World Road Association: Canadians Appointed to Technical Committees

The Canadian National Committee (CNC) of the World Road Association (PIARC) has appointed 15 people to participate on PIARC’s technical committees from 2016-2019.

These appointments were made in coincidence with the release of PIARC’s 2016-2019 Strategic Plan, which identifies the road sector´s most relevant current and future topics. It also proposes the working structure that will serve the Association to address them and produce information and documents that will help it to provide service to road communities in its member countries.

Central to the Plan are five strategic themes representing work at the core of road agencies’ interest, as well as the emergence of concerns about how to address the need of road infrastructure withstanding extreme weather events were selected for the 2016-2019 cycle. These themes are:

1. management and finance;
2. access and mobility;
3. safety;
4. infrastructure; and
5. climate change and environment

Within the strategic themes, PIARC has struck 17 technical committees and four task forces to pursue multi-year work plans, conduct cooperative and joint studies, convene meetings, and prepare reports and publications. Fifteen Canadians have been named to serve on 10 committees and one task force, with seven as corresponding members and eight as full members.

Canadians appointed by the CNC are expected to report regularly on work in progress by their respective PIARC committees to the CNC Governing Task Force, which reports to the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) Board of Directors. Connections with TAC committees will be encouraged wherever there are shared interests and responsibilities.

Note that the province of Quebec is a member of PIARC in its own right, and will appoint approximately 30 individuals (2/3 of them from the Ministère des Transports du Québec) to serve as corresponding or full members. These appointments are separate from and in addition to those made by the CNC.    

PIARC was established in 1909 as a non-political, non-profit organization that aims to develop international cooperation and foster progress in the area of roads and road transport. The organization brings together the road administrations of 121 governments and has members – individuals, companies, authorities and organizations – in more than 140 countries.

TAC currently serves as secretariat for the CNC of the WRA; individuals or organizations interested in PIARC membership may join through the CNC.