This is one of several articles profiling the online Spring Technical Meetings of TAC’s six councils and their committees that took place in April and May 2024.
TAC’s Environment & Climate Change Council had 37 attendees at its spring meeting.
Guest presentations
The Council heard presentations from Sarah Petrevan of the Cement Association of Canada on embodied carbon initiatives, Ken Donnelly with Beyond Attitude on braiding social science and engineering, and Robert Squillaci of Ausenco on the Burnaby Mountain gondola visualization project.
Committee updates
The Council received updates from its three committees.
The Climate Change Integrated Committee meeting attracted a record 53 attendees, who heard presentations on the Toronto Parking Authority’s electric vehicle strategy and the National Research Council’s work on the projection of future climate data for designing transportation infrastructure. The committee discussed the process and challenges relating to on-street and off-street parking, and how to plan for future infrastructure development when considering the impacts of climate change.
The Environmental Issues Committee meeting’s 38 participants received presentations on the development of Saskatchewan’s environmental management system and Indigenous participation in British Columbia’s invasive species program. A notable discussion occurred on environmental compliance monitoring.
The Environmental Legislation Committee held a meeting with 44 attendees. The Committee heard about the TransLink project designation under the Impact Assessment Act and proposed approaches for amendments to the Act. Members also discussed fish passage and offsetting requirements, the Canadian Navigable Waters Act and what waterways are considered navigable, erosion and sediment control, and contamination from creosote.
Environment & Climate Change Council Executive
The Council’s Executive includes:
- Chair – Dawn Irish (Ontario Ministry of Transportation)
- Vice-Chair – Glen Furtado (Cement Association of Canada)
- Past Chair – Shauna Lehmann (Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways)
- Board Liaison – Lon LaClaire (City of Vancouver)
- Chair, Climate Change Integrated Committee – Michael Touw (Town of Perth)
- Chair, Environmental Issues Committee – Robin Taylor (Ausenco)
- Chair, Environmental Legislation Committee – Melissa Rutherford (CBCL Limited)
Contact Craig Stackpole ✉ for more information on the council and its committees.
