Special Sessions:

Monday, October 3

Mining Geotechnics and Hydrogeology
Monday, October 3  | 15:00 – 16:30

The conference program includes a special session on case studies related to Mining Geotechnique comprising several presentations by renowned and experienced practitioners. Mr. Scott Martens will deliver a presentation entitled “Essential components of safe upstream tailings dams – examples from the Alberta oil sands”. Ms. Ashley Gusikoski and Vincent Martin will jointly present on “Management of change in Closed and Legacy Sites – Case Examples from Selbaie Mine” whereas Mr. Jeremy Boswell, will present on “Improving the defences of tailings structures”.  All great presentations, not to be missed!!

Tuesday, October 4

Women in Geotechnique Breakfast (WIG)
Tuesday, October 4  | 07:30

Celebrate the strong and inspiring women in our field at the Women in Geotechnique Breakfast being held on Tuesday October 4 at 07:30. This is not a women-only event, all are welcome to celebrate and support Women in Geotechnique. The breakfast will include a delicious buffet, a slideshow of some of our women at work, and an engaging panel discussion with panelists Andrea Lougheed (BGC Engineering), Savanna Herman (Terrain Insights) and Anna Pekinasova (University of Calgary).

This breakfast has been very popular and space is limited. Please note, it will be on a first come first serve basis.

Suit is a Four-Letter Word
Professional Practice #1

Tuesday October 4 | 10:30 – 12:00

Prompted by a re-release of a book originally published as the outcome of meetings at a CGS conference in 1982, this conference session will examine litigation issues in geotechnical engineering practice. “Suit is a Four-Letter Word”, written by Hugh Nasmith, served as “A geotechnical engineer’s introduction to professional liability”. In this session we will ask: Is this book still relevant? What has changed? Is our specialty practice any better at limiting our professional liability now than we were then? A lawyer specializing in engineering and construction litigation will present perspectives on industry changes over the past several decades, the current state of litigation related to geotechnical engineering, and a few “life lessons” to awaken our interest in the subject. Insurance industry statistics will be used to set the context for risk management in our practices, followed by an introduction to tools our practitioners can use to “raise the bar”, reduce disputes, and address the challenging professional liability insurance environment in our industry. The session will be guided by Storer Boone, Ph.D., P.Eng., with guest speakers from legal practice and the insurance industry. This specialty session will be interactive, so bring your questions, successes, and horror stories to share.

Communication, Communication, Communication
Professional Practice #2
Tuesday October 4 | 13:40 – 15:10

This session builds on the themes from “Suit is a Four-Letter Word”. Starting with the premise that the most common cause of geotechnical legal claims is differing expectations among the parties to an underground project, we explore communication as the tool to achieve clarity of expectations. Case studies of both ineffective and effective communication will be presented and discussed through the experiences of consultants who will bare their war wounds and reflect on successes borne of effective communication. We will hear the perspective of a client to understand their consultant communication expectations, the bad habits that frustrate them and the best practices that delight them. We will then take a step back from the practical experiences of our panelists to understand important principles that underpin the science of effective communication from a leadership and communication specialist.

T11: EDI Special Session
Tuesday October 4 | 15:30 – 17:00

“Equity Diversity and Inclusion is an important and enlightening topic that deserves to be discussed and shared in our communities and industry. The EDI special session will include a presentation based on Valérie Fréchette and Suzanne Lacasse’s paper titled “Ten women professors in geotechnique from Canadian universities reflect on their journey in academia”. Dr. Elena Zabolotnii will share her work on “Charting the path for geo-professionals toward the constructive engagement with Indigenous communities”, then Lucy Philip will lead a panel discussion on Women in Mining with panelists Anne Marie Toutant, Lacy Gielen, Pamela Ellemers, and Róisín Kerr.

Wednesday, October 5

Special Heritage Session
Wednesday, October 5  | 08:30 – 10:00

The national CGS conference is celebrating its 75th year in Calgary with GeoCalgary2022. To commemorate this milestone, there will be a special Heritage Session highlighting the past, present and future of geotechnique in Calgary and Canada. Dr. Doug Van Dine will take us through the past in his presentation titled “History of the Canadian Geotechnical Society”. Sarah Verwey will take us into “History of Geotechnique in Calgary” and Dr. Suzanne Lacasse will take us forward with her presentation on “The next 75 years: Shaping our future”. Celebrate 75 years with us and these three presentations that will take you through time in the world of Geotechnique in Canada.