New CCA Expert Panel on the Transportation Needs of an Aging Population to be chaired by Dr. Neena L. Chappell

August 25, 2016 (Ottawa, ON) – The Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) is pleased to announce the appointment of the Expert Panel on the Transportation Needs of an Aging Population, to be chaired by Dr. Neena L. Chappell, C.M., FRSC, FCAHS. Dr. Chappell is Professor Emeritus at the Institute on Aging & Lifelong Health and at the Department of Sociology at the University of Victoria.

“I am delighted that Dr. Chappell agreed to chair this expert panel assessment,” said Dr. Eric M. Meslin, FCAHS, President and CEO of the Council of Canadian Academies. “She is a sought-after leader in the field of gerontology and I know she will enrich the expert panel’s deliberations process in her role as chair.”

Under the guidance of its Scientific Advisory Committee, the CCA has assembled a multidisciplinary, multi-sectoral Expert Panel (see below for full list) to answer the following assessment question, referred by Transport Canada:

How can technology and innovation help the Canadian transportation system (under the legislative authority of Parliament) adapt to the needs of an aging population?

Dr. Chappell will lead the Expert Panel to assess the available evidence and deliver its final report by late 2017. Members of the panel include experts in gerontology, innovative technologies, engineering, and transportation operations and policy. The depth of the Panel’s experience and expertise, paired with the CCA’s rigorous assessment methodology, will ensure the most authoritative, credible, and independent response to the question.

“I look forward to working with this eminent group of experts and with the CCA on such an essential question for Canadians,” said Dr. Chappell. “I expect that our varied perspectives and backgrounds will be of great value during this process and I hope the final report will be of use to policy-makers and ultimately to Canada’s aging population.”

Dr. Chappell was the Canada Research Chair in Social Gerontology from 2001 to 2015. She was founding Director of the Centre on Aging at the University of Manitoba and at the University of Victoria, developing both into world-class research facilities while ensuring accessibility to the community. For over 30 years, she has been a leader in gerontological research, focusing on issues around aging and health and social policy.

The Expert Panel on the Transportation Needs of an Aging Population 

• Neena L. Chappell, C.M., FRSC, FCAHS (Chair), Professor Emeritus, Institute on Aging & Lifelong Health and Department of Sociology, University of Victoria (Victoria, BC)
• Maureen Ashe, Associate Professor, Department of Family Practice, University of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC)
• Howard Bergman, FCAHS, Chair, Department of Family Medicine, and Professor, Departments of Family Medicine, Medicine and Oncology, McGill University (Montréal, QC)
• David Timothy Duval, Associate Professor, Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Winnipeg; Associate, University of Manitoba Transport Institute (Winnipeg, MB)
• Geoff Fernie, FCAHS, Institute Director for Research, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network (Toronto, ON)
• Brian Flemming, C.M., Q.C., Senior Fellow, Van Horne Institute (Calgary AB)
• Katharine M. Hunter-Zaworski, Associate Professor, School of Civil and Construction Engineering, Oregon State University (Corvallis, OR)
• Lorne Mackenzie, Director, Regulatory Affairs, WestJet Airlines (Calgary, AB)
• Lynn McDonald, Professor, Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto (Toronto, ON)
• David Metz, Honorary Professor, Centre for Transport Studies, University College London (London, United Kingdom)
• Alex Mihailidis, Associate Professor, Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy and Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto (Toronto, ON)
• Parminder Raina, Professor, Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University; Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in GeroScience, Raymond & Margaret Labarge Chair in Optimal Aging and Knowledge Application for Optimal Aging (Hamilton, ON)
• Marian L. Robson, Senior Associate, Global Public Affairs (Vancouver, BC)
• S. C. (Chan) Wirasinghe, FCAE, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Calgary (Calgary, AB)

For additional details please visit the assessment page.

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About the Council of Canadian Academies

The Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) is an independent, not-for-profit organization that began operation in 2005. The CCA undertakes independent, authoritative, evidence-based expert assessments that inform public policy development in Canada. Assessments are conducted by independent, multidisciplinary panels of experts from across Canada and abroad. Panel members serve free of charge and many are Fellows of the CCA’s Member Academies. For more information about the CCA or its assessments, please visit www.scienceadvice.ca.

For more information please contact:

Samantha Rae Ayoub
Communications and Publishing Director
Council of Canadian Academies
613.567.5000 x 256
samantha.rae@scienceadvice.ca