With regard to mineral and energy resources --- Canada's global competitiveness, the soundness of its sustainable development and utimately its quality of life is influenced by two critical factors. They are the nature and scope of partnerships it maintains with the Provinces and Territories, Industry, academia and the public; and the access it provides to its comprehensive resource geoscience knowledge base.

The Consolidating Canada's Geoscience Knowledge Program (CCGK) is contributing to these factors through establishing and promoting mechanisms for more efficient and effective discovery, access, delivery and management of Canada's resource geoscience data, information and knowledge. In addition, in developing an implementation plan for the Co-operative Geological Mapping Strategies (CGMS¹) it seeks to define new partnerships with provincial and territorial agencies, industry and universities to jointly deliver geoscience knowledge as the basis for fact based decision making and improving the quality of life of Canadians.

Program Priorities and Desired Outcomes

• Partnerships in geoscience knowledge delivery primed for the future.
  
  National Geological Surveys Committee co-authored implementation plan to advance the Cooperative Geological Mapping Strategies (CGMS).
  
  
• Influencing Canadian competitiveness for attracting industry investments in mineral and energy exploration and development sustained through timely knowledge transfers.
  
  Through Syntheses, analyses and watching briefs on key areas for resource exploration and related sustainable development relevance.
  
  
• ESS, provincial and territorial digital knowledge bases and catalogues interconnected and used by resource development stakeholders as a definitive source of geoscience knowledge
  
  Through Online, introperable access to key ESS geoscience information for resource exploration, and in conformity with Government On-line requirements.

Partners

• Canada's Provinces and Territories ---mineral, mines and energy sectors
• Other government departments such as Regional Development Agencies
• Energy and Minerals Industry sector
• Academic Institutions
• Earth Science Sector Programs

These projects were active from 2002-2005 and have now been completed:

• A Project to jointly develop with the Provinces and Territories, an implementation plan for the Cooperative Geoscience Mapping Strategies¹
  
  
• A suite of Geoscience Data Repository Projects (GDR) designed to implement the framework whereby Earth Science Sector's accumulated resource geoscience data, information and knowledge can be discovered, shared, accessed evaluated and integrated with other data sources.
  
  
• Comprehensive syntheses of the state of geoscience knowledge, understanding and data/information gaps related to the Nation's Energy and Mineral resources.
  
  
• Completion of a suite of resource related studies including the Ancient Pacific Margin Natmap; Eastern Canada Laurentian Natmap; Red Lake Gold studies; East coast offshore petroleum studies; Triassic Time evaluations.
  
  
• A suite of 4 highly focussed Targeted Geoscience Initiative Projects including-- Appalachian Energy; Ontario hydrocarbons; Williston Basin hydrocarbons and Saskatchewan Diamondiferous Kimberlites.

For more information pleae contact Phil Moir

¹ Co-operative Geological Mapping Strategies is an initiative of National Geological Surveys Committee with a 10-year goal to substantially improve the geoscience knowledge base across Canada. Canada's Mines Ministers approved it in September of 2000.