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COLUMNS
04 | Comment
This issue celebrates the importance of youth, diversity and gender balance in the engineering community.
18 | Legal
A recent ministry of labour decision shows how occupational health and safety (OHS) call for more than mere regulatory compliance.
22 | Conversation
A new library is set to become Waterloo Region’s first net-zero/carbon-neutral municipal facility.
FEATURES
5
COVER STORY
Top 10 Under 40
This year, for the third time, Canadian Consulting Engineer administered a national awards program to recognize up-and-coming consulting engineers. The industry responded with a wide variety of worthy nominations. Now, we showcase the winners.
12
Women in Engineering: Closing the Gender Gap
Canadian Consulting Engineer's second annual Advance Women in Engineering virtual summit focused on breaking down barriers to inclusion, enhancing educational opportunities and achieving gender parity in governance.
July/August 2024 Volume 65 | ISSUE 4 ccemag.com
15 Supporting Mental Health in the Workplace
Mental health issues can lead to a toxic workplace and hamper both productivity and overall corporate culture..
20
Reimagining Flood Management
With increasing frequency and intensity of weather events, it is crucial to rethink engineering’s approach and work with communities to get them more involved in building resilient urban environments.
COVER
Comment
by Peter Saunders
Celebrating youth and diversity
It is a true pleasure in this issue to showcase not only the winners of our third annual Top 10 Under 40 Awards, but also a detailed recap of our second annual Advance Women in Engineering virtual summit (which was broadcast live on June 20).
Here is some context regarding the exceptional young professionals (YPs) you’ll meet in our cover story. We received nearly 50 nominations this past spring for the Top 10 Under 40 Awards. As the majority of these submissions offered detailed, insightful descriptions of highly deserving candidates, it was no easy feat to determine the winners.
“Do you have a strategy to expand your hiring horizons?”
It is worth mentioning that in previous editions, all of the winners were in their 30s, as one might expect given the need for plenty of real-world experience to impress our judges— i.e . the members of our editorial advisory board (EAB)— and earn high scores from them. This year, however, was particularly notable for the selection of our youngest winner yet: Felicia Crozier, 27, at Convertus Group in Surrey, B.C.
Featured on this issue’s cover, Crozier may not have had a long career yet, but her passion for the environment (she is a process leader at a biofuel facility), leading her team members, educating the public and contributing to other teams’ projects showed she was certainly worthy of inclusion among this year’s winners, a highly diverse group from across Canada.
It is also heartening to see that, once again, fully half of this year’s winners are women, given the industry continues to struggle with the challenge of gender balance. We are still a long way off from achieving Engineers Canada’s modest
’30 by 30’ target, whereby 30% of all newly licensed engineers are to be women by 2030.
That brings us to our Advance Women in Engineering virtual summi, which drew more than 320 preregistrations and then, for the June 20 broadcast itself, more than 180 live viewers.
(Hopefully, those who registered but did not attend the live broadcast will still make sure to view the video recordings!)
With a focus on breaking down the remaining barriers to entry, increasing access for girls and women to key educational opportunities, detoxifying workplaces and striving for gender parity at the executive leadership level, this special event offered a myriad of thoughts on how to close the still-gaping gender gap. If you haven’t watched the summit yet, I highly recommend doing so; my recap article includes a link to the recordings.
Is your firm succeeding at attracting both women and men as interns, engineers-in-training (EITs) and new hires with the potential to place in our Top 10 Under 40 next year? If not, do you have a strategy to expand your hiring horizons? And if so, what have been the secrets to your success? Have you been able to retain people for the long term?
We’d very much like to hear from you, for your reflections on the past, your observations of the present and your hopes for the future. We are already starting to plan next year's Advance Women in Engineering event, which will provide a great chance to share your stories. My email address is below; drop me a line!
Peter
Saunders • psaunders@ccemag.com
SCAN CODE TO VISIT CCE’S WEBSITE: Find the latest engineering-related news, stories, features and analysis from across Canada
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Top 10 Under 40
We present our third annual lineup of winners. By Peter Saunders
Earlier this year, Canadian Consulting Engineer reached out once again to recognize up-and-coming engineers across the country. The industry responded with many worthy nominations. The following are the winners, as selected by our editorial advisory board (EAB), in alphabetical order by surname.
Rahim Ahmad Rahim Ahmad, 33, is manager of construction services and part of the ownership team at Associated Engineering in Saskatchewan.
“As a kid of South Asian heritage, the career options from my parents were doctor, lawyer or engineer,” he laughs. “I was good at math and science, so I gravitated toward engineering.”
After moving from Surrey, B.C., to Warman, Sask., Ahmad earned his degree in civil engineering at the University of Saskatchewan. He was inspired by residential construction in Warman, Canada’s fastest-growing municipality at the time.
“I was brought up in the Ahmadiyya Muslim community with the mindset of service to others,” he says. “Civil engineering seemed to be the pathway to make a difference with my skill set.”
After joining Associated as
a summer student, Ahmad turned his focus to municipal infrastructure.
“I got a lot of hands-on and design experience with topographic surveys, construction layouts for roadwork and watermain inspections,” he explains. “It made me realize the diverse nature of municipal infrastructure. Each day is not the same as the last!”
Sticking with Associated Engineering after graduation, he went on to participate in the design team for Central Saskatchewan’s mega-scale Westside Irrigation Project (WIP); serve as civil engineer of record for the Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant Renewal; and manage a multi-firm team on the Husky Direct River Intake (DRI) project in Lloydminster.
“Rahim’s communication skills and attention to detail help him lead large, multi-disciplinary teams to co-ordinate complicated projects,” says Ryan Husband, P.Eng., irrigation engineer and councillor for the town of Outlook, Sask., for which Ahmad helped study the raw water supply. “His soft skills match beautifully with his professional skills.”
Since last year, Ahmad has led a new construction services group in Associated’s Saskatoon water division,
with a vision of growing it into a training ground for young engineers-in-training (EITs).
“Rahim is committed to furthering the profession by helping future leaders grow in their careers,” says Paul Pinder, P.Eng., the firm’s vice-president (VP) and general manager (GM) for Saskatchewan. “He has already proven himself to be a leader.”
Ioana Babus, 30, is a Toronto-based electrical engineer and associate with Stantec. Among her roles with the firm, she is leading a Canada-wide initiative to update electrical specifications and is part of an electrical engineering council that focuses on quality control across North America.
One might say the profession is in her blood: both of her parents and some of her aunts and uncles are engineers.
“Growing up, I loved math, science and English—any course other than gym, really,” Babus laughs. “Yet, I struggled with what to study. My family never pressured me, but my dad—who was licensed in Romania before we moved here—explained how an engineering degree could take me a lot of places.”
And given she had already helped her father with electrical work for his contracting business, she had relevant experience for eventually drawing blueprints as a consulting engineer for real-world installations.
After graduating as an electrical engineer from the University of Waterloo and completing internships with consulting engineering firms NORR, WalterFedy and Smith + Andersen, Babus attained her LEED Green Associate (GA) and P.Eng. designations. She continued on full-time with Smith + Andersen as an electrical designer until the opportunity came along to join Stantec in 2022.
“I enjoy the people aspect of consulting,” says Babus. “I don’t think I could sit in front of a computer all day. I love working with clients, contractors and our own internal design team.”
She also mentors high school students, interns and
Ioana Babus
junior engineers; co-chairs the Toronto chapter of the Women@Stantec employee resource group; and organizes social events, such as mixers and volleyball tournaments.
“I’m very nosey—and I say that proudly!” she laughs. “I love meeting people and I’m fortunate that Toronto is a hub where we get colleagues visiting from other Stantec offices across the globe. I enjoy getting looped into their projects and expertise. Everyone has an interesting story that I would never know about unless I talked to them.”
Courtney Bourgeois
Courtney Bourgeois, 38, is an associate and a senior project manager with Hatch, leading a Calgary-based linear infrastructure team of 14 and working on some of Canada’s largest rail projects.
“Developing this team is one of my passions,” she says. “I’m grateful for the mentorship I received and I want to pay it forward.”
Born and raised in Calgary, Bourgeois studied engineering at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont.
“I was drawn to the practicality of getting to build something that helps
society,” she says.
Since joining Hatch right out of university, back in 2008, she has delivered projects for Class 1 railways and industrial freight rail clients. She has also held pivotal roles on large-scale transit initiatives, including Calgary’s Green Line light-rail transit (LRT) project and a rolling stock, systems, operations and maintenance (RSSOM) bid pursuit for Toronto’s Ontario Line subway. The social nature of such projects appeals to her.
“Another of my passions is connecting people to deliver a project as a team,” she says. “My skill set is really about bringing the best out of people to achieve overall excellence."
From 2009 to 2014, she held a variety of roles in the Consulting Engineers of Alberta (CEA) Young Professional (YP) Group’s Calgary Committee, including board member, treasurer, vicechair and chair.
She has also promoted gender equality and currently serves as co-chair of the Women & Non-Binary Networking Chapter in Hatch’s Calgary office.
These days, Bourgeois continues to lead large-scale, long-term initiatives. For example, she is one of the design integration managers for Intercity Rail Developers (IRD), which is among the teams bidding for Transport Canada’s 1,000-km-plus high-frequency rail (HFR) project between Ontario and Quebec—which is considered the largest infrastructure project in Canadian history.
“Courtney brings a wealth
of knowledge and expertise to each project,” says Jason Huck, Hatch’s transit business director and operations manager for Alberta, who nominated her for this award.
“She leverages technical understanding, strong leadership, excellent communication and collaboration skills to successfully deliver complex infrastructure in value over $5 billion.”
Felicia Crozier
Felicia Crozier, 27, is an engineer and process leader with Convertus Group for its biofuel facility in Surrey, B.C., supervising a team of 12.
In addition to overseeing and optimizing the conversion of organic waste—more than 190,000 tonnes so far—into natural gas and compost, she leads tours for students, government officials, prospective clients and community members and has contributed as a consultant to the company’s other facilities across Canada.
“I grew up in North Vancouver and spent a lot of time outdoors with my family camping and gaining an appreciation for nature,” she explains. “I loved math and sciences and wanted to apply those technical skills to sus -
tainability.”
Crozier found her niche while studying chemical and biological engineering at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
“The type of work I found most interesting was the creation of biofuel,” she says, noting it was a young and emerging industry. While anaerobic digestion had been used by farmers in the past on a small scale, environmental policies—such as carbon credits—were now driving industrial profitability.
“Everyone wants to divert their organics from landfill, minimize methane and hit their climate targets,” she says. “This facility was the first to integrate wet and dry anaerobic digestion at an industrial scale and it injects renewable natural gas directly into the FortisBC grid.”
The company, known at the time as Orgaworld, had never previously taken in students, but created a position for Crozier. It was the perfect fit: she quickly transitioned from intern to engineer-in-training (EIT) and was certified as a P.Eng. last year. As her career progressed, so did the efficiency of the plant.
“By actively improving our processes, she has contributed to our broader goals of sustainability and closing the loop for a better future,” says Ann-Marie Cooper, her colleague who nominated her for this award.
“I absolutely want to keep going and move things forward,” says Crozier. “As an emerging industry, there is so much room for improvement!”
Imran Gehlen
Imran Gehlen, 38, is associate vice-president (AVP) of operations for AECOM’s British Columbia transportation practice. He leads some 60 infrastructure personnel, working on large rail, transit, tunnel, highway, road and bridge projects across Canada.
Under his leadership, AECOM was selected as preferred proponent for Edmonton’s Capital Line South Extension and the Surrey Langley Skytrain Project Package 2. He now holds senior leadership roles for these projects as they reach implementation.
“Imran represents the future of the engineering industry,” says Bruce McCuaig,
AECOM’s regional business line leader for transportation. “Technically proficient, articulate, confident and always ready to sit down with colleagues to work together on problems, he brings a positive attitude to projects and searches for solutions that address the interests of various stakeholders.”
Congratulations, Rahim Ahmad, on your Top 10 Under 40 Award!
As a Project Manager and Manager, Construction Services in our Saskatoon office, Rahim Ahmad, P.Eng. has provided clients with technical expertise and uncompromising service to deliver sustainable and resilient infrastructure solutions. A dedicated volunteer, Rahim gives generously of his time to community and professional organizations. Rahim also recently received ACEC-Canada’s Allen D. Williams Scholarship award.
Congratulations, Rahim!
Perhaps surprisingly, Gehlen’s studies at Simon Fraser University (SFU) began in general arts, which he hoped would lead into accounting or law—but then he pivoted to engineering when a novel area of study arose.
“A new program in mechatronics piqued my interest,” he explains. “It offered an opportunity to combine mechanical, systems, with an eye to automation.”
Earning a BASc in mechatronics, Gehlen did a co-op term as an electrical designer for Empac Engineering before joining SNC-Lavalin (now AtkinsRéalis), where he rose from electrical design engineer to electrical group manager.
“I was one of the first
Congratulations Courtney Bourgeois
mechatronics graduates to end up in consulting engineering,” he says. “It’s great now to see graduates from the program excelling in the consulting business, particularly in transit systems.”
With AECOM since 2019, Gehlen says consulting has also fulfilled his previous interests.
“Some days, you’re wearing a legal hat, reviewing contracts on multi-billion-dollar jobs,” he says. “Another day, you’re in operations, reviewing the financial health of your business. So, while I’m rooted in engineering, I get to wear the other two hats that I set out to initially— legal and finance—both of which are critical to building a successful business.”
Courtney continually demonstrates dedication to
engineering and mentorship for young professionals.
We are proud to recognize her as a leader within our organization and feel privileged to have her as part of the Hatch family.
Sameer Hasham
Sameer Hasham, 39, is an associate and group leader with RJC Engineers, specializing in building science. As a Certified Passive House Designer (CPHD) and board member of the British Columbia Building Envelope Council (BCBEC), he focuses on designing enclosures for buildings with consideration for both structural and thermal engineering of the façade.
After emigrating from Kenya at 17, Hasham completed high school in Canada. He was drawn to physics, learning how things work at a fundamental level.
“My father was a steel fabricator who designed and built structures,” he explains. “I initially wanted to be an architect, but found myself enjoying the engineering side of putting things together.”
While attending the University of British Columbia (UBC), he joined RJC as a co-op student.
“As soon as I started studying civil engineering, I knew it was exactly where I wanted to be,” says Hasham. “It’s the connection between learning concepts from books and practical, hands-on construction work.”
After completing his degree, he rejoined RJC as a
design engineer. He has since contributed to national best practices, e.g. by developing design tools for fenestration assemblies’ structural and thermal performance. He also contributed research to a guide for mitigating thermal bridging in wood-frame balcony assemblies and to a digital twin-based analysis of deep-energy retrofit strategies, both for the B.C. Housing Excellence Grant.
“It’s interesting to apply building science to designs for retrofitting existing buildings while they are still occupied,” he says.
Projects where he has served as building envelope engineer of record have included Vancouver Island’s McLoughlin Point Wastewater Treatment Plant and Victoria’s LEED Platinum-certified Capital Park office and retail building. Today, he leads a team of engineers and technologists on Vancouver Island and has overseen hygrothermal analysis and reporting for the retention of heritage fabric in the redevelopment of Ottawa’s Block 2, across from Parliament Hill.
“Our Victoria office has doubled in size since I joined,” he says. “Building science was not well-known when I was in school, but now the young talent coming into the industry is amazing. And I’m in a position now where I can teach and mentor, which gives me a great sense of fulfilment.”
Jonathan Palmer
Jonathan Palmer, 34, is president and CEO of Extropic Energy in Kelowna, B.C. Over his career, he has con -
sulted for such utilities as FortisBC, BC Hydro, FortisAlberta, ENMAX, SaskPower and Manitoba Hydro, developing electrical master plans and modelling growth for campuses, communities and cities across Western Canada.
Palmer’s path to the profession started at a young age. His father, who had studied engineering technology and worked as an electrician and millwright, fostered an interest in technology.
“He once bought seven computers for $10 from an auction and gave them to me,” he says, “so I could take them apart and put half of them back together!”
By high school, not only was Palmer taking standard math and physics classes, but he also studied Internet business technology at the college level. To develop both technical expertise and business acumen, he followed a degree in electrical engineering from the University of British Columbia (UBC) with an MBA from the University of Saskatchewan.
“Engineering gave me hard skills that could be applied in a business context,” he explains.
Palmer worked for two
consulting engineering firms: Primary Engineering and Construction, for whom he launched Saskatchewan operations, and CIMA+, which enabled a return to Kelowna.
Then, in 2021, he launched Extropic.
“I’ve always had a high entrepreneurial drive,” he says. “I wanted more flexibility to pursue other opportunities and take a holistic approach to energy, from planning and conceptualization to engineering, implementation and asset management.”
Palmer also identified opportunities to collaborate with Indigenous communities in a spirit of partnership and reconciliation. In 2023, he helped create Aurora Renewables, a construction company that partners with the Des Nedhe Group and English River First Nation to build solar, battery and microgrid projects in Northern Saskatchewan.
Today, Palmer enjoys seeing Extropic’s early energy roadmaps yielding real-world implementations.
“We’re just getting started!” he says. “I hope to see more projects come to life and solve the challenges of the energy transition in a positive way.”
Jennifer Routhier
Jennifer Routhier, 34, is AECOM’s decarbonization lead, overseeing greenhouse gas (GHG) quantification and reduction strategy for all business sectors across Canada. Based in Mississauga, Ont., she is a certified EnVision Sustainability Professional (ENV SP) through the
Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) and life-cycle carbon modelling practitioner through AECOM’s own Innovation Laboratory (iLAB).
“I am grateful for a career at the forefront of innovation for decarbonizing our planet,” she says. “Carbon has become a critical performance metric. Implementing technical, solution-driven and realistic change is not just a possibility, but a necessity—and engineering will play a pivotal role in this transformation”
Growing up, Routhier was inspired by the example of engineers in her family, including her brother and some of her cousins.
“Engineering was top-of-mind as I was entering high school,” she recalls. “I was always good at science and math and enjoyed problem solving. It was a natural choice.”
After earning her degree in chemical process engineering from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., where her thesis was on sustainable fuel cell design using alternative fuels from wastewater processing, Routhier worked for Genivar/WSP as an environmental consultant and for Trinity Consultants as an environmental air quality consultant, before joining AECOM in 2016.
“What drew me to consulting engineering is the element of change,” she says. “It’s always fresh, new and exciting. Every project is different and every client is different.”
One of her most ambitious projects has been a GHG reduction and net-zero program for Toronto Pearson Inter-
national Airport, which should contribute to advancing sustainability efforts across the aviation sector.
“She has not only defined the program and managed the team on all technical aspects, but also advised on new technologies yet to be deployed in the sector,” says Justin Trevan, regional strategy and growth lead at AECOM. “I doubt there is a more technically skilled, innovative engineer solving bigger problems in Canadian aviation than Jennifer right now.”
Jean-François Veilleux
Jean-François Veilleux, 38, is a partner and project director with CIMA+ in the energy and resources sector. In his 15 years with the firm, he has been instru mental in designing and commissioning renewable and electrification projects, including solar, wind, hydrokinetic, battery, microgrid and electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.
In high school, Veilleux’s passion for math set him on what he calls a “straight path” to engineering, first at Cégep de Sherbrooke and then at Université de
Congratulations to our colleague Jean-François Veilleux for winning a Top 10 Under 40 Award for his outstanding leadership and expertise in supporting our clients in their energy transitions.
Photo: Jean-Michel Naud
partner in 2020.
Veilleux completed his first energy projects in Quebec before taking on further challenges across the country.
“When Jean-François heard about opportunities for solar projects in Ontario, he volunteered to move to Toronto with his wife and daughters, to build local expertise,” recalls Steeve L’Heureux, CIMA+’s executive vice-president (EVP) for energy and resources. “His leadership grew our Ontario group into an independent team. I had no hesitation in entrusting him with one of our most important projects: managing the commissioning of electrical equipment worth more than $10 million for a 100-MW solar plant.”
Veilleux contributed significantly to Nunavut’s Qulliq Energy Corporation (QEC), visiting 18 communities to conduct arc-flash studies across 19 power plants under challenging site conditions.
“I realized I could combine renewable energy with my knowledge of these communities to start creating a business case for remote microgrids,” he explains.
This led to further work in the territories and a notable microgrid in Lac-Mégantic, Que. Designed to operate independently of the main grid, this project has served as a ‘test bed to increase the resiliency of power grids in Quebec’s northern communities.
Now, Veilleux is leveraging his experience in a new field:
transportation.
“After several microgrid projects and mentoring younger colleagues I’ve been able to focus more on transportation electrification projects over the past three years. This has been a fantastic opportunity to embrace new challenges.”
38, based in Guelph, Ont., was recently promoted to municipal infrastructure and planning market chief for J.L. Richards & Associates (JLR).
In 2000, the Walkerton water crisis sparked Wilson’s interest in an engineer’s role in public health, community consultation and sustainable infrastructure.
“I lived in a small, rural Ontario town that was impacted by regulatory changes following the Walkerton tragedy,” she explains. “I remember going to a presentation that was addressing water concerns in our community. It felt like there was a disconnect between the technical advice from the professional engineers sitting across from us and our lived experience.”
Driven to help rectify that situation, Wilson earned her B.Sc. in geological engineering from the University of
New Brunswick (UNB) and her masters of geography at the University of Guelph. She worked for a residential construction company and a consulting engineering firm on municipal water and wastewater projects before joining JLR as an environmental engineer-in-training (EIT)—on the very first day its Guelph office opened for business.
“It was an exciting time to join the firm!” she says.
Wilson was promoted over time to environmental engineer, associate, senior environmental engineer and civil, environmental and planning manager.
Meanwhile, the Guelph office grew from four to more than 50 staff. The firm credits Wilson’s contributions as instrumental to this growth. These contributions included projects for small and midsize communities and building relationships both within the firm and externally—not just with clients, but also with residents.
“I do a lot of public-facing work,” says Wilson. “It’s important to build rapport with community members and ensure technical information is presented in an approachable format. It helps the public appreciate the importance of municipal infrastructure.”
Though she is now a leader in her firm, Wilson still describes herself as an ‘up-andcomer’ in consulting engineering, focused building a larger presence.
“I’m excited about broadening my reach within the firm,” she says, “and JLR’s within the province.”
Jane Wilson
Jane Wilson,
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Closing the Gender Gap
Advance Women in Engineering recently returned for its second year. By
Peter Saunders
On June 20, Canadian Consulting Engineer hosted its second annual Advance Women in Engineering virtual summit, in advance of International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) on June 23. The event, which drew more than 180 live viewers, was sponsored by Reliable Controls, the Canadian Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (CPCI), Ainley Group, McElhanney and Rheem.
Building on the foundation of the inaugural 2023 edition, which discussed welcoming women to the profession and different paths to career satisfaction, this year’s expanded event focused on breaking down barriers to inclusion, enhancing educational opportunities, supporting mental health in the workplace and achieving parity in governance.
Breaking down barriers to inclusion
The summit kicked off with a keynote presentation by Professional Engineers Ontario’s (PEO’s) CEO and registrar, Jennifer Quaglietta, P.Eng. As the first woman to hold the dual role in the organization’s 100-plusyear history, she spoke about her past experi-
ences and the work her organization is doing now “to help create a more inclusive engineering profession.”
“In engineering we use stress tests, subjecting bridges and buildings to an extra-heavy load beyond what they would normally face, to make sure they will stand up to all the demands we place on them,” said Quaglietta. “When I started in engineering, I faced a series of personal stress tests, including comments about the clothes I wore and my ethnic background and questions about why I chose my career path. They’re becoming less common, but they’re still out there.”
She praised industry peers for persevering through these tests, which she acknowledged as “unfair obstacles that should come down,” as even growing numbers of women engineers have proven slow to approach Engineers Canada’s ‘30 by 30’ goal—i.e. to have women comprise 30% of all newly licensed engineers across the country by 2030. In Ontario, Quaglietta reported, only 20.5% of newly licensed engineers in 2022 identified as women.
“I’m determined we will do better,” she said. “We should expand our thinking to in-
clude people from underrepresented and marginalized groups. Indigenous, trans and immigrant women will face different challenges from those I confronted and we need to take that into account.”
PEO conducted a gender audit of its own licensing process, which found women take longer than men to get licensed and report higher intentions to quit the process, as they find the experience requirement challenging, particularly if they have young children. They also cited a lack of support from educational institutions.
“Progress starts in schools,” said Quaglietta. “With more women in the profession—and more people from our generation moving into teaching—the education of engineers is changing for the better.”
By way of example, she cited increasing numbers of women deans and enrolment success at schools like University of Toronto (U of T), where more than 40% of first-year electrical engineering students are women.
Enhancing educational opportunities
On that note, the first of two panel discussions delved further into areas of improvement for
educating women engineers in Canada.
The panel was moderated by Erika Ryter, P.Eng., an environmental engineer, managing principal and business centre operations leader for Stantec, based in Mississauga, Ont.
“The number of women enrolled in post-secondary engineering programs has risen over historical numbers, but just 13% of practising engineers are women,” she said. “We’re still a long way from parity, both in education and in the workplace.”
Karen Callery, P.Eng., a station services specialist with Ontario’s Hydro One utility, spoke about her experience volunteering as director of logistics for Camp Engies, a not-for-profit that introduces girls to engineering.
“When Camp Engies was founded, there weren’t many opportunities to encourage elementary-school girls in engineering before they start to develop self-doubt in high school,” she explained. “The camp shows girls in Grades 5 through 8 how engineering is fun and interesting. At that age, they’re like sponges—they soak up ideas, embrace challenges and want to participate.”
“The ‘early and often’ approach to introducing girls to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education is really powerful,” agreed Marcia Friesen, P.Eng., professor and dean of the Price Faculty of Engineering at the University of Manitoba. “On our campus, we have a K-12 outreach program that makes 50,000 youth contacts per year through school curriculum workshops and STEM camps. It’s important to start early. It’s a lot harder to change self-perceptions after Grade 6.”
Once women are licensed as engineers, there can be new challenges in the workplace, as pointed out by Ilana Danzig, P.Eng., managing principal of the Vancouver office for Aspect Structural Engineers.
“Women leave the field if they don’t have champions helping them get to the next level of their careers,” she said. “I’d love to see the culture shift so we can support women through their careers, instead of leaving it to the individual to figure out.”
“School is essentially a solo endeavour, but in the workplace, the metrics change,” Friesen added. “Being technically strong is not the
only thing needed for advancement. Women also need access to professional skill development.”
“It’s impossible to succeed without some kind of mentorship,” Danzig agreed. “I’ve learned from a career coach, architects I’ve worked with and my peers. They’ve all helped me build confidence, make decisions and go for promotions. The network of support is really critical.”
Achieving parity in governance
The first panel discussion was followed by a second keynote presentation, with Lidia Pawlikowski of Hub International discussing how to support mental health in the workplace (see her article on p. 15), and finally by a second panel discussion, addressing the issue of gender parity at the governance level. It was moderated by Jeanette Southwood, P.Eng., vice-president (VP) of corporate affairs and strategic partnerships for Engineers Canada.
Beyond targets for licensing more women engineers, such as Engineers Canada’s aforementioned ‘30 by 30,’ another important goal is to increase the number of women in positions of leadership. Closing the gender gap at the governance level is significant not only for providing a path to success that breaks through the ‘glass ceiling,’ but also in ensuring Canada’s consulting engineering firms have viable succession plans in place.
One of the panelists was Montreal-based Caroline Codsi, who founded Women in Governance in 2010 and developed North America’s first parity certification in 2017. Today, nearly one million employees work for parity-certified organizations, including consulting engineering firms like AtkinsRéalis, CIMA+ and EXP.
“Closing the gender gap is important in all industries, but there are some where we’ve heard more excuses,” said Codsi. “Today, I see a huge difference in the rhetoric from consulting engineering firms. Everybody understands the value and positive impact of having more women at every level. It’s a question of fixing the workplace culture.” It was this goal that drove Codsi to develop parity certification, where organizations answer questions about themselves to discover where
Speakers in the first half of the event included (left to right) Jennifer Quaglietta, Erika Ryter, Karen Callery, Marcia Friesen and Ilana Danzig.
they have gaps.
“For a long time, in the engineering field, we would be told, ‘Oh forget it, we’re not going to bother because we’re never going to make it,’ but on the contrary, these are the organizations that need the most help!” she explained. “Those that have trouble attracting women in the first place are the ones that need a roadmap with recommendations, best practices and benchmarking.”
“We’re a traditional firm with more men than women, although we do have a majority-women board of directors,” said Karen Freund, Ontario regional executive VP (EVP) for CIMA+, which was the first of the aforementioned firms to achieve Women in Governance’s Parity certification, earning bronze in 2023 and silver in 2024. “Before we embarked on this process, we didn’t have a comprehensive understanding of the unique needs, strengths and values of women in the workplace. You get a lot more innovation with a more diverse workforce. And it’s been proven time and again, firms that have a gender-balanced workforce with deliver better financial results.”
“I'd love to see the culture shift so we can support womem through their caeers." - Ilana Danzig
An independent review helped CIMA+ identify opportunities for improvement. The firm implemented new initiatives and saw positive results, but also undertook a continuous challenge to improve its certification ranking. “This year, we’re aiming for gold!” said Freund.
The third panelist was Allyson Desgroseilliers, P.Eng. In her roles as both VP of environmental management and business support for WSP’s Earth and Environment (Prairies and North) team and only the second woman to chair
ACEC-Canada, she has addressed the relationship between the governance gap and succession planning.
“We can’t expect to close the gap without being very deliberate with succession planning,” she said. “It starts with our schools and making sure girls understand how engineering provides opportunities and benefits society. And we need to promote the fact that once they get into the engineering workforce, there are women leaders to learn from. Talent development and retention mean mentoring and sponsoring women who have joined our teams and ensuring their voices are heard at the table.”
By way of example, WSP has introduced a global mentorship program to help close its governance gap. As for ACEC-Canada, its board comprises member nominees from each province, so Desgrolliers and her colleagues cannot control its gender parity, but they can encourage the provincial organizations to select a diversity of people.
“We recently reviewed our bylaws, policies and governance to ensure we are not putting up any barriers,” she said. “We also have a future leaders network, which helps drive women in our sector to gain professional development experience from industry leaders.”
Other actions the panelists recommended included setting realistic targets in firms’ strategies (and making them public, for purposes of accountability), being more proactive in retention of high-performing women and continually evaluating metrics like pay equity.
“What gets measured gets managed,” said Codsi. “At the end of the day, that’s the key to everything!”
To view full video recordings of the virtual summit, including Q&A with those who viewed it live, please be sure to visit the event page at www.ccemag.com/virtual-events/ advance-women-in-engineering-2024.
Speakers in the second half of the event included (left to right) Lidia Pawlikowski, Jeanette Southwood, Caroline Codsi, Karen Freund and Allyson Desgroseilliers.
Supporting Mental Health in the Workplace s
By Lidia Pawlikowski
Ask any Canadian woman—whether native-born or immigrant, marginalized or affluent—and the story is the same: mental health is a struggle. In general, women are more likely than men to suffer from depression and anxiety.
That said, women are more likely than men to seek mental health support in the first place. They know all too well how mental health issues can lead to a toxic workplace and damage productivity and corporate culture. Today, they expect their employers to tackle this challenge head on.
Historically, employers have not done a great job of addressing these issues. And engineers, in particular, struggle to reach out for mental health support when it’s needed.
Organizations will have to take the lead, not by offering an isolated benefit or two, but by developing and implementing a comprehensive mental health strategy.
Strategy first
You can’t just jump in without a plan. Use outside consultants and experts, if necessary, to clarify the importance of’ mental health to the entire organization. Grant the leadership team the power to develop a clear mandate and then share that vision with human resources (HR), managers and supervisors. When leaders can support a plan in a clear, positive way, the message will trickle down. By attaching the messaging to outcomes, the plan can achieve positive results.
Use data
Your organization likely already has a variety of benefits-related data. Familiarize yourself with it to help adopt appropriate language around mental health in the workplace. Your data will reveal trends in the risks your employees are facing and how much those risks are costing the organization. This data can help you determine what kind of support employees need most. Leaders presented with actual aggregate employee data will better understand the challenge.
Meet employees where they are
Many organizations already offer mental health supports, but employees don’t know they are available or how to access them. If you've developed a tip sheet or toolkit, share it where they can find it. Set up a clear, organizeed repository on your intranet.
Invest in leaders
The importance of training leaders cannot be overstated, to help them learn to identify signs of declining mental health and have meaningful conversations with employees. These discussions can be challenging to navigate, but will help everyone. Managers should also exhibit healthy workplace habits, such as sticking to regular business hours and taking breaks, to show how to balance mental health needs with productivity.
Communicate appropriately
A strategy won’t work if no one knows about it. Share information regularly to help employees assess and identify mental health issues. Be sure your communications have purpose and a clear call to action, with a directive or an offer for support.
Listen to employees
Employees are your organization’s greatest asset. They know what they want and need and, on the other hand, what is a waste of time and/or unhelpful in terms of resources. Reach out to them for input. You don’t have to accept all feedback or ideas, but implementing ideas that don’t resonate with employees can lead to a negative experience. Take time to review their feedback and offer options that will resonate with them, to demonstrate support and attention.
Take care of yourself
No matter your role, understanding your own mental health and how to take care of it will contribute to a safer workplace for others. An organization’s Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) is a great place to begin, as it is designed to help at any point along one’s mental health journey, from prevention to intervention.
Send a strong message
A complete mental health strategy can help address challenges confronting today’s women in engineering. It is often just a matter of accounting for and putting existing assets into order and sharing the plan with your team, but by taking the challenge seriously, leaders can send a strong, positive message to their entire organization: mental health matters.
Lidia Pawlikowski is the health and performance practice lead for Hub International, a brokerage that provides employee benefits and business and personal insurance products and services. She was one of the keynote speakers for Canadian Consulting Engineer’s 2024 Advance Women in Engineering virtual summit on June 20. For more information, visit www.hubinternational.com.
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Senior Vice President, Canada
By Vincenzo Cutrone
Ensuring Safety Beyond Compliance
It is critical to reflect upon workplace accidents.
Occasionally, occupational health and safety (OHS) and facility maintenance professionals face stark reminders that meeting minimal legal compliance does not necessarily equate to safety. Whether these incidents entail a death, serious injury or near miss, they serve as grave indicators of the human cost of relying solely on basic legal standards.
More than anything, they are an urgent call for employers to adopt more comprehensive safety measures.
One example of this urgent need was a tragic incident in 2021 at a manufacturing facility in St. Catharines, Ont., where a worker died while replacing a pneumatic cylinder on a milling machine.
According to the provincial ministry of labour, the worker was not wearing any protection when they fell 2.86 m onto a concrete floor below and were fatally injured.
“Health and safety training is a continuous process."
The ministry found the manufacturing facility had failed to take every responsible precaution to prevent the injury, including “ensuring the worker used an adequate means of fall protection,” as outlined in Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA).
In the end, the manufacturer in questions was fined $325,000, including a 25% victim surcharge, as mandated by the Provincial Offence Act .
The human cost
Not only was this particular incident tragic, but current statistics paint a sobering picture for Ontario, where the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) reported approximately 92,000 workplace injury claims in 2022 alone.
OHSA and its construction and
industrial regulations set a baseline for essential safety practices, including crucial stipulations for fall protection at heights exceeding 3 m. However, as the incident at the manufacturing facility highlighted, fatal accidents can occur even below these thresholds.
More than any other case in recent years, the incident exemplifies the inherent risks Canadians face when their workplace’s safety measures are designed to meet minimum compliance requirements, rather than ensure total safety.
Vincenzo Cutrone is marketing manager
Protective measures are crucial for all areas where employees are working from heights.
“Assessments must consider all potential hazards."
Redefining safety
The urgent lesson to be drawn from this tragedy is we should view compliance not as a ceiling or goal, but as a floor or minimum requirement for safety.
To demonstrate leadership and provide a workspace that considers the safety of its users, we must go far beyond the bare minimum prescribed by legislation, taking a proactive approach, identifying potential hazards and implementing protective measures that anticipate—rather than react to— those hazards.
No two working environments are the same, but there are universal principles around safety that, if implemented at the manufacturing facility, could have prevented the loss of life:
Proactive risk assessment
Regular and thorough risk assessments should serve as the cornerstone of safety protocol. These assessments must consider all potential hazards, regardless of whether or not they fall under regulatory mandates.
Cultural commitment
Safety should be prioritized in every decision and communication, so as to create a ‘culture’ of safety that permeates every level of the organization and is valued over productivity or cost-cutting.
Safety innovation
Decision-makers can leverage a range of technologies and innovative practices to significantly enhance safety. In the case of the manufacturing facility, integrating fall protection systems where falls are less than 3 m could prevent injuries and fatalities.
Education and training
There is no ‘end point’ when it comes to health and safety training. Rather, it is a continuous process that evolves according to the changing risks of the work environment.
Engaging with experts
When it comes to height safety, collaboration with experienced safety specialists is very important. Experts can provide insights that surpass basic compliance requirements, helping organizations develop customized plans that address unique challenges.
Charting the way forward
The death at the manufacturing facility should not be viewed merely as a failure of legal compliance, but also as a missed vital opportunity for leadership in preventative safety. It underlines the necessity for employers to ensure safety sys -
tems are robust, regularly reviewed and, most importantly, designed to truly protect workers.
For the relatives of the deceased, little can be done to ease the pain and trauma they will carry for the rest of their lives. For companies, however, such incidents should serve as a wake-up call, leading to deep introspection and realignment of their existing safety protocols. It is not enough to ask if we are meeting the standards set by law; the real question is whether or not we are doing everything possible to ensure this tragedy is never repeated.
“Minimal legal compliance does not necessarily equate to safety."
Engineers, specifiers, contractors, facility managers, property owners and OHS representatives share a responsibility to ensure safety for working at heights. The power is in our hands to redefine protocol. By adopting a more holistic and proactive approach, we can ensure legal standards are just the beginning to the process of protecting every worker.
Reimagining Flood Management
We
must build resilient communities for the future.
By Jonathan Heinz
Floods are among the world’s most devastating natural disasters, causing enormous property damage and loss of life.
With the increasing frequency and intensity of these events due to climate change, it is crucial to rethink our approach to flood management and work with communities to get them more involved in building resilient urban environments.
Learning from history
GHD’s research suggests floods that wash out highways, damage buildings and affect power grids could cost Canada’s economy $139 billion over the next 30 years.
Calgary’s catastrophic flood in 2013 serves as a stark reminder of their destructive nature; with five lives lost, 110,000 people evacuated and $6 billion in property damage, it stands as one of the costliest natural disasters in Canada’s history. And it highlighted
the inadequacy of traditional flood defences, like embankments and levees.
More recently, in 2021, floods in British Columbia cut off rail and highway links between Canada’s biggest port in Vancouver and the rest of the country and stressed supply chains already hampered by pandemic-response measures. The effects of the floods included an increase in consumer good prices, reduced production in factories that could not acquire supplies and empty shelves in grocery stores.
Even the most intelligently designed infrastructure will not protect us against future floods if we forget these past events. It is essential to integrate historical flood data into our modern planning, to avoid repeating past mistakes.
Natural floodplains and public infrastructure
One of the core concepts in modern flood management is giving rivers and waterways space to flood naturally. It is crucial to shift away from merely managing floods to instead avoiding them altogether by preserving natural floodplains.
Natural hazards can never be fully mitigated by building dams, levees and walls. Allowing rivers to reclaim portions of their natur-
al floodplains can prevent damage to human infrastructure and promote ecological balance.
Public spaces also play an important role in enhancing a community’s resilience to floods. Initiatives like the Netherlands’ Ruimte voor de Rivier (‘Room for the River’) design project, which ran from 2006 to 2015, have demonstrated how integrating flood management with public spaces can provide many benefits.
Flood parks, permeable infrastructure and submersible structures are examples of how urban planning can incorporate flood resilience. Such spaces not only reduce flood risk, but also offer esthetic and recreational value, fostering a closer connection between communities and their environment.
In the U.S., the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) High Water Mark (HWM) Initiative—part of the National Flood Insurance Program—encourages communities to host high-profile signage to increase local awareness of flood risk and motivate action toward mitigation. In Boulder, Colo., the Boulder Flood Mural serves a similar purpose, indicating the different flood levels the city can expect to experience every two, five, 10, 25, 50 and 100 years, particularly highlighting its his -
toric September 2013 flood.
Collaboration and citizen engagement
Effective flood management requires active collaboration between governments, experts and the public. Comprehensive flood risk maps are crucial for identifying zones where flood-proofing measures are needed and directing new development away from high-risk areas. Resistance driven by concerns over real estate values poses a significant challenge, however. In fact, it is not uncommon in Canada to see flood or wetland mapping withdrawn or modified because of public pressure.
Fostering collective, long-term thinking about climate change is essential to overcome this resistance. Engaging citizens in the process and educating them about the benefits of accurate
flood risk maps can lead to more resilient communities.
A holistic approac
As climate change continues to exacerbate the frequency and severity of floods, it is imperative to adopt a holistic approach to flood management. Integrating natural floodplains, using public spaces, engaging communities and commemorating past events are key strategies in building flood-resilient urban environments.
By learning from history, embracing natural solutions and fostering collaboration, we can build a resilient future that not only mitigates flood risks, but also enhances the quality of life for urban residents.
The world’s deadliest natural disasters
According to Our World in Data, a project by U.K.-based not-for-profit Global Change Data Lab, flooding ranks as the second most dangerous type of natural disaster around the world each year.
What follows are the deadliest examples worldwide of the top 10 most dangerous natural disasters, from the past 150 years, based on numbers of deaths.
10. Extreme heat
Worst heat wave: Russia, 2010 (56,000 deaths).
9. Tornados
Worst tornado: Daulatpur–Saturia, Bangladesh, 1989 (1,300 deaths).
8. Extreme cold
Worst cold wave: Europe, 2012 (590 deaths).
7. Wildfires
Worst wildfire: Peshtigo Fire, Wisc., 1871 (1,500 deaths).
6. Volcanic eruptions
Worst volcanic eruptions: Krakatoa, Indonesia, 1883 (36,000 deaths); and Mount Pelee, Martinique, 1902 (30,000 deaths).
5. Landslides
Worst landslide: Haiyuan Flows, China, 1920 (100,000 deaths).
4. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones
Worst hurricane: Great Galveston Storm, Texas, 1900 (8,000 deaths). Worst cyclone: Bhola Cyclone, Bangladesh and India, 1970 (300,000 to 500,000 deaths).
3. Earthquakes
Worst earthquake: Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 2010 (316,000 deaths). Worst tsunami caused by an earthquake: Indian Ocean, 12 countries, 2004 (225,000 deaths).
2. Flooding
Worst flood: Yangtze-Huai River, China, 1931 (estimated up to four million deaths).
1. Drought and famine
Worst drought: Northern China, 1876-1879 (nine to 13 million deaths).
Deadliest famine: Great Chinese Famine, 1959-1961 (15 to 55 million deaths).
Jonathan Heinz is an emergency management specialist for GHD, based in Calgary.
This flood memorial serves as a reminder of how high water levels have risen in the past.
Engineering Net-zero Libraries
Mary Georgious, P.Eng., is a principal and mechanical lead for the engineering firm mcCallumSather, which has been working on Waterloo Region’s first net-zero/carbon-neutral municipal facility: Kitchener Public Library’s (KPL’s) Community Branch. As one of the initial buildings in the Rosenberg neighbourhood, this 14,000-sf, all-electric building will incorporate a variety of measures to reach its sustainability goals, including solar panels, a geothermal field, a high-efficiency envelope, insulated flooring and special glazing to capture solar heat. We spoke with Georgious about the process.
Where did the net-zero carbon target come from for this project?
We proposed the idea and worked through the budgeting to help KPL understand the cost. This is not our first net-zero rodeo; we worked on the Joyce Centre for Partnership and Innovation at Hamilton’s Mohawk College, Endress+Hauser Canada’s customer experience (CX) centre in Burlington, Ont., and Toronto Public Library’s (TPL’s) new Centennial Branch.
KPL was open to pursuing net-zero and the public was excited about it. Once we proposed how we would achieve it, we got the green light.
Have there been any specific challenges?
The groundwater was protected, so we couldn’t drill boreholes vertically for the geothermal field. Instead, we worked with our geotechnical consultant on a horizontal field. From there, it was a matter of optimizing the building’s energy use.
What are the stages of that optimization process?
The first is to set an energy use intensity (EUI) goal. Normally, we would look at old data as a baseline for how libraries perform, but libraries are different nowadays. They’re not just a place to borrow a book; they’re interactive, with multi-use spaces. In this case, one challenge was electrifying a kitchen. We started by targeting an EUI of 70 kWhr/m2 per year.
Once you set a target, the next thing to tackle is the building envelope, trying to achieve high-efficiency performance through insulation and reducing thermal bridging, leakage and the window-to-wall ratio.
Then you get into custom heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems and renewables, which go hand-in-hand. Heat pumps and isolating outdoor air from internal loads have been very successful in libraries, so that’s what we did here. We’re using the geo field both for renewable energy and to save space for mechanical systems, as the boiler and chiller are in the ground.
Then you look at occupant behaviour, e.g. how long will that kitchen area be running? We can set a schedule with the client for the consumption of energy.
Once that’s set in stone, you pro-
gram it in energy modelling and run iterations for optimization. We do build in a buffer for future expansion and uses of the building; while our EUI is 70, we’re confident we’re now running at 63. We’ll watch that closely and make sure we can still hit it. The process is a lot more collaborative than linear. You start in stages, but always go back and keep an eye on the bigger picture.
It requires a lot of creativity to strike a balance between a sustainable solution and a system that will make the space functional, comfortable and flexible for users to do what they want to do there without realizing they’re off the grid.
What’s going to help get more buildings to net-zero?
Governments are urging reductions in carbon footprints and we are starting to see a lot of deep-energy retrofits for the decarbonization of existing buildings. They’re an exciting challenge, particularly in phasing work for a building that’s already running.
Staying on top of technology is key, as it changes so quickly, particularly in HVAC with dehumidification, new refrigerants, etc. It’s about putting together the pieces of a puzzle; it’s never a cookie-cutter design.
Mary Georgious
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