Letter From Our President, Dan Huang RPP, MCIP

As a final word of thanks, I would like to acknowledge all of the volunteers across the country who served in a variety of capacities, including, but not limited to: Committees (for CIP and allied professions), Professional Standards Board (PSC), Standards Committee (SC), College of Fellows (CoF), External Representatives, and the CIP/ICU Planning Student Trust Fund (CIP-PSTF). Without our many volunteers, we would not be able to achieve a fraction of our goals and objectives in raising the profile of our profession by providing our expertise on so many important topics impacting cities and regions across the country.

Although we were not able to gather together last summer in Whistler for the 2020 National Conference, CIP and PIBC jointly hosted the Elevation Webinar Series in November 2020. I was pleased to open the virtual event alongside PIBC President, Lesley Cabott, and welcome our keynote speaker, Chief Dana Tizya-Tramm, who provided an inspiring message from his home in Old Crow, YK, on the real and devastating impacts of climate change in his community and throughout the North. He closed his keynote with the following call to action: “If we can’t come together over this; if climate change can’t bring us together to fulfill the dreams of our ancestors, then we have no business being on this planet anymore.” CIP will continue to provide the leadership, tools, and resources to support our members in responding to the United Nation’s Decade of Action to deliver on the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

At the 2020 AGM, we introduced CIP’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Roadmap, which identified the current state of EDI within the organization and its membership; defined the goals and desired target state for advancing the EDI agenda; and developed a 5-year plan to ensure a coordinated and effective approach. The Board of Directors is fully committed to implementing the EDI Roadmap, and during 2020, CIP undertook the following initiatives:

• • • EDI training sessions were organized for the CIP Board of Directors and staff of CIP and the Provincial and Territorial Institutes and Associations, with additional training scheduled for 2021;
    • CIP staff all completed their Gender-Based Analysis (GBA+) training;
    • Public (and free) webinar on EDI was delivered, with more public webinars planned;
    • Policy and procedures review commenced to incorporate and strengthen EDI language;
    • The EDI Insight Survey was planned and budgeted for 2021;
    • EDI training sessions were organized for the CIP Board of Directors and staff of CIP and the Provincial and Territorial Institutes and Associations, with additional training scheduled for 2021;
    • Institutional endorsement of the federal 50-30 Challenge to voluntarily commit to achieving meaningful and substantive improvements in supporting diversity and inclusion through gender parity (“50%”) and significant representation (“30%”) of other under-represented groups on the Board and in senior management.

Implementation of our EDI Roadmap is an intentional, methodical, but often an uneasy journey. Like our pathway towards Indigenous reconciliation, we will be confronting the past practices of our century-old planning traditions in Canada, and exploring our conscious and unconscious biases with the goal of providing tools and resources to help us all plan for more equitable, inclusive communities. Thank you to CIP staff, volunteer members, subject matter experts and knowledge-keepers who are helping us along this important journey.

Looking ahead, the Board will review and update CIP’s Strategic Plan, including our Vision, Mission, and Value Statements. The time is right to undertake this holistic review in light of the important discussions facing our profession highlighted above, namely Indigenous reconciliation, the climate emergency, and the EDI Roadmap. I look forward to completing the Strategic Plan by the end of 2021.

Thank you again to CIP staff, volunteers, and all members for your support of the Board and our Institute. As we turn the corner on this pandemic, to quote BC’s Provincial Health Officer, please continue to, “Be Kind, Be Calm, and Be Safe”. Take care, and we hope to see you in Whistler next July for the 2022 National Conference!

Celebrating Our Volunteers

CIP’s accomplishments are a testament to its volunteers who ensure its governance, programs, and extensive networks are robust and effective.

Thank you for your dedication and service!

Internal & External Bodies

CIP also recognizes its members who represent the Institute on external bodies:

Membership