June 30, 2021 - CBN News
Celebrating the Winners of the 2021 HUB Award Winners
By: Andrew Macklin
The winners of the annual HUB Awards were unveiled during our 2021 virtual conference. The awards recognize three individuals who are having a significant impact on the Canadian brownfields industry:
Foundation: Presented to a contributor to the brownfield industry in Canada who has had a profound impact on how things are done today. Their work has provided a foundation upon which the current practices and policies have been based. This is a career achievement award.
Pillar: Presented to a recipient who has proven to be a Pillar of Strength in a significant aspect of the Brownfield industry in Canada. They continue to provide valuable expertise and influence into the policies and practices that we are employing. The Pillar award is a mid-career award.
Vision: Presented to a relative newcomer to the brownfield industry in Canada and who is providing valuable insight into programs, policies or practices that will be improving how Brownfield redevelopment in Canada is completed.
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The 2021 Vision award has been given to Bruce Tunnicliffe, President of Vertex Environmental Inc.
After a brief time in environmental consulting, Bruce realized that there was a significant need for a specialized environmental contracting firm that could implement practical in-situ remediation technologies based on solid scientific and engineering principles. This motivated him to found Vertex Environmental Inc. in 2003. Since that time he has lead the effort in fulfilling this crucial brownfield industry need by completing almost 1,000 remediation projects to date, covering all aspects related to designing and implementing remediation solutions for Brownfield sites.
To further advance the knowledge of in-situ remediation, Bruce has been an active participant in various technical working groups (such as the DND’s LNAPL Site Management Working Group) and also has collaborated with the University of Waterloo and funded research for graduate students in environmental engineering. In addition, Bruce’s inquisitive nature has instilled an environment within Vertex that encourages on-going research and development on everything from new remedial amendments to novel application techniques using an in-house testing laboratory combined with field trials.
You would be hard pressed to find someone else as enthusiastic, knowledgeable and experienced in Brownfield site remediation in Canada as Bruce Tunnicliffe.
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This year, the Pillar award was presented to Prasoon Ashikari from the City of Guelph.
Prasoon has been a leader in brownfield-focused initiatives within the City and sharing lessons learned from Guelph’s experience with other municipalities through various organizations, and a committee volunteer for the Canadian Brownfields Network (CBN) annual conference.
It is in large part because of the leadership demonstrated by Prasoon that the City was one of the first municipalities to implement Public Sector Accountability Standards Board contaminated site liability reporting (PS 3260) by completing Class 4 or 5 cost estimates for the City-owned contaminated or historical landfill sites as early as 2016. He was also instrumental in creating the City’s first ‘Guidelines for Development of Contaminated or Potentially Contaminated Sites’ (Guidelines).
He is a true champion of brownfield redevelopment, worthy of recognition for his many contributions and leadership in this area.
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The winner of the Foundation award is Don Carey, Senior Principal and Senior Hydrogeologist at Stantec.
In his work, Don is involved in the management and coordination of large multi-disciplined contaminated site/brownfield projects across Canada, including Northern Canada, and the United Kingdom.
In this role, Don is responsible for the development, quality review and maintenance of Stantec’s Canadian Standard Operating Procedures for Contaminated Site Assessment. Don has been dedicated to the profession of Engineering for over 40 years and has solved or been part of engineering/ brownfield solutions for many of Stantec’s most challenging contaminated site/brownfield projects for nearly half a century.
Don has demonstrated exceptional and sustained achievement in the areas of both environmental and client management. Project work has included brownfield site assessment, risk assessment and remediation, at federal, provincial, commercial and industrial facilities, for a variety of contaminants, including petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs), metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), chlorinated solvents and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). In addition, he has been involved in a variety of legal cases, both as an expert witness, and as an independent third-party reviewer. These cases have been in provincial courts (Ontario and Nova Scotia), both for the prosecution and defense.
Don has served as the key client services representative for many core clients over the years; including, PSPC, Shell Canada, DND, Petro Canada, Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Active Transport, and Nova Scotia Power. Commercially, Don has a long history of working closely with clients throughout the country, helping to manage their environmental risk. Those clients include Southwest Properties, Sobeys, Crombie REIT, Killiam Properties, Lawen Group, Aviva Insurance, Intact Insurance and Co-operators to name only select few companies that Don has assisted over the years.
Don brings a considered and thoughtful approach to leadership and sharing his knowledge through his advice and mentoring those around him. He has made it his mission to engage with environmental professionals to make sure his knowledge is transferred to others, often times at the expense of his time. It is not uncommon to see a line of people outside his door seeking his technical input on a range of environmental projects. Don has left his mark on hundreds of environmental professionals across Canada including current and former Stantec employees and clients. He is a true industry leader and one of Stantec’s most valuable professional practice resources.
Congratulations to our 2021 HUB Award winners!
