OSPE - The Voice - May 2019 - 7

ADVOCACY IN ACTION

Research and Innovation
Task Force hosts Smart
Cities Roundtable in
Partnership with Cisco
and Allstream
On April 23, 2019 OSPE hosted a research and innovation
roundtable on Smart Cities in partnership with Cisco and
Allstream. The event had three key objectives: to define what
constitutes a smart city, to understand what technology currently exists and how it is being applied, and to determine what
the role of engineers is in this transformation.
Speakers and panelists included:
* Bill Macgowan, P.Eng., CEM, Director, Smart Connected
Real Estate, Cisco
* Anselm Viswasam, P.Eng., President and CEO, Hyperion
Sensors
* Mara Bullock, P.Eng., National ITS & Technology Planning
Lead, WSP
* Goni Sarakinov, SCF, CISSP, CIPM, CIPT, Faculty Member
at Lassonde's Centre for Cyber Resilience
* Anurag Gupta, MBA, Partner, Global Sector Head, Power,
Infrastructure KPMG in Canada
The speakers discussed key technologies related to smart
buildings, smart grids, and smart mobility. The panel focused
on the ethical, governance, and policy implications of these
new interconnected systems. The role of engineers to protect
the public interest and the expectations of society from the

engineering profession were also discussed. The implementation of Smart Cities faces multi-facetted challenges and the
engineering profession is ready to respond and ensure that all
considerations are made, so that data collection and privacy
are embedded into all Smart City applications.
As a member-based advocacy organization, OSPE allows
the engineering community to share research and collectively
prepare recommendations for government. As part of this process, OSPE collaborates with other organizations and experts
to ensure our data and messaging is sound.
Active discussions amongst our members and other stakeholders through roundtables such as this will continue to be
an important forum to hear from experts and drive our evidence-based policy recommendations. OSPE is planning to
host more advocacy roundtables in 2019, where experts can
come together to share their research and views on a number
of issues facing Ontario.

OSPE RESPONDS TO FEDERAL BUDGET
On March 20, 2019, Canada's Minister of Finance Bill Morneau released the 2019 Federal Budget Investing in the Middle Class.
The budget expects a deficit of $14.9 billion for the 2018-19 fiscal year. This estimate is lower than the original projection of $18.1
billion outlined in last year's budget. The deficit is expected to decline to $9.8 billion for the 2023-24 fiscal year.
OSPE has identified areas of most interest to our membership and will be providing government with recommendations
through our efforts to engage all parties in engineering issues ahead of the federal election.
OSPE noted specific investments including those in infrastructure, housing, energy, environment, research and innovation,
supporting research, work-integrated learning, cybersecurity, and equity, diversity, and inclusion. Details can be found on OSPE's
Society Notes blog.

Summer 2019

THE VOICE

OSPE - The Voice - May 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of OSPE - The Voice - May 2019