MISA/ASIM Canada Signs                     Cooperation Agreement with GMIS

June 27, 2007 -- MISA/ASIM Canada has signed an international cooperation agreement with a US national government technology association, giving Canadian municipalities more exposure to contacts and information on a global scale.

The agreement with GMIS International (Government Management Information Sciences, www.gmis.org) was signed in Reno, Nevada, during the annual GMIS International Conference.

Signatories for MISA/ASIM Canada were Ralph Blauel, director of technology services for the Region Halton, representing MISA Ontario, and Wayne Klamut, information technology manager of the City of Penticton, representing MISA BC.

The Ontario and BC chapters previously had informal relationships with GMIS International, but now there is a formal one-to-one relationship between the “sister” national organizations.

Kevin Peacock, president of MISA/ASIM Canada and branch manager of corporate information services for the City of Saskatoon, commented, “This is the second international agreement that Canada’s municipal IT association has entered into and it demonstrates that we are part of a worldwide transformation of municipalities – and are among the leaders in it, too.”

In November 2006, MISA/ASIM Canada joined the Linked Organisations in Local Authorities (LOLA – www. lola-online.org), a British-based group of international municipal-service organizations.

LOLA is also affiliated with GMIS International, as are organizations from Sweden, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Belgium.

The agreement signed in Reno states: “Seeking to strengthen the bonds of friendship and understanding between the members of the local governments in our countries and considering that the development of these friendly ties and cooperation will serve the cause of global communication and technology exchange, the organizations of MISA/ASIM Canada and GMIS International hereby resolve to establish and maintain friendly ties and cooperation as local information technology organizations.

“This should be accomplished, among other means, by the exchange of information, publications and delegates to conferences.”