Hi Tom, I appreciate your concerns, and I hope I can address them here. It sounds like you may be in the US (the poster below is right, "ageing" is correct spelling in Canada) so I will point out a few differences as well.
Our group came into existence in 2009 and that is when we took our domain. I don't know what it was used for previous to that, but obviously it was some type of spam. In terms of being one letter off of another group, I admit, we probably didn't research it enough but we were a non-profit starting up on a volunteer basis. It fits our name, and we have also added oinweb.ca for URL shortening and to help alleviate confusion.
Yes, there is federal regulation surrounding these activities, however we do not work directly or offer any services to any immigrants or individuals. We are not involved in the settlement process, and we are not involved in any business transactions. The bulk of what we do is research, and from there come recommendations that communities are welcome to take or not. These licensing requirements do not apply to us, and I doubt that we would even be allowed to become licensed because of the nature of our work. We simply do not have any contact with any legal or business transactions.
Second, business succession may have a different meaning in the US. In Canada, the process is meant to take place while the entrepreneur is alive. Were we dealing with estates, then yes, you would be correct. This example may help to clarify:
Imagine that you were a successful business owner for 20+ years, but because of skewed demographics the bulk of your towns population is too old or too young to buy it. If you do have kids, they have likely left for a larger city like Toronto. This means that a profitable business, that could be a great opportunity for an immigrant could disappear, and potentially even trigger a domino effect (i.e. more businesses closing). We have seen this in some communities, particularly those hit by the decline in the auto industry. This doesn't mean that the towns are dying or dead, but it certainly can make things challenging.
The GIS data portion doesn't relate to this, but certainly helps us in research. Canadian census data is not as rich, un-aggregated or recent as US census data appears to be (although my experience with US data is highly limited; I know that in Canada we used to have one long form census every 5 years that was recently abolished by our government). Also, until recently, this data was highly expensive. To obtain 2006 data for Ontario used to cost approximately $6000, which is quite a bit of money for a non-profit. While GIS does not solve or replace this, it is a great analytical tool.
Third, I agree completely, that businesses will only sell for that they are worth. The issue is not value, but rather a highly skewed demographic. And again, our intended audience are those already in Canada, the majority would already have a legal status or be well on their way to obtaining it. Without at least permanent residency, I imagine that just buying the business itself would be incredibly difficult, as I can't think of a bank that would finance the deal. In terms of brain drain, we are not looking to stop, but rather bring new people in. I can't stop youth exodus, but I can try to promote rural regions as opportunities. There aren't really false bidders, but rather no bidders.
Fourth, again, we do not offer any services directly, are not funded to do so, and do not receive any type of cut from any transactions. We are not realtors, lawyers or anything similar, simply researchers offering our ideas to interested communities.
Fifth, I am not sure if you mean my name personally or my groups. This is a product of our website. If you can clarify, I can certainly look into it.
Sixth, as researchers, we can choose what tools we want to use, period. You cannot decide what we do and do not need. And many communities already use GIS, but not in this fashion. Currently, we are not charging any of them for our work, so I don't see the harm in visualizing data or carrying out a spatial analysis. If the whitepaper wasn't to your liking, there isn't much that I can do there.
Seventh, yes I am not a developer/programmer or anything of the sort. The developers that I have hired, although experienced in open-source, do prefer MS solutions, and simply offered their idea as something that they could maintain easier long term. As much as I like open source, there are certainly areas where I personally feel that Microsoft is miles ahead, or at the very least the feature/solution is far more accessible. I could have easily misunderstood the term geometry function during a discussion; I am simply trying to learn to see what alternatives may exist and I have seen some excellent feedback so far.
In terms of what is in it for me, I grew up in a rural community that is being impacted by these very issues. My parents still live there, and every time I see the downtown it seems like yet another business has closed. Does this mean that any prospective immigrants coming to a rural town are facing risks? Yes, of course they are, and no one is forcing them or scamming them into moving. You cannot imagine the number of people with Masters and PhDs driving taxis or cleaning homes or living off of welfare. I think that taking the chance of business failure in a rural community might be preferable to urban misery. If I can contribute in some way to helping rural communities and immigrants, and still make a living, then that is what is in it for me.
