Newsletters
July 2011
QUEST friends and supporters,
As QUEST Chair, it is my pleasure to lead our first newsletter of 2011 by welcoming Brent Gilmour as QUEST's new Executive Director. Brent was selected after interviewing several highly qualified candidates from across the country. He will be starting in late July after stepping down as the Vice President of the Canadian Urban Institute's (CUI) Urban Solutions unit.
Brent's arrival adds greatly to the strength of the QUEST team with Tonja Leach soon to return (in October) from maternity leave and Richard Laszlo then focusing his efforts on the research side of the QUEST agenda. I want to take the opportunity to say a special thanks to Richard who stepped in early this year and has done an exceptional job of keeping all the balls in the air through a particularly intense and busy time for QUEST.
I look forward to working with Brent, the QUEST team and all of our supporting organizations to continue building momentum in advancing Integrated Community Energy Solutions in every community across Canada.
Mike Harcourt
QUEST Chair
Building the QUEST Collaborative: Governance and Finance
Announcing QUEST Executive Director Brent Gilmour MCIP, RPP
In his current role, Brent is responsible for the delivery of the Canadian Urban Institute's (CUI) practical solutions and services to enhance the development of urban policy. Brent is a registered professional planner who brings more than seven years of specialized knowledge in the areas of integrated community energy, transportation and land-use planning; downtown revitalization; and, public infrastructure investment.
Prior to joining CUI, Brent was the Strategic Coordinator responsible for the establishment of the University of Toronto's Sustainability Office (USO) and was an independent research consultant specializing in community energy innovation. Brent holds a Master's of Science in Planning from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the University of Toronto. Brent is looking forward to taking on the role of QUEST executive director and to be working with the QUEST staff and Board members, QUEST caucuses, contributors, and partners.
It's official! QUEST has incorporated
QUEST successfully incorporated as a not for profit organization in June 2011, and an interim Board of Directors has been established chaired by Mike Harcourt, with Ken Ogilvie as Vice-Chair and Mike Cleland as Secretary and Treasurer. The QUEST team thanks the Canadian Gas Association (CGA) for providing continuing support for QUEST since its inception. QUEST staff and Board would specifically like to thank CGA's Manager of Finance and Office Services Valerie Prokop for her efforts in support of QUEST's incorporation.
QUEST Governance: Over the past two months the Governance Committee of the Core Advisory Group (CAG) has worked with QUEST staff to develop new governance arrangements appropriate to QUEST's incorporation as an NGO. To-date that work has produced two important products:
- The first is a Terms of Reference for a National Advisory Council (NAC), which over the course of the summer will succeed the Core Advisory Group as the principal source of policy advice and guidance from the QUEST community. Members will be initially drawn from the CAG. The draft Terms of Reference are subject to final adjustment and will be approved by the QUEST Board.
- The second is a framework for structuring relationships between QUEST national, provincial and, in time, territorial caucuses. The framework will consist of an operating “charter” and a set of letters of cooperation. These two items will provide the operating environment that will allow QUEST national and caucuses to actively work together to achieve the QUEST mission and vision.
The governance documents were shared with the CAG for comments. Feedback from the broader QUEST collaborative is welcome and can be directed to the QUEST coordinator Richard Laszlo at 613 797-6008 or rlaszlo@questcanada.org.
Spreading the QUEST message: Communications
Canada's Community Opportunity
Human ingenuity and innovation in our communities is our nation's biggest asset. This was the opening line of Mike Harcourt's recent article for QUEST titled Canada's Community Opportunity published in the Hill Times and on the Canada West Foundation's Let's Talk Energy Blog. The article puts forward a direction for how QUEST will begin to engage the 120 large to medium sized cities in Canada to start implementing Integrated Community Energy Systems (ICES) as a way of addressing the energy challenges faced by Canadian communities.
Why Canada's Energy Future Needs a Master Plan
In his article in Alberta Oil: The Business of Energy, Mike Cleland makes the case for a Canadian energy strategy built around QUEST principles with price signals to drive industrial and consumer behaviour, arguing that more efficient energy systems are key to improving economic productivity and addressing climate change.
Advancing ICES: Research
QUEST Business Cases Series
While considerable momentum exists in Canadian communities for developing community energy plans and planning for Integrated Community Energy Systems (ICES), there remains limited Canadian documentation about completed ICES accomplishments. QUEST is working to address this important information gap for researchers, developers, investors, and public and private sector decision makers.
QUEST has engaged five of Canada's top business schools to document ICES projects – one in each of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Québec and Nova Scotia. The Business Case Series is designed to bring forward the key factors contributing to successful ICES project implementation – each case will feature prominently at the upcoming QUEST V conference in Calgary October 23rd to 25th.
QUEST V Conference: Building Tomorrow's Communities
With growing interest in ICES and a new conference format, the fifth QUEST conference taking place in Calgary, Alberta from October 23rd to 25th at the Westin Calgary Hotel. QUEST V: Integrated Community Energy Solutions – Building Tomorrow's Communities will examine best practices and the latest policy, technical and commercial advancements in ICES activities. It is an opportunity for public and private sector decision makers, technology specialists, industry experts, development practitioners, leaders in environmental design, researchers, academics and others to evaluate emerging trends, advance new technologies and techniques and showcase technological capabilities.
Featuring case studies from across the country, expert participants will engage in roundtable discussions and interactive workshops to advance ICES implementation, with a focus on municipal challenges and issues.
We look forward to seeing you in Calgary October 23rd to 25th, 2011 for an informative and stimulating discussion about building Canada's communities of tomorrow. For information on sponsorship opportunities and registration please visit the QUEST website or contact the QUEST V Coordinator, Richard Laszlo, at 613 797-6008 or rlaszlo@questcanada.org.
