Dear Business Continuity Professional,  As a Board Member and Canadian Chapter President of the Business Continuity Institute, I encourage you to consider joining BCI to obtain professional status recognized around the world. Our mission statement is to promote the art and science of business continuity management (BCM).

Membership brings many significant benefits that include recognition, status, networking and knowledge that could lead to better career progression within your organization or more marketable to other organizations. Professional membership demonstrates the members’ competence to carry out BCM to a consistent, high standard. 

Of over 60 Countries that have BCI members, we were the first to be granted Chapter status. We have a thriving membership representative of both public and private sector who volunteer their time for BCI. Our Canadian chapter is divided into Eastern and Western Canada with Forum leadership in each geographical area. These forums meet quarterly to provide networking opportunities. In addition, we participate in local conferences that include EPIC (Emergency Preparedness for Industry and Commerce) held in Vancouver and the World Conference of Disaster Management in Toronto. 

No matter what organization you are with, check out our Good Practice Guidelines. These can be downloaded for free. These were written and compiled by our members. These guidelines provide a life cycle model for successful BCM implementation. Elements of the guidelines have been integrated into the proposed Z1600 Canadian Standards Association Technical Committee Standard on Emergency Management and Business Continuity. I have personally been involved chairing the BCM subcommittee for the last two years with meetings in Montreal Mississauga and Calgary. 

More importantly, joining BCI is all about establishing relationship among a close-knit community. We work close with emergency management and other risk management and IT organizations. Feel free to attend one of our forums to see how engaged our members are in discussion and activities. 

If you are interested, please contact me or any of the Chapter leadership and they will assist you with your pursuit of certification as a business continuity professional.

Thank you,

Mike Soegtrop FBCI
BCI Board Member and Canadian Chapter President