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We analyze the total factor productivity (TFP) of the pulp and paper industry in three Canadian provinces (British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec) and in three United States (US) states that are contiguously located south of the border (Washington, Illinois, and Maine) over the period of 1971 to 2005. We find that the industry in the three Canadian provinces had much higher TFP growth rates in the era following the Free-Trade Agreement (FTA) signed in 1988. In terms of productivity level, this relative TFP surge allowed the industry in Ontario and British Columbia to move ahead of Illinois and Washington, respectively; however, Quebec trailed further Maine, which is the overall leader in the sample. Our results in this particular case reveal that the Canadian pulp and paper industry did not contribute to the overall Canada-US productivity gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the possibilities and challenges of using mass timber as a sustainable alternative for retrofitting existing buildings in Canada. To create the knowledge foundation on which to devise a holistic framework tailored to the specific characteristics of Canada's built environment, a detailed analysis of the types, geographical distribution, structural, and energy features of the local building stock is first presented. Then, previous strategies for enhancing and upgrading existing buildings with engineered timber are reviewed, classified, and evaluated. Finally, to explore economic and environmental implications, a detailed assessment of available life-cycle cost–benefit analysis approaches is conducted alongside their adaptation to Canada's building context. The findings of this paper can inform policymakers, builders, and designers in developing more sustainable building retrofit practices, design, and regulations, in line with Canada's efforts toward net zero emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a review of Indigenous engagement in renewable energy projects is conducted and the main elements of energy partnerships between stakeholders and Indigenous partners are discussed. In recent years, Canada has witnessed more significant Indigenous involvement in economic and energy development projects than ever before. For large-scale energy partnerships, the focus is on engagement, financial capital, community buy-in (readiness, and entrepreneurial and business skills), and benefits-sharing with community partners. Equity-ownership, reconciliation, and self-determination intersect with and impact the benefits and sustainability of energy projects, as they are interrelated in the framework of most energy partnerships. This paper illustrates policy disconnects in connection with partnership-making, social outcomes, and decision-making among Indigenous communities. Furthermore, findings from relevant literature explore the nuanced discourse on social implications and capacity challenges that interlink with climate adaptation and reconciliation when promoting large-scale renewable energy partnerships with Indigenous communities. Through a systematic review and a meta-analysis of the literature, we found 80 relevant studies during the screening process, of which 33 were selected for the synthesis. Findings demonstrate that the Crown, energy companies, and community partners need to coordinate and collaborate closely to achieve energy security and sustainable renewable energy. The review suggests that Indigenous engagement in energy partnerships supports positive outcomes for social development and environmental protection among Indigenous communities. The literature suggests that when government and industry mentor in the project implementation process, important positive impacts on energy transitions, and self-sufficiency can be realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of icing and the resulting layered ice masses, called aufeis, are caused by the freezing of overflow originating from groundwater or surface water. Aufeis can directly impact infrastructure and property, most commonly through winter ice formation and spring flooding within, against, and on the surface of hydraulic structures and transportation infrastructure. They also represent a safety concern for drivers. This geohazard often needs to be managed proactively and efficiently to mitigate associated risks. This paper provides an overview of the consequences of aufeis in northwestern Canada. A total of 50 existing and novel icing and aufeis mitigation approaches are described and classified. The context of applicability for each approach is identified, considering the source of water, the type of infrastructure, and its role in the formation of aufeis. Finally, future research avenues to support the development or improvement of aufeis risk reduction techniques are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serious games (i.e., digital games designed for educational purposes) can foster positive learning attitudes and are increasingly used as educational tools. Foodbot Factory is a serious game application (app) that helps children learn about healthy eating based on Canada's Food Guide principles and has demonstrated to increase nutrition knowledge among this group. This paper describes the process followed to expand Foodbot Factory's educational content and integrate immersive technologies and innovative features into the app. The revision process, which was guided by the Obesity-Related Behavioral Intervention Trials model, included the following phases: first, an interdisciplinary team of nutrition scientists, education experts, and computer scientists analyzed data from the original pilot study, recently published literature, and feedback from stakeholders to define areas to improve Foodbot Factory. The five original Foodbot Factory modules were evaluated by the team during weekly meetings, where the educational content, interactive features, and other elements that required updates (e.g., aesthetics and accessibility) were identified. Second, prototypes were created and refined until a final version of Foodbot Factory was approved. Nineteen children tested the updated Foodbot Factory and found it "easy to use" (89%) and "fun" (95%). The new version of Foodbot Factory contains 19 learning objectives, including 13 original and six new objectives. Interactive engagement features in the updated Foodbot Factory included augmented reality incorporated into two learning modules; new mini-games were created, including a memory game; an overhaul of the aesthetics; (e.g., new food images); and accessibility features were included to support users with cognitive and vision disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The package PbIso is a free and open R toolbox for commonly used calculations and plots of Pb–Pb isotope data and for generating Pb evolution models. In this paper, we review Pb isotope systematics and the calculations that are commonly used, such as model age, model source μ (238U/204Pb), time-integrated κ (232Th/238U), and initial Pb isotope ratios. These equations are implemented into R functions in the package PbIso. In addition, functions are provided for generating Pb evolution models, paleoisochrons, and isochrons. This allows users to apply calculations to their data in a straightforward way while providing transparency and flexibility of the calculations used. We have implemented some basic features of the PbIso package into an online shiny R application (see https://shereearmistead.github.io/software/pbiso), which makes it easy for users without any R experience to use these calculations with their own data and to generate plots. We have provided a case study from the Superior Province in Canada, showing how different Pb evolution models can be generated in PbIso and compared to Pb isotope data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of Canada's industrial sector is driven by natural resources and relies heavily on provisioning services supplied by the boreal zone. However, the sometimes intensive processes used by resource-based industries and their associated infrastructure have significantly altered the region, creating concerns over the future socio-ecological health of the boreal zone. Addressing these concerns will require industries reliant on natural resources from the boreal zone to innovate their processes, management, and infrastructure to improve extraction efficiency while contributing to society's increasing expectations related to sustainability. Here, we explore past, current, and future trends in industrial innovation and infrastructure in the boreal zone for forestry, mining, pulp and paper, oil and gas, and renewable sources of power generation. We assess the role of innovation on the future socio-ecological state of the boreal zone by considering interactions between innovation in industry and infrastructure and other key drivers of change in the boreal, such as atmospheric changes, changing demands for nonprovisioning and provisioning ecosystem services, governance, and demographics and social values. We present future scenarios highlighting three divergent trajectories of change in boreal ecosystems based on past and current states of innovation in industry and infrastructure. We suggest that minimizing impacts of natural resource extraction activities in the boreal zone will only be possible through innovation directly focused on reducing the human footprint on the landscape. Innovation in the information technology sector related to process, management, and end products within these industries and placing greater emphasis on cross-sectoral collaboration will be key to achieving this goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Similar to many freshwater ecosystems, the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America have undergone numerous anthropogenic stressors resulting in considerable loss of biodiversity and habitat. Among Great Lakes fishes, the coregonine sub-family has endured the most extensive declines, including extinction of several species (Coregonus johannae, C. alpenae, and C. kiyi orientalis) and at least 10 instances of local extirpations of other species (C. nigripinnis, C. reighardi, C. zenithicus, C. hoyi, and C. artedi) across all 5 lakes, much of which occurred prior to the 1960s owing to overfishing, interactions with non-indigenous species, and habitat loss. Despite these declines, no federal-, provincial-, or state-mandated actions were ever implemented to conserve coregonine diversity, potentially because so much of the coregonine declines occurred prior to the enactment of federal conservation legislation. Possible explanations for inaction since enactment of that legislation include insufficient data on biological vulnerability or threats, unresolved taxonomy, and limited support from the fishery management agencies and their stakeholders prior to the 2000s. In recent decades, however, several fishery management agencies have undertaken efforts to re-introduce coregonine diversity. These efforts helped lead to development of a science-based framework to restore coregonines that was universally endorsed by fishery managers representing eight U.S. states, four U.S. tribal organizations, and the province of ON, Canada, in May 2018. The basin-wide framework is based on principles of conservation biology and adaptive management. We describe details of its key steps, including planning, restoring, and evaluating, while also describing recent implementation efforts to develop methods, improve available resources, and enhance coordination across the basin. Although our paper describes a regional effort to restore native coregonines, our adaptive-management approach could be used by other multi-agency stakeholders seeking to conserve or restore native fishes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although road surface friction is considered the most effective performance measure for maintenance operations, it is not commonly used due to the high cost of collection. As a result, most jurisdictions use subjective visual indicators that qualitatively describe the state of the road surface, even though they create measurement inconsistencies and offer less detailed maintenance tracking. For maintenance personnel to transition into using friction, the collection cost must be reduced. This paper attempts to do so by proposing a low-cost, machine learning-based method for predicting road surface friction using dash camera imagery and demonstrates its feasibility through a case study. The dataset used for this project was collected in the City of Edmonton, AB, Canada during its 2021/2022 winter season. Three models were developed using tree-based algorithms, where all three displayed high performance with an average root mean squared error of 0.0796 or 79.3% accuracy based on RMSPE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canada ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 2003. With that ratification is an obligation to submit data and information to the U.N. pertaining to the limits of the country's extended continental shelf (ECS); the portion of the juridical continental shelf that extends beyond 200 nautical miles. A team of Canadian scientists, managers, and legal experts that included representation from three Federal Departments (Natural Resources Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Global Affairs Canada) with additional support from other departments, spent 13 years compiling and acquiring data to provide the scientific evidence to support delineation of Canada's seaward most maritime limit. The submission has the potential to provide Canada with 2.4 million km2 of additional submarine landmass in the Atlantic and the Arctic oceans over which Canada exercises sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting its natural resources. Specific information such as the tectonic framework of the continental margin, the geomorphology of the margin and in particular the continental slope, the geologic nature of adjoined ridges, rises, and plateaux, and sediment thickness within adjacent basins are examples of fundamental pieces of geoscientific information needed to substantiate Canada's outermost maritime limits. This paper highlights a number of segments of Canada's continental margins to showcase this scientific evidence and how it is applied in the UNCLOS context. In doing so, the paper demonstrates the geologic complexity of Canada's margins as illustrated in scientific publications that have resulted from these new data collections, while at the same time presenting new scientific evidence and interpretations. This collection of data and information provides a wealth of new knowledge in Canada's offshore regions. The massive data compilation in the Atlantic led to conception of continental margins, in a source-to-sink scenario, as having an equilibrium base level or graded form, comparable to river systems. Departures from this shape relate to the interplay of sedimentary processes and in particular to those processes that do not fit the source-to-sink paradigm. For example, a significant part of the Atlantic margin is shown to be heavily influenced by along-slope geostrophic currents that generated massive contourite drift deposits. These deposits reflect lateral transport of sediment that had a significant impact on the morphology of the margin. The role of mass transport processes in shaping continental margins is also highlighted, and in particular the collapses of entire segments of the margin were observed. The prominent role mass failure processes play in delivering sediment to the adjacent abyssal plain is also critical in the ECS context. These observations challenge the entrenched notion of a continental margin comprising a shelf, slope, and rise and in particular the concept of the "continental rise". Prior to 2006, regions of the Arctic Ocean seaward of the Canadian landmass had fewer than 5000 km of seismic reflection data. The massive efforts of Arctic coastal States to map their margins for ECS purposes have led to a leap in technological advances to acquire data in ice-covered seas and have led to a wealth of new geoscientific knowledge. Perhaps foremost amongst this knowledge is demonstration that Canada Basin is indeed a fully developed ocean basin, albeit significantly infilled with sediment. Based on this knowledge and identification of related structures, new realistic tectonic scenarios for opening of the Amerasia Basin are proposed that include a significant component of transform or strike-slip motions. With seismic velocity and rock sample information, the continental nature of Alpha and Mendeleev ridges has been substantiated. Even bathymetric data were lacking in the Arctic and new editions of seafloor maps now support grids of 500 m spacing; although some regions remain sparse. Once thought to be relatively stagnant, sedimentary processes such as found in many ocean basins were discovered in the Arctic Ocean. Evidence of geostrophic currents, sediment mass failures, and deep-sea turbidity current channels were found to be ubiquitous, even in the deepest parts of the Arctic's basins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the climate resiliency of existing and new pavements, it is important to carry out pavement designs using continuous climate records at high temporal frequencies. Over the years, significant research efforts have been dedicated to obtain high-quality climatic data for pavement design including the latest adoption of the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2). The purpose of this study is to assess how MERRA-2 performs when compared to the Canadian Weather Energy and Engineering Datasets (CWEEDS), which provides hourly meteorological data for many parts of the country from various periods. In the first part, climate parameters at nine locations were directly compared to determine the correlation between two data sets. In the second part, long-term performances were simulated for typical flexible pavement to assess the relative impact of each climate scenario. As detailed in this paper, observed differences between MERRA-2 and CWEEDS indicate the need for further improvement of climate data quality and availability for designing resilient pavements in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive 14C dating and botanical identification of charcoal fragments located in the organic surface soil layer and buried in the mineral podzolic solum were used to reconstruct the successional pathways of a balsam fir forest site. The studied forest site developed in a context of continuous fire disturbance over the last 9000 years with at least 26 fires occurring at a mean interval of 330 years. Tree vegetation of the site followed a four-step trajectory consisting of an early-Holocene spruce forest and a late-Holocene mixedwood balsam fir forest. Boreal-like spruce-birch and temperate-like white pine-birch forests dominated the site between 7900 and 5900 cal. B.P. and 5600 and 1275 cal. B.P., respectively. Because all forest types developed repeatedly after fire since early deglaciation, changes in forest composition, in particular the shift of white pine forest to balsam fir forest, and concurrent decline of birch (yellow birch and/or paper birch) and pine populations were most likely related to progressive cooler and wetter conditions from mid- to late Holocene. Fire disturbance on this part of the southern boreal biome has been a continuous, positive regenerative process over the Holocene, allowing the successional turnover of boreal and temperate trees under the influence of climatic change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The seismic resilience of structures can be quantified through rigorous seismic assessment. Because no detailed guideline is available for nonlinear modelling parameters and the corresponding acceptance criteria for the seismic evaluation and upgrading of steel structures in Canada, the structural commentary of the National Building Code of Canada suggests using ASCE 41, which has been adopted as a standard for seismic evaluation and retrofit of buildings in the United States (U.S.). However, because the steel design standards in Canada and the U.S. are different, their applicability to steel structures in Canada needs to be investigated. To this end, this paper critically reviews the nonlinear modelling parameters and acceptance criteria, and then recommends whether these values need to be revised or are adopted as is for the seismic evaluation and upgrading of steel structures in Canada. A numerical example of a steel moment-resisting frame is presented to demonstrate the recommended parameters being used for seismic evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests are the locus of conflict in Canada, where the rights and interests of Indigenous peoples can collide with those of the province (Crown) and the forest industry. Efforts to achieve "forest justice" — or sufficient forest rights to meet the self-governance goals of Indigenous peoples, and in ways that ensure collective resilience — have typically been driven by the principle of reconciliation. In this paper, these "forest justice" efforts were examined through a tripartite justice theory, involving recognition, representation, and redistribution pathways. This paper documents that recognition involves Crown efforts to recognize Indigenous peoples' forest rights, including ownership, and access and use rights; representation includes improved participation in forest governance; and redistribution covers the allocation of timber harvesting rights and forest lands to Indigenous peoples. This study documents that the bulk of "forest justice" activity is focused on the redistribution of timber harvesting licences, the volume of which has doubled over the last two decades. These three paths to justice must all be pursued together to deliver "forest justice", and to move towards "reconciliation in the woods". Recommendations are offered to support forest justice in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Research Council Canada (NRC) is currently developing seismic evaluation and upgrading guidelines for existing buildings in Canada. The seismic evaluation guidelines consist of three tiers of seismic evaluation procedures, that is, Tier 1 Quick Evaluation, Tier 2 Deficiency-Based Evaluation, and Tier 3 Detailed Evaluation. This paper presents the Tier 1 Quick Evaluation procedure, which aims to update the initial quick evaluation procedure in the existing seismic evaluation guidelines developed by the NRC in early 1990s. The proposed procedure covers seismic assessment of both structural and non-structural elements, and requires the review of construction documents, on-site inspection, and calculations. A set of checklists are contained to uncover potential key seismic deficiencies of the building under evaluation. The checklists are in the form of evaluation statements that relate to potential seismic deficiencies in the structural systems and non-structural components. The proposed procedure is demonstrated by conducting the seismic evaluation of an existing building that is part of a pilot study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article announces that Tiffani A. Fraser and Matt P. Hutchison won the 2017 Best Paper Award from the Canadian Science Publishing and the Geological Association of Canada.

National Building Code of Canada (NBC) specifies 45 Seismic Force Resisting Systems to ensure the safety of building structures. Conventional construction concrete moment-resisting frame (CC-CMF) is one of these systems whose seismic response has not been systematically studied in Canada. This paper is an attempt to study the seismic performance of this system using the FEMA P695 methodology. In this regard, different archetype configurations were developed and analyzed through nonlinear static and dynamic analyses. Performance assessment results show that the CSA and NBC requirements for CC-CMF system represent the lower bound of values for seismic force modification factors, and conservatively meet life safety objectives presented in the NBC. Furthermore, different scenarios were considered for identifying ductility-related seismic force modification factor from pushover curves. The effect of height and gravity load levels on seismic force modification factors and collapse margin ratios are also presented by comparing archetypes having different configurations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) recently developed a semi-quantitative seismic risk screening tool (SQST) for existing buildings in Canada. The SQST is intended to supersede the Manual for Screening of Buildings for Seismic Investigation developed by the NRC in the early 1990s. The SQST consists of three key components: (i) a structural scoring system that quantitatively assesses the structural seismic risk based on probability of collapse; (ii) a nonstructural component scoring system that qualitatively assesses the seismic risk of nonstructural components based on seismic demand; and (iii) a ranking procedure that prioritizes potentially hazardous buildings for seismic evaluations and possible upgrading. The intent of the SQST is to inexpensively identify and exempt buildings with acceptable life safety risk and optimize the allocation of resources to assess the seismic risks to portfolios of buildings. Seismic screening with the SQST can be completed with either paper-based screening forms or a web-based application. The applicability of the SQST was demonstrated with a pilot study for 33 existing buildings across Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canada's climate is warming at a rate about double the global average, leading to potential negative impacts on public infrastructures such as jointed plain concrete pavement (JPCP). In light of this reality of changing climate, the work contained in this paper is aimed at evaluating JPCP's early-age behaviour in response to environmental conditions. HIPERPAV® software and the associated models developed by the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) were used to identify cracking potential. A sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the effect of different levels of air temperature, mix temperature, base layer temperature, wind speed, and relative humidity. Additionally, projected extreme temperatures predicted by the Canadian Regional Climate Model (CanRCM) were used to determine the relative impact of climate change on cracking risk. The results demonstrated the increased cracking risk under changing climate in several Canadian cities by mid-century and highlighted the importance of developing a pathway forward for climate adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Walleye (Sander vitreus) populations in Alberta, Canada, collapsed by the mid-1990s and were a case study in the paper Canada's Recreational Fisheries: The Invisible Collapse? Here we fit age-structured population dynamics models to data from a landscape-scale monitoring program to assess walleye population status and reconstruct recruitment dynamics following the invisible collapse. Assessments indicated that populations featured low Fmsy values of approximately 0.2–0.3 under conservative assumptions for the stock–recruitment relationship but that many populations were lightly exploited during 2000–2018. Recruitment reconstructions showed that recovery from collapse in 33/55 lakes was driven in part by large positive recruitment anomalies that occurred during 1998–2002. Additionally, 15/55 lakes demonstrated cyclic recruitment dynamics. The documented recruitment anomalies and cyclic fluctuations could be due to environmental effect(s) or cannibalism, and experimentation is likely necessary to resolve this uncertainty. These findings contribute new information on the recovery dynamics of walleye following the invisible collapse and demonstrate the effectiveness of coupling traditional fisheries science models with broad-scale monitoring data to improve understanding of population dynamics and sustainability across landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information about several research papers related to various aspects of food and nutrition. It includes food security of Syrian refugee households in Canada, maternal mental health and infant feeding style, childcare director perceptions on healthy food consumption, the effect of food advertisements on food intake, and associations between intuitive eating levels and desire to eat during pregnancy.

Video-based traffic analysis is a leading technology for streamlining transportation data collection. With traffic records from video cameras, unsupervised automated video analysis can detect various vehicle measures such as vehicle spatial coordinates and subsequently lane positions, speed, and other dynamic measures without the need of any physical interconnections to the road infrastructure. This paper contributes to the unsupervised automated video analysis by addressing two main shortcomings of the approach. The first objective is to alleviate tracking problems of over-segmentation and over-grouping by integrating region-based detection with feature-based tracking. This information, when combined with spatiotemporal constraints of grouping, can reduce the effects of these problems. This fusion approach offers a superior decision procedure for grouping objects and discriminating between trajectories of objects. The second objective is to model three-dimensional bounding boxes for the vehicles, leading to a better estimate of their geometry and consequently accurate measures of their position and travel information. This improvement leads to more precise measurement of traffic parameters such as average speed, gap time, and headway. The paper describes the various steps of the proposed improvements. It evaluates the effectiveness of the refinement process on data collected from traffic cameras in three different locations in Canada and validates the results with ground truth data. It illustrates the effectiveness of the improved unsupervised automated video analysis with a case study on 10 h of traffic data collection such as volume and headway measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steel multi-tiered concentrically braced frames (MT-CBFs) represent a bracing configuration where two or more concentric bracing panels are stacked between the ground and roof levels in tall single-storey buildings. A large proportion of MT-CBFs in Canada are located in low-to-moderate seismic regions (seismic category 0–3) where limited ductility CBFs are often preferred in design. Nevertheless, brace tensile yielding may not occur in all tiers of such frames. Additionally, the analysis and design procedure adopted by the 2019 Canadian steel design standard (CSA S16-19) can become tedious in tall frames with multiple panels. In this paper, the seismic behaviour of limited ductility MT-CBFs in moderate seismic regions of Canada is examined to propose a simplified design method. A set of 16 prototype MT-CBFs is designed in accordance with CSA S16-19, excluding the design requirements prescribed for MT-CBF columns. Nonlinear dynamic analyses are then performed to examine their seismic response. Finally, an efficient design method is proposed in the framework of CSA S16-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Research Council Canada recently developed a multi-criteria and multi-level framework for seismic risk management of existing buildings in Canada. One of the key criteria in this framework is benchmark NBC edition, which refers to the applicable edition of National Building Code of Canada (NBC) in which significantly improved seismic requirements were adopted and enforced. Since post-benchmark buildings are expected to demonstrate satisfactory seismic performance, they may be exempt from structural seismic risk assessment. This paper identifies benchmark NBC editions for 17 model building types in Canada. The identification starts by tracking major seismic improvements in the United States benchmark codes and standards. These improvements are then mapped to applicable NBC editions and relevant design standards. Provincial building code editions corresponding to benchmark NBC editions are also identified. The benchmark NBC editions and corresponding provincial building code editions help building owners quickly identify and exempt post-benchmark buildings with acceptable seismic risks and thus allocate resources to the buildings with potentially unacceptable seismic risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the World Scientists' Warning to Humanity: a Second Notice was issued in response to ongoing and largely unabated environmental degradation due to anthropogenic activities. In the warning, humanity is urged to practice more environmentally sustainable alternatives to business as usual to avoid potentially catastrophic outcomes. Following the success of their warning, the Alliance of World Scientists called for discipline-specific follow-up papers. This paper is an answer to that call for the topic of wildland fire. Across much of Canada and the world, wildfires are anticipated to increase in severity and frequency in response to anthropogenic activities. The world scientists' second warning provides the opportunity for wildland fire researchers to raise the profile of the potential impacts that anthropogenic activities are likely to have on future fire regimes and, in return, what impacts future fire regimes may have on humanity. We discuss how wildfire is related to several issues of concern raised in the world scientists' second warning, including climate change, human population growth, biodiversity and forests, and freshwater availability. Furthermore, we touch on the potential future health impacts and challenges to wildfire suppression and management in Canada. In essence, our wildfire scientists' warning to humanity is that we, as a society, will have to learn to live with more fire on the landscape. We provide some recommendations on how we might move forward to prepare for and adapt to future wildfire regimes in Canada. Although this paper is primarily Canadian in focus, the concepts and information herein also draw from international examples and are of relevance globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Canadian Fisheries Research Network (CFRN) was a collaboration among fish harvesters, academic researchers, and government scientists that undertook research between 2010 and 2016 on questions about fisheries that were identified by fish harvesters and pertinent to management objectives. This paper provides a synthesis of the scope and results of the CFRN. It explores the link between the increasing challenges to fisheries sustainability and the need for increased research capacity and for a collaborative approach. It documents the creation of the collaboration, the research it accomplished, and its benefits and explores the need for ongoing collaboration. The papers in this special issue on the CFRN demonstrate the benefits of collaborative fisheries research that are of relevance internationally and support the need for a permanent collaborative platform to conduct research to support fisheries management capacity and decision-making in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the Canada infrastructure report 2016, 62.6% of roads in Canada are in a good condition, nevertheless, with current investment rates, significant road networks will suffer a decline in their condition and will be vulnerable to sudden failure. Accordingly, this paper tackles the pavement resilience from an asset management perspective and aims at developing a resilience-based asset management framework for pavement networks. This was carried out through the development of five components: (i) a central database of asset inventory, (ii) a pavement condition and level of service assessment models, (iii) a regression of the effect of freeze–thaw on pavement network, (iv) a financial and temporal models, and (v) an optimization model to formulate the mathematical denotation for the proposed resilience assessment approach and integrate the above components. The model results were promising in terms of maintaining pavement resiliency by selecting a near optimal intervention plan that meets the municipality limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Research Council Canada recently developed a Semi-Quantitative Seismic Risk Screening Tool (SQST) for seismic risk screening of existing buildings in Canada. This paper presents the structural scoring system that is part of the SQST. The structural scoring methodology is based on FEMA P-154, but has been substantially modified to suit Canadian seismicity and seismic design and construction practices. Structural scores are obtained by adding structural basic scores and applicable score modifiers. For an existing building, a structural basic score is determined by calculating the probability of collapse on the basis of a number of assumptions. Then a series of score modifiers are calculated to address the effects of applicable building characteristics on the building's seismic performance. The structural score is compared with an acceptable structural threshold to determine whether the structural seismic risk is acceptable. The objective of the structural scoring system is to ensure an acceptable and consistent seismic risk in building portfolios while minimizing life safety threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a rapidly evolving situation. New discoveries about COVID-19 and its causative virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), continue to deepen the understanding of this novel disease. As there is currently no COVID-19 specific treatment, isolation is the most effective method to prevent transmission. Moreover, development of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine will be instrumental in reinstating pre-COVID-19 conditions. As of 31 July 2020, there are at least 139 vaccine candidates from around the globe in preclinical evaluation, with another 26 undergoing clinical evaluation. This paper aims to review the basics of COVID-19, including epidemiology, basic biology of SARS-CoV-2, and transmission. We also review COVID-19 vaccine development, including animal models, platforms under development, and vaccine development in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Journal of Forest Research by reflecting on the considerable progress accomplished in select areas of Canadian wildland fire science over the past half century. Specifically, we discuss key developments and contributions in the creation of the Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System; the relationships between wildland fire and weather, climate, and climate change; fire ecology; operational decision support; and wildland fire management. We also discuss the evolution of wildland fire management in Banff National Park as a case study. We conclude by discussing some possible directions in future Canadian wildland fire research including the further evaluation of fire severity measurements and effects; the efficacy of fuel management treatments; climate change effects and mitigation; further refinement of models pertaining to fire risk analysis, fire behaviour, and fire weather; and the integration of forest management and ecological restoration with wildland fire risk reduction. Throughout the paper, we reference many contributions published in the Canadian Journal of Forest Research, which has been at the forefront of international wildland fire science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, forest management has focused on forestry-related practices whereas other industries have been managed separately. Forest management requires the integration of all natural resource development activities, along with other anthropogenic and natural forest disturbances (e.g., climate change, pollution, wildfire, pest disturbance) to understand how human activities can change forested ecosystems. The term cumulative effects has been used to describe these attempts to integrate all disturbances to develop an understanding of past, current, and future impacts on environmental, social, and economic components of the system. In this review, we focus on the science required to understand the past, current, and future impacts of the cumulative effects of anthropogenic and natural disturbances on forested ecosystems or their components. We have primarily focused on the terrestrial system with an emphasis on northern forests in Canada. Our paper is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all cumulative effects science but a synthesis of the challenges and approaches currently being used. Central repositories were identified as an approach to deal with issues of availability of remotely sensed data on anthropogenic and natural disturbances. Data integration projects, open data, and well-designed large-scale data collection efforts are needed to provide sufficient data on environmental responses to cumulative effects. As well, large-scale integrated, modularized ecosystem models are needed to bring stressor and environmental response data together to explore responses to, and interactions between, multiple stressors to project these effects into the future and to identify future data collection needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Municipal water distribution systems in Canada and other countries include a large number of cast iron pipes that were installed almost 50 years ago. For structural integrity assessment of these pipes, the fracture mechanics approach is found to be more effective than the conventional continuum mechanics-based approach. This paper presents the mechanical properties for fracture mechanics-based strength assessment of water mains determined through testing of cast iron pipes exhumed from two cities in Canada. Microstructure analysis is conducted to understand the materials' inherent properties. Uniaxial tensile tests are conducted to determine the stress–strain relations. The influence of the rate of loading on stress–strain behaviour and loading-unloading responses are investigated. A simplified single-edge notch beam test is used to obtain the fracture toughness. Probabilistic distributions of the parameters are provided to account for the uncertainty and variabilities observed in the test results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers and advocates have long argued that on-going engagement by broad segments of the public can help make forests and forest-based communities more sustainable and decisions more enduring. In Canada, public engagement in sustainable forest management has primarily taken one of two approaches: advisory forums through forest-sector advisory committees (FACs) and direct decision-making authority through community forest boards (CFBs). The purpose of this paper is to compare these two approaches by focusing on who participates and the values that participants bring to their deliberations. We conducted a national survey of FACs and CFBs involving 402 participants. Results showed that both models favoured well-educated, Caucasian men and fell short on the representation of women and Indigenous peoples. Additionally, despite different levels of authority in relation to forest management decisions, participants in CFBs and FACs shared similar forest values. Hence, we conclude that neither model of forest governance encourages participation from a diverse public. Our findings suggest the need to find new ways of recruiting diverse participants and to investigate more deeply whether local and extra-local pressures and power dynamics shape these processes. Such information can inform the establishment of more robust institutions for decision-making in support of sustainable forest management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the development of a unique rolling load simulator (ROLLS) for testing bridge superstructure with a footprint up to 4 m ×17 m, and its first application to test a full-scale 1220 mm ×900 mm ×16000 mm B900 prestressed concrete box girder. This facility at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, is the first of its kind in Canada. ROLLS can apply cyclic loading in a controlled laboratory environment, under realistic highway scale 'rolling wheel loads', in lieu of the conventional 'pulsating stationary loads'. It has two half-axles of a large tandem, each comprising a dual 1140 mm diameter air-inflated tires spaced at either 1.2 or 2.4 m. Each half-axle can apply up to 125 kN, representing the heaviest half-axle load of the CL-625 design truck of the Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code (CHBDC). The maximum travel range and speed are 14.9 m and 6 m/s, respectively. A case study involving analysis of a bridge with eight adjacent B900 box girders of 27.6 m span was carried out prior to experimentally testing one of the girders using ROLLS. Load distribution analyses were conducted using both (i) a finite element model of the full bridge under various CL-625 truck loading configurations and (ii) the CHBDC load distribution method, and both agreed well. Scaling analysis of the girder load share was then conducted to account for shortening it to 16 m to fit in the laboratory, resulting in two-115 kN ROLLS design loads, 1.2 m apart. Multiple passes were conducted at various loads of 40%–100% of the design load, at speeds of 1–5 m/s to examine the machine and girder behaviours. It was found that the applied load fluctuates by less than 10% of full capacity and a 0.13 s/cycle time lag occurs. The measured girder deflection and elastic strains were 11%–20% lower than predicted theoretically. With the two half-axles assembly spaced at 1.2 m, the apparatus has the ability to complete three million cycles in approximately 4.5 months if ran continuously at 5 m/s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design method of truck escape ramps (TERs) presented by the Transportation Association of Canada and other organizations is deterministic and assumes fixed values of the design speed, rolling resistance, and ramp grade. This paper presents a reliability-based method for TER design based on the first-order second-moment (FOSM) method and the advanced FOSM (AFOSM) method. These methods rely on the distribution of the component random variables. Each method was used to analyze a TER with one grade and two grades. The FOSM is simple and can be easily used by practitioners, even with calculators. The AFOSM is more complicated but more accurate as it considers the design points in determining the probability of failure. The AFOSM method was used to establish design graphs for the required length of TERs. Application of the proposed method is illustrated using actual TERs in the United States and considering a hypothetical design scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The correlation between the international roughness index (IRI) and distress is inherent, as roughness is a function of both the changes in elevation of the distress-free pavement surface and the changes in elevation due to existing surface distress. In this way, a relationship between existing surface distress and IRI may be developed. However, the susceptibility of pavement to various types of surface distress is affected by many factors, including climatic conditions. A model that relates pavement surface distress to IRI for Canada needs to account for climatic conditions in different locations. This paper investigates the relationship between pavement surface distresses and IRI for different climatic conditions in Canada using historical data collected at numerous pavement test section locations sourced from the Long-Term Pavement Performance program database. Developed models were calibrated then validated and found to be statistically significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adequate calcium intake and supply of vitamin D during childhood play important roles in ensuring adequate bone mass gain to achieve optimal peak bone mass. The Healthy Immigrant Children study employed a mixed-method cross-sectional study design to characterize the health and nutritional status of 300 immigrant and refugee children aged 3–13 years who had been in Canada for less than 5 years. This paper presents bone mineral content and vitamin D status data along with qualitative data that deepen the understanding of newcomer bone health status. A significantly higher percentage of refugee children (72.3%) had insufficient (<50 nmol/L) or deficient (<30 nmol/L) serum vitamin D compared with immigrants (53.2%). Vitamin D deficiency was most common among ethnic minority girls. Newcomer children with higher intakes of vitamin D, younger newcomer children, and those from western Europe or the United States had higher serum vitamin D levels. Immigrants had significantly higher mean total body bone mineral content compared with refugees. Total body fat, serum vitamin D, calcium intake, height, height by calcium intake, total body fat by calcium intake, and total body fat by height predicted total body bone mineral content levels. Vitamin D deficiency among newcomer children may be related to lack of knowledge regarding children's vitamin D requirements in the Canadian environment, dietary habits established in country of origin, low income that limits healthy dietary choices, and lifestyle habits that limit exposure to sunlight. Results suggest a need to screen newcomer children and pregnant women for vitamin D deficiency and support early intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public advisory committees (PACs) are a dominant form of public participation in Canada's Crown forests, providing a venue in which members of the local public can engage and influence sustainable forest management decision-making. In this paper, we examine the experiences of Indigenous participants (relative to non-Indigenous participants) concerning the success of PAC processes. We focus on issues of fairness, equity, and inclusion of Indigenous voices along with an assessment of forest values diversity. Findings from surveys in 2004 and 2016 indicate statistically significant differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous PAC members regarding their forest values and their evaluation of the success of PAC processes. This work draws attention to the relative experiences of survey participants and the identification of persistent challenges associated with public engagement over the last two decades. Policy recommendations include substantial changes to how we define and measure sustainable forest management in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary fire regimes of Canadian forests have been well documented based on forest fire records between the late 1950s to 1990s. Due to known limitations of fire datasets, an analysis of changes in fire-regime characteristics could not be easily undertaken. This paper presents fire-regime trends nationally and within two zonation systems, the homogeneous fire-regime zones and ecozones, for two time periods, 1959–2015 and 1980–2015. Nationally, trends in both area burned and number of large fires (≥200 ha) have increased significantly since 1959, which might be due to increases in lightning-caused fires. Human-caused fires, in contrast, have shown a decline. Results suggest that large fires have been getting larger over the last 57 years and that the fire season has been starting approximately one week earlier and ending one week later. At the regional level, trends in fire regimes are variable across the country, with fewer significant trends. Area burned, number of large fires, and lightning-caused fires are increasing in most of western Canada, whereas human-caused fires are either stable or declining throughout the country. Overall, Canadian forests appear to have been engaged in a trajectory towards more active fire regimes over the last half century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We often hear about the resistance of First Nation (FN) communities to the industrial model of forestry, but we hear less about what they wish to achieve. Translating FN perspectives into concepts that are understood by the mainstream society can help inform current and future forest policies. Such translation can support initiatives that seek ways to increase FN participation in the forest sector. This paper documents one process of translation. It identifies the principles and objectives for forest-based development of the Essipit Innu First Nation in Quebec, Canada, reflective of the deep roots that anchor the Essipit to their territory. Based on participatory research carried out between January and July 2013, we identify 34 objectives folded into three core FN principles: Nutshimiu-Aitun (identity-territoriality), Mishkutunam (sharing-exchange), and Pakassitishun (responsibility-autonomy). Our analysis shows that the economic aims of the dominant forestry model are too narrow for FN communities. This paper contributes to expanding FN engagement in forestry through management and economic approaches that are better adapted to their culture and values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greater opportunity now exists compared to 35 years ago for civil engineers to apply river ice knowledge to practical problems of planning, designing, and operating hydro-power facilities, water intakes, bridges, and other infrastructure along ice-covered rivers. This is due to major advancements made during this period in understanding the physical processes of river ice formation, growth and breakup, in developing instrumentation for acquisition of information on winter environments, and in developing numerical modelling tools. An increasing number of journal articles, as well as papers presented at the river ice workshops of the CGU Committee on River Ice Processes and the Environment (CRIPE) and the ice symposia of the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR) attest to the advancement in river ice science and engineering knowledge that has occurred during the past 35 years. This paper reviews the developments in river ice science and engineering from a Canadian perspective and briefly discusses future directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial development within Canada's boreal zone has increased in recent decades. Forest management activities, pulp and paper operations, electric power generation, mining, conventional oil and gas extraction, nonconventional oil sand development, and peat mining occur throughout the boreal zone with varying impacts on water resources. We review impacts of these industries on surface water, groundwater, and wetlands recognizing that heterogeneity in the dominance of different hydrologic processes (i.e., precipitation, evapotranspiration, groundwater recharge, and runoff generation) across the boreal zone influences the degree of impacts on water resources. Through the application of best management practices, forest certification programs, and science-based guidelines, timber, pulp and paper, and peat industries have reduced their impacts on water resources, although uncertainties remain about long-term recovery following disturbance. Hydroelectric power developments have moved toward reducing reservoir size and creating more natural flow regimes, although impacts of aging infrastructure and dam decommissioning is largely unknown. Mineral and metal mining industries have improved regulation and practices, but the legacy of abandoned mines across the boreal zone still presents an ongoing risk to water resources. Oil and gas industries, including non-conventional resources such as oil sands, is one of the largest industrial users of water and, while significant progress has been made in reducing water use, more work is needed to ensure the protection of water resources. All industries contribute to atmospheric deposition of pollutants that may eventually be released to downstream waters. Although most industrial sectors strive to improve their environmental performance with regards to water resources, disruptions to natural flow regimes and risks of degraded water quality exist at local to regional scales in the boreal zone. Addressing the emerging challenge of managing the expanding, intensifying, and cumulative effects of industries in conjunction with other stressors, such as climate change and atmospheric pollution, across the landscape will aid in preserving Canada's rich endowment of water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural steel design specification in Canada, CSA S16-14, uses the same equations for the design of rolled and welded shape beams for lateral torsional buckling (LTB). A recent study has shown that the current design equations might overestimate the capacity of welded wide flange (WWF) beams. This paper evaluates the performance of the current design equations in providing LTB capacities of welded I-shape beams (WWF beams). An extensive finite element (FE) analysis is performed for simply supported WWF beams subjected to constant moment. In total, 256 FE models are analyzed and it is observed that both CSA and AISC overestimate the LTB capacity of welded I-shape beams by as much as 37%, particularly when residual stress measured at Lehigh University is used in the analysis. Also, the Eurocode is found to be conservative and the proposed equation by MacPhedran and Grondin in 2011 provides better predictions of LTB strengths of WWF shapes than the current CSA approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-quality transit service is a vital aspect of any modern city. When unexpected interruptions to the transit service occur, they reduce the quality of service provided to the public. One of the main strategies that is employed to deal with rail service interruptions is “bus bridging,” whereby buses from scheduled services are deployed to offer shuttle services. Very few efforts are found in the literature that have investigated this policy’s effectiveness. Therefore, this study aims at exploring the different aspects and impacts of retracting buses from scheduled services in response to subway and streetcar service interruptions in Toronto. It explores the size of the deployment, as well as the system response and recovery times using detailed subway and streetcar shuttle service reports collected in 2015. The paper shows remarkable fluctuations not only in the utilized number of shuttle service buses over time, but also on the service response and recovery times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quebec's forests represent 20% of Canadian forests and 2% of the world forests. Over the entire planet, forests play a major role in habitat preservation and in supplying goods and services to the population. However, climate change will have an impact on the forest through inter alia increased droughts, forest fires, warmer weather, and infestations. In this paper, we analyze the economic impact of climate change on the forest industry in Quebec over a 40-year period using a recursive dynamic computable general equilibrium model. We find that the climate change effects will be relatively weak on most macroeconomic variables as agents adjust their behavior over time and factors are reallocated across sectors. We find that climate change could generate losses in gross domestic product of up to Can$300 million (0.12% of gross domestic product) at the end of a 40-year period for Quebec's economy. However, we find relatively more important effects within the sectors of the forest industry, with losses ranging from 3% to 7.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 50 years, concrete in Canada has evolved from a simple robust material to a complex composite with impressive improvements in the material properties. Due to the development of water reducers and silica fume, the performance of concrete has improved from the conventional 30 MPa concrete before the CN Tower (1973) to the ultra-high strength 200 MPa concrete used in the Passerelle de Sherbrooke (1998). This paper retraces this evolution of concrete with a focus on both the technical improvements and the important structures built with these technologies. Recent progress in blended cements and poly-carboxylate ether superplasticizers is also presented, along with the concerns and current challenges to ensure an optimized and safe use of these new concrete admixtures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes short gravity cores sampled along transects in three adjacent deep fjord-lakes (lakes Pentecôte, Walker, and Pasteur) on the Québec North Shore, eastern Canada, to evaluate the distribution of laminated sediments and potential for varve formation. Facies analysis based on lithological description, digital photos, CT-scan images, and bathymetric data allowed for the identification of four main sediment facies, namely laminated sediments, partially laminated sediments, bioturbated sediments, and massive sediments. Direct evidence that Lake Walker undergoes thermal stratification was monitored from 2014 to 2016. Mean sedimentation rates and sedimentation fluxes of postglacial sediments in the distal basin of the three studied lakes are ≤0.12 cm a−1 and 0.03-0.16 g cm−2 a−1, respectively, based on 210Pb, 137Cs, and AMS radiocarbon dating. On the basis of thin section image analysis and 210Pb (CIC) chronology model, Lake Pentecôte contains mainly massive, partially laminated sediments, while Lake Pasteur contains partially laminated sediments and non-annual varve-like sediments. However, Lake Walker contains laminated sediments that are likely varves. The increased potential for laminae preservation observed in Lake Walker compared to lakes Pentecôte and Pasteur is associated with more favourable morphological characteristics including higher relative depth, mean depth, maximum depth, and topographic exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identifies and characterizes current knowledge on climate change impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability for Canada's northern coastline, outlining key research gaps. Warming temperatures and increased precipitation have been documented across the northern coast, with the rate of sea ice decline ranging from 2.9% to 10.4% per decade. Storm intensity and frequency is increasing, and permafrost is warming across the region. Many of these changes are projected to accelerate in the future, with in excess of 8 °C warming in winter possible under a high-emission scenario by 2081-2100. Vulnerability to these changes differs by region and community, a function of geographic location, nature of climate change impacts, and human factors. Capacity to manage climate change is high in some sectors, such as subsistence harvesting, but is being undermined by long-term societal changes. In other sectors, such as infrastructure and transportation, limitations in climate risk management capacity result in continuing high vulnerabilities. There is evidence that adaptation is taking place in response to experienced and projected impacts, although readiness for adaptation is challenged by limited resources, institutional capacity, and a need for support for adaptation across levels of government. Priority areas for future research include ( i) expanding the sectoral and geographic focus of understanding on climate change impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability; ( ii) integrating climatic and socio-economic projections into vulnerability and adaptation assessments; ( iii) developing an evidence base on adaptation options; and ( iv) monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of adaptation support. Cross-cutting themes for advancing climate change impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability research on the north coast more broadly include the need for greater emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches and cross-cultural collaborations, support for decision-orientated research, and focus on effective knowledge mobilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) maintains the Rail Occurrence Database System (RODS). This database contains information on all types of rail occurrences including derailments that must be reported by all Canadian railway operators. This paper analyzes the derailments that occurred on Canadian main track network between 2001 and 2014. The results from the analysis show that between 2001 and 2014 there was an overall decreasing trend in the number and intensity of main track derailments, derailments involving dangerous goods cars, and the number of derailments resulting in the release of dangerous goods. The RODS data was further analyzed to evaluate the frequency of the differing causes of derailments and the severity of the resulting incidents. The most common and severe derailment causes resulted from rail breaks, track geometry, and environmental conditions. Derailment velocity was also found to have an impact on the severity, with higher velocities resulting in a greater number of derailed rolling stock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]