January 2020 Issue

The upcoming year has plenty in store for members. There is great opportunity and excitement in developing and executing a program for members that delivers on the four strategic directions in our INSPIRE OPPI Strategic Plan 2020:

• Promote and safeguard professionalism
• Build RPP as the recognized brand to planners, decision makers and key stakeholders
• Facilitate the exchange of knowledge and expertise for the betterment of planning in Ontario
• Empower member ownership and community experience

OPPI has developed its 2020 Business Plan and an accompanying infographic outlining some of the exciting activities we will achieve this year under each strategic direction. For more information, please visit out INSPIRE OPPI in Action webpage.

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Beginning in 2020, OPPI is pleased to announce the launch of the OPPI PlanON Awards program! These awards serve as the highest recognition an RPP and planner can receive in the planning profession. This year we will offer some new awards and bring several existing awards within the PlanON program, which include:

• PlanON Inspire Award - This award is given to members in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors whose work tackles and aims to solve some of the most important issues facing the planning profession. Award submissions for this category are subdivided based on population size.
• PlanON NextGen Award - This award celebrates the future leaders of tomorrow within the planning profession in Ontario. It recognizes a young planner member who is making noteworthy contributions in their employment to the planning of the communities they serve and inspiring others in the planning profession.
• PlanON Member Service Award - This award recognizes extraordinary service and significant contribution to the Institute by OPPI's volunteer leadership. Award winners have performed a key or integral role with a special project or program and have raised awareness of planning, mentored students and nurtured long-standing relationships with OPPI and its members.

In addition to these awards, and continuing to be offered, will be the Honorary Membership Award and the 25-Year Full Member and New RPP recognition. As OPPI grows our awards program, the awards offerings may grow in future years.
 
If you are, or know someone who is, interested in submitting your work or a member for consideration, or you would like to be considered as a jury member to select winners, please let us know or you can wait until later in the new year when we will announce separate calls seeking jury members, for submissions and much more. 
 
Thank you to the many members, former winners, nominees and jurors who provided their valuable feedback to inform the development of the PlanON Awards program. If members have any questions on the awards program, please contact OPPI at communications@ontarioplanners.ca. 

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OPPI is seeking interested members to join these two dynamic committees. If you are interested, please read the Terms of Reference for the Professional Standards & Registration Committee (PS&RC) and for the Complaints Committee. 
 
Please note that the Complaints Committee is now operating under an improved and enhanced process further to the late 2018 OPPI By-Law amendment.
 
The work of the PS&RC is especially crucial right now, when the national standards are undergoing their first 5-year review (since the Planning for the Future initiative) by the national Professional Standards Committee. The Complaints Committee receives and handles formal complaints and enforces the Professional Code of Practice which is important in upholding the standards and reputation of the profession.
 
If you are interested in joining one of these committees, please fill out our Volunteer Application Form.
 

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  OPPI's District Leadership Teams (DLTs) work to empower member ownership and community experience in Districts across Ontario. They also facilitate exchange of knowledge and expertise for the betterment of planning in Ontario.
 
Interested to learn about volunteering at your District? You can watch the volunteer onboarding video and sign up from your member profile to volunteer in your District. Visit our website and browse our interactive District map to learn more about your District Chairs!

• Eastern District - Erin O'Connor, RPP
• Lakeland District - Michelle Banfield, RPP
• Northern District - Bev Hillier, RPP
• Oak Ridges District - Tim Jessop, RPP
• Southwest District - Jane Gurney, RPP
• Toronto District - Jennifer Maestre, RPP
• Western Lake Ontario District - Brenda Khes, RPP

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The 2019 AGM minutes are now available to view on OPPI's website. These minutes will be approved at the OPPI20 AGM at RBC Place London from October 7-8. Please visit OPPI's Annual Report webpage to read the minutes. 
 

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WILLIAM "BILL" SPENCER HOLLO (1954-2019)

OPPI would like to notify the membership of the passing of Bill Hollo on December 26, 2019. 

Bill was very active in OPPI during his planning career. He worked in a multitude of settings both urban and rural throughout his career and was a wealth of information to young planners and colleagues. Bill developed, and then ran, the Planner at the OMB course. It was one of the first OPPI courses and since then the course offerings have grown.

OPPI would like to pass along its condolences to Bill's family, friends and colleagues. His obituary can be found at Windsor Chapel. 

 

Attention OPPI Student Members! OPPI is accepting 2020 Student Scholarship applications, and if you attend one of Ontario's accredited planning schools we'd like to help you on your journey to becoming a Registered Professional Planner!  
 
Three scholarships are available in 2020:

• Ronald M. Keeble Undergraduate Scholarship ($2,000)
• Gerald Carrothers Graduate Scholarship ($2,500)
• T.P. Jason Ferrigan 2020 President's Scholarship ($3,000)

Are you an aspiring student leader? OPPI Student Members can apply to become our 2020-2021 Student Delegate and lead the Student Liaison Committee and a great program of student activities throughout the school year. Network with planning students across Ontario and help OPPI reach students so they know more about student membership, student programs and events happening regularly.
 
Scholarship applications and Student Delegate nominations close March 1. Don't delay, apply today! Please visit OPPI's website for more information and to put your name forward.

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Academic, marketing, or business writing classes as taught at universities do not adequately prepare planners to deliver their work in plain language - documents that are clear, concise, credible - and actionable - for municipalities, and understood by the public. 
 
Brian Morgan, the 16-year Managing Editor of AKRF, Inc. in New York City, the company responsible for the Environmental Impact Statements for The World Trade Center, Moynihan Station, the Times Square Redevelopment, among hundreds of other recognizable projects, will teach a webinar for OPPI members on Thursday, January 23rd, which will focus on how to effectively structure a document, identifying primary drivers of information, reducing jargon and "plannereze" and tips and tricks for clarity, reducing words and remaining on budget. Members interested in participating can click here. 
 
After you have registered, you will receive a confirmation email from Webcast Guru which contains the link to the webinar session. Webcast Guru will also send you a reminder email one day before the event. This webinar will be broadcast using the ZOOM platform. Before you register, please check with your workplace's IT department that you will be able to use this platform from your computer.

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This is the final reminder to renew your 2019 membership in the Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI), which was due January 2, 2020. Please visit OPPI's website at and log into your Member Profile to renew your membership. If you need any assistance regarding the renewal process, you can contact OPPI's Renewal Administrator at renewal@ontarioplanners.ca.
 
December 31st was the deadline to complete your 2019 CPL. If you haven't already, please visit OPPI's website at and log into your Member Profile to log your 2019 CPL. As a reminder, 18 learning units are required annually. One learning unit equals one hour of direct planning related (with some exceptions). A minimum of nine learning units must be structured and a maximum of nine learning units may be individually directed. And, up to nine structured learning units may be carried forward to the following year. If you have any CPL-related questions, please contact OPPI at standards@ontarioplanners.ca.
 

Our January Planning Exchange blog post comes from Stephanie Burnham, Kerry-Ann Charles and Susan Robertson, RPP who focus on how discussions on Indigenous rights, recognition, and reconciliation are challenging Canadians to a place of question and Truth. As part of this shift, institutions are taking steps to educate, recognize and reset processes that have marginalized Indigenous Peoples. Planning is one such institution. Achieving the vision of reconciliation is more a Non-Indigenous exercise than an Indigenous one. ReconciliACTION requires taking the honest and difficult actions to decolonize. As planners, let's lean in to decolonize our relationships, to each other and to the land.

Click here to read more

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OPPI's Indigenous Planning Perspectives Task Force Report recommends "That OPPI facilitate access to resources and learning on Indigenous topics." One method OPPI is undertaking to facilitate access is through the creation of a curated list of resources.
 
The resource list provides suggestions and access to some resources to encourage learning on Indigenous topics. It is not intended to be comprehensive and should be seen as a starting point for planning practitioners and other related professions in their respective learning journeys. 
 
The resource list is revised quarterly, to reflect the availability of new or updated resources and you are encouraged to provide suggestions for additional resources to include on the list. It can be accessed on the OPPI website.  
 
January 2020 Featured Resource
 
New Year, new goal(s). Commit to learning more about Indigenous history and culture in the lands we now call Canada. The Indigenous Peoples' Atlas of Canada, published by the Canadian Geographic Society and funded by the Government of Canada, serves as a competent introduction to First Nations, Inuit and Métis history and culture, as well as Truth and Reconciliation and its importance in contemporary Canadian society. To learn more about Indigenous history and culture, and other Indigenous topics, please consult OPPI's Resource List. 
 

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Would you like to get ahead on your 2020 CPL and bank a few learning units right off the bat? Livestream recordings from OPPI19 are now available on OPPI's Digital Learning portal. Members can revisit and review many popular sessions from our Conference and claim these as part of your CPL. Log into OPPI's Digital Learning portal to see the available videos.
 

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  Season 4 of Electric Cities is coming back in 2020 to OPPI's Digital Learning webpage! Starting January 7, the first podcast will be posted on Digital Learning for members to listen to and hear about stories of Toronto's success as a rapidly emerging global city. 

Log into OPPI's Digital Learning portal and tune in to the next season of Electric Cities.

 

2020 Farmland Forum
The annual Farmland Forum hosted by the Ontario Farmland Trust will explore the shifting landscapes of farmland and farmland protection in Ontario. This year, the event will be taking place on March 26, 2020, at The Grand Banquet and Event Centre in Guelph, ON. Forum presenters will discuss the accuracy of population forecasts in Ontario and how these impact planning and farmland, the shifts in farm practices throughout Ontario and how planning policy needs to adapt, and Agricultural Systems mapping, and how municipalities can use the agricultural system to benefit the agricultural sector in their region. Early bird pricing ends March 7th, and the last day to register is March 25th, 2020. 

Planners in Space Survey
Dr. David Adams, lecturer in Urban Planning from the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Birmingham is interested in hearing about planners' feelings towards human encounters with outer space. A survey has been developed to capture member feedback and interested members can click here to provide your thoughts and feedback. 

City of Burlington Urban Design Advisory Panel
The City of Burlington Urban Design Advisory Panel needs you for its next term. Your mission will be to give independent, objective, professional urban design advice to the City on tall and mid-rise buildings plus public development projects, studies and policy initiatives to achieve design excellence in Burlington. Apply today! The deadline to apply is Friday, Jan. 31, 2020 and more information can be found on the City of Burlington's website. 
 

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!

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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.


 

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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:

• Policy Planner III - City of Brampton (full time)
• Planner I - City of Pickering (full time)
• Manager, Development Approvals - Town of Fort Erie (full time)
• Development Planner - Urban in Mind: Urban Planning, Land Development & CPTEDT Consultants (full time)
• Senior Planner - Walker Nott Dragicevic Associates Ltd. (full time)
• Planner I - Development (temporary for up to 24 months) - City of Guelph (contract)
• Planner II - City of Kawartha Lakes (full time)
• City Planner - City of Kenora (full time)
• Planner - Haldimand County (full time)
• Planner - Town of Oakville (full time)
• Planner and Senior Planner - GSP Group Inc. (full time)
• Secretary-Treasurer to the Committee of Adjustment - Town of Georgina (full time)
• Planner II - Policy - City of Burlington (contract)
• Senior Planner, Urban Design - City of Markham (full time)
• Development Planner - Development Review Focus - County of Oxford (full time)
• Development Planner - Land Use Policy Focus - County of Oxford (contract)
• Senior Planner - Development Review - Town of Halton Hills (full time)
• Request for Proposal - Review and Update of the Whitby Downtown Secondary Plan - Town of Whitby (contract)
• Municipal and Site Acquisition Specialist - FONTUR International (contract)
• MHBC Planning - Senior/Intermediate Planners (full time)
• Junior and/or Intermediate Urban Planner/Designer - RG Consulting Inc. (full time)
• ...and many more!

• OPPI Webinar: Plain Language for Planners (January 23)
• Eastern District Change Adaptation: Established Solutions to Site Challenges (January 29)