No. H 144/09
For release - October 22, 2009
OTTAWA — Canada's Transport Minister John Baird and the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) today announced the winners of the 2009 Canadian Transportation Awards, recognizing leadership, excellence and achievement in the transportation sector.
"These award recipients have shown exemplary leadership in their fields of expertise, distinguishing themselves and contributing richly to the transportation sector in this country," said Baird. "Canadians all across the country will benefit greatly from the work that they have done."
"TAC takes great pride in recognizing the exceptional contributions in their field of this year's award winners," said Mr. John Law, president of TAC. "Canadians can all be proud of their achievements in areas such as safety, sustainability, education and infrastructure."
The Transportation Person of the Year is awarded to an individual who has assumed leadership roles that have contributed to the improvement or advancement of the transportation industry. The recipient of this year's award is Mr. Andrew Horosko, of Winnipeg, for his more than 33 years of outstanding contributions to the provincial, national and international advancement of transportation.
The Award of Excellence is presented this year to two individuals who have made outstanding contributions to improve the transportation industry over several years in areas such as safety, sustainable development, research, technology, policy or corporate development: Ms. Mavis Johnson, of Burnaby, British Columbia, for her many years of developing, managing and participating in engineering, enforcement and education programs to promote road safety; and Ms. Sheri Plewes, of Burnaby, British Columbia, for her outstanding contribution to the road network and transportation infrastructure in British Columbia.
The Award of Achievement is presented this year to two individuals who have made positive and measureable improvements to transportation through innovation and have shown initiative on a particular project or program: Mr. Aziz Amiri, of Quebec City, has worked for Transports Québec as an engineer of special projects for roads since 1982; and Mr. Fred Cummings, of Burnaby, British Columbia, to recognize the work he has done on the Golden Ears Bridge project in British Columbia.
The Award of Academic Merit is given to an individual who has made a long-term contribution to the advancement of the academic field and to the development of tomorrow's transportation leaders. This year's recipient is Dr. Abd El Halim, of Ottawa, chair of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, and professor at Carleton University, who is being honoured for his distinguished academic career and numerous achievements.
The 2009 Canadian Transportation Awards were presented at the closing banquet of the Transportation Association of Canada's annual conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, on October 21, 2009.
The Transportation Association of Canada is a national association with a mission to promote the provision of safe, secure, efficient, effective, and environmentally and financially sustainable transportation services in support of Canada's social and economic goals.
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The Transportation Person of the Year is awarded to an individual who has assumed leadership roles that have contributed to the improvement or advancement of the transportation industry.
Mr. Andrew Horosko, of Winnipeg, received this award for his more than 33 years of outstanding contributions to the provincial, national and international advancement of transportation — contributions that have clearly helped lay the foundation for Manitoba and Canada to emerge as key stakeholders in the global marketplace of the 21st century. His leadership has earned him a reputation for professional excellence and leadership in national and international transportation forums. As deputy minister of Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation since 1993, he led the most extensive transition and expansion of departmental responsibilities in that province's history, developing new, innovative methods to help meet the department's mandate for safe, efficient public infrastructure and services that support sustainable social and economic growth in Manitoba. He has recently retired.
The Award of Excellence is presented this year to two individuals who have made outstanding contributions to improve the transportation industry over several years in areas such as safety, sustainable development, research, technology, policy or corporate development.
Ms. Mavis Johnson, of Burnaby, British Columbia, was honoured for her many years of developing, managing and participating in engineering, enforcement and education programs to promote road safety at local, municipal, provincial and national levels as president and founder of the Canadian Traffic Safety Institute, a centre of excellence for all road safety disciplines. She was a consultant on safety issues for Alberta, Nova Scotia, the City of Edmonton, the Corporation of Delta and Brazil, on behalf of the World Bank, and has occupied a number of positions in the transportation industry throughout her career. She is widely recognized for her expertise in road safety and improvement strategies.
Ms. Sheri Plewes, of Burnaby, British Columbia, is being recognized for the outstanding contribution she made as the vice-president of Translink. She has been vice-president of Capital Management and Engineering since 1999 and was also vice-president of Planning from July 2007 to April 2009. In 2009, she led the development of TransLink's first 10-year plan, bringing the organization's long-range vision into reality with an aggressive investment program, including improvements to bus service, rapid transit, roads and cycling infrastructure. She was instrumental in creating the region's long-range vision, a transportation strategy known as Transport 2040, and played a key role in Vancouver's newest rapid transit line off the ground with funding from multiple levels of government.
The Award of Achievement is presented this year to two individuals who have made positive and measureable improvements to transportation through innovation and have shown initiative on a particular project or program.
Mr. Aziz Amiri, of Quebec City, has worked for Transports Québec as an engineer of special projects for roads since 1982, working on a number of projects to improve the functional and structural network of roads in Quebec, and has conducted numerous studies in this area. For several years, he has worked in the area of improving the safety of road surfaces to reduce accidents on dirt roads or snowy, slippery roads. For example, his studies on snow tires led to new regulations on snow tires adopted by Quebec in September 2008. Both his academic and professional achievements have contributed to providing practical and efficient solutions to many structural and functional problems in the road network of Quebec.
Mr. Fred Cummings, of Burnaby, British Columbia, is the vice-president, Major Construction Projects, of Translink. Since 2002, he has focused on developing the Golden Ears Bridge, which opened to traffic in June 2009. The Golden Ears Bridge is the region's newest crossing over the Fraser River, linking communities on the north and south sides of the river, and linking public transit services between the communities. He has already won numerous national and international awards for this project, a public-private partnership, and its innovative approach to transportation infrastructure development. The project, completed on budget and ahead of schedule, has resulted in over $1 billion in direct economic activity and jobs for the communities it serves.
The Award of Academic Merit is given to an individual who has made a long-term contribution to the advancement of the academic field and to the development of tomorrow's transportation leaders.
Dr. Abd El Halim, of Ottawa, chair of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, and professor at Carleton University, is being honoured for his distinguished academic career and numerous achievements. A former director of the Centre for Geosynthetics Research Information and Development, he has lectured and consulted around the world, and has received many awards for his outstanding contributions to the development and practice of transportation engineering in Canada.
He recently led the development of two new programs for Carleton University. Most recently, he was appointed a member of the executive editorial board of the Journal of Transportation Security.
October 2009
