Simcoe Chapter Update
Dear Fellow Simcoe Chapter Members:
We are hoping this email finds you and your family safe, healthy and in good spirits during these very difficult and trying times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year we are celebrating LAI’s 90th anniversary (which is also the Simcoe Chapter’s 53rd anniversary). We were hoping to celebrate this milestone at the Spring Land Economics Weekend in Chicago later this month, but as you may have seen from the e-mails from LAI International, the LEW scheduled for April 30 – May 2, 2020 in Chicago has now be postponed to September 10–12, 2020. These new dates for the postponed Chicago meeting are the same dates that were originally scheduled for the LEW in Los Angeles. The LEW that was originally scheduled for September 10–12, 2020 to be held in Los Angeles will now be held April 15-17, 2021.
You may also be wondering how the Simcoe Chapter will be adjusting as it relates to dinner meetings and programming in light of the restrictions that are in place to fight and limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. We want to assure you that as an organization we endorse the safeguards that have been put in place by the various levels of governments and the health of our members is the utmost of importance to all of us. However, we do realize that we have obligations to our members to provide programming and a forum for important issues in land economics and land development to be discussed and canvassed in a robust but respectful environment.
In furthering these obligations, we hope to deliver some “virtual” programming in the coming months. A couple of the topics we are considering relate to the new Community Benefits Charge and also to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the planning and development process in Ontario and what the post COVID-19 world could look like from a land economics perspective. We are still ironing out the details and the speakers for these programs but further details will be released in early May. The intention is to try to make the programs interactive as much as possible but obviously there will be limitations in light of the virtual nature of these meetings.
It is also our intention to continue with dinner meetings in the Fall of this year, subject of course to government and medical officials deeming meetings in person as being appropriate. We will also revisit the possibility of holding our annual Spring/Summer field trip in the Fall.
The Simcoe Chapter has many members who are leaders in their respective organizations and fields. We’re sure all of you are doing your part by staying at home but we can do more. This is why the Chapter has decided to make a generous contribution to the Toronto COVID-19 Action Fund to assist researchers in the fight against the Novel Coronavirus. More information about this fund can be found at https://boundless.utoronto.ca/news/u-of-t-launches-action-fund-to-support-high-impact-research-in-battle-against-covid-19/.
Also, through one of our Simcoe Chapter members, we have been made aware that students in land economics and related programs are facing a summer with no internships, no work experience, and most importantly, no income to support their studies. Internships have dried up across all organizations. If you or your organization can assist either by making a donation or providing an internship, please let us know and we would be pleased to facilitate the necessary connections so that this assistance can be provided.
Lastly, as all of you know, our membership is a very social group which is why our dinner meetings are so popular and well attended. During this time of physical distancing, we would encourage all of you to reach out and stay connected with your LAI colleagues by e-mail, telephone, Skype, Webex, Zoom or such other virtual means that are now available.
We also take this opportunity to remind our Chapter members of the existence of LAI KeyNotes (https://www.lai.org/keynotes-articles) and the opportunity for the Chapter and its members to make contributions to its content . There is also an LAI LinkedIn page which could serve as a means to enable some sharing, discussion and interaction between members both locally and globally. It is open to all members to join and participate (https://www.linkedin.com/groups/2672730/).
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the above, please do not hesitate to contact Jason Park at 416.671.7736 or via email at jason.park@devinepark.com or Kevin Harper at kevin.harper@sympatico.ca
Until we meet again, please stay safe and healthy!
All the best,
Board of Directors
Simcoe Chapter, Lambda Alpha International
