GTHA Transit Summit
Riding towards a sustainable future
Toronto Metropolitan University - Ted Rogers School of Management
September 4, 2024 - Toronto, Canada
Speakers & Moderators
(In order of appearance)
Murtaza Haider
Toronto Metropolitan University / Post Media
Dr. Murtaza Haider is the Associate Dean of Graduate Programs and a full professor of Data Science and Real Estate Management at Toronto Metropolitan University. He also serves as the research director of the Urban Analytics Institute. Murtaza is a Director of Regionomics Inc., a boutique consulting firm specializing in the economics of cities and regions. His research interests include business analytics, data science, housing market dynamics, transport/infrastructure/urban planning, and human development in Canada and South Asia. He is the author of “Getting Started with Data Science: Making Sense of Data with Analytics” (2016), co-published by IBM Press and Pearson. He has collaborated with IBM to develop and offer courses in data science on Coursera and CognitiveClass.ai. Over a million learners have attended his “Intro to Data Science” course worldwide, while “Intro to Stats with Python” has over 32,000 registrations. Murtaza is also a syndicated columnist with Post Media, writing a weekly column on real estate markets that appears nationally in The Financial Post and local newspapers including Ottawa Citizen, Vancouver Sun, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Sun, and Montreal Gazette. Murtaza also writes occasionally for The Globe and Mail and The Toronto Star. He holds a Masters in transport engineering and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Toronto.
Mayor Olivia Chow
City of Toronto
Olivia Chow has served the people of Toronto for over three decades. Born in Hong Kong in 1957, she immigrated to Toronto with her parents at the age of 13. An apartment in the St. James Town neighbourhood was the launchpad for her remarkable personal journey as a community organizer, activist, school board trustee, Metro Toronto Councillor, Member of Parliament, and now the first person of Asian descent to serve as Mayor of Toronto, and the first woman to serve as Mayor since the six municipalities of Metro Toronto were amalgamated. She is working hard to build a City that holds the same kind of hope and promise that it did when she first arrived here – a City that is more affordable, caring and where everyone belongs.
MP Peter Fragiskatos
Liberal Party of Canada / Housing, Infrastructure & Communities Canada
Peter Fragiskatos was first elected as the Member of Parliament for London North Centre in 2015. In addition to his responsibilities as an MP, Peter was appointed by the Prime Minister to serve as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities. He previously served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue. Prior to entering federal politics, Peter served as an academic at Western University and a media commentator. His works have been published by major Canadian and international news organizations, including Maclean’s, The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, BBC News, and CNN. Born in London, Peter has combined his passion for politics with a desire to give back to his community. He has served on the boards of Anago (Non) Residential Resources Inc. and the Heritage London Foundation. An active volunteer, he ran a youth mentorship program and has worked with many local not-for-profit groups, such as the London Food Bank, the London Cross-Cultural Learner Centre and Literacy London, a charity dedicated to helping adults improve their reading and writing skills. Peter holds a political science degree from Western University, a master’s degree in international relations from Queen’s University, and a PhD in international relations from Cambridge University.
Aidan Grove-White
StrategyCorp
Aidan is a Vice President at StrategyCorp and leads several teams in our Land and Infrastructure Development and Municipal Services practices. He works with a team of talented professionals with planning, development, political, and policy backgrounds on a wide array of projects and initiatives. Aidan has a proven track-record of succeeding on complex and ambitious files in the various roles he’s held in the public service, not-for-profit sector, and now in the private sector. Serving clients from across the spectrum, including municipalities, developers, not-for-profit organizations, and neighbourhood groups, he prides himself on his ability to find creative solutions and forge innovative partnerships. Before joining StrategyCorp in 2019, Aidan was a manager in the Ontario Public Service, serving in policy roles at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for over four years. Prior to that, he was the water programs manager and a planning advisor for Environmental Defence. Aidan has also held a variety of policy positions in the Ontario and British Columbia governments including drinking water protection, services for victims of crime, economic and social integration of newcomers, and employment for persons with disabilities.
Anne Marie Aikins
AMA Communications / Curious Public Content & Insights
Anne Marie Aikins is the trusted spokesperson and industry leader you want during the good times and the really, really bad times. She has more than two decades of experience delivering successful media relations and complex crisis communications, including 12 years with Metrolinx, the regional transportation agency. Anne Marie has expertly managed emergency communications for dozens of short and long-term crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic. A published, award-winning author, former NRU journalist and creative storyteller, she is known for her great sense of humour, dedication to public service, and unlimited energy. Known for her reputation as a dynamic speaker and trainer, Anne Marie is also a sought after strategic advisor and media expert. Well-regarded Newstalk host, John Moore once said she was the best spokesperson he’d encountered in 35 years in the media. And Canadian Press referred to her recently as a media maven.
Angie Clark
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113
Angie Clark is the Executive Vice-President of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 113, the labour union representing 12,000 operations and maintenance workers of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). Growing up in a union home, Angie learned the importance of unions at a very young age. She has been a proud ATU Local 113 member since beginning her career as a TTC bus operator in 2009 and has been actively engaged in union activities since 2014. In 2016, Angie was elected to the women’s committee of the union. She has also served as an elected member of the Joint Health and Safety Committee for her work location and two terms on the union’s By-Law Committee. The first woman to be elected to the position of Vice-President of ATU Local 113, Angie is committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of all union members and oversees their Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and long-term disability cases. In addition to her work at ATU Local 113, she has been an elected delegate to the ATU International and ATU Canada conventions. Angie was recognized by ATU International and is the elected vice-chair of the ATU International Women’s Caucus.
Chris Prentice
Arcadis / Canadian Transit Heritage Foundation
A native of Toronto and a graduate of York University, Chris has an extensive background in public transit management in Welland, Brampton and Halifax, beginning his career as an operating coach cleaner with the Toronto Transit Commission in 1967. He has been Senior Public Transit Consultant with Delcan, IBI Group and Arcadis for the past 32 years and is a past President of the Ontario Urban Transit Association. He is also a past member of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Public Transit Association and the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) where he chaired the Awards Committee for 22 years. With a life-long passion for public transit and its history, Chris is a founding Director of the Canadian Transit Heritage Foundation and has been its President since 2003. He was the recipient of CUTA’s William G. Ross Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.
Karla Avis-Birch
Metrolinx
As Chief Planning Officer, Karla extends her tenure at Metrolinx and builds on her executive leadership and award-winning, multi-billion-dollar project delivery experience. Throughout her career, Karla has overseen the construction and completion of countless instrumental infrastructural pieces and has accelerated the delivery of service. In her previous role as Vice President, GO Stations Capital Delivery, she established Metrolinx’s first Project Controls & Design Standards Office, partnered with Infrastructure Ontario on the procurement of P3 projects, and was accountable for the delivery of transformational GO Expansion programs. A Civil Engineering graduate from Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), Karla’s proven record of excellence garnered her a feature in the Women of Influence “Meet a Role Model” article and a spot amongst the 2020 Women in Infrastructure Network (WIN) Outstanding Leaders short list. She also served as the 2017 and 2018 President of the Women in Transportation Seminars (WTS) Toronto Area Chapter. She has been federally appointed by Infrastructure Canada to serve on the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) Board of Directors to oversee the construction of the Gordie Howe bridge.
PANEL DISCUSSION: Managing Transit Planning, Capital and Operations Complexity
Josh Colle
Toronto Transit Commission
Josh Colle is the Chief Strategy and Customer Officer at the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), North America’s third largest transit system. Until recently he was a partner and national transit lead at Ernst and Young where he assisted North American transportation agencies and municipalities with their efforts to set strategic priorities, review and improve services, develop governance models, find efficiencies, enhance operating models, and navigate complex issues and stakeholder environments. As an elected Toronto City Councillor from 2014-2018, Josh served as Chair of the TTC and oversaw the opening of a new subway line, delivery of new subways, streetcars, and buses, the investment in historic levels of transit service, the introduction of free fares for kids and a two-hour transfer, the implementation of a new fare collection system, and several other critical initiatives. An experienced facilitator and advisor who often leads boards and executive teams through critical strategic deliberations, Josh previously worked as Vice President of an infrastructure firm with clients in the transportation and energy sectors. He also managed government and stakeholder relations for Toronto Pearson, Canada’s busiest airport and acted as a municipally elected school board trustee for one of Canada’s largest public schoolboards. Josh sits on the Board and Executive Committee of the Canadian Urban Transit Association and is the Integrated Urban Mobility Vice Chair.
PANEL DISCUSSION: Managing Transit Planning, Capital and Operations Complexity
Doug Spooner
Grand River Transit / Region of Waterloo
Doug Spooner is the Acting Commissioner, Transportation with the Region of Waterloo. Doug’s role sees him working alongside a fantastic team to deliver a variety of Regional services including transit, multi-modal travel, and roads. Doug joined the Region of Waterloo just over a year ago, following stops at Metrolinx, the Invictus 2017 Games, the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games, and his own consulting firm. Doug’s experience spans a variety of transportation fields including system/space design and operation, network design, procurement, policy development and stakeholder integration.
PANEL DISCUSSION: Managing Transit Planning, Capital and Operations Complexity
Fraser Macdonald
StrategyCorp
Fraser is a public affairs expert, lawyer, and long-time political strategist with extensive experience helping lead municipal, provincial, and federal election campaigns. His legal career saw him specialize in banking and finance at several large international law firms in Toronto, Australia and London, UK. Outside his legal experience, Fraser has served clients from across Canada as a senior government relations advisor. In these roles, Fraser has provided counsel to clients in the infrastructure and development, healthcare, environment, energy, and financial service sectors. Fraser has been involved in politics for over 20 years, including managing several campaigns at the provincial and federal levels. In 2010, he acted as Deputy Communications Director on Rob Ford’s winning mayoral campaign in Toronto. Most recently, he served as Policy Director on Jean Charest’s Conservative Party leadership campaign. Fraser has also been a contributor on political and public policy issues on CP24, CBC, the Toronto Sun, The Line, and other publications. Fraser holds a B.A. (Hons) in History from Queen’s University and a Juris Doctor (with distinction) from Bond University.
PANEL DISCUSSION: Managing Transit Planning, Capital and Operations Complexity
Adrian Lightstone
CPCS
Adrian Lightstone is Senior Vice President, Advanced Markets (Canada, UK, US) at CPCS. His expertise is unlocking major infrastructure projects for clients, and has led several complex multidisciplinary transportation projects relating to regional transportation, intercity rail, transit and freight. Having served clients in Canada, the US, the UK, Sweden and Australia, Adrian mixes his strategic advisory experience and deep knowledge of feasibility and due diligence studies, business case, financial and economic modelling, policy and stakeholder engagement. Prior to joining CPCS, he worked with WSP and HDR. Adrian holds a Master of Science in Economics from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and a Bachelor of Science and Engineering from Queen’s University in Kingston.
Amer Shalaby
University of Toronto
Amer Shalaby is Bahen-Tanenbaum Professor in Civil Engineering and Founding Director of the Transit Analytics Lab at the University of Toronto, with more than 30 years of research and consulting experience in Canada and internationally in the areas of transit planning and intelligent transportation systems. His research – which focuses on crowds and congestion, both at the local and global levels, with particular emphasis on disruption management – has been published widely in peer-reviewed journals and international conference proceedings. He has served on various transit committees of the Transportation Research Board, and he sits on the editorial boards of multiple scientific journals.
AECOM Canada
Jeff Walter is an accomplished digital transformation leader and innovation strategist with 25 years of digital leadership in the AEC industry, and a rich background in the planning and delivery of transportation infrastructure in the region. Jeff leads the strategic implementation of cutting-edge technologies across the AECOM Canada region and around the world on complex infrastructure projects, including BIM, Digital Twins, and AI, ensuring alignment with governance, digital strategy, business value, and project management best practices.
Alexander White
Hitachi Rail
Alexander White is a seasoned public infrastructure delivery professional involved with major projects for diverse asset classes throughout their lifecycle. As Principal Manager at Hitachi Rail, he leads the Canadian service and maintenance team, ensuring operational readiness for a multibillion-dollar portfolio of assets. Notably, Alexander serves as Maintenance Director for the Ontario Line subway and Corporate Director for the Hazel McCallion LRT projects. Before joining Hitachi, Alexander was Director at Plenary Americas, a leading infrastructure developer, acting as Project Company Representative for a portfolio of assets. His rail career began at the Toronto Terminals Railway, responsible for the safe and efficient movement of trains through Canada’s busiest rail corridor and container port. Alexander holds a Doctor of Business Administration in infrastructure development from University of Manchester (UK), master’s degrees in development economics from Technical University Darmstadt (Germany) and University of Rome (Italy) and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Cornell University (USA).
Marco Chitti
McGill University
Marco Chitti is a Fonds de Recherce du Quebec Society and Culture Postdoctoral Researcher at McGill University and a Fellow at the Marron Institute of Urban Management at New York University. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Montreal, where he was honored with a Vanier CGS scholarship. Marco’s research delves into the international diffusion of practices and ideas in urban planning, as well as transit project planning, design, and implementation from a global perspective. Notably, he co-authored the Transit Cost Project, a comprehensive study investigating the factors contributing to the wide international variability in capital costs of transit infrastructure. His focus extends to understanding why transit projects tend to be more costly to build in countries like Canada and the US compared to their international counterparts. Currently, Marco is exploring diverse topics including surface transit speed, reliability, and priority, mode choice, and transit governance. His overarching aim is to leverage insights from global best practices to enhance transit efficiency and effectiveness within the Canadian context.
PANEL DISCUSSION: Show Us the Money!
Felix Fung
Ontario Ministry of Transportation
As Assistant Deputy Minister at the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO), Felix is currently responsible for the policy development and long-term planning of the Province’s transportation network. He also supports the oversight and implementation of the largest public transit expansion in North America – with provincial investments of over $70B over the next decade. In this role, Felix works closely with Ontario’s transportation agencies – Metrolinx and Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, municipal transit systems and other levels of government to support the delivery of critical transit infrastructure projects and the development of strategies and funding tools to enhance transit operations and capacity growth. Felix has over eighteen years of experience in public administration, policy development, financial oversight, and stakeholder consultations, specializing in government relations, infrastructure planning, and urban development. Felix also previously served in a number of senior positions within the Ministry of Transportation including as Director of Finance and the Director of Transit Policy where he provided leadership, priority setting and direction for the planning, development and implementation of transit policies, frameworks and infrastructure projects. Felix holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts (Urban Geography) and Master of Science (Urban Planning & Development), both from the University of Toronto.
Stephen Wickens
Toronto Transportation Research
Stephen Wickens is a mostly retired transportation researcher and journalist who spent more than four decades at the Toronto Star, Financial Post, Toronto Sun and The Globe and Mail. A journalism graduate of Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University), he has specialized in transit, real estate and urban planning. He is the author of “Station to Station”, an internationally recognized report on the soaring costs of subway building in the Toronto area. His opinions on transit issues and their relationship with land use are sought out by planners, developers, academics, journalists and social media followers.
William Denning
Transport Economics Consulting
William Denning is a transport economist and human geographer with over 35 years of professional experience. Skilled in transport and spatial policy formulation, advisory and strategy development, project evaluation, and market research, Mr. Denning has worked at all levels of government (local, sub-national, national, and international) and for a major private sector transport company. His career has included work and assignments in Canada, South-east Asia, East Asia, Europe, Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. William’s strengths are his creative urbanism, wide curiosity, and fanatic application of analysis. He is a keen urban and touring cyclist.
Andy Manahan
Manahan Consulting Services
Andy Manahan was an association executive for 30 years representing the construction sector. As a Professional Land Economist, he is an advocate for city-building supported by evidence-based decision making which has included the commissioning of independent research reports to advance long-term infrastructure investment and asset management priority setting. As president of Manahan Consulting Services, Andy represented a development group involved with transit-oriented community planning and organized a Housing Supply Summit with local, international and political speakers. A frequent public speaker and writer, he has authored articles and been interviewed in a variety of mainstream and technical publications. Andy sits on the advisory committees for both the Urban Robotics Foundation and AECO Innovation Lab. He holds a Master’s in Urban Geography from the University of Waterloo and a B.A. (Honours), Urban Studies/Geography from York University.
Steve Munro
Transit & Politics
Steve Munro is a long-time transit advocate and blogger in his home town, Toronto. Steve’s professional life was in IT Systems, although he is now retired. His political involvement began in 1972 with the Streetcars for Toronto Committee, but broadened to many other aspects of transit policy and operations over the years. In 2005, he won the Jane Jacobs Prize as an “unsung hero” of transit activism. Since 2006, he has blogged at stevemunro.ca and is a frequent commentator on transit issues.
Shelagh Pizey-Allen
TTCriders
Shelagh Pizey-Allen is the Executive Director of TTCriders, a membership-based advocacy organization that organizes transit users to take collective action for better transit. Organizing trainings and events to involve more transit users in the policy decisions that affect them, Shelagh leads campaigns to fix the transit funding model and for accessible, frequent, and dignified public transit that connects all Toronto neighbourhoods. Shelagh holds a BA from the University of Winnipeg and a joint MA from York University and Toronto Metropolitan University.
Jonathan English
NYU Marron Institute of Urban Management
Jonathan English is a Fellow in the Transportation and Land Use program of the NYU Marron Institute. He also works as a professional in the transit industry. He has a doctorate in urban planning from Columbia University, with research examining suburban transit policy and the relationship between transit service levels and transit demand from a historical perspective. His research focuses on infrastructure construction issues and transit policy, and has been featured in Bloomberg, the Economist, Vox, The New York Times, Wired, NPR, BBC, CBC, and a variety of other outlets.
Michael Roschlau
Strategic Adviser on Public Transit and Urban Mobility
Michael Roschlau is a strategic adviser in the field of public transit and urban mobility. His career has been dedicated to promoting efficient and effective public transit, most recently as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA). During his 29 years at CUTA, Michael became known as a strong advocate for public transit and was instrumental in creating Transit Vision 2040 – a generational vision which has become a national blueprint for transit development in Canada. Since his retirement from CUTA in 2015, Michael has acted as strategic adviser to the Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC), the Canadian Transit Heritage Foundation, the Urban Robotics Foundation and Vicinity Motors, as well as undertaking numerous public and private sector consulting assignments across Canada. He holds a PhD in transport geography from the Australian National University, as well as a Master of Arts degree from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto.