Toronto West CAER - Speakers from 2003 to 2006

Toronto West CAER Speakers 2003-2006

2007-

Franco DiGiovanni Ph.D. Permits are a legal requirement in Ontario for discharging contaminants (air and noise) into the environment. Franco DiGiovanni, Senior Air Quality Modeler of Airzone One Ltd., gave a presentation on the complex task of applying for these permits entitled “Certificates of Approval for Air and Noise”. He described the basis for the requirement of these permits in the Ontario Environmental Protection Act, the administrative and technical requirements to apply, the requirement for comprehensive reports on air and noise impact assessments, and more recent changes to the regulations introduced by Regulation 419.

Franco DiGiovanni, PhD in air dispersion modeling, is a senior partner in Airzone One Ltd., a member of the Air and Waste Management Association and of the Air sub-committee of the Ontario Environmental Industry Association. He has 15 years experience working in air dispersion modeling and has published articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals and trade magazines and continues to speak at local and international conferences on various topics related to air issues. He can be reached at fdi-giovanni@airzoneone.com or 905-890-6957 ext. 102.

Airzone One Ltd. offers comprehensive air quality consulting services including indoor air quality and mould assessments, industrial hygiene surveys including confined space regulations, environmental regulatory services such as permitting (CofA’s, including noise assessments) and annual emissions reporting, ambient air monitoring and (CAEL-accredited) laboratory analysis services. Their clients include the Industrial, Commercial and Government sectors.

Speaking to the 2006 Annual Joint Meeting of the Toronto CAER groups on Ontario's Environmental Leadership Program was Melissa Celsie, Environmental Innovations & Emerging Sciences Branch, Ontario Ministry of the Environment. Melissa outlined the Program including the Entry Requirements, Facility Commitments, its Reduction Plan and the Incentives. How business could participate, the advantages, the current program status and how to obtain more information were all clearly presented.

At the 2006 Annual Joint Meeting of the Toronto CAER groups, Toronto West, Toronto North and Toronto East, Andrew Kostiuk, Division Commander, Toronto Fire Services, informed his audience of the role that Toronto Fire Services' Hazardous Materials Response plays in handling chemical emergencies. He also listed the equipment and resources that could be expected to be provided by Toronto Fire Services as the response levels rose and how the role of HUSAR (Heavy Urban Search And Rescue) compliments the Hazmat response.

Security and Crime Prevention at the Workplace was the subject of a presentation by Constable Phil Harris, Toronto Police Services, 31 Division. Of interest to everyone, from the individual on the street, to shop keepers, to the larger industrial establishments, all facets of security were explored. Details as comprehensive as Risk Assessment, Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, Monitoring Visitors and Opening & Closing Procedures were thoroughly covered and useful printed material was handed out reinforcing the lecture.

Does your company have a solid record of environmental responsibility? Then join the Ontario's Environmental Leaders Program and benefit from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment's incentives that being a member of the program offers. Steve Neville, Environmental Innovations & Emerging Sciences Branch, outlined in detail the requirements necessary for a company to be accepted as a member as well as the business advantages these leading companies would gain.

The City of Toronto's Energy Efficiency Office (EEO) is responsible for developing and coordinating the implementation of an energy efficiency and conservation strategy for Toronto. Heinrich Feistner, Senior Energy Consultant with the EEO, explained how one of their initiatives, the Better Buildings Partnership, could benefit large or small buildings with reductions in CO2 emissions, energy, water, and operating costs that would pay for themselves in energy savings.

Before working for the City of Toronto, Heinrich designed HVAC systems for consulting engineers in Austria and Canada and operated his own company as an energy management consultant. He is now the Senior Program Manager, Technical Support, with the Better Buildings Partnership.

At a presentation to the Toronto West CAER committee the CACD, the Canadian Association of Chemical Distributors, was represented by its President, Peter Jobling, and Cathy Campbell, the CACD's Managing Director. Peter spoke to the committee about what the CACD does , its history and who its members are. He also explained what Responsible Distribution® is and how dealing with the members of the CACD would benefit everyone and make for a safer community.

As well as being the President of the CACD, Peter Jobling is also the founder and President of Cambrian Chemicals Inc. of Oakville, Ontario. Welsh by birth and raised in Montreal, Peter is a graduate of Concordia University, Montreal, and the Queens University Executive Management Program, 1995. He credits a family background in Kingsley & Keith, Canada, numerous job titles and experience in helping to build Quadra Chemicals with contributing to his success in creating Cambrian Chemicals Inc.

Will your business be prepared for a disaster or a calamity when it strikes? A Business Continuity Management Program plan, as outlined by speaker Dr. John Newton, would provide a solid basis to ensure the survival of organizations threatened by crises as diverse as an internal denial of service attack on the company web site up to a terrorist bombing or pandemic.

Dr. Newton is a registered Professional Engineer in Ontario, an Associate Member of the Business Continuity Institute, Member of the Canadian Emergency Preparedness Association, a Member of the Disaster Recovery Information Exchange (Toronto), and a Member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Emergency Management Canada. He has published over 50 articles internationally on the subjects of business continuity, crisis communication and emergency management and continues to research and speak on key aspects of these rapidly evolving fields. He can be reached at: jnewton@interlog.com or 416-929-3621.

At the February Committee meeting the members were given a presentation by Tyson Dyck regarding the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, (CEPA), 1999, including its enforcement framework, its inspection and investigation processes, and the tools CEPA uses, both in and out of court, to compel compliance. He also talked about some enforcement trends, the growing use of certain enforcement tools and new enforcement methods on the horizon.

Mr. Dyck currently practices environmental law at Torys LLP and is a member of the firm's Environmental, Health and Safety group. He graduated from Dalhousie Law School in 2003 with a specialization in environmental law and has written various articles and papers on Canadian environmental policy. His practice currently focuses on regulatory compliance issues.

Maureen Shaw addressed the committee on the role of the Industrial Accident Prevention Association (IAPA) in regard to “New Approaches to Safety and Health in the Workplace”. Ms. Shaw is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the IAPA and has held numerous leadership positions, most notably as Chair of the Council of Governors and as Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS); Past President of the Canadian Occupational Health Association (ICOH); Chair of the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Council; Chair of the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Appeals Division; a founding Director of both Smart Risk and Safe Communities Foundations, and presently a member on the TSSA Board of Directors (Technical Standards & Safety Authority of Ontario). She has received many awards for her efforts, including the Calgary YWCA Woman of Distinction in Business, Labour, and the Professions; the Canada Safety Council National Achievement Award; the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering's first Canadian Medal of Merit Award; and the Governor General's Canada 125 Medal in 1992. Born and raised in Victoria, B.C., Maureen calls herself a "Real Canadian" having lived in Calgary, Regina, Hamilton, and Toronto, as well as Victoria and Chemainus.

2005

Small and medium sized businesses can promote safety and reduce costs by participating in the Safe Communities Incentive Program (SCIP) , an initiative of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). Patricia Cowdrey, Community Program Coordinator, Prevention Services Branch, WSIB, explained how owners and managers could participate in the two part program and thereby reduce hazards, injuries and downtime while increasing productivity, employee morale and earning WSIB premium rebates.

After almost two decades of involvement with CAER Graham Creedy, Consultant Senior Manager, Responsible Care(®), Canadian Chemical Producers' Association, reflects on the changes he has observed and trends, some positive ands some less so that are likely to influence on how it will develop in the next few years. He spoke on the CCPA "Be Responsible" priorities for 2005 to 2008 taking into account: Process Safety Management, Product Stewardship, Site Emergency Response and Emergency Management.

Louis Laferriere, Senior Manager, Logistics Technical Affairs, Canadian Chemical Producers' Association reviewed what was new in the transportation of dangerous goods and ERAPs. He touched on numerous subjects that industries can expect from Transport Canada including the introduction of ticketable offenses, the draft amendment 6 of TDG, and a schedule explanation. News releases, communiques, lessons that could be learned from hurricane Katrina were among the documents that were made available to the audience at the All Toronto CAER Committee Meeting.

Every now and then an accident will happen that will result in a fatality or a critical injury or another issue that will bring the Ministry of Labour to your site. Cynthia Elliot, Regional Program Coordinator, Industrial Health & Safety Program - West, Ministry of Labour reviewed what would typically happen when the MOL arrives at our workplaces and was very informative on how we could work together in order to resolve situations.

Traffic Sergeant Marc Schram Speaking on the Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) regulations, especially in the area of Emergency Response Assistance Plans (ERAP), was Marc Schram, Traffic Sergeant, Ontario Provincial Police, Highway Safety Division, Dangerous Goods Coordinator. Starting his policing career in 1985 with the Metropolitan Toronto Police Service, in 1990 he joined the OPP and has worked in Pembroke, Kapuskasing, North Bay and is now based in Orillia as one of two Dangerous Goods Coordinators within the OPP’s Highway Safety Division. He is also the representative for the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police at the sessions of the Federal Minister’s Advisory Council on Dangerous Goods.

The landscape of cross border shipping of raw materials and finished products has become unrecognizable since 2001. Rob Casey, UPS Supply Chains Solutions, US Northern Border Consultant, covered the numerous regulations and government initiatives including: C-TPAT (U.S. Customs and Trade Partnership Against Terrorism), Partners In Protection (PIP), Free And Secure Trade (FAST) and the Customs Self Assessment (CSA) program. Rob also spoke about the new Food & Drug Administration - Bio-Terrorism Act (FDA BTA) regulations for importing food products into the U.S. including Prior Notice.

Cindy Nyman, Sales and Marketing Executive with SynreVoice Technologies, informed the committee of the advantages of the SchoolConnects system which is designed to inform, update and coordinate the community through automated phone calls and e-mails. 23 Division of the Toronto Police Services hope to use the system to help them combat vandalism, bullying, drug trafficking and to issue area specific event warnings during emergencies.

The City of Toronto offers rebates to Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (ICI) facilities that permanently reduce their water use. The presentation by Angelo Poto, Water Efficiency Coordinator, Business Unit Support, Toronto Water, demonstrated why both industry and Toronto would benefit from an increase in the efficient use of existing water supplies. He showed how the ICI facilities could identify areas of their business that "waste" water and how to apply to Toronto Water for the cash rebate.

A comprehensive overview of the pandemics of the 20th century and the outlook from a health care perspective was given by Tanya Mahajan, Public Health Nurse, Communicable Disease Control, Toronto Public Health. With the recent advent of SARS, avian flu and a variety of other influenza strains, the Business Continuity Plans of prudent organizations should include plans for the loss of up to 1/3 of their staff due to illness, according to estimates from Health Canada.

In the follow-up to the presentation by CFTO-TV reporter, Austin Delaney, on what a reporter will ask to get their story, Constable Wendy Drummond offered tips on how to answer these difficult questions from a Police Service's point of view. She has been with the Toronto Police Service since 1993, starting as a 9-1-1 operator, was then hired as a uniform officer serving in 14 Division and 32 Division and currently works as a media relations officer.

A slide show of the 2004 Enviro Fair that sanofi pasteur put on for its employees was presented by Laura Barzelatto, a member of the Toronto North CAER committee for four years and currently its Chair. Ms. Barzelatto has worked for sanofi pasteur (formerly Aventis Pasteur Limited) for over 4 years, assists in the management of the company’s environmental programs and is presently implementing an ISO 14001 Environmental Management System. The company’s 52 acre site includes facilities for vaccine production, research and development, filling and packaging and support functions.

Austin Delaney, reporter, CFTO TV news, spoke to the Toronto West CAER committee about the questions reporters ask to get the story and how the member companies can assist in getting the correct information to the public. When an incident occurs, reporters are often one of the first to arrive on the scene and what is said or not said can drastically change the meaning of the story. Mr. Delaney reviewed what information reporters need to properly inform the public of incidences and occurrences as the media can be very helpful if supplied accurate information.

John Hill, (left), an acting Captain with the Mississauga Fire & Emergency Services, is Coordinator with the Critical Incident Stress Management Team and also a member of the Pearson Airport Crisis Response Team. Ted Bober, M.S.W, (right), Clinical Director, Pearson Airport Crisis Response Team, has over 22 years of experience as an administrator, consultant and therapist specializing in traumatic stress, disaster mental health, and occupational health. He works with the Ontario Medical Association's Physician Health Program, the Greater Toronto Airport's Crisis and Disaster Response Team, and Health Canada's Psycho-Social Emergency Response Team.

2004

Steve Harvey spoke on rail safety as the System & Environmental Safety Officer in the Office of System Safety with GO Transit. With 15 years experience he is currently assisting in coordinating and conducting emergency response training for emergency responders and works as part of a team in GO Transit's emergency planning processes. He is also the co-chair of the provincial rail safety committee, comprised of industry, government and local interest groups and coordinates and delivers rail safety sessions throughout the GTA. In 2002, he was pleased to accept on behalf of GO Transit, the Award of Excellence (National Transportation Week Ontario) from the Minister of Transportation for the design and implementation of GO Transit's Near Collision Reporting Program whereby train crews can report illegal and unsafe actions at crossings or along the railway rights-of-way. Steve also participates in the Operation Lifesaver (National program review committee) and Transport Canada's Direction 2006 Education committee, both programs aimed at reducing collisions and incidents along railway rights-of-way in Canada.

Simone Pertuiset is responsible for communications for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PSEPC) in the Ontario region. Her main role is to liaise between Emergency Management Ontario Public Affairs and federal communications in Ottawa during an emergency to ensure that the public is obtaining accurate and consistent information. She also supports communications among federal departments in Ontario during an emergency. Simone has worked in communication for several years in federal departments and is involved in the Emergency Response Committee of the Ontario Federal Council. This committee was struck following recent events in Ontario including SARS and the blackout. Its aim is to better share information among federal departments in Ontario during a crisis.

Warren Leonard's presentation focused on the response efforts during and after the blackout, and was set in the context of the other major events that took place in Toronto in 2003. As manager of the City of Toronto's Office of Emergency Management, his office is responsible for providing the direction and coordination of the municipal and corporate risk assessment, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery activities within the City of Toronto. Currently he is helping to establish an association of emergency management professionals as a founding Director of the Ontario Association of Emergency Managers. Warren also serves as a Certification Commissioner for the International Association of Emergency Managers and holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Toronto.

Catriona Armstrong spoke of the Canadian Industry Program for Energy Conservation (CIPEC), an industry-government partnership that is intended to help save energy, cut costs and improve competitiveness. She is a Senior Industry Officer at the Industrial Programs Division within Natural Resources Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency, working with Canadian industry to promote energy management and energy efficiency practices. She holds a Master of Science degree from Oregon State University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Forest Management from the University of New Brunswick. For more about Natural Resources Canada programs click here

John Hosty, Director, Training and Consulting Services with Fielding Chemical Technologies Inc., a North American wide emergency response service provider, gave a presentation on Environmental Emergency Planning (E2). The material covered included the background of E2, where it had evolved from, what could be expected in the way of penalties and enforcement actions and what the requirements were on the part of the chemical handler to meet the regulations. Finally, he spoke of the criteria to determine if an industry was exempt from requiring an E2 plan.

Barbara Switzer, City of Toronto, Department of Health, spoke of the role of the mental health nurse in today's stressed society. She informed the group of the many difficulties that plant personnel face including the successful handling of complaint calls.

Candace Carnahan, Spokesperson for “Passport to Safety”, www.passporttosafety.com gave a very interesting and passionate talk on this new program, which she helped develop along with WSIB. Candace was a student worker in a paper mill when one day she was involved in an industrial accident and as a result one of her legs was amputated just below the knee. The Passport to Safety program is targeted towards young people joining the workforce for the first time, as well as companies big or small who will or have hired young people.

Mary Borges, Policy Advisor and Murray Baker, Provincial Specialist, Industrial Health & Safety Program, Occupational Health & Safety Branch of the Province of Ontario's Ministry of Labour spoke to the CAER member companies regarding the changes to the legislation affecting confined space entry.

Gary Robinson, Environmental, Health & Safety Manager, Trans-Northern Pipelines Inc. Gary gave a very interesting talk on the history, the safety features and what to do in the event of an emergency on the pipeline that runs through our region.

In 2003 the importance of young workers safety was clearly illustrated to us by a presentation from Rob Ellis of the Rob Ellis Foundation Mr. Ellis lost his son in an industrial accident and now spends his time talking to young adults on the importance of on-the job-safety. Our committee believes his message is of great importance and donated funds to the foundation to assist Mr. Ellis in his efforts to educate these young workers.