Chair’s Comments: Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards 2002

It was my pleasure and privilege to serve as the Chair of the 2002 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards selection committee.

We had a daunting task as we had 63 submissions, an increase of 37% from the previous year. In advance of our meeting in June, the jury members received a binder with the project summaries submitted by the consulting firms. Our task was to review each project in preparation for the more detailed review of each project package on the day of the selection meeting.

All of the projects demonstrated the high calibre of engineering design we have in Canada. The jury’s deliberations were extensive and in the end we were in complete agreement on the winning entries. I think you will agree when you read the description of each.

The submitted projects covered a wide range of engineering expertise. Once again this year there was strong emphasis on the environment. As well as the 11 projects submitted in the Environment category, there were projects specifically designed to improve the environment, such as green buildings and rapid transit, and projects that made serious consideration of the impact they would have on the environment, such as highway and bridge construction.

I would like to thank the members of the jury for their diligence and hard work.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Marta Ecsedi, P.Eng.

CANADIAN

Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada

Association des ingnieur-conseils du Canada

THE JURY

Marta Ecsedi, P.Eng. — Chair

Ms. Ecsedi is Director of Alumni Relations with the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto. A graduate in civil engineering from the university in 1976, she went on to spend 25 years in senior management positions in telecommunication companies, including Bell Canada, Clearnet and Sprint Canada. She is chair of the Honour and Awards Committee of Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO), and past chair of the Women in Engineering advisory committee. She received PEO’s Order of Honour in 1994.

Tim Jervis, P.Eng. is Manager of Engineering and Construction for the Greater Vancouver Regional District. He graduated in 1980 in civil engineering from the University of British Columbia, and spent the first five years of his career with Dayton & Knight in Vancouver. He serves on the American Water Works Association Standards Committee on Steel Pipe and the American Society of Civil Engineers Pipeline Crossings Technical Committee. He has co-authored many technical papers on large-scale infrastructure design.

Marie Lemay, P.Eng., ing., is the Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers (CCPE) in Ottawa. She is responsible for the organization’s overall administration, for implementing policies and programs, for leading the federal government relations program and is also its primary spokesperson. Before joining CCPE she worked for 15 years as a municipal engineer and town general manager. She graduated from the University of Ottawa’s civil engineering program in 1983.

Justin Jain, P.Eng. is Vice President, Project Development and Investment Management at SaskPower International in Regina, Saskatchewan. He has been with the company since 1995, and altogether has 15 years of experience in the electrical utility business. He graduated from Gujarat University in India in 1972, and has degrees in mechanical and industrial engineering from the University of Washington, Seattle, a degree in industrial engineering from the University of Windsor, and an MBA in Finance from the University of Regina.

Christian Martin, ing. is Director General of CRIM Quebec, the Quebec City office of the Centre de recherche informatique de Montreal, a private, non-profit corporation in information technologies and computer applications. Its main activities are in research and development, technology transfer to the industry, training and software testing. Prior to joining CRIM, Martin was vice-president of DTI Telecom, working as a consulting engineer in software development for 13 years. He graduated from cole Polytechnique de Montreal in 1983 in electrical engineering.

Mike Murray, P.Eng. is Commissioner of Transportation and Environmental Services with the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario. He has overall responsibility for the region’s water supply, wastewater treatment, solid waste management, transportation and transit services. A graduate in chemical engineering from McMaster University, he also has a Master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Toronto. After graduating, he worked as a consulting engineer mainly in northern and western Canada.

Donald E. Haws, P.Eng. was Director of Physical Resources at North Bay’s College Education Centre from 1973 to 1995 and is currently in charge of a $12-million residence building project at Nipissing University. He graduated in civil engineering in 1959 from Queen’s University, Ontario and became co-owner of a construction company doing engineering works throughout Central and Northern Ontario. For his leadership in the North Bay Chapter of Professional Engineers of Ontario, he was given the PEO Order of Honour last year.

Philippe Lefebvre, ing. worked with Pageau Morel & Associates of Montreal throughout his career before his retirement. He became president of the firm in 1986 and was chairman in 1997-1998. Active in professional affairs, he was president of the Association of Consulting Engineers of Quebec in 1990, and Chair of the Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada in 1997. He is on the property advisory board of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Canada and he acts on arbitration tribunals. He graduated in mechanical-electrical engineering from the Universit de Montreal Ecole Polytechnique in 1958.

Donald Ingram, P.Eng. was president of Consulting Engineers of Ontario between 1995 and 2002. He is a graduate in mechanical engineering from the University of Toronto and has an MBA from McMaster University. Before joining CEO he was a senior executive in the energy, manufacturing and construction sectors. He was president of International Pipeline Engineering between 1984 to 1989, and president of Samuel Pipeliners between 1991 and 1993. He is past chairman of the United Way of Chatham-Kent fundraising committee.

Bruce Lorimer, Director General, Architectural and Engineering Services with Public Works and Government Services Canada, was scheduled to be the tenth juror, but at the last minute could not attend due to sickness.

The Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards are given annually, and are now in their 34th year. They are given to recognize outstanding work by consulting engineers on completed projects.

This year a record 63 entries were received. The jury was therefore expanded to 10 members. They met at the Canadian Consulting Engineer magazine offices in Toronto at the beginning of June.

Geographical distribution of entering firms: Nova Scotia 1, New Brunswick 2, Quebec 5, Ontario 21, Manitoba 4, Saskatchewan 1, Alberta 17, B.C. 12.

Entries received per category: Buildings 9, Transportation 21, Water Resources & Energy 8, Environment 11, Natural Resources, Mining & Industry 3, Studies, Software & Special Services 5, Project Management 6, International 0, Community Outreach & In-House Initiatives 0.

Technical awards are given to projects that demonstrate a high quality of engineering, having due regard for imagination and innovation. Consideration is given to the application of existing or new techniques, to the social, economic and environmental impact, to the complexity of the project, and to how well the result met the client’s needs.

The awards were presented at the Royal York Hotel, Toronto on October 26.