Stantec First Nations Infrastructure Resilience Project Wins Consulting Engineers of Ontario Award

Stantec has won an award of merit from the ­­­­Consulting Engineers of Ontario for its project to develop and implement the First Nations Infrastructure Resilience Toolkit (FN-IRT) with the Ontario First Nations Technical Services Corporation (OFNTSC). Project Manager Guy Félio, an infrastructure management specialist with more than 30 years of experience in civil, geotechnical, and municipal engineering, received the award on behalf of Stantec at the 2019 Ontario Consulting Engineering Awards (OCEA) Gala in Kleinburg, ON, on April 26.

These awards spotlight projects that enrich society by embodying creativity, ingenuity, and leadership to develop breakthrough engineering. Guy and the project team have been honoured for their work with OFNTSC and First Nations communities on the FN-IRT & Pilot Projects in the OCEA’s ‘Studies and Research’ category.

“Through my decade of work with First Nations in Ontario, I’ve noticed a serious need for a toolkit to help First Nations manage their infrastructure in the context of more extreme weather and future climate uncertainty,” says Guy, who is based in Stantec’s Ottawa office. “Many of these communities have limited resources and are remote and isolated, which makes the need for a robust tool to assess risks even more pressing. The FN-IRT strengthens how the community manages its infrastructure and identifies the threats from climate change effects. I’m proud that First Nations groups across Canada are showing great interest in applying the toolkit in their communities.”

Stantec, in partnership with OFNTSC, developed the FN-IRT, a toolkit that integrates Traditional Indigenous Knowledge with climate and engineering information to identify and qualify climate risks to community infrastructure. The toolkit also supports the integration of those risks into asset management planning, providing guidance on how to better plan maintenance, repairs and replacement of assets.

“As a First Nation member, I am proud to have worked alongside Guy and the team, in the development of the FN-IRT. The toolkit is the first of its kind for First Nation communities in Ontario and potentially across Canada. Not only does it help our communities develop strategies to adapt to the impacts of climate change to infrastructure, it incorporates processes and traditional knowledge unique to each First Nation, making the tool relevant to our communities. I’m very pleased that the toolkit has already been used to support changes in community infrastructure policies,” says the Project Director, Elmer Lickers, Senior Operations and Maintenance Advisor with OFNTSC.

The FN-IRT was developed in partnership with OFNTSC, and the collaboration of Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, Oneida Nation of the Thames, Moose Cree First Nation, Engineers Canada, and Risk Sciences International (RSI). Funding was provided by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada – First Nation Adapt Program (Formerly INAC) and OCCIAR (Ontario Centre for Climate Impacts and Adaption Resources).

About Stantec
Communities are fundamental. Whether around the corner or across the globe, they provide a foundation, a sense of place and of belonging. That’s why at Stantec, we always design with community in mind.

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