Message from the Chair Message de la présidente du Conseil Annie Brunelle W hen I wrote my first message as chair, I spoke about uncertainty, resilience, and the need for our community to come together in the face of shifting economic, political and workforce realities. As we move further into 2026, those themes remain relevant – but what stands out most to me now is not just the complexity of our environment, but the opportunity it presents for CERC and its members. At our January board meeting, one idea surfaced repeatedly: mobility is no longer just about moving people. It is about enabling skills, ideas and opportunity to move where they are needed most – responsibly, compliantly, and with a deep human lens. This is where our profession adds real value, and where CERC has an important role to play. Across industries, mobility is evolving rapidly. Organizations are navigating talent shortages, affordability pressures, shifting workforce strategies, and heightened employee expectations, all while being asked to deliver greater strategic value. In this context, mobility is no longer a transactional function; it is becoming a critical enabler of business agility, skills deployment, and employee experience. This evolution is reshaping how mobility is viewed and where it sits within organizations. This shift – from policy to practice – was a central focus of our board discussions. Rather than viewing change as something being imposed on our profession, we challenged ourselves to reframe it: how we articulate our impact, how we connect insight to action, and how we ensure our work remains relevant and clearly understood. At its core, this is about demonstrating the strategic value professional mobility brings to organizations, partners and the broader ecosystem. The answer, we believe, lies in speaking the right language, sharing evidence based insights, and showing up as trusted advisors. CERC is uniquely positioned to do this. Our members collectively bring deep expertise across immigration, relocation, tax, compliance, employee experience, and cost management. When that expertise is shared – through data, real world examples, and collaboration – it becomes a powerful and credible voice. Another theme that resonated strongly was community. Many of the challenges our members face are not unique to one organization or sector. Housing constraints, budget pressures, and shifting workforce M on premier message à titre de présidente abordait l’incertitude, la résilience et la nécessité de se serrer les coudes face aux bouleversements économiques, politiques et professionnels. Ces thèmes demeurent d’actualité en ce début de 2026 – mais ce qui me frappe désormais, c’est moins la complexité de notre environnement que l’occasion qu’elle offre au CERC et à ses membres. Une idée est revenue sans cesse lors de notre réunion du conseil en janvier : la mobilité ne se limite plus au déplacement de personnes. Elle achemine les compétences, les idées et les occasions là où on en a le plus besoin – de façon responsable, conforme et profondément humaine. C’est là que notre profession crée une réelle valeur ajoutée et que le CERC a un rôle important à jouer. La mobilité évolue rapidement dans tous les secteurs. Les organi- sations composent avec des pénuries de talents, des pressions sur l’abordabilité, des stratégies de main-d’œuvre en mutation et des attentes accrues du personnel. Elles doivent donc apporter une plus grande valeur stratégique. La mobilité n’est plus une fonction trans- actionnelle ; elle devient un levier essentiel d’agilité, de déploiement des compétences et d’expérience employé. Cette évolution trans- forme sa perception et sa place au sein des organisations. Ce passage de la politique à la pratique a été au cœur de nos discus- sions au conseil. Plutôt que de subir le changement, nous avons choisi de le recadrer : comment préciser notre impact, traduire nos connaissances en actions concrètes et veiller à ce que notre travail reste pertinent. L’enjeu fondamental est de démontrer la valeur stratégique de la mobilité professionnelle pour les organisations, les partenaires et l’ensemble de l’écosystème. La réponse réside dans le bon langage, des données probantes et une posture de conseillère ou conseiller de confiance. Le CERC occupe une position unique pour y parvenir. Nos membres cumulent une expertise approfondie en immigration, réinstallation, fiscalité, conformité, expérience employé et gestion des coûts. Partagée au moyen de données, d’exemples concrets et de collaboration, cette expertise devient une voix puissante et crédible. La communauté a aussi fortement résonné dans nos échanges. Les contraintes immobilières, les pressions budgétaires et les straté- gies de main-d’œuvre en mutation ne sont pas propres à une seule PERSPECTIVES is published quarterly for the: Canadian Employee Relocation Council Tel: 416-593-9812 Toll Free: 866-357-CERC (2372) www.cerc.ca Published by: www.mediaedgepublishing.com 33 South Station Street Toronto, ON M9N 2B2 Toll Free: 866-480-4717 robertt@mediaedge.ca Publisher Robert Thompson Editor Roma Ihnatowycz National Sales Executives Derek de Weerdt, April Hawkes, Dawn Stokes Senior Design Specialist Krista Zimmermann Design Specialist Bethany Giesbrecht President Kevin Brown Senior Vice President Robert Thompson Sales / Branch Manager Nancie Privé Published April 2026 Publication Mail Agreement #40787580 Return undeliverable copies to: Canadian Employee Relocation Council 1235 Fairview Street, Suite 311 Burlington, ON L7S 2K9 Perspectives examines and reports on issues related to the relocation and movement of employees for the benefit of employers moving their employees and the organizations that provide support services. The opinions expressed in Perspectives do not necessarily reflect the views of CERC. Information contained in this publication has been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, however, the publishers cannot be responsible for the absolute correctness or sufficiency of articles contained herein. Members of CERC receive one annual subscription with their membership dues. Subscriptions are available to members and non-members for $50 each per year. Articles and contributions are welcomed, however, MediaEdge Publishing and CERC reserve the right to publish and edit any article submitted. All published articles remain the property of CERC and may not be reproduced without permission. PERSPECTIVES is printed on 10% post-consumer FSC certified paper using soya based inks. When necessary to mail an issue in an enclosure, we use an environmentally-friendly, 100% oxo-degradable poly-wrap. 6 PERSPECTIVES Spring 2026
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