Transportation Media editorial director Lou Smyrlis has been asked to moderate the opening session on infrastructure issues at the upcoming Transportation Infrastructure Conference organized by the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport.

The event, which takes place Sept. 19 at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Ont., will bring together key stakeholders from industry and government to discuss infrastructure issues across all modes. Smyrlis’ panel will include Garry Tulipan, director transportation statistics and forecast, Transport Canada; Sam Barone, regional vice president, InterVISTAS; and Taki Sarantakis, senior director, policy and priorities, Infrastructure Canada.

Earlier this summer Smyrlis, along with managing editor Julia Kuzeljevich, hosted Canada’s National Transportation Summit 2005, held in Toronto. The Summit included high-level speakers such as John Godfrey, Minister of State, Infrastructure Canada; Kristine Burr, Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy, Transport Canada; and Eric Couture, Assistant Attache, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, American Embassy.

During the Summit Smyrlis also presented the results of Transportation Media’s first annual Transportation Buying Trends Survey, detailing trends in items such as transportation pricing, capacity and surcharging.

In other news, Edo van Belkom, author of the popular Truck News feature “Mark Dalton: Owner/Operator” has won his third Aurora Award at the Canadian National Science Fiction Convention. He won his most recent award for his young adult fantasy novel “Wolf Pack.” The novel tells the story of four teenaged werewolves who are taken in and raised as humans by a forest ranger living in B.C.