January 19, 2018…

January 19, 2018

Susanne Jakobsen
Project Manager
Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change
Climate Change and Environmental Policy Division
Strategic Policy Branch
Floor 11, Ferguson Block
77 Wellesley Street West
Toronto, ON
M7A 2T5

Statement in Response to Ontario's Approach to Climate Change Adaptation (EBR 013-1520)

The Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE) is the voice of the engineering community in Ontario. We represent the entire engineering community, including professional engineers, engineering graduates and students who work or will work in several of the most strategic sectors of Ontario’s economy.

Ontario is home to more than 85,000 Professional Engineers and 250,000 engineering graduates. That’s one of the largest concentrations of engineering expertise in the world, and the largest concentration of engineering expertise in Canada. OSPE stands as their advocacy body, as the Voice of the engineering community in Ontario. Channelling our network of engineering expertise, subject matter experts on OSPE’s Environment Committee have reviewed Ontario's Approach to Climate Change Adaptation. Our organization is pleased to offer feedback regarding its development. It is OSPE’s view that Ontario is taking an important initial step to help our province adapt to a changing climate by:

•Creating a new climate change adaptation organization to help build local adaptation capacity, enhance networks and take action;

•Working with climate change adaptation experts to undertake a province-wide risk assessment of climate impacts to better understand vulnerabilities and prioritize our actions;

•Developing an enhanced all-of-government approach to climate change adaptation, and;

•Sharing information on the effects of climate change to help Ontario residents better understand the current and future effects of a rapidly changing climate We congratulate and support the Ontario government for this important initiative. While this will not be the final word on Climate Change Adaptation, it is a very important beginning. It will help to lay the foundation to allow the review climate change information in a systematic and scientific manner. This should enable the creation of an important bank of information and research. This should lay a solid foundation to promote wise evidence based decision making to address climate change adaptation. We would like to highlight the importance of involving the engineering community in the Government’s important initiative. Environment Canada in its report Principles of Climate Change Adaptation for Engineers noted:

“The primary duty of engineers is to hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public and the protection of the environment and promote health and safety within the workplace. The current state of scientific knowledge indicates that the climate is changing and will continue to change… [t]he engineer’s job is to assess and minimize such risks. This understanding imposes a responsibility of due diligence on the engineering profession to address the issue of climate change within engineering works.”

Engineers Canada has given some focus to climate change adaptation through their Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee (PIEVC).

The following is the Vision, Mission and Goals of this committee:

VISION The Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee facilitates initiatives that provide clear guidance to Canada's professional engineers and geoscientists to support the design, construction, maintenance and regulation of safe, reliable and financially sustainable public infrastructure in Canada to address the risks of a changing climate.

MISSION STATEMENT The Vulnerability Committee leads an on-going national initiative to determine and mitigate the engineering vulnerability of Canadian public infrastructure to the impacts and risks of current and future climate. It facilitates the development of practices, guidelines and tools to aid Professional Engineers and Geoscientists in their day-to-day practice of designing, constructing, operating and maintaining public infrastructure. The Committee serves as an advisory body to Engineers Canada in recommending changes, additions and amendments to government policies, processes, regulations, codes, standards and related instruments necessary to address Canada's infrastructure vulnerability to current and future climate. It assists in the mainstreaming of climate risk assessment into existing and new infrastructure decision-making that improves its resilience to the impacts of current and future climate.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES Its prime goal is to ensure that professional engineers and geoscientists as well as infrastructure owners and managers always consider climate change as an integral part of planning, designing, constructing, operating, maintaining and rehabilitating civil infrastructure. The specific objectives of the Vulnerability Committee are:

•To increase awareness, knowledge and acceptance of infrastructure climate risk assessment and utilization of the PIEVC Engineering Protocol by infrastructure owners and operators and the professionals supporting them

•To develop appropriate documentation for the engineering and geoscientists on infrastructure climate risk management, including current and best practices that adapt infrastructure to address climate risk

•To improve the capacity and expertise of Canada's professional engineers and geoscientists to adapt infrastructure to current and future climate

•To continue the national assessment of the engineering vulnerability of various types of civil infrastructure to the impacts of current and future climate

•To provide ongoing advice to, and engagement with, governments, and other regulatory authorities on reviews and adjustments to infrastructure codes standards and related instruments as well as infrastructure climate design and operational parameters to account for current and future climate.

•To further develop and maintain a national database of infrastructure vulnerabilities and continued maintenance of the website that resides within the Engineers Canada website

•To engage in a dialogue with the legal, insurance and financial communities concerning legal, professional and financial liabilities associated with infrastructure climate risk management of public infrastructure. Engineers Canada and the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers are two organizations that are positioned to support the Government of Ontario in their approach to Climate Change Adaptation. We have every confidence that Ontario’s engineering community is up to the task. Questions & Comments:

For any questions or comments regarding this document, please contact Patrick Sackville, Lead, Policy and Government Relations at (416) 223-9961 ext. 225 or patrick@ospe.on.ca.

About OSPE:

The Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE) is the voice of the engineering community in Ontario. We represent the entire engineering community, including professional engineers, engineering graduates and students who work or will work in several of the most strategic sectors of Ontario’s economy.

Ontario is home to more than 85,000 Professional Engineers and 250,000 engineering graduates. That’s one of the largest concentrations of engineering expertise in the world, and the largest concentration of engineering expertise in Canada. OSPE stands as their advocacy body, as the Voice of the engineering community in Ontario.

OSPE elevates the profile of engineers by advocating with governments, offering career building services, and providing opportunities for ongoing learning, networking, and community building. Engineers are trained, innovative problem solvers who develop solutions by considering costs and benefits, sustainability, public safety, and the complete lifecycle and integration of projects. Engineers are on the frontlines of developing, safeguarding, and maximizing Ontario’s investments.

OSPE was formed in 2000 after members of Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) voted to separate regulatory and advocacy functions into two distinct organizations.

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