Adaptation to Climate Change: Food Production & Housing

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Event Overview

As climate change increasingly shapes our economies, communities, and daily lives, adaptation has become as critical as mitigation. From food security to affordable, resilient housing, professionals across sectors must understand how practical, innovative solutions are being implemented today—and what skills and strategies will be required tomorrow.

The Professional Development Institute (uOttawa PDI) at the University of Ottawa invites you to a special event focused on Climate Change Adaptation, with a spotlight on Food Production and Housing—two systems at the heart of human wellbeing and economic resilience.

This event will bring together leading practitioners who are translating climate adaptation from policy into action.

Designed for busy professionals, this event will combine expert insights, real-world case studies, and meaningful discussion—while offering valuable networking opportunities with peers across public, private, and non-profit sectors.

Moderator

Dr. Claude Laguë, P.Eng., ing., FCAE, FEC, Program Director, Professional Development Institute (PDI) & Dean and Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Engineering, University of Ottawa

During his long academic career, Dr. Laguë has held academic and academic leadership appointments at three Canadian U15 universities (Laval, Saskatchewan, Ottawa). He served as Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Ottawa from 2006 to 2016. Since joining PDI as Program Director in September 2025, he is contributing to the diversification of the Institute’s continuing education and professional development activities in areas such as climate change and large and complex projects. He also works at better connecting continuing education and professional development to undergraduate and graduate university education. Dr. Laguë holds engineering degrees from Université Laval and from the University of California, Davis. He is a member of Professional Engineers Ontario and of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec. Dr. Laguë is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) and of Engineers Canada.

Speakers

Dan Dicaire, Senior Manager of Conservation and Sustainability, Ottawa Community Housing

Dan Dicaire is a Professional Engineer and a Certified Energy Manager working in GHG reduction planning, high performance building development and sustainability. Over his 15 years at Ottawa Community Housing, he coordinated the installation of over 1MW of solar arrays and managed multi-million dollar lighting, mechanical and plumbing retrofits that have saved over $68M cumulatively. He lead Canada’s first Net-Zero Panelized Deep Energy Retrofit at 197 Presland and is currently working to apply the lessons learned to decarbonizing OCH’s 17M sqft portfolio. He is also working with OCH’s development team to structure the business case for hundreds of high performance, low-carbon units in planning and construction.

Florent Schmahl, Chief of staff, Growcer

Florent Schmahl is the chief of staff of Growcer, a Canadian company enabling hyper-local food production for over a decade with its modular food infrastructure. Florent grew up in the French Alps surrounded by farming, and after a decade in e-commerce and tech, he returned to his passion for food.

He moved to Quebec and joined Growcer to help make local, secure food available to all, thriving on building mission-driven teams. Today, Growcer's network spans 1,000+ farms across 30 countries, including 85+ Indigenous community partnerships in North America.