May 9, 2021

Dear Members,

I trust this letter finds you and yours in good health and looking forward to the warmer weather to come.  I would like to encourage you to take a minute or two to read about what the current CPIO board is doing for you.

The first six months of the current board has been remarkably busy.  We started by continuing with our program of free educational webinars, we enjoyed an extraordinarily successful F.I.T. conference, and we are about to launch our first CPIO Course, in partnership with Toddington International.  This will be followed up by a series of self-study courses and addition virtual in-person style (synchronous) training courses in the summer and autumn.  We are also initiating designations for Private Investigators in Ontario and are negotiating a Group Benefit Insurance plan for member agencies.

The courses the CPIO will be offering are the best suited to our industry that we could find in any specific field.  Each course will be accompanied by an exam which must be passed in order to receive a CPIO-issued Certificate of Achievement.  The bearer of CPIO-issued certification will have proved that they not only attended a course, but that they understood what they were taught and are able to apply the training.  The certificates will have real meaning.  This is important, not only to the investigator that took the course, but to employers who are looking for a professional with real qualifications.  

So, if you have not already signed up for our Advanced Internet Intelligence & Online Investigations Training, do so now! Space is limited and there are only a few positions left.  

Within the next few months, we hope to be able to offer courses in Note Taking & Report Writing and Ethics.  These courses will be offered at a minimal cost in the hope that many investigators will take the opportunity to benefit from them.  They will also come with CPIO certification.

We are working on a designation system for the Private Investigators in Ontario that we hope to roll out in late summer.  Each CPIO-issued Certificate of Achievement earn from taking and passing our courses will be a step closer to earning the designations we are developing.  We will provide additional details later in the year.

Covid-19 has been devastating to our industry and many of us have seen a dramatic cut in the work we are used to.  Now is the time to regroup, improve our skill set and be ready to face the work to come confident in our ability to tackle any assignment with a higher level of professionalism than ever before.  And yes, the work will come!

Efforts have been made in the past with regards to affordable Group Benefit Plans.  We believe that we are negotiating a basic plan that will be affordable for everyone.  Again, we will keep you posted.

I end this letter by sincerely thanking my colleagues on the CPIO Board for all their hard work and dedication.   Without the team effort, none of this would be possible.

Thank you for your continued support and stay safe everyone!

Yours respectfully,

James Meadway

President, CPIO