October 2, 2020
To Our Valued Clients and Business Associates:
The much-advertised second wave of COVID-19 appears to be upon us in Ontario. For the past few days, the numbers of daily new cases reported have been similar to those recorded during the peak of the first wave in April, and the number of hospitalized cases has also started to rise again.
As it was through the first wave, our top priority continues to be social responsibility: to our staff, to you and to our community at large. Terrapex continues to be proactive in seeking out and implementing recommended best practice to manage the risks presented by the virus, so that we can continue to provide our services in the safest, most efficient and effective way possible.
All of our staff are encouraged to bring forward their concerns, questions, comments and suggestions with respect to COVID-19 and the way in which Terrapex is addressing it. Our COVID Management Group continues to meet (virtually) on a regular basis to review regulatory, staff, client and supplier input to formulate our policy and practice.
Our offices and geotechnical laboratory are open for business, and we remain able and eager to serve our clients. However, we have further reduced our office occupancy and we have implemented a mandatory mask policy for those in the offices. A majority of our staff continues to work from home, and virtual meetings are now “old hat”. As always, our field teams are fully engaged in promoting health & safety, not only for themselves but for all those they encounter during their work, and they have been provided the tools, procedures and training to do so.
Compared to so many others, I appreciate that Terrapex (and I personally) have had little to complain about during this pandemic, and we owe much of that to our relationship with each of you. To that end, we look forward to continue working with you, while together we strive to protect the health and well-being of our collective staff and associated communities.
If you have any questions about how Terrapex might assist you through these challenging times, please contact your Terrapex representative or reach out to me directly.
Thank you,
CEO
Welcome Zen Keizars
Terrapex is pleased to welcome Zen Keizars. Zen is a Senior Hydrogeologist with over 20 years of experience leading multi disciplinary projects throughout the United States, South Africa, Bermuda, Namibia, and Canada. His extensive ground-level experience and broad theoretical skill-set are ideal for providing fast and adaptive technical support at any level.
Zen is a Past President of Professional Geoscientists Ontario (PGO; previously APGO) and continues to contribute to the PGO as the Communications Committee Chair. In recognition of his reputation for leadership and professionalism, Zen is an invited advisor to technical committees with several municipalities, a Fellow of Geoscience Canada, and a sessional instructor at Trent University, providing instruction in Geophysics (3rd year) and Structural Geology (3rd year).
As a Senior Hydrogeologist at Terrapex, Zen’s areas of focus include the management of dewatering hydrogeology investigations, groundwater under direct influence (GUDI) investigations, radiological investigations, and feature based water balance (FBWB) assessments.
Please feel free to contact us with any inquiries on how we can assist and/or support you in your hydrogeology needs.
Welcome to Chris Parent
Terrapex is pleased to welcome Chris Parent as Senior Biologist and Project Manager. Chris has more than 20 years of experience in the public and private sectors related to wildlife biology and species at risk. During his career, he has managed, undertaken or contributed to more than 100 projects, including subwatershed studies, Class Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Studies, with a specific emphasis on wildlife species at risk, particularly herpetofauna (reptiles and amphibians). He has a particular interest in the development and implementation of mitigation measures to reduce development impacts on wildlife.
Chris completed a B.Sc. in Zoology and a M.Sc. in Biology. He is a MNRF-certified Butternut Health Assessor and also serves as a part-time instructor in Niagara College’s Ecosystem Restoration Graduate Certificate Program.
As a Senior Biologist and Project Manager, Chris will be involved in the completion of life science inventories, and will manage all aspects of environmental impact assessment, including the design of technical study protocols, the collection and analysis of data, and reporting.
Please contact us with any inquiries on how we can assist and/or support you with your biological and ecological surveys and other environmental impact assessment needs.
Welcome to Amer Mohammad
Terrapex is very pleased to welcome Amer Mohammad, P. Eng. to our Ottawa office as of Monday June 22, 2020. Amer obtained a Bachelor of Applied Science Degree in Civil Engineering (Structural and Geotechnical Engineering Option) from the University of Ottawa in 2011. A licensed professional engineer in the province of Ontario, he has over 7 years of geotechnical experience with the last 5 years working in the Ottawa region including a variety of real estate development and municipal infrastructure projects. Prior to working in Ottawa, he completed geotechnical projects in the province of Alberta and internationally.
Amer will assist our clients by managing geotechnical investigations, site inspections and materials testing. He will also oversee the geotechnical testing laboratory in Ottawa.
Please feel free to contact us with any inquiries on how we can assist and/or support you in your geotechnical needs.
COVID-19 Update
June 15, 2020
To Our Valued Clients and Business Associates:
As Canada gradually re-opens for business, Terrapex remains in a strong position to serve our clients. Our top priority remains to function with social responsibility: to our staff, to you, and to our community at large. We have kept our team of talented and committed employees intact through this crisis, and we intend to continue to support them by discussing and accommodating their individual needs.
Our physical offices are open and staffed with “essential” office staff only, with others rotating in as needs arise. Precautionary measures are in place to maintain distance and ensure safety. Our Toronto geotechnical laboratory remains fully functional. Other office staff continue to work remotely yet remain fully available and able to provide their services as efficiently as they always have. Field staff are now well versed in the new precautions and protocols necessary to keep themselves and others safe while completing their work on our clients’ properties. We have measures in place to ensure that our sub-contractors are adhering to the same high standards.
Our COVID leadership team continues to meet regularly to review changing government directives and guidance, to assess how we’re doing, and to plan our next steps. The morale of our group remains high and we look forward to continue working with you, as we face new challenges together in this difficult time.
Hoping you and yours remain healthy and safe,
CEO
TORONTO OFFICE
