alberta Land Surveyors Association, and Sarah Cornett, OLS became the CCLS Executive Director as well as the Deputy Registrar for the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors under the continuing agreement with the Ontario association. The original 5 year agreement with the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors came to a close in 2000 and the Board of Directors determined that in order to move forward and increase the effectiveness of the CCLS a commitment to a dedicated Executive Director and office space was necessary. The Canadian Institute of Geomatics and the Association of Canada Land Surveyors were investigating new office space in Ottawa at the time and it was agreed that CCLS would join those two related organizations in a shared suite of offices in order to be centrally located in the Nations Capital and to increase communications with other Geomatics organizations. Sarah Cornett remained as Executive Director with thirty hours per week dedicated to CCLS projects and administration and the CIG was contracted to provide part time administrative support through their office staff. A significant increase in CCLS dues from $50 to $65 per active member of each member association provided the necessary funding for more staff hours. At the January 2001 Annual General Meeting the Association of Canada Lands Surveyors, who had achieved self-governing status in March 1999, became a full member of the CCLS with Carl Friesen of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, becoming the first Director for Canada Lands. The Future The surveying profession is undergoing profound changes in many of its disciplines. These changes are creating new concerns and challenges. CCLS looks forward to continued cooperation with other associations in meeting these challenges. From the original concept in 1968 by John Pope, CCLS has evolved through 14 Provincial Presidents' meetings into a federally chartered Corporation. During its 20 years of existence it has grown in stature and credibility, not only in the eyes of its member associations but throughout the entire surveying profession.