Alec McEwen

(By David McArthur on the occasion of the presentation of Honorary Membership, 2008)

Members of Council, fellow colleagues and students, esteemed guests, Mrs. McEwen. It is my great pleasure and privilege to honour Dr. Alec McEwen today as a most deserving recipient of honourary membership in the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association.

“A Canadian Surveyor in Borneo.” If you were an Ontario Land Surveyor in 1957, this article in your Annual Report would certainly have caught your attention as unique, to say the least. But Borneo was only the beginning of the many adventures of Dr. Alec McEwen.

In the intervening fifty years, this Canada Lands Surveyor qualified as a certified land surveyor in East Africa, a member of the Association of Newfoundland Land Surveyors, and as a Chartered Geographer.

He also managed to obtain three law degrees, including a Ph.d in Law from the University of London, in 1979; thus, Dr. McEwen masterfully merged a law and surveying career with a travel itinerary to die for.

It would seem that, even as a young surveyor, Dr. McEwen preferred warmer climates. In 1954, he swapped his responsibilities as the Director of Town Planning in the northern Ontario town of Sault Ste. Marie, for similar duties at the opposite end of the world with the Government of North Borneo.

After a couple of years, he returned to Canada as chief surveyor with the Toronto Transit Commission, selecting routes for the Toronto subway system. (He hasn’t advised me whether he’s working on our own LRT, but I’m sure his help would be more than welcome.)

In 1958, warm climes called him again. This time, he went to Seychelles to provide United Nations technical assistance. (I don’t know where Seychelles is, but I’m assuming it’s warm.)

If you think about it, Alec had a heck of a career even before the Beatles got together.

Since the 1960s, Dr. McEwen interspaced his role as a private practitioner in Canada with many more international stints.

He provided advice to many countries on establishing new procedures and new systems of land tenure; the development of land information systems; as well as the laws governing land. He was employed by the governments of Tunisia, Algeria, Nigeria, Zanzibar, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Bahamas, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago. I’m definitely seeing a pattern here

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But wait—Alec also worked for more northern governments — Finland, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, and Russia, where in 1998, he provided consulting services for the newly-established land registration system in the Russian province of Novgorod following the fall of the communist government.

Alec has been in international hotbeds at history-making junctures throughout his incredible career. In addition to consulting extensively for the World Bank, he has made recommendations concerning many international boundaries.

From 1976 to 1990, he served as Commissioner for the Canada/US International Boundary Commission, where his duties included responsibility for surveying and mapping the land and water boundaries. I believe he recommended that putting a fence between the two countries was not the way to go.

Dr. McEwen did not neglect our provincial governments. In the 1970s, he spent four years as Director of Lands and Surveys in the Government of Newfoundland. Considering Alec began his articles in 1949, I believe he was a surveyor before Newfoundland was a province!

It seems that Dr. McEwen’s teaching career may have started in Tanzania—why not?—where he was sent in 1964 by CIDA to teach and develop curriculum for a residential surveying technical school.

The University of Calgary was lucky enough to count Dr. McEwen among its staff from 1991 to 1996. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Dean of Law was ticked off that Alec decided to teach in the Department of Geomatics Engineering, where he was a much admired Professor of Cadastral Studies. He now enjoys the title of Professor Emeritus of Geomatics Engineering— whatever that means.

Yeah, but what has Alec done lately? I mean, he hasn’t written a book since 1988, his last of three. The latest book he wrote in, was The Canadian Encyclopaedia, in 2000, in which he wrote on the “Labrador Boundary Dispute”—too bad I missed that chapter.

Throughout his career, Dr. McEwen has contributed over 100 published articles to the body of surveying law and practice in Canada and around the world. His latest may have been a history in Survey Review entitled “Surveying in Canada 1931- 2006” but then I only have his resume up to 2006.

Knowing Alec as I do, I’m sure he has kept busy. I believe his latest stint was in Kabul, where he undertook land tenure research in five Afghanistan provinces for the water, opium and livestock project, funded by the European Union.

Lately, Alec has continued working as a freelance consultant in land administration, land title registration and geomatics. He is also the editor of “Geomatics and the Law” in Geomatica.

Luckily for us, Dr. McEwen agreed to be the editor of our Association’s book, “The Law and Practice of Surveying in Alberta.” It was a great pleasure working alongside Alec on the first textbook dedicated to surveying in Alberta.

Throughout, Alec never lost his enthusiasm or his sense of humour. Our Association owes a great deal to this erudite, knowledgeable and honourable man. Dr. McEwen’s efforts and dedication in publishing, lecturing, and spreading his vast knowledge and wisdom throughout developed and developing countries is truly a remarkable achievement, and I am honoured to present Alec with the title of Honorary

Member of the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association. Thank you.

Dr. McEwen addressed the luncheon as follows:

It’s always most gratifying to be recognized, especially when the recognition comes from one’s professional colleagues and associates. This is a very proud occasion for me. I am deeply honored and extremely pleased to join the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association as an honorary member.

Thank you all very much.