mirror of
https://github.com/dataforcanada/d4c-service-main-site.git
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Diego Ripley
241 lines
12 KiB
Markdown
241 lines
12 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Welcome to Data for Canada
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toc: false
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---
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## Mission
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Data for Canada exists to bridge the gap between open data availability and data usability. We curate, clean, and re-engineer high-value Canadian datasets into high-performance, analysis-ready formats for data engineers, researchers/scientists, developers, and systems.
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## The Problem
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Canada creates incredible amounts of open data, from foundational road networks to federal census statistics and orthoimagery. However, these datasets are often locked in legacy formats, fragmented portals, or structures that require significant engineering effort to normalize. For our target audience, the "time-to-insight" is often bottlenecked by data preparation.
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## The Solution
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We act as the transformation layer. We aggregate datasets with permissive licenses and process them into "digestible" standards optimized for modern downstream applications.
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* **For Data Engineers, Researchers/Scientists, and Developers:** Skip the cleaning phase. Access normalized, documented data ready for analysis.
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* **For Systems:** Standardized data structures designed to feed directly into pipelines, data warehouses, and downstream services.
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**Our Stewardship:**
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Data for Canada takes ownership of the datasets we create, from start to finish. We ensure that data remains consistent, allowing for reliable analysis across **time and space**.
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## Target Software Ecosystem
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We adopt an **open-source first** approach, while supporting proprietary solutions to the best of our ability to ensure maximum accessibility. **We target the latest versions of these software packages** (e.g., modern GDAL/OGR) to leverage the newest improvements.
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Our data is optimized for:
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* **Core Libraries & Tools:** [GDAL/OGR](https://gdal.org/), [QGIS](https://qgis.org/), and [QField](https://qfield.org/).
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* **Analysis & Database:** [DuckDB](https://duckdb.org/), [SedonaDB](https://sedona.apache.org/sedonadb/latest/).
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* **Serving:** [GeoServer](https://geoserver.org/), [Martin](https://martin.maplibre.org/), and [ZOO-Project](https://zoo-project.org/).
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* **Serverless:** [Cloudflare Workers](https://workers.cloudflare.com/), [AWS Lambda](https://aws.amazon.com/lambda/), and [Google Cloud Run functions](https://cloud.google.com/functions).
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* **Enterprise:** Esri based products ([ArcGIS Pro](https://www.esri.com/en-us/arcgis/products/arcgis-pro/overview), [ArcGIS Server](https://enterprise.arcgis.com/)).
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## What Guides Us
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We prioritize our work in a utilitarian manner, aiming to provide the greatest amount of good to the greatest amount of individuals, though we remain open to making exceptions where necessary.
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Our approach is guided by the following:
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* [Link rot in LIS literature: a 20-year study of web citation decay, recovery and preservation challenges](https://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-05-2025-0286)
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* [Guidance on assessing readiness to manage data according to Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable (FAIR) principles](https://www.canada.ca/en/government/system/digital-government/digital-government-innovations/information-management/guidance-assessing-readiness-manage-data-according-findable-accessible-interoperable-reusable-principles.html)
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* [GC White Paper: Data Sovereignty and Public Cloud](https://www.canada.ca/en/government/system/digital-government/digital-government-innovations/cloud-services/digital-sovereignty/gc-white-paper-data-sovereignty-public-cloud.html)
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* [Sustainability of Digital Formats: Planning for Library of Congress Collections](https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/index.html)
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* [Cloud-Optimized Geospatial Formats Guide](https://guide.cloudnativegeo.org/)
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## Explore Sample Datasets
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See our processing pipeline in action. View samples and documentation for our current priority processes:
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* [**Statistical Products**](https://www.dataforcanada.org/docs/processes/statistical_products/): Census data and other quantitative datasets.
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* [**Foundation**](https://www.dataforcanada.org/docs/processes/foundation/#download-and-preview/): Core geospatial layers including address point, road networks, and buildings.
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* [**Orthoimagery**](https://www.dataforcanada.org/docs/processes/orthoimagery/#download-and-preview): High-resolution orthoimagery.
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## High-Level Overview
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**Note:** The data sources in the diagram below are **prioritized from left to right**, reflecting our current focus on processing high-value [statistical](https://www.dataforcanada.org/docs/processes/statistical_products/), [foundational](https://www.dataforcanada.org/docs/processes/foundation/#download-and-preview), and [orthoimagery](https://www.dataforcanada.org/docs/processes/orthoimagery/#download-and-preview) datasets first.
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```mermaid
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flowchart TD
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subgraph ds [Data Sources]
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Statistical@{ shape: lean-l}
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Foundation@{ shape: lean-l}
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Orthoimagery@{ shape: lean-l}
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FieldImagery@{ shape: lean-l, label: "Field Imagery"}
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EnvironmentClimate@{ shape: lean-l, label: "Environment, Climate, & Health"}
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Elevation@{ shape: lean-l}
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WebCorpus@{ shape: lean-l, label: "Web Corpus"}
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end
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subgraph pp [Processing Pipeline]
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Raw@{ shape: rect, label: "Raw Data Ingestion"}
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Transform@{ shape: rect, label: "Transform and Optimize"}
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end
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subgraph df [Dissemination Formats]
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Parquet@{ shape: lean-l}
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FlatGeoBuf@{ shape: lean-l}
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MVT@{ shape: lean-l}
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MLT@{ shape: lean-l}
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PMTiles@{ shape: lean-l}
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GeoPackage@{ shape: lean-l}
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FileGeodatabase@{shape: lean-l, label: "File Geodatabase"}
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COG@{ shape: lean-l}
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Zarr@{ shape: lean-l}
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WebP@{ shape: lean-l}
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JPG@{ shape: lean-l}
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PNG@{ shape: lean-l}
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JPEGXL@{ shape: lean-l, label: "JPEG XL"}
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AV1@{ shape: lean-l, label: "AV1"}
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WARC@{ shape: lean-l}
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end
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subgraph di [Distribution Infrastructure]
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ObjectStorage@{ shape: bow-rect, label: "Object Storage"}
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Metadata@{ shape: rect}
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HTTP@{ shape: rect, label: "Static Files"}
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DecentralizedDistribution@{ shape: rect, label: "Decentralized Distribution"}
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end
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subgraph ei [Experimental Infrastructure]
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GeoSpatialServices@{ shape: rect, label: "Geospatial Services"}
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%%Martin@{ shape: rect}
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%%GeoServer@{ shape: rect}
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%%ZOOProject@{ shape: rect, label: "ZOO-Project"}
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%%BBOXServer@{ shape: rect, label: "BBOX Server"}
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%%Panoramax@{ shape: rect}
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%%Pelias@{ shape: rect}
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end
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subgraph "Consumption"
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DataSci@{ shape: rect, label: "Data People & Developers"}
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Systems@{ shape: rect, label: "Systems"}
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end
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%% Relationships
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Statistical a1@--> Raw
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a1@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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Foundation a2@--> Raw
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a2@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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Orthoimagery a3@--> Raw
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a3@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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FieldImagery a4@--> Raw
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a4@{animate:true, animation: fast}
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EnvironmentClimate a5@--> Raw
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a5@{animate: true, animation: fast}
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Elevation a6@--> Raw
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a6@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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WebCorpus a7@--> Raw
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a7@{animate: true, animation: fast}
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Raw a8@--> Transform
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a8@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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Transform a9@--> df
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a9@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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Parquet a10@--> FlatGeoBuf
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a10@{animate: true, animation: fast}
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Parquet a100@--> FileGeodatabase
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a100@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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FlatGeoBuf a11@--> MVT
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a11@{animate: true, animation: fast}
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FlatGeoBuf a91@--> MLT
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a91@{animate: true, animation: fast}
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MVT a90@ --> PMTiles
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a90@{animate: true, animation: fast}
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MVT a96@ --> GeoPackage
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a96@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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MLT a92@ --> PMTiles
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a92@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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MLT a95@ --> GeoPackage
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a95@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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Zarr a12@ --> WebP
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a12@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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df a13@ --> di
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a13@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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COG a14@--> WebP
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a14@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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WebP a93@--> PMTiles
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a93@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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WebP a94@--> GeoPackage
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a94@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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WebP a103@--> JPG
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a103@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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WebP a104@--> PNG
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a104@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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JPG a101@--> FileGeodatabase
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a101@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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PNG a102@--> FileGeodatabase
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a102@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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ObjectStorage a15@--> Metadata
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a15@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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Metadata a16@--> HTTP
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a16@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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HTTP a17@--> ei
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a17@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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HTTP a18@--> DecentralizedDistribution
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a18@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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HTTP a19@--> DataSci
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a19@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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DecentralizedDistribution a20@--> Systems
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a20@{animate: true, animation: fast}
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DecentralizedDistribution a21@--> DataSci
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a21@{animate: true, animation: fast}
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Systems a22@ --> DataSci
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a22@{animate: true, animation: fast}
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ei a23@ --> DataSci
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a23@{animate: true, animation: slow}
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%% URLs
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click Foundation "https://github.com/dataforcanada/process-foundation-labs/" _blank
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click Statistical "https://github.com/dataforcanada/process-statistical-labs/" _blank
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click Orthoimagery "https://github.com/dataforcanada/process-orthoimagery-labs/" _blank
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click FieldImagery "https://github.com/dataforcanada/process-field-imagery-labs/" _blank
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click EnvironmentClimate "https://github.com/dataforcanada/process-environmental-climate-health-labs/" _blank
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click Elevation "https://github.com/dataforcanada/process-elevation-labs/" _blank
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click WebCorpus "https://github.com/dataforcanada/process-web-corpus-labs/" _blank
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click Parquet "https://github.com/apache/parquet-format/" _blank
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click FlatGeoBuf "https://flatgeobuf.org/" _blank
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click GeoPackage "https://www.geopackage.org/" _blank
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click FileGeodatabase "https://gdal.org/en/stable/drivers/vector/openfilegdb.html" _blank
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click MVT "https://github.com/mapbox/vector-tile-spec/" _blank
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click MLT "https://github.com/maplibre/maplibre-tile-spec/" _blank
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click COG "https://cogeo.org/" _blank
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click Zarr "https://github.com/zarr-developers/geozarr-spec/" _blank
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click WebP "https://developers.google.com/speed/webp/" _blank
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click PMTiles "https://github.com/protomaps/PMTiles/blob/main/spec/v3/spec.md" _blank
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click JPEGXL "https://jpeg.org/jpegxl/" _blank
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click AV1 "https://aomedia.org/specifications/av1/" _blank
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click WARC "https://github.com/iipc/warc-specifications/" _blank
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click DecentralizedDistribution "https://www.dataforcanada.org/docs/dissemination/" _blank
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click Metadata "https://stac-utils.github.io/stac-geoparquet/latest/spec/stac-geoparquet-spec/" _blank
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click GeoSpatialServices "https://github.com/dataforcanada/geo-services-labs/" _blank
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click Martin "https://martin.maplibre.org/" _blank
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click GeoServer "https://geoserver.org/" _blank
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click ZOOProject "https://zoo-project.org/" _blank
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click BBOXServer "https://www.bbox.earth/" _blank
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click Panoramax "https://gitlab.com/panoramax" _blank
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click Pelias "https://pelias.io" _blank
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```
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## Get Involved
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We are actively looking for new members and partners to help shape this project.
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### 🇨🇦 Infrastructure Support: Selective Mirroring
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To support data sovereignty and improve local access speeds, **we are currently seeking selective mirroring in Canada**.
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We are looking for academic institutions, research organizations, or ISPs interested in hosting mirrors of specific, high-value dataset subsets. If you have bandwidth and storage capacity to spare for the Canadian open data ecosystem, please [contact us](https://www.dataforcanada.org/contact/).
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### Contributing & Feedback
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Right now, we primarily need **feedback on our datasets and the underlying processes** used to generate them. If you have thoughts on data quality, format optimization, or pipeline improvements, we want to hear from you.
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* **Discussions:** Head over to [#dataforcanada:matrix.org](https://matrix.to/#/#dataforcanada:matrix.org) to chat, or go to the individual process GitHub repos to comment on specific issues.
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## License
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This project is licensed under the [MIT License](https://opensource.org/license/mit).
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