Held in the Blue Mountains in mid-October, the JLT Canada Public Sector Summit was an exclusive event that brought together municipal leaders, critical thinkers and key decision makers from across Canada. Renowned speakers revealed unique viewpoints on topics such as infrastructure, crime and security, leadership, and engagement. “We believe JLT Canada’s Public Sector Summit will lead municipal leaders to shift their focus and rethink their approach to long-term structure”, said Ron Barnes, Managing Director of JLT’s Public Sector division. “As they face new challenges, we hope the stories and experiences shared during the Summit will have an impact on how they view their role in building their communities from a fresh variety of perspectives”, he added.
Jeff Reitsma, MBA, PMP, P.Eng Practice Lead (Remediation) at 30 Forensic Engineering, had the honor of contributing as a panel member at the highly anticipated 2017 JLT Canada Public Sector Summit.
“It was a great pleasure to share the stage with both Gord Hume (President – Hume Communications) and Ben Isotta-Riches (Chief Information Officer – Aviva Canada). Their passion, expertise and forward-looking perspectives on infrastructure and how technological advancements and social trends will provide both risks and opportunities for Canadians were engaging and thought-provoking. Moreover, it was lovely to discuss a broad range of issues and challenges faced by municipal leaders with a range of roles and backgrounds. The feedback from those participants (as it related to our Infrastructure Panel) was very positive and I believe that my forensic experiences (bringing in the risk & failure elements to colour my view) provided a very tangible and perhaps unusual set of perspectives to the discussion. I certainly came away energized and full of both big-picture ideas and questions to bring back to our team of experts at 30 Forensic Engineering and I am sure that was shared by many of the attendees.”
Jeff brought his expertise on large multi-disciplinary restoration projects, as well as his extensive background in municipal infrastructure design & construction to the Summit. Jeff’s unique blend of experience provided the Infrastructure Panel with a true boots-on-the-ground technical view of the challenges faced by infrastructure decision-makers and policy setters. Jeff discussed trends relating to catastrophic loss events and materials of construction, through to the emergence of 3D printed construction and autonomous devices & systems and how these need to be considered in the broader context of public sector infrastructure planning, design, construction and maintenance.
Shifting the Focus
As Canadian Municipalities continue to face new challenges, they must strive to meet the growing and multifaceted needs of their communities, while creating greater convenience and connectivity. Growing environmental concerns, increasingly diverse constituents, crumbling infrastructure, declining sectors such as manufacturing, and economic fluctuations lead communities across the country to rethink their approach to long-term structure.
About Jardine Lloyd Thompson
Jardine Lloyd Thompson is one of the world’s leading providers of insurance, reinsurance and employee benefits related advice, brokerage and associated services. JLT’s client proposition is built upon its deep specialist knowledge, client advocacy, tailored advice and service excellence. JLT is quoted on the London Stock Exchange and owns offices in 40 territories with more than 10,600 employees. Supported by the JLT International Network, it offers risk management and employee benefit solutions in 135 countries. For further information about JLT, please visit our website www.jlt.com.