VANCOUVER -Jagdev (Jag) Dhillon, who immigrated to Canada in 1963 and has been a Member of CIP since 1967, has been elected as a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Planners. He is the first Indo-Canadian to get such an honour and will be inducted to the College of Fellows during the Annual Conference of the CIP being held in July 2013 in Vancouver.
The Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) established in 1919 and representing a membership of approximately 7000 planning professionals across Canada is a collaborative national federation that advances professional planning excellence through the delivery of membership and public services in Canada and abroad. CIP Members work in the public service and the private sector, in a wide variety of fields including land use planning, environmental resource management, land development, heritage conservation, social planning, transportation planning and economic development.
A Fellow of the CIP (FCIP) is the highest award the Institute can give to a planner. It is given only to those Members who exhibit the highest professional attainment and exhibit a wide breadth of experience. Such professional attainment and experience must be significant within the Canadian or international planning context. Those individuals that have the distinction of Fellow are an inspiration to all planners to set higher standards both professionally and personally. They are those that have made planning an extension of them.
Dhillon has been a planner in British Columbia and abroad for 45 years. He has dedicated his life to using planning as a tool to make positive change throughout the world and within Canada. He inspires others to be better planners and people. His ability to transfer his knowledge of planning to a variety of contexts both locally and globally is truly exceptional.
Dhillon takes his love of planning and life everywhere he goes. This is evidenced by his extensive list of distinctions which include the Golden Jubilee Medal of Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, British Columbia Planner of the year (2003) and a Paul Harris Fellowship from Rotary International, to name a few.
Dhillon has shared his planning expertise in 8 countries which include: Guyana, China, Bolivia, Republic of Panama, Hungary, Philippines, Honduras and Cameroon. He has had an impact and created positive change wherever he has planned during his career but the immeasurable positive impact to communities has been achieved through his international work.
He’s demonstrated ability to transfer planning knowledge to such a variety of countries, communities and cultures around the world and create positive outcomes is truly amazing.
Dhillon continues to contribute to community and economic development matters locally and internationally. He is currently Chair of the City of Vancouver Board of Variance and continues to serve on several community and cultural organizations
