No. H084/11
For release - September 15, 2011
OTTAWA — The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, together with the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) are proud to announce the winners of the 2011 Canadian Transportation Awards Program (CTAP). The awards, which are supported by Transport Canada, recognize leadership, excellence and achievement in all modes of the transportation sector.
"Through their efforts, these recipients show exemplary leadership and help Canada achieve many of its transportation objectives relating to the environment, safety and security, and system efficiency," said Minister Lebel. "The Government of Canada is proud to be a part of this announcement."
"The CTAP awards provide an excellent platform to recognize outstanding contributions to the transportation sector," said Mr. Ray Mantha, president of TAC. "Our country is fortunate to have such fine professionals working to improve Canada's transportation industry as a whole or a particular aspect of the network."
The Honourable Luke Ouellette, Alberta Minister of Transportation, and John Forster, Associate Deputy Minister, Infrastructure Canada, presented a total of five awards at the closing banquet of TAC's annual conference in Edmonton, Alberta, on September 14, 2011.
The coveted Transportation Person of the Year award is given to an individual who has assumed a leadership role contributing to the improvement or advancement of the transportation industry. This year's recipient is Mr. Gary McNeil, president of GO Transit, in recognition of his important contribution to the organization's ridership growth and customer satisfaction with transit services for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.
The Award of Excellence is presented to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the betterment of the transportation industry in terms of safety, sustainable development, research, technology, policy or corporate development. Mr. Jake Kosior, senior transportation planner at Manitoba's Department of Infrastructure and Transportation, was honoured for his work on efficient supply chain networks and the transportation system.
The Award of Achievement is conferred upon an individual who has made positive and measureable improvements to transportation through innovation and who has shown initiative on a particular project. Mr. Garfield Dales, manager, Windsor Border Initiatives, at the Ontario Ministry of Transportation received the award in recognition of his important contribution to the transportation network serving the Windsor-Detroit border crossing.
The Award of Academic Merit is given to an individual who has made a long-term contribution to the advancement of academic research and to the development of transportation leaders of the future. This year's recipient is Dr. Liping Fu, professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Waterloo.
For the first time this year, the Citation for Lifetime Achievement in Transportation Policy and Decision Making was also attributed. Alberta Premier Edward Stelmach was acknowledged for his distinctive, widely recognized contribution to transportation policy and decision making — an area not covered previously by other awards.
The Transportation Association of Canada is a national, not-for-profit 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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Transportation Person of the Year
With over 35 years of private- and public-sector experience in the transportation industry, Gary McNeil first joined GO Transit in 1999 as director of Rail Services before progressively making his way to president of the organization. He currently leads GO Transit's team to provide regional transit services across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, and neighbouring communities. He was instrumental in increasing the capital budget of the GO TRIP program from $52 million to over $1 billion annually. This program succeeded in introducing 12-car trains and completing the renewal of GO Transit's bus and rail fleets. He garnered financial support to launch GO Transit's 407 express bus services, 10 rail stations, new tracks, crossing bridges and bus terminals. He pioneered double-decker buses and innovative locomotives capable of pulling 20 per cent more customers and oversaw the development of GO E-news to relay instant service information to 65,000 customers. Mr. McNeil also nurtured ridership growth of nearly 40 per cent and revenue growth of close to 70 per cent. His work led to the launch of the Passenger Charter and contributed to a significant improvement in customer satisfaction, rising from 59 per cent in 2009 to 82 per cent in 2010.
Award of Excellence
Senior Transportation Planner Jake Kosior applied his combination of public, private and academic experience to several key initiatives at Manitoba's Department of Infrastructure and Transportation, including the economic justification of CentrePort Way. His role included modelling the transport network, trade flows and economic characteristics, which contributed to the successful approval of the $212-million infrastructure project. In 2006, Mr. Kosior examined the impact of cabotage regulations on container flows in Canada from a system capacity and emissions perspective. He collaborated with a colleague to present his findings at the Transportation and Communications hearings on intermodalism for container cabotage regulatory reform. As a result, the reform was revised in 1999, allowing shippers and carriers additional freedom for movement of containers in North America.
Award of Achievement
Ontario's efforts to improve North America's busiest border crossing have been largely entrusted to Mr. Garfield Dales, manager of Windsor Border Initiatives at the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. He orchestrated several key components of the Windsor-Essex Parkway project that will connect Highway 401 with the U.S. Interstate by way of access roads, inspection plazas and bridge crossing of the Detroit River. He championed the preliminary design of construction and guided the development of performance specifications through an alternative finance initiative. He also supported the procurement of a consortium to design, build and maintain Ontario's $1.4-billion investment in the parkway over 30 years. Mr. Dales' leadership facilitated the diversion of reusable construction materials generating significant revenue for community recycling groups. Facilitating the mobilization of the consortium, he has ensured the protection of endangered species along the parkway, as well as the relocation of a social housing complex.
Award of Academic Merit
A professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Waterloo, Dr. Liping Fu's research focuses on the evaluation and optimization of complex traffic and transportation systems, as well as the development of support tools to manage them. Since 1999, he has secured nearly $5 million in research funding from various sources, including the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, and the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Dr. Fu developed a commercial routing and scheduling system that has been implemented in both Canada and the United States. He also created a simulation system that can be used to evaluate advanced transportation delivery systems. For over six years, his research team has been working on winter road maintenance and traffic management issues that have made significant contributions to this field. Dr. Fu has provided consulting services to several high-level transportation agencies, including Transport Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. Since 2000, he has supervised 18 master's and Ph.D. students at the University of Waterloo.
Citation for Lifetime Achievement in Transportation Policy and Decision Making
Edward Michael Stelmach was sworn in as Alberta's 13th premier in 2006. Before assuming this role, he held four Cabinet posts as Minister of Agriculture, Infrastructure, Transportation, and International and Intergovernmental Relations. He advanced the twinning of the CANAMEX Highway and the expansion of trade corridors. His support of the New West Trade Partnership Agreement helped create a barrier-free transportation and trade environment among member provinces. Mr. Stelmach safeguarded critical funding for public infrastructure and transportation by creating the Capital Fund. He established the first public-private partnership in Alberta for the southeast section of the Anthony Henday Drive ring road. In 2004, the premier launched a provincial review of the Alberta Traffic Safety Program, which led to the development of the province's first Traffic Safety Plan. His commitment to sustainable transportation was evidenced through the Green Transit Incentives Program (TRIP) and innovative partnerships with industry stakeholders.
September 2011
