February 2020 Issue

OPPI's Governance and Nominating Committee is looking for interested members to join OPPI Council as Directors. Full Members who are interested in making a contribution to the planning profession have until April 1 to put their names forward as potential Directors or as President Elect.

Nomination Information

Nomination Form

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This is the last call for OPPI student members to apply for our 2020 student scholarships, and to put their names forward for OPPI's Student Delegate. If you attend one of Ontario's accredited planning schools, let OPPI help you on your journey to becoming a Registered Professional Planner! If you are an aspiring student leader, put your name forward to be OPPI's next Student Delegate and lead the Student Liaison Committee and a great program of student activities throughout the school year. Student members have until March 1 to apply. Please visit OPPI's website for more information.
 

OPPI's Outreach Committee representatives will be visiting the accredited planning programs in Ontario to speak with graduating students about their professional journey from student to RPP. Committee members draw on examples from their professional experience and tailor each presentation based on previous year's feedback and ongoing discussions with OPPI's Student Liaison Committee representatives. OPPI encourages students to participate and learn how to better prepare for their professional journey to become future RPPs. To learn when the visit is scheduled at your program, contact your program's SLC representatives.

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Over the course of the Indigenous Planning Perspectives Task Force (IPPTF) mandate, Task Force members emphasized several times, and heard from several individuals, the importance of Truth as a precondition to reconciliation.
 
The report states, “confronting the truth is necessary for reconciliation. Canadians and planners need a deeper understanding of the devastating impact of colonization (and the Christian mission) on Indigenous Peoples in Canada.”
 
To aid members in their respective journeys to better understand the truth, this month, we are featuring the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR)’s interactive map & timeline. This tool allows users to see residential schools, events and/or hearings, and to see when they were active. An embedded search function also allows users to search the NCTR’s collection of records for further learning.
 
For more information on OPPI’s IPPTF Report, or to suggest a resource for OPPI’s expanding resource list, please contact Education Manager Ryan Des Roches.
 

As part of OPPI's work to build the RPP brand to the public, decision-makers, elected officials and stakeholders, we are profiling case studies on our new website that position RPPs as community leaders, experts and focusing on inspiring communities across the province. We need your help to spread the word!
 
We have a new case study up on our website to share: 

• What comes after trends? Ottawa Next 

Do you know someone who is grappling with this issue now? Is there someone at your
office/municipality/consultancy that would benefit from knowing what RPPs are doing? Share our members' success stories with your colleagues, friends, key contacts at your workplace and everywhere else!
 
Feel free to share each case study on social media and via email as they are published. More case studies will be developed in 2019, so stay tuned for another batch of great examples of planners inspiring their local communities! If you have any questions or would like to share your story, please email communications@ontarioplanners.ca.

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  Two OPPI members have been appointed to the Board of the Design Industry Advisory Council (DIAC), to represent the planning profession alongside other disciplines in the world of design. OPPI Council Director Eldon Theodore, RPP and Sharon Mittmann, RPP will be the OPPI representatives for this first two-year term. DIAC is a think tank and cross-disciplinary research group established in 2001 by the City of Toronto. The activities of DIAC promote the strategic value of design and the contribution of designers from all disciplines to economic, social and environmental goals. For more information on DIAC, please visit their website.
 

Our February Planning Exchange blog post comes from Dr. Dianne Saxe, the former Environmental Commissioner of Ontario and closing keynote speaker at OPPI19. In this blog post read how Dr. Saxe compares urban sprawl to oil sands production. Contrary to popular belief, more of Ontario's climate pollution (greenhouse gases) comes from individuals than from heavy industry. And the largest single source of that pollution is petroleum fuels used for transportation, like gasoline and diesel. Ontario can and should accommodate its growing population without creating further urban sprawl and gridlock.

Click here to read more

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Thank you to everyone who recently submitted a proposal to speak at OPPI20: Finding a Place in Evolving Communities. OPPI received more than 115 submissions from members across the province across the public, private, not-for-profit and academic sectors, as well as several submissions from practitioners working in other professions.
 
Over the course of the holiday break, OPPI’s Planning Knowledge Exchange (PKE) Committee was hard at work jurying your proposals and met several times over the phone in January to further assess each individual proposal. Later this month, the PKE will meet in person to set the program for the 2020 Conference.

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OPPI Members continue to meet a high standard of professional learning by continually updating and refreshing knowledge and skills on a variety of topics. This lifelong learning nature of members, assisted by OPPI's Continuous Professional Learning (CPL), is vital to the planning work done in communities across Ontario. Members can log into your Member Profile and sign up for CPL courses for Spring 2020. 
 
The required number of learning units for each year is 18, with a minimum of 9 learning units for organized and structured activities. 
 
Please, see the available courses below to learn more and register today:

• Planner as a Facilitator (April 30 - May 1, 2020)
• Understanding Legislation for Planners (May 14, 2020)
• Managing Skills for Professional Planners (May 14, 2020)
• Project Management for Planners (June 11, 2020)
• Applied Project Management (June 18, 2020)

For more questions about CPL and tracking learning units, please read our FAQ. Don't forget to keep track and record your learning units in your Member Profile.

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  OPPI celebrates one year of weekly district eblasts! Instead of receiving individual event eblasts, every Wednesday OPPI sends a consolidated list of events happening the following week.
 
Members only receive these eblasts when their district has an event to promote, needs to send out a reminder or a thank you note to members for attending an event. Don’t miss an opportunity to learn about what’s happening in your District and elsewhere in the province, so check your inbox!
 
OPPI would like to thank members for their support of the weekly eblasts. Since the launch of this eblast, we have received helpful feedback from members and from District leaders, but if members have any questions or additional feedback they would like to share, please contact OPPI at communications@ontarioplanners.ca.
 

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Recommendation #9 of OPPI’s Indigenous Planning Perspectives Task Force Report (2019) empowers OPPI to “facilitate access to resources and learning on Indigenous topics.” (P19)

OPPI has partnered with the Shared Path Consultation Initiative to develop a series of introductory-level webinars, in collaboration with Indigenous experts, designed to be an entry point into the exploration of Indigenous perspectives in planning.

This webinar series represents one of several methods by which OPPI intends to facilitate access to resources and learning on Indigenous topics and perspectives in the coming years and generations. The webinar series is expected to launch in the second half of 2020. Stay tuned for more information!
 

Excess Soil Regulation and Amendments to Record of Site Condition Regulation Webinar Information Sessions
The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks is supporting implementation of the recent amendments to the Records of Site Condition Regulation and the On-site and Excess Soil Management Regulation through information sessions being held via Skype webinars on February 5th and 20^th. To register for the February 5^th webinar, please click here. To register for the February 20^th webinar, please click here.

LandPRO 2020 Conference
OPPI is a promotional sponsor of the LandPRO 2020 Conference on March 4. Members can network with GTA’s elite land development professionals in a day of learning and insights to help you outperform in 2020. Visit landproconference.com and use promo code OPPI15 to save 15% on your tickets.
 

ARE YOU IN THE CONSULTANT'S DIRECTORY?
Are you listed in OPPI's Consultant's Directory? If you're not in, it's time to get in! If you're looking to do some consulting on the side or looking for RPPs to work with for that big project you're leading, and everything in between, OPPI's Consultant's Directory is for you. Sign up today and get listed!

LEARN MORE

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ARE YOU AN EMPLOYER?
Advertise your available planning positions with OPPI's Job Postings. There is no better way to reach qualified planning professionals.


 

LEARN MORE

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SEARCHING FOR A JOB?
Targeted to planners, search the OPPI Job Ads to save you time and effort when looking for a new position.

SEARCH NOW

Please see the current active postings below:

• Senior Planner, Policy – City of Markham (full time)
• Senior Planner, Development – Town of Caledon (contract)
• Communications Coordinator – OPPI (full time)
• Manager of Planning – Township of Georgian Bay (full time)
• Economic Development Officer – Halton Region (full time)
• Planner – Municipality of Grey Highlands (full time)
• Planner (Permanent Full-Time) – Norfolk County (full time)
• Senior Planner – Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (full time)
• Site Development Planner - City of London (full time)
• Intermediate Planner - Upper Grand District School Board (contract)
• Senior Project Manager – Planning Heritage & Design – City of Hamilton (full time)
• Planner I – Urban Design – City of Hamilton (full time)
• Planner - Township of Drummond/North Elmsley (full time)
• Planner – City of Vaughan (contract)
• Senior Policy Advisor – The County of Simcoe (full time)
• Director of Planning Services/Chief Planner – City of Kingston (full time)
• Intermediate/Senior Land Development Planner – GHD (full time)
• Senior Planner – Township of South Frontenac (full time)
• Planner – Township of South Frontenac (full time)
• Executive Director of Planning and Development – Township of Cavan Monaghan (full time)
• Director of Development Services - Town of Carleton Place (full time)
• Director, Development and Design – City of Mississauga (full time)
• Intermediate Planner/Urban Designer – M. Behar Planning & Design Limited (full time)
• Planner: Senior, Intermediate, Junior – Urban Strategies Inc. (full time)
• Planning Summer Student – City of Burlington (contract)
• ...and many more!

• Eastern District Professional Exam Prep Event (February 5)
• Energy Conscious Community: An Energy Planning Course for Planning Professionals (February 20-21)
• Western Lake Ontario District Exam Prep Discussion Group (February 20)
• Oak Ridges District Annual Ski & Snowshoe Day (February 28)