Landscape Ontario membership convened for the association’s 51st Annual General Meeting on January 10, 2024. Held at the Toronto Congress Centre in conjunction with the Congress trade show and conference, the AGM provided an opportunity for members to hear about association activities from the past year and to provide input on the future direction of the association.

Executive Director Joe Salemi said LO’s membership team is conducting a bylaw review to make space for suppliers in association governance structures, to adequately recognize their efforts. “That’s something we’re definitely hoping to move forward with,” added the new LO president, Ed Hansen. The association is undergoing an overall governance review to ensure it runs as smoothly as possible.

Salemi also announced the association added a new chapter this year: the Muskoka North Chapter, which will be formed out of members in the existing Georgian Lakelands Chapter. The advocacy efforts of members in the vast region resulted in this change.

The outgoing executive welcomed the new one: Hansen as president, Lindsay Drake Nightingale as past-president, Lindsey Ross as first vice-president, Jeff Olsen as second vice-president and Pam Cook as treasurer. David Milne and Rohan Harrison were nominated and elected as members at large for another year.

Beth Edney, Landscape Designers Sector representative, asked if member-at-large terms could be increased from one to two years. Outgoing president Drake Nightingale said the Board of Directors would discuss the idea.  

In her report, Drake Nightingale expressed her happiness with increasing chapter engagement over the course of her two-year term and member participation in LO’s GROW and Apprenticeship programs. She said the latter are strong educational opportunities that “define our future,” as per the theme of her presidency.

Salemi said the association has formed a strong relationship with the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development — particularly in the Skilled Trades Ontario program — and is focusing significant efforts on workforce development. LO was invited to a high school in Pickering where it was announced that grade 11 students who so choose may now enter the apprenticeship pathway full-time and apply for their high school diploma upon completion.

In his report, Salemi highlighted the association’s government relations work which has been a strong focus over the past year. LO worked with the City of Burlington to shorten the process of getting a pool permit from 16 to six weeks, and with the City of Kitchener to reduce the burden of contractor licence requirements for LO members.

On the provincial level, the association has met with the 10 provincial ministries and Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s office in its active lobby to equalize liability among snow and ice contractors and reduce the use of road salt, which is affecting the province’s waterways.   

Olsen, outgoing treasurer, gave a financial report on the fiscal year from Sept. 1, 2022 to Aug. 31, 2023. He assured members LO is on the right track, posting one of its best fiscal years ever. It reached a $662,000 surplus, which is a $1 million turnaround from the previous year’s $382,000 deficit.

In closing the meeting, Hansen expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to take the reins as president. He also shared the theme of his presidency: we are stronger together, so “you don’t just want to be involved; you need to be.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, members of the Provincial Board of Directors posed for a group photo.
 

---

READ MORE ABOUT: