Name
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James Chisholm, FEC, M.Eng., P.Eng.
Employer and Position
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City of Toronto, Fire Services; Fire Protection Engineer
Education
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Master of Engineering; (Chemical Engineering), University of Toronto.
Employment History
- Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management, Fire Protection Engineer;
- Ministry of the Environment, Approvals Branch, Waste and Air Units; Senior Review Engineer
Activities in Advocacy Organizations
- Current member of OSPE Executive Board and its Environmental Taskforce
- Chapter’s Liaison with OSPE which included helping to coordinate joint events such as Chapter symposia on Engineering Innovation in Health Care; Re-thinking our Streets; Rapid Transit in Toronto and Climate Change; and Chapter/ PEO/OSPE E3 initiative with the City of Toronto
Other Professional Affiliations
- Former Vice President of the Professional Engineers of the Government of Ontario (PEGO)
- Organizer and founding President of the Toronto Engineering Club of Speakers (TECS) Toastmaster Club (2012) and Co-organizer and founding President of the Environmental Speakers Toastmaster Club (2009).
- Fellow of Engineers Canada (FEC)
- Former Chair of PEO Task Force for Sustaining OCEPP
- Former Chair of the West Toronto Chapter of the PEO
- Former Chair of GLP Committee of Chapter
Community Service
- Chair, Safe and Sensible Streets Committee of the West Bend Community Association.
- Ontario Volunteer Service Award, 2017
Candidate Statement
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The key issue for the engineering community in Ontario is its struggle for relevance. A key underlying problem is a history of Governments in Ontario showing disrespect to the engineering profession and Ontarians by choosing political expediency over evidence-based decision making. Reflective of the problem is the complete absence of engineering positions in the following technical based Ministries: Energy; Infrastructure; Research, Innovation and Science; Education; and Health and Long-Term Care. Even Ministries that do have Engineers are often not properly consulted on important technically based initiatives. Development of the Green Energy Act and the Climate Change Action Plan are examples. Also, despite ongoing protest from the engineering profession, the Government still officially and openly allows industries to do its engineering work without engineers. Is it any wonder that the impact of Government’s disrespect of the Engineering Profession contributes to only 31% of engineering graduates working as engineers?
OSPE has an important advocacy role to promote the public interest and the importance of the engineering profession to safeguard it. OSPE has done very well in this important task. It needs to build upon its many successes and strive to be even more innovative and impactful. I would like to be part of an active and effective OSPE leadership that strives through the promotion of engineering to make Ontario a world class leader in innovation, sustainable development and prosperity.
For more information visit https://ospe.on.ca/about_us/governance/board-election-2020/.
