Welcome to the Vulnerability Committee

Welcome to the Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee website. It is maintained on an ongoing basis by Engineers Canada in its capacity as the Secretariat.

The Vulnerability Committee was created in August 2005 to conduct an engineering assessment of the vulnerability of Canada's public infrastructure to the impacts of climate change. Between August 2005 and June 2012 the committee's activities were co-funded by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and Engineers Canada.

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 advise 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.