ACEC Review

2022 CANADIAN CONSULTING ENGINEERING AWARDS / PRIX CANADIENS DU GÉNIE-CONSEIL

This year marks the 54th annual edition of the Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards, a program produced jointly by Canadian Consulting Engineer magazine and the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies – Canada (ACEC-Canada).

The awards are the longest-running and most important national mark of recognition for consulting engineers in Canada. The following pages present this year’s 20 Award of Excellence winners, selected from nearly 50 qualifying entries from across the country.

From these top 20 selections, the competition’s esteemed jury singled out five for Special Awards.

The Schreyer Award, the top prize presented to the project that best demonstrates technical excellence and innovation, went to Stantec for the Calgary International Airport East Deicing Apron. The jury praised this “exciting,” large-scale, advanced infrastructure project for reducing the airport’s carbon emissions while simultaneously benefiting airline passengers.

The Engineering a Better Canada Award, which honours the project that best showcases how engineering enhances the social, economic or cultural quality of life of Canadians, was presented to Hedgehog Technologies for the Fort Severn First Nation Solar Array. It stood out to the jury as a small but complex project that achieved a positive legacy for its community.

The Tree for Life Award, presented to the project that best demonstrates outstanding environment-

Calgary International Airport East Deicing Apron

Fort Severn First Nation Solar Array

Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences Blatchford District Energy System Phase 1

al stewardship, went to Associated Engineering for Phase 1 of the Blatchford District Energy System. The jury called this project “a fantastic idea” for “the neighbourhood of the future,” praising its vision for urban living and, especially, its modular and scalable nature.

Finally, there was a tie for the Ambassador Award, which honours projects outside Canada that best showcase Canadian engineering expertise. AECOM was honoured for the Gordie Howe International Bridge Environmental Management Program, which had to integrate Canadian and American regulatory requirements in a cross-border initiative; and Entuitive won for the Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences in Lubbock, Texas, which the jury called a “beautiful, light and artistic building.”

The 54th annual Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards were presented at a special celebration in Ottawa on Nov. 3. Congratulations to all of our winners!

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Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards Jury

This year’s lineup of industry expert judges convened online in June to discuss and vote on the candidates in the final round of award selections. The following are the esteemed members of the 2022 jury:

CHAIR

Jennifer Drake, Ph.D., P.Eng. Jennifer Drake is an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Carleton University in Ottawa. She specializes in drainage engineering, low-impact development (LID) and green infrastructure and her work draws heavily on principles of sustainability, best management practices and holistic, interdisciplinary design. Her research team works to advance stormwater design, operations and maintenance for the unique climate and urban environments of Canadian cities. Erin Bird, P.Eng. Erin Bird is leader of stakeholder and industry relations for the city of Calgary’s infrastructure services and capital investment planning. She has been with the municipal government since 2006 and her roles have included project delivery and structural oversight of transportation infrastructure projects, infrastructure planning in water resources and corporate capital project strategy. She previously worked for a general contractor and two consulting engineering firms and has worked in the U.S. and Europe. Guy Bruce, P.Eng. Guy Bruce is an electric utility expert with more than 40 years’ experience. He retired in 2017 from SaskPower as vice-president (VP) of planning, environment and sustainable development. He has served as chair of the Canadian Electricity Association’s (CEA’s) generation council and on the board of the Energy Council of Canada. He continues to be a member of the council and is now an independent consultant based in Regina, supporting clients like the First Nations Power Authority (FNPA). Jack Crooks, Ph.D. Jack Crooks lectured at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Island while earning his Ph.D. in soil mechanics, then immigrated in 1973 to Canada, where he worked for Golder Associates—first in Mississauga, Ont., then in Calgary, where he still lives today. During his career with the firm, he handled ground engineering projects and management work all over the world, including a three-year stint in Taiwan and four in Europe. After he formally retired in 2012, he continued to work part-time for Golder for about five years.

CHAIR’S COMMENTS

It was an honour to return as the chair of the awards committee for a second year and to take on the pleasurable but challenging task of selecting award winners from among so many worthy engineering achievements.

I was encouraged by the exceptional contributions Canadian consulting engineers continue to make toward Canada’s net-zero future and climate adaptation for our cities and infrastructure. Moreover, I was moved by the clear commitment many project teams displayed to equity, inclusion and meaningful recognition with First Nations through thoughtful consultation and respectful relationship-building.

Reviewing so many innovative design projects from across Canada was truly inspiring. Once again, the panel of judges met virtually to debate and deliberate this year’s winning projects, but we look forward to congratulating award winners in person this fall in Ottawa.

Thank you to all of the teams and companies that submitted projects this year. The quality and significance of your professional work are remarkable. Thank you for taking the time to highlight your important achievements. The judges noted exceptionally high-quality submissions this year and the task of selecting winners was exceedingly difficult.

Congratulations to all of the Award of Excellence winners and special congratulations to the Special Award winners. We applaud you for your successes!

—Jennifer Drake, Ph.D., P.Eng., Jury Chair

John T. Evers, Ph.D. Special guest judge John T. Evers is president and CEO of the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York (ACEC New York), an association of nearly 300 engineering and related firms. He has spent 30 years working in government, association management and legislative affairs. Prior to his current role, he was senior director of government affairs for the Business Council of New York State (BCNYS), responsible for construction, transportation, telecommunications, technology, contract procurement and manufacturing issues. Peter Judd, P.Eng. Peter Judd earned his civil engineering degree from the University of British Columbia (UBC). He subsequently served as general manager (GM) of engineering for the city of Vancouver, overseeing 1,800 employees and a department that provided everything from public works planning and design to construction and maintenance, until he retired in 2015. He led many of the city’s green initiatives and spearheaded Olympic and Paralympic operations during the 2010 Winter Games. Guy Mailhot, Eng., M.Eng. Guy Mailhot is a McGill University graduate (M.Eng. 1984), fellow of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (FCSCE) and fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada (FEIC). After working for 15 years for consulting firms in Vancouver and Montreal in bridge engineering, he joined the Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges in 1999 as principal director of engineering. Under a federal government exchange program, he has been on loan to Infrastructure Canada since 2012 as chief engineer for Montreal’s Samuel De Champlain Bridge Corridor. Louise Millette, Eng., Ch.O.M., FEC, Ph.D. Louise Millette has been an associate professor at Polytechnique Montréal since 2002 and was chair of its civil, geological and mining engineering department until 2021. She proposed the school's first environmental policy and created its sustainable development office, which spearheaded efforts to obtain the Sustainability Tracking Assessment & Rating System’s (STARS’) gold accreditation in 2019. She is a knight of the Ordre de Montréal and fellow of Engineers Canada.

Steve Panciuk, P.Eng. Ottawa-based Steve Panciuk is senior vice-president (SVP) and national engineering professional lead for Marsh Canada’s construction practice, which provides expertise to clients with risks related to commercial and residential construction. With a civil engineering degree from Queen’s University and five years’ experience in heavy construction, he specializes in developing and implementing a national strategy for large design firms and single project errors and omissions in Canada and manages Marsh’s relationships with engineering associations. Clive Thurston Based in Oakville, Ont., Clive Thurston has extensive experience in the construction industry, having worked as a superintendent, estimator, project manager and owner/ operator. He was a bylaw/ building official for the city of Brampton and chief building official for Prince Edward County before becoming president of the Ontario General Contractors Association (OGCA), where his duties included promoting the industry and education and providing advice on contracts and supplementary conditions. Judy Wall Judy Wall has been involved in developing, leasing and managing office and industrial buildings in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and New Brunswick for more than 35 years. A number of these have been ‘firsts’, including Canada’s first multi-tenant LEED-certified warehouse (in Dartmouth, N.S.), the first fully LEED-certified business park campus in Mount Pearl, N.L., and the first two Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) zero-carbon building (ZCB) certifications for multi-tenant industrial buildings, in Dartmouth. Sarah Wells, P.Eng., Ph.D. Sarah Wells earned degrees in civil engineering at University of Waterloo. She is executive director of the Ottawa-based Transportation Association of Canada (TAC), which focuses on road and highway infrastructure and urban transportation. Over her career, she has led national transportation research projects and managed the development of numerous publications for transportation professionals. She has also been a sessional lecturer for graduate courses in civil engineering at Carleton University.