No. H 204/07
For release October 19, 2007

WINNERS OF THE 2007 CANADIAN TRANSPORTATION AWARDS

OTTAWA — The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, along with Mr. Russell Neudorf, president of the Transportation Association of Canada, today announced the winners of the 2007 Canadian Transportation Awards. The awards recognize leadership, excellence and achievement in all modes and segments of the transportation sector. There are four awards: Transportation Person of the Year, Award of Excellence, Award of Achievement and Award of Academic Merit.

"It is my pleasure to honour this year's award recipients who have each made remarkable contributions to the transportation sector," said Minister Cannon. "Through their leadership and forward-thinking, they have earned the admiration and respect of countless transportation professionals and continue to leave their mark on our country's dynamic transportation system."

"The Transportation Association of Canada is pleased to formally recognize the 2007 award recipients," said Mr. Neudorf. "The time and energy they have invested searching for new ideas and approaches to transportation challenges deserve to be celebrated, and I'm grateful that the awards program provides our community with an opportunity to thank them for their efforts."

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.

Ms. Geni Brafman Bahar, currently vice-president of iTRANS Consulting Inc. of Richmond Hill, Ontario, received this award for her dedication to improving the safety of North American roads. By combining expertise in engineering with strong leadership skills, Ms. Bahar has worked tirelessly to promote traffic and road safety engineering. Over the course of her 27-year career, she has coordinated multidisciplinary teams in a wide variety of safety projects. As an advocate of the hands-on approach, Ms. Bahar led the Ontario Provincial Government in the successful development and implementation of a road safety management system. Today, the resulting "Science of Highway Safety" is taught to transportation professionals across North America. An expert in the field and a respected road safety advocate, Ms. Bahar has played a key role in developing reference material, training practitioners and advising professional committees.

The Award of Excellence is given to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the improvement of the transportation industry over several years in areas such as safety, sustainable development, research, technology, policy or corporate development.

Mr. Roger Roy of Ottawa, Ontario, former director general of economic analysis at Transport Canada, was honoured for advancing transportation research through his unparalleled commitment to the public service. Mr. Roy spent the past 35 years putting his exceptional skills to work for the Government of Canada as an expert in economics and transportation. Throughout his career, he has been at the forefront of economic analysis and transportation research, making him a widely recognized and respected expert in the field. At Transport Canada, his work informed departmental and government decision-making. Mr. Roy's rigorous analytical approach to transportation issues and problems led to his involvement in ambitious research programs and pioneering work in electronic data collection methods. In addition to his numerous domestic responsibilities, he represented Canada on a number of international committees and working groups.

The Award of Achievement is offered to two individuals who have achieved positive and measurable improvements of significant and enduring benefit to transportation through innovation and initiative on a particular project or program.

Mr. John Lisman, a consulting engineer in the area of highway safety engineering and litigation support from Victoria, British Columbia, received this award for his years of work spent improving road safety through innovative designs and methods. Mr. Lisman is credited for introducing neighbourhood traffic calming measures in the Downtown West End of Vancouver during the 1970s. While working for the B.C. Ministry of Transportation, he developed and introduced the "Lisman barrier flares" and the concept of the forgiving roadside for the design of provincial highways. Since leaving the B.C. Ministry of Transportation, Mr. Lisman has worked on numerous road safety audits and has served as an expert witness in safety. Today, he continues his practice around the world for the World Bank, preparing safety manuals and programs to be used by local transportation agencies.

Mr. Joe Sparling of Whitehorse, Yukon, president and chief executive officer of Air North, was honoured with the Award of Achievement for improving air service in northern Canada by providing Yukoners with a reliable and competitive airline. Thanks to Mr. Sparling's hands-on management style, strategic thinking, and perseverance, Air North grew from its humble beginnings with one aircraft serving the mining industry to a successful northern company that links the Yukon to the Northwest Territories, Alaska, British Columbia and Alberta. This year, Mr. Sparling celebrates the 30th anniversary of Air North with his employees and the citizens of the Yukon, many of whom are supporters, shareholders and passengers of the airline.

The Award of Academic Merit is new this year, and 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. Ralph Haas, distinguished professor emeritus and the Norman W. McLeod Engineering Professor at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, received this award in recognition of his career as an educator and mentor to many of today's leaders in the field of transportation. In a career that spans 45 years, he has taught thousands of undergraduate students, supervised over 50 completed postgraduate degrees and has seen many former students achieve leadership positions. In addition to the many research projects he has conducted and lectures he has delivered worldwide, Dr. Hass has published 10 books and 400 technical papers on transportation and infrastructure. He was also instrumental in securing a record research grant in the transportation area that enabled the creation of the University of Waterloo's Centre for Pavement and Transportation Technology. Dr. Haas was recognized with the nation's highest civilian honour, the Order of Canada. He received the highest academic honour, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and the highest engineering honour, Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. His many other activities include being an Honorary Life Member of the Transportation Association of Canada, having chaired its scholarship committee for 20 years.

The awards were presented at the closing banquet of the Transportation Association of Canada's annual conference in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, which was held from October 14 to 17.

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