WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 13, 2019

OREIO is very excited to announce that our November speaker will be Chris Cope, an Economic Development Officer at the City of Ottawa. Chris will join us Wednesday, November 13, to discuss the tools and city programs available to stimulate real estate activity. As a local investor, you won't want to miss this one!

Chris Cope is an Economic Development Officer in the Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development Department at the City of Ottawa. He is currently file lead on the City's Community Improvement Plan (CIP) initiative as well as leading several other Economic Development initiatives and special projects, including Locate Ottawa, a geo-spatial site-selection tool.

Cope began his career in the Commercial Real Estate business, working first in the Shopping Centre Management field for A.E. LePage Real Estate Services and later as a Commercial Sales Agent for Royal LePage Real Estate Services. Before joining the City, Cope was Director of SmartCapital Special Projects at the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI) where he held the additional titles of Executive Director of EduNET, a not-for-profit partnership of Carleton University, University of Ottawa, La Cité collégiale and OCRI and Executive Director of ORCnet, a grass-roots organization of rural champions, supported by the City to aggregate broadband demand in Ottawa's rural communities.

After joining the City in November of 2006, Cope lead a 5-year project to make high-speed Internet available to Ottawa’s rural residents and steered the plan to negotiate with Bell Canada, incumbent local exchange carrier, to make Ottawa a single long distance telephone calling area.

Chris currently holds the volunteer position Chair, National Capital FreeNet and also holds the position of Vice President and Treasurer, Telecommunities Canada, an organization that represents and promotes the Canadian community Networking movement. Cope is a past director of the Ottawa Humane Society and past Chair of the Nepean Environmental Committee, a citizen advisory committee of the former City of Nepean.