Looking Back: 25 years of AESAC

By Bill Leedham, P.Geo, QP, CESA

In honour of AESAC’s 25^th anniversary, I thought I would look back on some significant events that took place in AESAC’s inaugural year of 1993.

• In 1993, the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) was formulating their first standard for conducting Phase I Environmental Site Assessments, to be published in June the next year as Z-768-94. ESA Guidelines were later available from CMHC in 1994, while the ASTM E-1527 Standard for Phase I ESA wasn’t published for another four years.
• The Associated Environmental Site Assessors was founded in 1993 as a professional association representing Canadian ESA practitioners. AESAC’s President sat on the CSA Technical Committee on Environmental Auditing and Related Investigation, the group responsible for formulating CSA Standard Z-768-94.
• In 1993, the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup; defeating the LA Kings in five games, with Habs fans rioting in the streets in celebration. I still bitterly recall referee Kerry Fraser’s non-call of Wayne Gretzky’s late game high stick to the Leaf’s Doug Gilmour, costing the Buds a game 6 win and a trip to the Cup finals.
• Your writer (now AESAC’s Head Instructor) was working for an Ontario engineering consultant conducting geotechnical investigations, materials testing, construction inspection, and working on my first environmental assessment and remediation projects. AESAC’s Director of Training, Erik Luzak, was just starting Grade Two; and some of AESAC’s younger members were not even born yet.
• Oil exploration dramatically increased in Alberta, with drilling activity tripling since the previous year, and production reaching 154 Billion Cubic Feet Equivalent. Ralph Klein’s Alberta government sold all of its 25.1 million common shares in the Alberta Energy Company.
• In Ontario, Bob Rae’s provincial NDP government introduced the Environmental Bill of Rights, which came into effect the following year.
• The Toronto Blue Jays won their second-in-a-row World Series over the Philadelphia Phillies with Joe Carter’s hitting his heroic three-run homer (“Touch-em-all-Joe!) off reliever Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams in the ninth-inning of Game 6.
• The Edmonton Eskimos won the Grey Cup, the Dallas Cowboys won the Super Bowl and disgraced Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson received a lifetime ban for his second positive drug test.
• “Schindler’s List” won the Oscar for Best Picture; with Jurassic Park and the Fugitive big winners at the box office. The Billboard Top 100 charts were ruled by Whitney Houston, UB-40 and Janet Jackson. One of my favourites TV shows, ‘This Hour Has 22 Minutes’ made its debut on CBC.
• Slick Willie – a.k.a. Bill Clinton, was President of the USA, and played saxophone the previous year on the Arsenio Hall Show. Monica Lewinsky didn’t start as a White House intern until 1995.
• The first mass-produced cell phone was sold by Nokia. The first flip-phone was not introduced for another three years. Macintosh produced their first colour, compact Mac computer; but consumers would have to wait 8 more years for the I-Pod, and 14 years for the I-Phone.
• The internet was ten years old, and consisted mainly of news groups. The Mosaic Browser was introduced, and AUTODESK 1982 was in its 12^th version. Google was still another 5 years away.
• After PM Brian Mulroney retired early in 1993, Canada had our first female Prime Minister (remember Kim Campbell?), who lost that fall’s election to Jean Chretien’s Liberals.