Appointments to the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada

OTTAWA, March 9, 2012 /CNW/ - The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, today announced appointments to the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada (TATC). Dr. Abdo Shabah of Montreal, Quebec, and Dr. George Pugh of Vancouver, British Columbia, have each been appointed for a five-year term. Mr. Mark Gauthier of Gatineau, Quebec, and Captain (Ret.) Arnold Olson of Langley, British Columbia, have each been appointed for a four-year term. All appointments are effective March 1, 2012.

"I am pleased that these outstanding individuals have agreed to serve on the TATC's board," said Minister Lebel. "Together, they bring an impressive wealth of knowledge and experience that will greatly benefit the tribunal."

Dr. Shabah holds a master's degree in Public Health and works in emergency medicine (aeromedical evacuation) at the Centre hospitalier affilié - Hôpital de l'Enfant-Jésus in Québec City and at the Jean Talon Hospital in Montreal. From 2005 to 2008, he worked at the Tulattavik Health Centre, Ungava Bay in Kuujjuaq, practising emergency medicine and acting as the president of the Regional Department of General Medicine of Nunavik. Since 2007, Dr. Shabah has been a consultant for the National Office of Health Emergency Response Teams at the Public Health Agency of Canada and a member of the Canadian Red Cross Emergency Response Unit and the Emergency Medicine International Disaster Response Team.

Dr. Pugh is a consultant in emergency medicine and has been an emergency physician at Providence Health in Vancouver since 1994. He also worked at Mount St. Joseph Hospital in Vancouver, where he filled various positions, including director of Emergency, head of the Department of Family Practice and emergency physician. Dr. Pugh is a member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the Canadian Medical Association, the British Columbia Medical Association, the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians and the College of Family Physicians of Canada. His areas of special interest and accomplishment include aviation (commercial fixed and rotary wing pilot), maritime transportation (cruise ship medicine) and road transportation.

Mr. Gauthier was called to the bar in Ontario in 1974 and has practised law ever since. He joined Transport Canada's Legal Services Unit in 1982, where he held various counsel positions in the marine sector of the unit. In 2005, he became the general counsel of the Maritime Law Secretariat at Transport Canada. Mr. Gauthier is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada and was the director of the Canadian Maritime Law Association, in addition to being a member of the Comité maritime international.

Mr. Olson, airline captain (ret.) and check pilot, holds a bachelor of science from Simon Fraser University and has 35 years of experience in varied aviation roles. Over the years, he gained a wealth of knowledge on the regulatory requirements designed to enhance safety and protect the travelling public. Captain Olson has great experience in aircraft operations and maintenance requirements, as well as the safety protocols that underpin aviation safety. Dedicated to his community, Captain Olson received the Volunteer Leadership Award of the Canadian Cancer Society in 2008 and was honoured in 2000 with the Air Canada Employee Award of Excellence. He is the founder of the Air Canada Pilots Bone Marrow Donor Registry Program.

The TATC is a multimodal tribunal that provides a recourse mechanism to the air, rail and marine sectors with respect to certain administrative actions taken by the Minister of Transport under various pieces of federal transportation legislation. The TATC holds review and appeal hearings at the request of persons affected by these administrative decisions.

Geneviève Sicard
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Denis Lebel
Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, Ottawa
613-991-0700

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