This is one of several articles profiling the online Spring Technical Meetings of TAC’s six councils and their committees that took place from March to May 2025.
TAC’s Environment & Climate Change Council had 32 attendees at its spring meeting.
Guest presentations
The Council heard presentations from Mark Weinhold of the USDA Forest Service on climate-resilient roads and Eileen Miranda of AtkinsRealis on evaluating environmental sustainability, resiliency, and biodiversity gains in transportation infrastructure.
Committee updates
The Council received updates from its three committees.
The Climate Change Integrated Committee meeting attracted 34 participants, who discussed risk assessment and adaptation tools for infrastructure projects. Jennifer Niece and Janet Lo of the City of Toronto presented on updating climate risk and resilience procedures for transportation services, and Raly Chakarova of the Toronto and Area Road Builders Association presented on building more sustainably with recycled crushed aggregates.
The Environmental Issues Committee meeting’s 34 participants received presentations from Jean-Michel DeVink of Aries Environmental on wildlife gates and exclusion fencing, and from Zachary Sherker of the University of British Columbia on typical issues encountered with floodgates and culverts. A notable discussion occurred on environmental governance.
The Environmental Legislation Committee held a meeting with 33 attendees. The Committee heard from Dean Foster of Associated Engineering on alternative methods to address aquatic invasive species, and from Sara Shier of Ducks Unlimited Canada on offset opportunities. Members followed up the latter presentation with a discussion on agency offsetting practices and held a separate discussion on project delivery models.
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 – Stephen Legaree (Alberta Transportation)
- Chair, Environmental Legislation Committee – Amy McLenaghan (Tetra Tech Canada)
Contact Craig Stackpole for more information on the council and its committees.
