Dear participants,

It is an honour for the Canadian Council of Human Resources Associations (CCHRA) to host the 2010 World HR Congress, and we wish the warmest welcome to our colleagues from around the globe who will join us to learn, share, and celebrate September 27 to 29, 2010.

This biannual event – held in Canada for the first time – is a unique opportunity to showcase what is distinctively Canadian, but more importantly, to highlight that which is common to all of us in the human resources profession. We need only to look at the Creating People Advantage study, conducted by the World Federation of People Management Associations (WFPMA) and BCG Group, and released at the last World Congress in London in 2008, to note that HR professionals around the world face many similar critical challenges. Certainly, despite this commonality, our daily realities may differ, and the World Congress provides an extraordinary forum for sharing our varied, global experiences.

The CCHRA has worked with our member provincial HR associations from across Canada, as well as with our counterparts at the North American Human Resource Management Association (NAHRMA), to develop a remarkable program that very much reflects both this commonality and diversity: keynote speakers that are certain to inspire us all, workshops and sessions offered in French, English and Spanish – and all under a theme, HR Without Limits, that will challenge each of us to open our minds and grow as human resources professionals.

I would extend many thanks to CCHRA’s member association in Quebec, l’Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines agréés, for taking a leadership role in organizing this year’s conference, and to the countless volunteers that are working tirelessly to bring you a World Congress that, like its theme, is also “Without Limits.”

I look forward to seeing you all in Montreal this September!

Debbie Bennett, CHRP
Chair, CCHRA