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The New Frontier of Subsurface Technologies

How the West is Run: Developments in Canada’s

Western Provinces$9 00ReThink. ReBuild. ReNew.

renewcanada.net

Post-PSAB: You’ve Made the Deadline.

Now What?

SPENDING POWERInvesting out of the economic crunch

WhoWhereWhat – the path of infrastructure money p.12

November/December 2008

+0.01 5.12 5.16 +0.

0.97 1.66 1.71 458 1.66 2.26 +0.05 4

Contents

37

25

12

18

N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 8

33

FEATURES 31 Beyond 2009 What comes after the PSAB 3150 deadline

passes? Asset management. By Reg Andres and Calvin Hawke

33 Alternative Goes Mainstream James Sbrolla travels to Scandinavia to explore wave and wind power.

INFRAINVESTING 12 Stocking Up Are infrastructure funds a good way

to profit from a growing industry? By Mira Shenker

16 A Foreign Affair Canadian companies looking for investments beyond our borders. By Krista F. Hill

18 Party Lines How Canada’s major federal parties would invest in infrastructure. By Tanya Gulliver

REGIONAL FOCUS: WESTERN CANADA 22 News from BC, AB, SK and MB

Every issue, we focus on a different region within Canada, reporting on the various sectors of our industry.

23 Transportation Megaprojects Western Canada is putting billions into ring roads, LRTS and highway expansions. By Diane L.M. Cook

SUBSURFACE 25 Tales from the Trenchless New technologies

have workers putting shovels away. By Saul Chernos

30 A Hole-in-Road How to avoid massive sinkholes— and massive spending.

DEPARTMENTS 4 Editor’s Note Economic development

in uncertain times. By Mira Shenker

5 Letters How the credit crunch affects Canadians, how it’s not affecting Alberta, and more.

8 Opening Shots The Angola infrastructure project, a draft transit plan for the GTA and money for alternative energy out east.

10 ReLocate Jobs gained and lost in the industry.

20 ReFinance The changing P3 roadmap. By Marc Dorion and Kim Thomassin

37 Community Profile The Resort Municipality of Whistler, B.C.

38 The LEED List LEED 2009 moves forward.

39 StormWatch Toronto—the new Silicon Valley. By Storm Cunningham

40 ReEvents Transforming Transportation, The Future of Canada’s Infrastructure, Hot Properties: Canadian Brownfields, and more.

42 Closing Shot A different kind of credit issue. By Todd Latham

ABOUT THE COVER(S)

Covers D

esigned B

y: Donna E

ndacott

Guests at our annual celebration on November 27 in Toronto got this special, limited edition cover.

The current economic downturn is enforcing what we have always said: investing in infrastructure fuels economic growth.

November/December 2008 ReNew Canada 3www.renewcanada.net

Editor’s Note

www.renewcanada.net

November/December 2008 Volume 4 Number 6

EDITOR Mira Shenker

PUBLISHER Todd Latham

CONTRIBUTORS Reg Andres, Saul Chernos, Diane L.M. Cook, Storm Cunning-ham, Marc Dorion, Tanya Gulliver, Krista F. Hill, Calvin Hawke, James Sbrolla, Kim Thomassin

CIRCULATION Kerry [email protected]

ADVERTISING Todd [email protected]. 416.444.5842, ext. 111

Miles Andrew [email protected]. 416.444.5842, ext. 116

ART DIRECTION& DESIGN Donna Endacott

FINANCE Jane Addie

Printed in Canada on Supreme Silk FSC certified paper, (10% post-consumer) manufactured acid-free and elemental chlorine-free (ECF).

Undeliverable mail return to: 11 Prince Andrew Place, Toronto, ON M3C 2H2

Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement 40854046

ISSN 1715-6734

By Mira Shenker

economic growth: The naTural anTidepressanT

ReNew Canada subscriptions are available for $39.95/year or $69.95/two years.

©2008 Actual Media Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be

reproduced by any means in whole or in part, without prior written consent from the publisher.

"ReNew Canada" and "ReThink. ReBuild. ReNew" are Trademarks of Actual Media Inc.

Readers, I'd like to share with you some of the lines I'm reading every day in press release after press

release: "looming crisis has businesses feeling the crunch," "fear about the economy a wide-spread epidemic," "panic stricken global economies" and, my favourite, "nothing a prescription of Ativan can't deal with, right?"

Ontario is feeling it—the crunch, not the Ativan—more than some other provinces because times were already rough due to a failing auto sector. When Dalton McGuinty announced $1.1 billion for municipal infrastructure this August, he said, "The economic challenges we're facing this year mean I can safely predict I won't make this kind of announcement 12 months from now." And that was before the "looming crisis" had businesses "feeling the crunch."

At the other end of the country, strong economic growth means fewer Ativan prescriptions. Saskatoon and Regina had their strongest rates of economic growth in over a decade, ranking first and second among Canadian census metropolitan areas (CMAs) this year, according to the Conference Board's Metropolitan Outlook-Autumn 2008.

Mario Lefebvre, director the Centre for Municipal Studies, says, "Western Canadian CMAs occupy the top seven rankings in this edition of the Metropolitan Outlook. In contrast, Ontario CMAs are experiencing their weakest growth in more than a decade."

Provinces in this position need to find other ways to stimulate their economies.

The amount of articles in this "Money Issue" that mention or deal directly with the unstable global economy reflects the rising anxiety over the state of the global economy. The typical industry response: how can we be the ones to solve this for you? (see pages 12, 18, 20 and 39)

The private sector can help—and part of government's job has been to let them help. British Columbia's government is creating a new Economic Advisory Council composed of Canadian CEOs, academics and economists. The goal: find ways to increase economic competitiveness.

The city of Toronto is also asking for private-sector input by creating two

new agencies with private-sector board members. Chaired by Mayor David Miller, the new corporations (see page 8) will replace Toronto Economic Development Corporation (TEDCO). Some are calling this a clumsy attempt to reinvent the wheel, while others argue that TEDCO, essentially a land developer, was never meant to do the broader job of economic development.

When compared with some smaller Ontario towns, Toronto certainly has the financial resources to get it right. Toronto will invest $10 million in start-up funds for the new corporations.

Compare that with a town like Niagara-on-the-Lake (NOTL).

Last issue, Larry Frolick looked at three small Ontario towns, including NOTL. With only 15,000 residents, the town has no economic development department and relies on the local Chamber of Commerce and input from the Regional Municipality of Niagara for its strategic planning.

How good is its data? The local Chamber of Commerce confirmed its key economic indicator of 2.7 million annual visitors is based on total Shaw Theatre ticket sales "multiplied by ten." When Frolick asked them why, they said, "Of the people who come to our information booth, one in ten says they have a ticket for the Shaw."

Small towns never make the multitude of lists published by magazines and research bodies that rank "top" cities. Most of them are using shoestring methods for economic measurement and development. They've got limited resources to bolster their individual economies. If big guys like Toronto are freaked out, think how bad it must be for them.

When it comes to economic development, the example of NOTL shows how important it is for provincial bodies to get involved. British Columbia's government has put together a plan that involves ten key measures to boost its economic competitiveness. One of the measures: accelerated public infrastructure. The province will accelerate public investments in capital infrastructure projects. These types of measures will ensure that small towns with limited resources can still experience economic growth--or at least stability.

Proud members of:

ReNew Canada is publishedsix times a year by Actual Media Inc.

11 Prince Andrew Place, Toronto, ON M3C 2H2Phone: 416.444.5842 Fax: 416.444.1176

Website: renewcanada.net

4 ReNew Canada November/December 2008 www.renewcanada.net

FEATURE CONTRIBUTORS

Letters

Coming in January/February 2009: The Top 100 Canadian Infrastructure Projects.

Call 416.444.5842, ext.111 to be part of the next issue. The deadline is November 28, 2008.

www.renewcanada.net

IN THIS ISSUE

AECOM 20

Aecon Infrastructure 23

Armtec Ltd. 14

Autodesk 27

Biogenie 16

Cement Association of Canada 40

CleanEARTH Solutions 34

CNAM 16

CPCI 7

CSPI 26

Energy Matters 5 41

Federation of Canadian Municipalities 36

Fer-pal Construction Ltd. 30

Goodmans LLP 19

Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP 9

Halsall 38

IBI Group 10

Infrastructure Ontario 15

Jacques Whitford 35

John Laing Infrastructure 11

Macquarie Group Limited 24

Miller Thomson LLP 2

MMM Group 41

Morrison Hershfield 10

MSU Mississauga Ltd. 29

Multiview 25

Municipal DataWorks 31

Pinchin Environmental 33

PricewaterhouseCoopers 19

Quantum Murray 35

RCCAO 28

Riva Modeling 32

Sanexen 33

Top 100 Projects 17

Trow Associates 21

URS Canada 34

Wardrop Engineering 25

WeirFoulds LLP 44

XCG Consultants Ltd. 21

Zurich 43

Saul ChernosSaul is a Toronto freelance journalist specializing in environmental issues.pg 25

Diane L.M. CookDiane is a freelance magazine writer and editor and, most recently, was editor of Octane and CPCA magazines.pg 23

Tanya GulliverTanya is a freelance writer, grad student, community development consultant and university instructor in Toronto, Ontario.pg 18

The global financial system has suffered a dramatic shock, leading to the failure of a number

of institutions and forcing government bailouts, resulting in a deep correction in global equity markets. Most media outlets have viewed the financial turmoil as a made-in-the-U.S.A. event caused by trillions of dollars of bad mortgage loans, which fuelled a United States housing bubble that subsequently wreaked havoc in the financial system due to a breaking down of the traditional relationship between the lender and the borrower. Through asset securitization, the mortgage risk was transferred from lenders to other financial institutions and investors. Yet, this only tells part of the story.

The true origin of the turmoil was a credit bubble and a mispricing of risk at a time when rapid financial innovation outpaced regulatory controls and made risk assessment problematic. The trend was global in nature—although the imbalance was worst in the United States. The problems began with the recovery from the 2001 economic slump when global income soared, boosting funds available for loans and investment. It also led to a dramatic shift in international trade balances that fuelled huge money inflows to countries like the states. This produced higher real estate and financial asset prices. Meanwhile, low government benchmark interest rates fuelled consumption and investment, while simultaneously creating a quest for yield that pushed investors into ever riskier financial products. It also sparked growth in non-traditional financial products, such as financial derivatives and complex structured products, which met the needs of investors by providing higher returns at a time of low yields. The complexity of these same products made assessing risk more difficult. The financial innovation also allowed lenders to increase the leverage in their balance sheets. In other words, provide greater credit.

The recent financial turmoil is due to a reversal of these trends. A brutal restructuring is taking place, with the greatest pain in the U.S., the U.K. and parts of Continental Europe. The Canadian financial system is being adversely affected

by the global financial disruption, but the excesses in Canada were far more limited due to prudent lending practices and more risk-adverse behaviour.

Indeed, the major Canadian financial institutions are weathering the storm. However, the Canadian economy and commodity prices are being depressed by the global economic and financial problems, which has been a severe blow to the S&P/TSX. The good news is that key steps are being taken to restore the health of the global financial system. As troubling

as the recent financial failures and bailouts have been, it is important to stress that there are three stages to a financial crisis. First, there is the catalyst that causes the problem. Second, there are the resulting financial losses. Third, and finally, there is cleaning up the damage. We’re in the third stage now. It won’t happen quickly, but with time the tide should turn as the financial restructuring is completed.

The natural question for readers of this publication is what does this mean for infrastructure projects? The credit crunch will likely raise the cost of capital until interbank lending rates decline, and in some countries the availability of capital may be constrained. When credit flows normalize and funding pressures abate, the cost of capital will not return to the lows experienced in the early part of this decade. The fallout from the credit crunch and the coming economic weakness also foretells tighter fiscal conditions, particularly in the United States and Europe.

Krista HillKrista is a partner in Torys LLP’s Corporate Department and co-coordinator of its Infrastructure and Energy Group. pg 16

WhaT global Financial Shock Means To Canada

Canada won’t be

immune—various

Canadian governments

will have difficulty

avoiding deficits.

—Craig alexander

(continued on page 6)

James SbrollaJames is a freelance journalist and partner in a private equity fund. pg 33


There is no doubt that the current economic outlook around the globe is having an effect on Alberta; however, fiscal decisions from the past

and a funded infrastructure plan put Alberta in one of the best positions to address these challenging times.

One of the key reasons for confidence is the sustained infrastructure spending that will continue over the next several years. It will help encourage employment and provide citizens with a high quality of life.

Right now construction is occurring in many of Alberta’s cities and towns and on the roads that connect them. Investment in social infrastructure such as school, health and recreational facilities is happening now. Much of this is the result of the provincial government’s efforts to act strategically to meet immediate needs and plan for the needs of tomorrow through its capital plans.

Capital planning with a three-year scope was introduced as a part of the provincial budget in 2003 to identify priorities and catch up on replacing and maintaining aging roads and facilities. However a longer term strategic view was also needed to provide vision and certainty for the future of the province.

Alberta released its first ever 20-Year Strategic Capital Plan early in 2008. As Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach puts it, this strategic plan ensures “that we have the right infrastructure where it is required at the right time.” (Details about Alberta’s long-term plan for infrastructure at infrastructure.alberta.ca)

Alberta is now providing investment of more than $24 billion over the next three years in infrastructure. This includes $9 billion for capital projects this fiscal year alone. Of that amount, the province has allocated over $2 billion to maintenance and renewal programs.

Alberta is delivering some of its projects using a P3 model, which allows the province to spread out the cash requirements for project construction over a long period of time.

Alberta’s business offers jobs to skilled workers, sharing fiscal revenues and producing goods and services valued within and outside the nation’s borders.

Lloyd Snelgrove President Alberta Treasury Board

alberTa avoids The CrunCh

Letters

www.renewcanada.net

what’s your opinion?we may publish your feedback.

email us at [email protected].

read the full article and comments at

renewcanada.net

J.C. Pennie: The cancellation of the EPCOR Kingsbridge

II renewable energy wind farm is a portent of things to come

for many of the [Ontario Power Authority Renewable Energy

Standard Offer Program] contracts as well.

The process of zoning leading to [Ontario Municipal Board]

appeals for a $125 fee, while the ESR process allows anyone

in Ontario to file an elevation request is adding two to three

years to projects that could be deployed normally within six

months, compared to Nuclear Plants which take seven to ten

years and have historically had cost overruns in the billions.

Interestingly, the Pickering and Bruce Nuclear Plants have

operated only 39 per cent of the time over the past 14 years,

compared to Ontario wind farms which operate 30 per cent to

36 per cent of capacity, depending on location.

Germany has been a leader in establishing a reasonable

development process. The result: an industry that has gone

from nothing in 1985 to 72,000 jobs in every sector from

manufacturing, construction and service. Ontario could do

the same, becoming a hub for North American exports of

components and power, but not with current polices.

Frequent news posting and blogs on the renew

Canada website will often elicit interesting

comments and dialogues. This issue’s best of the

Web is a response to news that epCor utilities inc.

is cancelling a renewable energy supply agreement

with the ontario power authority for the company´s

160-megawatt Kingsbridge ii wind project. The

agreement with the utility had required the project

to be in service by october 31, but delays in

obtaining provincial and municipal approvals and

uncertainty over regulations made that impossible.

Canada won’t be immune—various Canadian governments will have difficulty avoiding deficits. The conclusion is that tighter fiscal policy could constrain the ability of public sector to take on new infrastructure initiatives. It also suggests that there could be greater demand for public-private partnerships. However, due to pressing need for infrastructure renewal and expansion, the aforementioned trends will likely constrain infrastructure investment growth, but not lead to an outright decline.

Craig Alexander Vice President & Deputy Chief Economist TD Bank Financial Group

(continued from page 5)

beSt oF The Web

Correction: A photo we ran on page 58 of our September/October 2008 issue should have been credited to author Storm Cunningham.

Editor’s Note: The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) released their wind energy strategy, Wind Vision 2025, this October. They are asking federal and provincial governments to quickly implement policies and programs that will address some of the current roadblocks to the development of Canada’s wind energy potential. Details at canwea.ca


north american holcim awarDSA ceremony in Montreal announced the winners of this year’s North American Holcim Awards competition for sustainable construction projects and visions. Among the winners: a freshwater lake restoration and research facility in Sudbury, Ontario, Evergreen at the Brick Works in Toronto and the North Vancouver Outdoor School. Details at holcimfoundation.org

the beneFitS oF working in inFraStrUctUreThis year’s Top 100 Employers list (published in October by MacLean’s magazine) included several infrastructure-related firms, such as CH2M-Hill, FSC Architects & Engineers, Golder Associates, Jacques Whitford Ltd., Wardrop Engineering, Suncor Energy Inc., Aecon, and Canadian Pacific. Details at canadastop100.com

boma UnleaSheS beStBOMA Canada has unveiled its newly integrated green building certification program, BOMA BESt. The program combines BOMA’s Go Green and Go Green Plus initiatives. It includes four possible levels of certification, each of which requires full compliance with BOMA’s Best Practices, which address areas such as energy and water management; emissions and effluents; and waste reduction. BOMA hopes that the program’s enhanced accessibility and simplified application procedure will better serve the commercial building industry. Details at bomabest.com

oea awarDS leaDerShiPThe Ontario Energy Association (OEA) has named Tom Heintzman, president of Bullfrog Power Inc., as the 2008 OEA Leader of the Year. The award was presented at the OEA’s Annual Awards Dinner held in conjunction with the 2008 OEA Conference on Industry Leadership and Innovation. Portlands Energy Centre, a partnership between Ontario Power Generation and TransCanada Energy Ltd., is the 2008 OEA Company of the Year. Details at energyontario.ca

metrolinX reVealS DraFt tranSit PlanMassive expansion of public transit is at the core of Metrolinx’s draft transit strategy, mapping out $50 billion in new projects over 25 years. The Big Move: Transforming Transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area sets out nearly 100 actions to build new transportation infrastructure and improve transit service. The draft details the largest expansion of public transit in the region in more than half a century, including 1,150 kilometres of new rapid transit lines. If fully implemented, 75 per cent of residents in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area will live within two kilometres of rapid transit, compared to the current 42 per cent. Details at metrolinx.com

awarDing tranSPortation In October, Transport Canada, along with the Transportation Association of Canada, announced the winners of the 2008 Canadian Transportation Awards, recognizing leadership, excellence and achievement in the transportation sector. Details about the four award winners at tc.gc.ca

canaDa JoinS angola inFra ProJectExport Development Canada (EDC) has signed of a Memorandum of Understanding with Banco de Poupança e Crédito (BPC) to facilitate Canadian participation in upcoming infrastructure projects in Angola. Under the agreement, EDC will provide up to USD 1 billion in various financing options for projects undertaken by the Angolan government. EDC will also provide up to USD 16 million for other private sector projects considered by BPC—contingent upon Canadian participation. Over the past five years, Canadian exports to Angola have tripled to over CAD 80 million while Angola has become a major source of crude oil imports for Canada. Details at edc.ca

nl inVeStS in alternatiVe energYThe Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is spending $500,000 to identify alternative energy sources for residents of isolated diesel communities in Labrador. The initiative includes an alternative energy study and an energy-efficiency community pilot project. The two projects, to be carried out by Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, will be completed by the end of 2009. The study is being conducted in seven coastal Labrador communities and will determine the potential for alternative energy sources to complement existing diesel generation

systems. The pilot project will explore conservation and efficiency opportunities and will be conducted in two coastal Labrador communities. Details at gov.nf.ca

nb tUrnS garbage into energYA New Brunswick landfill site is not letting its waste go to waste. The Westmorland-Albert Solid Waste Corporation proposes to convert methane gas arising from its Berry Mills landfill in Moncton into electricity. The corporation hopes that within a year it will produce a megawatt of electricity from methane, worth about a million dollars per year. In Saint John, the Fundy Region Solid Waste Commission also hopes to turn its methane into electricity at its Crane Mountain landfill next year. The provincial government supports these projects from its Climate Change Action Plan. Details at westmorlandalbert.com

toronto to rePlace teDcoToronto will create two new agencies—a real estate enterprise to develop city lands aggressively, and a marketing body to promote the city to investors—says Mayor David Miller, who will chair them both. The majority of board members will be private sector directors. Both new agencies must be approved by city council. Details at tedco.ca and on page 4.

Opening Shots

Send your news and announcements to [email protected].

Cred

it: Holcim

The Holcim Awards Bronze 2008 North America winners.

Cred

it: Waterfront Toronto

Peter Van Loan (with drill) MP, York-Simcoe, surrounded by Olivia Chow, George Smitherman and David Miller, among others.

SPaDina waVeDeck oPenSWaterfront Toronto, together with the Government of Canada, Province of Ontario and City of Toronto, has officially opened the Spadina WaveDeck, the first of a series of new public spaces being built along Toronto’s central waterfront. Built in less than 10 months, the Spadina WaveDeck creates more public space along one of the most heavily used parts of the Toronto shoreline. In addition to the installation of the wooden wavedeck, construction activities also included dockwall repairs, in-water fisheries habitat construction and landscape improvements totaling $4.1 million. Details at waterfronttoronto.ca


with the company as a consultant. Dan Lefaivre, currently the vice president, finance & treasury, will assume the CFO role effective January 1, 2009.

Canadian Pacific Railway Limited has appointed Kathryn McQuade executive vice president and CFO. Mike Lambert has left the company to pursue other interests and

Brock Winter will return to the role of senior VP, operations.

Jim Prentice, one of Stephen Harper’s more senior ministers, will take on the environment portfolio as part of a cabinet shuffle that moves Lawrence Cannon from Transport , Infrastructure and Communities to Foreign Affairs. John Baird, who has been Environment Minister since 2007, will take over that portfolio.

Brian Winters, president of Proeco Corporation, passed away on October 24 due to complications of a recent lung transplant. Brian was a pioneer in the waste management industry and a driving force with the Environmental Services Association of Alberta. He will be missed.

ReLocate

George Hatzoglou has resigned as the director of Cleanfield Alternative Energy Inc., effective October 2008. Hatzoglou will remain involved with the company on a consulting basis dealing with the further development of Cleanfield’s solar initiatives.

Larry T. Koehle, P.Eng., vice president of infrastructure for ASI Technologies Inc. in Brampton, Ont., has been named president-elect of the American Public Works Association (APWA). Koehle will lead the international association, which provides educational services and promotes increased investment in public works and

infrastructure systems. W. Gary Losier, P.Eng., director of engineering and works for the Town of Quispamsis, N.B., was recently elected president of the Canadian Public Works Association (CPWA).

Don Wilson, senior vice president and CFO of Stantec, will retire from his role on December 31, 2008. Wilson, who has been with Stantec since 1990, will continue on

Paul R. Raboud is the new president and CEO of Bird Construction Company Limited. Raboud has also been appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Bird

Construction Income Fund.

The Canadian Hydropower Association announced that Pierre Fortin, president of the Canadian Hydropower Association (CHA), will be leaving his post in April 2009, after ten years of service to the association.

Decision Dynamics Technology Ltd., a provider of operations management software for the energy industry, announced some changes to its management team. Kim Tremblay, acting CFO, has been appointed CFO. Jason MacVicar has joined the company and has been appointed executive VP of sales.

Delcan Corporation, a multi-disciplinary engineering, management and technology consulting firm, announced that Roger Toms has been appointed a senior vice president. Christopher Escott, who joined the company’s Saskatoon office in 1980, has also received a promotion to senior vice president.

KathrynMcQuade

Paul R. Raboud

Larry T.Koehle

W. GarryLosier


InfraInvesting InfraInvesting

also stronger than ever. And Gross says they will continue to be an attractive model for the private sector, “P3 projects will be able to weather the storm because these government-sponsored, structured projects, unlike traditional financings, are protected from liquidity concerns by the current ‘flight to safety.’”

But P3s are not a new source of finance, says Mario Iacobacci at the Conference Board of Canada (CBC). “The idea that you can meet the deficit by relying on the private sector doesn’t make sense,” he says. The government is still paying for the project in the long term.

President and CEO of CG/LA Infrastructure and the Global Infrastructure Leadership Forum Norman Anderson calls P3s “small-time” and says, “They haven’t really worked because the private sector doesn’t want to take on risk and neither does the public sector.”

Anderson says they haven’t eliminated financing shortages in the past, and they won’t now.

“I agree in a sense,” says Iacobacci. “[P3s are] a tool used for maybe 15 to 20 per cent of government capital spending requirements, so it’s not the solution to the infrastructure

Remember the good old days when a $123-billion infrastructure deficit was a big number? Considering that

the U.S. Treasury could drop $700 billion to buy up mortgage investments and bail out a locked-up economy, Canada’s $123-billion gap is starting to look like a manageable figure.

Though it may sound counter-intuitive, the best way to bolster our economy is not to hold onto our money, but to invest it. More specifically, to invest in infrastructure. Morty Gross, chair of the national public-private infrastructure project group at Borden Ladner Gervais in Toronto, says not only is the outlook for infrastructure strong, but the more our government invests, the healthier our economy will be. “Funding infrastructure puts funding into the economy, which has a multiplier effect,” says Gross, “and increases productivity.”

That is exactly what’s happening. Institutional investors like pensions and tradable stocks like Macquarie’s Power & Infrastructure Income Fund are adding more infrastructure assets to their portfolios. In a climate of falling stocks and concerned mutual-fund investors, infrastructure providers like Aecon are seeing their stock’s value rise.

Public-private partnerships (P3s) are

deficit. If, through efficiencies, there’s a savings of 15 per cent, you can view it as increasing the government’s spending capacity by that amount.” But that’s not about to seal up the funding gap.

What P3s can do is free up money for projects that otherwise might not get done as quickly. David McFadden, director of the Canadian Council on Public-Private Partnerships and partner at Gowlings Lafleur Henderson LLP says, "Is it new money? It's money the government doesn't have today."

McFadden says, "The issue we now have is that because of a seize up in credit markets, we need to get money moving." He says P3s are a way to mobilize private-sector money to finance projects. "The benefit to the government is they can amortize it over a period of years."

While P3 models are the only form of investment that bring cost and schedule discipline to a project, there are plenty of other ways for private investors to take advantage of a stable, long-term asset class like infrastructure.

Canadian Pensions have started developing in-house teams to make their own investments.

+0.01 5.12 5.16 +0.

0.97 1.66 1.71 458 1.66 2.26 +0.05 4

infrastructure is fast

becoming a good bet on the

volatile stock market—are

funds the best way to invest?

sToCKing up

By Mira Shenker



An infrastructure group was formed within the private investments department at the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Fund in 2006 to look at global, private and public-to-private infrastructure equity investment opportunities. They focus mostly on electricity transmission and distribution, gas transmission and distribution, water utilities, toll roads, bridges, tunnels, airports and ports.

According to the annual report, the fund is initially focusing on deals originating in North America and Western Europe. The Fund has invested $65.1 billion in Canada and, as of June 2008, 2.6 per cent of inflation-sensitive assets in its portfolio were infrastructure—that represents $3.3 billion. It has also committed $200 million to the Macquarie Essential Assets Partnership which will invest mainly in regulated infrastructure assets such as pipelines, electricity transmission and distribution networks, located mostly in Canada.

The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) is also investing in Canada whenever possible. The Fund manages over $52 billion in net investment assets. Under its current business plan, it will expand the infrastructure portfolio, opening up co- investment participation for third-party investors. As of December 2007 its net asset mix exposure to infrastructure was just over $5 million, which represents almost 10 per cent of its total fund net investment assets. As for how Canadian infrastructure fits into the mix, OMERS’ Darlene Bulard says, “We do not publicly disclose the amount invested in Canadian infrastructure assets.”

These pension funds are adding to a pool of capital that, according to Standard & Poor’s, is now over USD 2.1 trillion. The global listed infrastructure market includes a number of publicly listed funds on the Toronto Stock Exchange—a list that’s growing every year.

“What was once the domain of large pension funds, foundations and endowments, is now accessible to individual

Canadian investors,” said Jonathan Wellum, AIC’s chief executive officer and chief investment officer, as they launched a new global infrastructure fund, sub-advised by Chicago-based Brookfield Redding, an investment manager known for property, power and other infrastructure assets.

Even as these million-dollar funds flood the stock exchange, Anderson insists that existing funds and P3s are inconsistent in terms of generating competitiveness. It amounts to a couple of projects getting built, the equivalent of $150 billion spent a year when it really needs to be $350 billion. “When there’s significant investment in infrastructure (more than the current one per cent of our GDP per year), it tends to be federalized, or centralized,” says Anderson. “Ottawa would have to be deeply involved.”

He suggests a national or North American infrastructure bank that would sell infrastructure bonds to middle class investors who want bond returns (ten to twelve per cent). “An aggressive public sector approach to infrastructure investment is the logical extension of current public policies, and the only way to protect the productive sectors of the global economic system. The vehicles, whether sovereign wealth funds, national infrastructure banks, or national infrastructure funds, have in many cases already emerged, and will now be sharpened.”

U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama has adopted a version of the national infrastructure bank as part of his platform.

“It’s a possibility,” says Iacobacci. While the public can already invest in infrastructure through publicly-traded funds, this would be a way for the government to borrow money earmarked specifically for infrastructure funding.

“Infrastructure Ontario is, in some ways, already such an agency,” says Iacobacci. “It doesn’t have any borrowing authority, but it’s an agency with a clear mandate, outside of the usual political process.”

Anderson says financing for infrastructure projects will come from a strategy that hasn’t yet been tried, not the tried-and-true. “The sector that will lead us out of this current crisis is the public sector. There will be significant debt over the next few years; they will be forced to take on the risk.”.

“[P3s are] a tool used for

maybe 15 to 20 per cent

of government capital

spending requirements, so

it’s not the solution to the

infrastructure deficit.”

—Mario Ioacobacci

Mira Shenker is the editor of this magazine. She is watching her stock portfolio much more carefully these days.

Tradable FUnDS

Claymore Global Infrastructure ETF (CIF-T) is one of the newer funds, just starting out this year. Som Seif, president of Claymore Investments, says, “The fund seeks to provide investment results that generally correspond to the performance of the MFC Global Infrastructure Index less fees and expenses.” The majority of its holdings are in the United States (40 per cent) followed by Canada (16 per cent). Industrial, utilities and energy are the main sectors. claymoreinvestments.ca

First Asset Global Infrastructure Fund (FAI.UN-T) and Sentry Select Lazard Globe Listed Infrast Fnd (GLS.UN-T) are closed-end funds. firstassetfunds.com, sentryselect.com

Macquarie NexGen Global Infrastructure Corp. (MNF-T) is a $91-million closed-end fund sponsored by NexGen Financial LP of Toronto. The fund invests in publicly listed companies that own or operate infrastructure assets,

Canadian pension plans have for years recognized infrastructure’s potential.

Borealis Infrastructure has been identifying and managing infrastructure assets on behalf of OMERS since 1999. Now a range of companies are creating infrastructure funds through which companies and individuals can invest in infrastructure assets and providers.

Who’s playing the

infrainvesting game

on the Toronto

stock exchange?

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InfraInvesting

including transportation, energy, water, telecom and social assets such as hospitals, schools and prisons. It may also invest up to 20 per cent in unlisted private infrastructure funds, including entities managed by Macquarie. nexgenfinancial.ca

Macquarie Power & Infrastructure Income Fund (MPT.DB-T) is an income trust launched in 2004 that invests in essential North American infrastructure assets, with an emphasis on power. The current portfolio includes gas co-generation, wind, hydro and biomass power generation. macquarie.com/mpt

AIC World Financial Infra Income & Growth, established last January and offered by AIC Ltd., invests mostly in global companies that are engaged in the development, application, production and distribution of infrastructure products and services. AIC manages Brookfield Redding, a subsidiary of Brookfield Asset

Management, which has a long history of investment and operation of infrastructure assets. Brookfield manages USD 75 billion in assets including hydroelectric power generation facilities and transmission operations in North and South America and Europe. Brookfield has one income trust, Great Lakes Hydro Income Fund, in the infrastructure area. aic.com

AIC also manages the Copernican World Financial Infrastructure Trust (CIW.UN-T). Chris Lowe, chief executive officer at Copernican Capital, says, “The ‘infrastructure’ fund we originated relates to financial services firms that effectively provide the mechanism to support global flows of money. Like custodians, credit card networks, securities exchanges, insurance brokers, financial information providers and charge fees for aiding the flow of money while trying not to assume any of the credit risk.” He compares it to charging a toll for the passage of money or financial assets.

“These firms underpin how money flows.” copernicancapital.com

Beyond the TSX, there’s significant capital being thrown into infrastructure. Citigroup Inc., the largest U.S. bank by assets, is looking to raise $5 billion for a new infrastructure fund. According to a Bloomberg story, they’re betting that toll roads, airports and ports will continue to create a return-on-investment even through an economic downturn. Credit Suisse Group, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and UBS AG are among banks which started such funds in the past two years, as the pace of infrastructure mergers almost doubled to $340 billion between 2005 and 2007. Other private equity firms that recently raised new infrastructure investment pools include AIG Highstar Capital, which closed its third infrastructure investment fund with $3.5 billion, and the Carlyle Group which raised $1.15 billion for its first infrastructure fund.

Tradable FUnDS (continued from page 13)


InfraInvesting

Although the current market downturn is affecting mergers and acquisitions activity worldwide,

the current credit crunch may not affect the infrastructure sector as much as other industries. Borrowers with high quality assets, such as infrastructure businesses, may find a more favourable market for their debt requirements. Even with an absence of available debt financing, cash-rich investors, such as the Canadian pension funds, are well-positioned to take advantage of investment opportunities as public company values decrease and other potential buyers may find it more difficult to obtain necessary leverage.

With significant pools of funds earmarked for infrastructure investments, Canada does not provide enough opportunities for the Canadian investors to deploy all of their capital.

Transmission infrastructure is an

attractive investment for Canadian pension funds, but they have been forced to look beyond Canadian borders for opportunities. A good example of this phenomenon is the recent investment by Borealis Infrastructure, as part of a consortium, in Oncor Electric Delivery LLC, the largest transmission and distribution company in Texas.

While the Canadian pension funds have focused primarily on acquiring existing assets in OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries, with more funds being raised for the infrastructure sector and competition for infrastructure assets intensifying, they may need to search further and wider afield for investment opportunities, including in emerging markets. This trend can be seen in the recent acquisition by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, together with Morgan Stanley Infrastructure, of

SAESA Group, a Chilean electric distribution, transmission and generation company.

Canada is well-positioned to access infrastructure funds in order to replace and expand its infrastructure. However, with more money being invested outside of Canada, Canadian governments need to ensure that enough opportunities exist in Canada in order to make sure that our country receives its share of this private capital.

Why Canadian investors are getting in bed with international markets.

a Foreign aFFairBy Krista F. Hill

Krista F. Hill is a partner in Torys LLP’s Corporate Department and co-coordinator of its Infrastructure and Energy Group.

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energy

transportation/ Public transit

Public building/ government offices

Port/airport

hospital/ healthcare

Justice

brownfield/ environmental

Social

water/ wastewater

educational

th is spec ia l supp lement

to the January/February 2009 issue contains our annual

Top 10 infrastructure list appearing in the regular edition

and continues with ninety of the next largest in Canada to

comprise the Top 100 infrastructure projects in Canada.

This list is the culmination of hundreds of interviews and

twelve months of research to bring our readers up to date,

comprehensive details about Canada’s big-dollar projects.

The Top 100C a n a d a ’ s B i g g e s t I n f r a s t r u c t u r e P r o j e c t s2 0 0 9

An Annual Supplement to

renew canada is compiling

our annual list of the

top 100 canadian infrastructure

Projects for 2009.

top100projects.ca

Find out how to get your

company an expanded listing

in our index, plus web exposure.

Support your project (or your client’s project)

by placing an ad in this special edition.

all top 100 print advertisers also receive

online marketing for the year.

call todd latham at 416-444-5842, ext. 111

or email [email protected] for details.

Deadline: november 28.


cent). By a lower margin, but still a majority, there was a feeling that “the concerns of large urban regions don’t get enough attention from the federal government.”

The Conservative Party didn’t make a lot of new policies or promises during this campaign, choosing to run on their record and a belief that they could win a majority given their actions over the past couple of years. They pointed to the Advantage Canada plan released by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty as part of the 2006 Economic and Fiscal Update. Under Infrastructure Advantage they stated, “We committed to building modern, world-class infrastructure through increased investment delivered in new, more efficient ways. Our Building Canada plan created an unprecedented infrastructure fund [including] a $33-billion infrastructure investment fund [and] a public-private partnerships office to maximize returns on our investments.” Additionally, they would provide cities (previously announced) some funding in infrastructure areas such as water systems, roads, public transit and recreational facilities.

The Liberal Party of Canada made a pledge of $70 billion over the next ten years as well as diverting unexpected budget surpluses into infrastructure renewal. In a statement, Stéphane Dion pointed to the infrastructure deficit—which has been pegged by the

On a recent trip to New Orleans I came across an editorial cartoon called “The Bailout (Simplified).” It

showed a levee built around Wall Street, while the rest of the United States was labelled “Lower Ninth Ward.” When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, about 80 per cent of the city was flooded and there are still huge gaps in existing infrastructure as a result. Louisiana State University Hurricane Scientist Ivor Van Heerden says, “If we had the will and one month’s money from Iraq we could do all the levees and restore the coast.”

Lack of political will can be as important as the money. As stock markets swing wildly and the words recession and depression are tossed around, will Canada follow the U.S. example of propping up financial institutions or will it look to job creation and investments in infrastructure as a method of stability?

This direction was dependant upon the winner of the federal election on October 14—leading up to Election Day, each party talked about infrastructure funding. Some talked more specifically than others about funding for Canada’s urban centres.

It was also identified as an important issue by pollsters. Strategic Counsel found that there was significant support for a national infrastructure program in the “battleground ridings”—Ontario (77 per cent), British Columbia (68 per cent) and Quebec (84 per

Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) at $123 billion. Dion stated, “Our $70-billion investment will support Liberal priorities, including building and upgrading strategic infrastructure, creating a National Transit Strategy, developing a Small Communities Fund, strengthening gateway, corridor, and border infrastructure, and renewing and expanding sports and recreational facilities.” The Liberals also pledged to index the gas transfer tax and to create an Infrastructure Bank to assist in project financing.

The plan from the New Democrats looked at both hard and soft infrastructure spending, in part through the dedication of one cent of the GST to municipalities. They said, “This increased infrastructure commitment, phased in over five years, will include increased investment and jobs in: expanded public transit, affordable housing, expanded child care, building retrofits and environmentally friendly renovations, immigrant settlement, roads, highways and border crossings, public libraries, community centres and sewer and water treatment facilities.” They also pledged a ten-year plan dedicating one per cent of the federal budget to housing.

The Green Party platform intended to “double existing funding to stimulate a massive re-investment in public transportation infrastructure in all Canadian towns and cities to make it convenient, safe,

our federal governments are showing increasing interest in infrastructure. PartY lines

By Tanya Gulliver

While some parties, like the Liberals, were more vocal about

plans to fund infrastructure, each major party had

something to say about it.



comfortable and affordable.” They also explored the allocation of one per cent of the GST to cities. But their emphasis was put on the building of “green cities.” The Greens also planned to create six Superfunds that would each receive $500 million annually. These funds included: Community Brownfield Remediation Fund, Water and Waste Treatment Facilities Fund, Sports, Cultural and Recreational Facilities Fund, Mass Transit Promotion Fund, Cycling and Pedestrian Promotion Fund and Community Housing Options Promotion Fund.

The Bloc Quebecois focused on a new funding formula for infrastructure renewal: the federal government covers 50 per cent of costs while cities would chip in 15 per cent and the provinces 35 per cent. They wanted the federal government to “combine the programs into a single, unconditional, recurring transfer fund.” Along with the Greens and the NDP, they also looked at renewable energy investments.

Advocacy organizations including a coalition of environmental groups led by Greenpeace and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) were also looking at each party’s promises to cities. The FCM platform focused on six areas for the government including “erasing the infrastructure deficit within 20 years, putting more buses on the road and improving commuter rail, delivering front-line support for local police, protecting roads, bridges and sewers from climate change and severe weather; and investing in strong, economically viable rural and northern communities.”

Both groups surveyed each party asking numerous questions about infrastructure. While the Conservatives didn’t respond to either set of questions, each of the other parties outlined lengthy responses that indicated support for infrastructure investment. In many ways their responses are now moot given the results of the election. The future of infrastructure will stay in the hands of the Harper government—and they may be distracted. The government Canadians have chosen will be facing an economic challenge that may usurp all other issues. Robert Drummond, a political science professor at York University, says, “My sense is that the bigger issue for infrastructure funding at this point will be whether the response to the economic problems is to put money into the economy by funding infrastructure projects or whether it will be by some either means put into the banks or in some sense tightening expenditures.”

Drummond says, “My fear is that this government, being a conservative tone, is unlikely to put money directly into big infrastructure projects as a means of dealing with our economy.”

The future of infrastructure will stay in the

hands of the harper government—and they

may be distracted. The government Canadians

have chosen will be facing an economic

challenge that may usurp all other issues.

Tanya Gulliver is a freelance writer, grad student, community development consultant and university instructor in Toronto, Ontario.

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ReFinance

squeezing markets, crunching credits and

cautious lenders are changing the p3 roadmap.

The FuTure oF PUblic-PriVate PartnerShiPS

By Marc Dorion and Kim Thomassin

finance, has been popular because it allows public authorities to maintain control over project objectives while the private partner takes on certain major risks not efficiently borne by the public sector.

In the current context, cautious lenders are elevating their risk assessment criteria. That means some projects will fail to meet required bankability thresholds. Lenders being confronted with higher spreads will raise the loans’ interest rates; they will be more demanding with respect to the terms of

With the recent tightening of available liquidities, some have started questioning the future

of public-private partnerships (P3s). Projects that have already passed the financing stages will suffer less from the credit squeeze in the markets. But it’s expected that, in the short term, the financing of future infrastructure projects will feel some resistance when seeking the liquidities necessary to support their development. This model of funding projects, called project

the partnership agreement and they will be more reluctant to sign off on provisions that could undermine the debtor’s capacity to pay back senior lenders.

Current contracts allow the public entity to set off or interrupt its payments to the borrower. That may end.

Loans may also become harder to obtain without more protection for the principal of the debt against default—that stems from concern that there might not be any secondary market to sell back assets at their fair market value.


ReFinance

may push the authorities to reduce the number of infrastructure projects developed in partnerships between governments and private industry.

However, the need for new or renewed infrastructures won’t vanish because of the financial crisis. Some have suggested that

governments should stop resorting to public-private partnerships and start developing critical infrastructure on its own. They would benefit from a lower cost of borrowing, but wouldn’t be protected from costly delays in construction and commissioning of the infrastructures. They would also have no guarantee avoidance of material cost overruns, a risk that’s generally transferred to the private partner in a P3. Private developers

Terms governing the refinancing of the debt and the allocation of risks and benefits will also have to factor in the current conditions of the market.

Failing proper reaction from the industry and the lenders, these restrictions on credit availability could severely limit the

use of P3s for the development of large infrastructure projects—at least in the short term. There have already been reports of the postponement or cancellation of some of these projects. Although the credit crisis might be relatively short-term, the industry may suffer the effects of these cancellations in the long term.

The new lending criteria, coupled with the financial vulnerability of private developers,

still hold the better expertise in developing, building and operating large infrastructure projects and, if they can prove a better value-for-money, they save taxpayer dollars.

To maintain the competitiveness of P3s in the infrastructure industry, all players concerned must react to the new developing reality. Avoiding the postponement of the projects altogether is essential. Bid processes should allow bidders to file softer financial commitments on the bid submission date, thus postponing the stringent financial commitments to a later stage of the process and reducing pressure from an already squeezed financial market.

Market conditions have changed, and all industry players have to adapt. It’s important that the public authorities supervising the bid processes move past Canadian and international precedents and find creative new models.

To maintain the competitiveness of p3s in the

infrastructure industry, all players concerned

must react to the new developing reality.

avoiding the postponement of projects is essential.

Marc Dorion and Kim Thomassin are partners at McCarthy Tétrault LLP in Toronto.


each issue, we round up recent news from a different

region in Canada and devote even more space to a closer

look at an issue or trend in that region. last issue we

looked at economic development in small-town ontario.

focusing on preservation and sustainability. The commission was awarded by Alberta Infrastructure after a public competitive process. Kasian has assembled a team including Goldsmith Borgal and Company Architects and Moriyama + Teshima Architects and Planners. Details at kasian.com

LADNER HARBOUR GETS $2MPort Metro Vancouver will contribute $2 million to the Corporation of Delta for the acquisition of the Seven Seas Fishing Company site in Ladner. The purchase of this property will help Delta secure public waterfront land to revitalize Ladner Harbour. The contribution is being made by the Port as part of the Deltaport Third Berth Project Community Amenities Fund. The Deltaport Third Berth Project will add a third berth and twenty hectares of container storage to the existing Deltaport container terminal at Roberts Bank in Delta. Details at portvancouver.com

STANTEC DESIGNING NEW P3 HOSPITALSStantec is now part of the Infusion Health consortium engaged to deliver the largest single investment on record in the health system for the Interior of British Columbia. The $432.5-million expansion project—targeting LEED Gold designation—is being undertaken as a P3 between Infusion Health and the Interior Health Authority of B.C. Infusion Health is a joint venture of Bilfinger Berger Project Investments and John Laing Infrastructure. The construction partners include Graham Design Builders and the facilities management service provider is Black and McDonald Limited. Details at stantec.com

PURE TECHNOLOGIES WINS CONTRACTPure Technologies Ltd., a developer of technologies for inspection, monitoring and management of physical infrastructure, has been awarded a $650,000 contract to supply

and install a SoundPrint monitoring system in a high-rise office building in Calgary. Details at puretechnologiesltd.com

GROWTH PLANNING FEEDBACK IN ABThe government of Alberta is continuing lengthy public consultations to get feedback on its Draft Land-use Framework. “Albertans have asked for a planning framework that better balances our environmental, social and economic needs and provides greater certainty for decision-makers,” said Ted Morton, Sustainable Resource Development Minister, when the draft was released. “The Draft Land-use Framework does this. It provides a strategic blueprint for all levels of government and Albertans as we make decisions today about the province we want in the future.” Details at landuse.gov.ab.ca

mergerS anD acQUiSitionS

JACQUES WHITORD ACQUIRES LABJacques Whitford Ltd., a Nova Scotia-based consulting engineering company, has acquired National Testing Laboratories, a geotechnical, environmental engineering and materials testing company in Winnipeg. The company has been operating in Manitoba for more than 85 years. Details at jacqueswhitford.com

UtilitieS

OKANAGAN TRANSMISSION PROJECT APPROVEDThe British Columbia Utilities Commission has approved FortisBC’s Okanagan Transmission Reinforcement project application. The plans include upgrading the existing overhead transmission lines from 161 kilovolts to 230 kilovolts from Vaseux Lake south to Oliver, and Vaseux Lake north to Penticton, and the addition of a 230-kilovolt line from Vaseux Lake north to Penticton. The decision also approves the construction of a new electrical substation and modifications to the current Oliver substation as well as the Vaseux and RG Anderson substations. FortisBC anticipates

FUnDing

CUTTING EMISSIONS, BOOSTING FARMINGOn October 1, the province of Manitoba announced it is investing more than $1 million to fund new research aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions generated by the province’s agricultural sector. Data from Environment Canada shows that agricultural activities in Manitoba produce 30 per cent of the province’s greenhouse gas emissions. More than 40 per cent of agricultural emissions come from agricultural soils, much of it from the application of nitrogen-based fertilizers. The first $150,000 of the funding will go toward five research projects to be conducted at the National Centre for Livestock and the Environment. Details at umanitoba.ca

DeVeloPment

STUART OLSON: $63M IN CONTRACTSThe Churchill Corporation’s wholly-owned subsidiary Stuart Olson Constructors has been awarded two new contracts with the Alberta government. A new $45-million high school will be built in Calgary, clearing the way for the west leg of LRT to run through the existing Ernest Manning site. The new high school will be jointly funded by Alberta Infrastructure, the City of Calgary and the Calgary Board of Education. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2009. The second contract is to increase capacity at the Chinook Regional Hospital in Lethbridge. The facility is expected to be operating by March 31, 2010, after receiving $33.7 million in provincial capital funding. Details at stuartolson.com

KASIAN TO REDESIGN EDMONTON LANDMARKKasian Architecture will lead the design of the Federal Building and Centennial Plaza project in Edmonton. The existing landmark building, originally constructed in 1958, is scheduled to undergo a contemporary transformation

WesTern Canada

Regional Focus


construction on the $141-million project will start in spring 2009. Details at fortisbc.com

B.C.’s FIRST WIND TURBINEBritish Columbia’s first commercial wind turbine went up on the site of EarthFirst Canada’s 144-megawatt Dokie Wind Project this October. The 3-megawatt Vestas V90 wind turbine is the first of seven planned to go up this year about 50 kilometres northwest of Chetwynd, B.C. The remaining 41 turbines will be installed in 2009. Details

at earthfirstcanada.com

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY IN KELOWNA, BCTerasen Energy Services has signed an agreement with Troika Developments to design, build and manage an alternative energy system for Troika’s West Harbour project that will integrate renewable energy to reduce the project’s environmental footprint. The 45-acre European-style community, located on Westbank First

Nation land, will have a district energy system that Terasen will own and operate. Developers are also considering ground or water geoexchange systems. Details at terasenenergyservices.com

—Staff

The next regional focus, Northern Canada, will appear in our March/April 2009 issue. Email [email protected] with news or stories.

Regional Focus

alberta

Both provincial and municipal levels of government are investing in some major transportation projects.

New ring roads for Calgary and Edmonton are meant to alleviate congestion from both private and commercial traffic in the province. “Steadily increasing traffic volumes, especially in and around Edmonton and Calgary during the past decade, prompted the government to construct these ring roads,” says Alberta Transportation’s Trent Bancarz. “The new highway systems will ease growth pressures.”

New Light Rail Transit (LRT) systems will help solve the problem, too. Bob Boutilier, general manager of transportation for the City of Edmonton, which is currently completing strategic studies for a city-wide LRT system, says, “The new LRT leg and extensions will ensure the city’s roads and transit system are ready to meet the needs of its growing population, give residents a greater range of travel options, and reduce the community and environmental impacts of expanding roads.”

Calgary has plans for a new West LRT line and three extensions to its current lines—altogether the new infrastructure will cost just over $1 billion.

Calgary Transit’s Ron Collins says LRT addresses the city’s triple bottom line approach to providing mobility for Calgarians. “LRT in Calgary has proven to be highly effective in providing an accessible, efficient and affordable means of travel.”

how it’s affecting western cities

TransporTaTion

By Diane L.M. Cook


SaSkatchewan

Saskatchewan’s recent economic prosperity and increased population has been the catalyst for two major transportation projects: the Saskatchewan Global Transportation Hub and the South Circle Drive Corridor.

The Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure, in partnership with the federal government and the City of Regina, CP Rail, and the Rural Municipality of Sherwood, is working to develop a new intermodal transportation facility and related road infrastructure referred to as the Saskatchewan Global Transportation Hub (GTH).

The goal is to provide Saskatchewan exporters with state-of-the art links to national, North American and global markets, create new jobs and investment opportunities and improve traffic flow and safety in and around Regina.

“Saskatchewan is an exporting province with over 70 per cent of its gross domestic product generated by the export of Saskatchewan goods,” says Reg Cox with Saskatchewan Highways & Infrastructure. Cox says a newer, more efficient system will “maximize transportation as an economic enabler.”

Saskatoon is also planning for growth. In anticipation of its population reaching 250,000, the city is partnering with the province to fund the construction of South Circle Drive Corridor. The municipality has identified the need for two new bridges across the South Saskatchewan River; the North Bridge will form part of the proposed perimeter road around the east side of the city, and the South Bridge will see the completion of Circle Drive from the east side of the river to the north side on the west.

manitoba

Manitoba is currently working on a $1-billion highway renewal program, building new hydroelectric generating stations in the north and expanding the Red River Floodway system. One new infrastructure project on the horizon is an inland port located in Winnipeg.

In October 2008, Manitoba passed legislation creating CentrePort Canada, a private-sector focused corporation that will develop and promote Winnipeg’s new inland port. The inland port is 20,000 acres of land that includes the James Armstrong Richardson International Airport and has been designated to serve as a transportation, trade, manufacturing, distribution, warehousing, and logistics centre. The inland port connects to a well-established network of air, rail, sea and trucking routes that stretch across North America.

“Winnipeg has a prime location in the heart of North America,” says Premier Gary Doer. “By coordinating transportation and logistics through our new inland port, we can provide business with a more cost-effective way of accessing key trade markets in Canada, the United States and Mexico. Our goal for CentrePort Canada is to attract new investment, create jobs, and further the economic development of our province.”

britiSh colUmbia

The province has a three-year, $2.3-billion transportation plan. Among the biggest projects are the $3-billion Gateway Program, $600-million Sea-to-Sky Highway Improvement Project, $960-million Kicking Horse Canyon Project, $2-billion Cariboo Connector and a $285-million border infrastructure program.

For details on these and other projects visit top100projects.ca and look for the Top 100 Canadian Infrastructure Projects supplement in our upcoming January/February 2009 issue.

Diane L.M. Cook is a freelance magazine writer and editor. The author of over 250 magazine articles in both trade and consumer pubs, she was most recently (in 2007) editor of Octane and CPCA magazines.

Regional Focus


The Construction Industry Voice

For more information please contact RCCAO’s executive director, Andy Manahan, at

[email protected] or by calling 905-760-7777

RCCAO is an alliance composed of

management and labour groups that represent

all facets of the construction industry. Our goal

is to work in cooperation with governments

and related stakeholders to offer realistic

solutions to a variety of challenges. RCCAO

has commissioned a number of reports on

promoting greater infrastructure investment.

For more information,

please visit www.rccao.com.

The RCCAO is an alliance of:

• LIUNA Local 183

• Heavy Construction Association of Toronto

• Greater Toronto Sewer and Watermain Contractors Association

• Joint Residential Construction Council

• Residential Low-rise Forming Contractors Association of Metro Toronto & Vicinity

• Residential Carpentry Contractors Association

• Carpenters’ Union

• Ontario Concrete & Drain Contractors Association

• Toronto and Area Road Builders Association

RCCAO25 North Rivermede Road, Unit 13

Vaughan, Ontario L4K 5V4

Subsurface

Had the water mains atop Hamilton Mountain deteriorated about five years ago, people in this residential neighbourhood atop southern

Ontario’s Niagara Escarpment would have experienced major disruption.

Before the year 2000, when municipalities began using trenchless methods for repairing and refurbishing drinking water pipes, crews simply dug up old cast-iron pipe and made the necessary repairs or replaced entire sections. However, major digs extract a high toll, damaging perfectly good roads, increasing noise, vibration and dust, and impeding public access.

Trenchless methods are akin to arthroscopic surgery. Instead of excavating an entire pipe, crews dig a relatively small hole at

new technologies are putting

the shovel out of business

Tales FroM The

trenchleSS

By Saul Chernos

Cred

it: Insituform

Radial reduction technology can reduce the diameter of a pipe

by up to 20 per cent.


holding back widespread adoption is the kind of uncertainty that surrounds any emerging technology.

There’s some uncertainty about the longevity of the liners, but Ken Collicott, associate director with R.V. Anderson Associates, is optimistic. “Some liners, particularly on the sewer side, have [only] been around for 15 or 20 years. They don’t have a 100-year track record, but some water mains you’re looking at repairing haven’t lasted 100 years either. So, we can dig them up, make a big mess, disrupt traffic and residents, have a huge cost, and hopefully get 100 years out of it, or we can try some of these rehab technologies that might be a little less expensive and disruptive. They may not last as long as a brand new PVC pipe, but they might be the best solution under the circumstances.”

Kevin Bainbridge, senior project manager of infrastructure programming with the City of Hamilton, says his municipality rehabilitates six to seven kilometres of pipe annually using trenchless methods, focusing on those with failure history, fractures from degradation and fatigue, and water quality issues such as discolouration.

This year’s itinerary included Hamilton Mountain, where pipes dating to the 1950s were experiencing significant breakage and rust. “It took roughly eight weeks to do several streets—we would have been there for twice that if we hadn’t used trenchless,” Bainbridge says. “The footprint of the construction site is reduced, we lessen the risk of damaging other underground services, and we typically save about 30 per cent of what it costs to dig and replace pipes.”

While sparing headaches for city officials and the public, trenchless methods can also carry a lighter price tag. “In most circumstances it’s less expensive than digging up the roads,” says Frank Zechner, executive director of the Greater Toronto Sewer and Watermain Construction Association. “You have to consider factors such as the cost of removing the old fill, locating and moving other utilities, and restoring pavement.”

“Some liners, particularly on

the sewer side, have [only] been

around for 15 or 20 years. They

don’t have a 100-year track

record, but some water mains

you’re looking at repairing

haven’t lasted 100 years either.”

—Ken Collicott

one end and use remote-controlled robotics equipped with a closed-circuit television camera and other tools to assess the damage and insert a new liner inside the old pipe. For potable water there are CIPP liners now available which, in essence, create a new pipe. Ferpal Construction’s Shaun McKaigue says, “Spray-on, epoxy or cement liners address water quality issues but not structural issues. The ability to structurally rehabilitate a water pipe is huge—and nobody’s got it, not the United States and not Europe.”

It’s this kind of technology that allowed residents of Hamilton Mountain to go about

their lives without disruptive construction, or worse, losing their supply of drinking water.

Concern about potential toxic effects from lining compounds, coupled with a lack of robotics tools, made trenchless technologies an unsafe bet for drinking water systems until fairly recently. Work crews have long used trenchless methods to rehabilitate gas and sewer mains, but were still using dig-and-replace for potable water lines. Newer versions of trenchless technologies have, according to the companies that produced them, solved that problem.

With this hurdle cleared, the main thing

Subsurface


a degree of risk because, even with robotics and cameras, it can be hard to see what’s underneath the ground and deal with potential problems, such as liners getting stuck or trouble with groundwater.

For his part, Hamilton’s Kevin Bainbridge says he expects Aqua-Pipe will last long enough to make its use worthwhile. “We have a fair bit of confidence we’ll get at least 30 to 50 years out of it, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it lasts beyond that.”

Saul Chernos is a Toronto freelance journalist specializing in environmental issues.

Subsurface

Cred

it: Insituform

A pipe is fed through a PolyFlex machine.

Trenchless doesn’t always make sense. Host pipes are sometimes too deteriorated to be rehabilitated, and old pipes occasionally need to be replaced by wider ones. “We’re probably at 75 to 80 per cent in terms of rehabilitation, versus replacement,” Bainbridge says.

There have been speed bumps—trenchless water main rehabilitation is far from widespread in North America. The liners are all fairly new and their availability is limited. In Canada, Montreal-

based Sanexen Environmental Services has licensed installers in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes. Insituform Technologies’ customer base is in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, and 3M’s Scotchkote 169 is used in Ontario and the Maritimes.

Perhaps the biggest barrier to wholehearted adoption is that the liners have yet to stand the test of time underground. “Every time you introduce something new you have to work out the kinks,” says Collicott. There’s

“The ability to structurally

rehabilitate a water pipe is huge—

and nobody’s got it, not the

United States and not Europe.”

—Shaun McKaigue


In 1999, Sanexen teamed up with the National Research Council to develop a structural liner to replace a deteriorating water pipe. Sanexen’s

Aqua-Pipe consists of two circular polyester jackets and a membrane bonded to the interior. The jacket is impregnated with a curable mix of resin and hardener that causes it to adhere to the pipe. The liner is shaped by forcing a foam swab through the hose, using water pressure, and hot water is circulated through the liner to complete curing. Joseph Loiacono, Sanexen’s director of business development, estimates more than 240 kilometres of Aqua-Pipe have been installed in North America. McKaigue says Ferpal Construction has installed Cement Mortor Lining, Pipe bursting, Directional Drilling, and CIPP Structural Lining in 1,300 kilmetres of watermains.

Aqua-Pipe isn’t the only structural liner available for potable water pipes. Insituform Technologies has done similar work with ThermoPipe, a polyester-reinforced polyethylene tube that’s pulled into the existing pipe and then expanded using air and steam. “It’s considered a fully structural liner from an internal-pressure perspective,” says George Bontus, water products manager with Insituform in Canada. He says the company is field-testing a new liner impregnated with epoxy resin.

Another trenchless product is spray-on liner. 3M produces a product called Scotchkote 169, which is applied using a lining rig with a hose that travels down the pipe and is then withdrawn as it sprays the interior, forming a barrier coat that almost immediately turns solid. “It’s basically a tough, elastic, lined polymer, but it’s flexible,” says 3M market manager Gary Natwig. The product was developed in Britain by a company 3M recently acquired, so it’s not yet licensed to installers in the U.S. But Natwig hopes his company’s new offering, slated for release this fall, will widen North American markets.

TrenChless choiceS

Subsurface

gary natwig hopes his

company’s new offering, slated

for release this fall, will widen

north american markets.


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Such was the case of slumping ground along a section of Ontario highway southeast of Ottawa. Two existing large steel culverts were experiencing inflow of sediment. During site preparation for the restoration slip-lining program, the construction crews started to see localized sinkholes in the shoulders of the highway. The integrity of the subsurface was a concern, but so were the consequences for the highway’s surface. If holes opened up on the asphalt road surface, the implications for the speeding highway traffic could be disastrous.

The local multiVIEW Locates Inc. operations centre was deployed with a Noggin 250 ground penetrating radar (GPR) system manufactured by Sensors & Software Inc. The GPR pulses FM-frequency radio waves into the ground surface and reflects changes in the electrical properties from the underlying geology. This reflection makes it possible to map the thickness of the road asphalt; the continuity of the underlying stratified engineered road bed; and areas where this bedding has been altered. It also lets technicians profile the location of buried utilities within the exploration limit of the GPR system.

With the help of a crash truck and coordinated lane closures, workers collected GPR data across both east and westbound lanes, in the grassy median and beyond both highway shoulders. This information was analyzed for inference of subsurface anomalies, which could infer the presence of voids immediately beneath the surface.

Additional analysis was completed by software data manipulation to produce time-slice images of the data at specific reflection time intervals—like viewing a layer cake from above and successively removing the overlying and underlying layers to uniquely view the contents of the first, second, or third layer, and so on.

Comprehensive review of the GPR data indicated three anomalous zones which could represent possible voids. These targets were subsequently field investigated and determined not to represent voids, but other soil features. The application of the GPR technology permitted the slip-lining restoration process to confidently proceed while the contractor watched the ground surface for signs of additional soil distress.

—staff

With files from John E. Scaife.

Subsurface

Given the localized congestion of utilities under our city streets and highways, locating and mapping

their positions can be challenging. When the utilities fail, it’s important to determine the location of the failure, as well as the location of any nearby utilities, before any repairs can be made.

Finding the cause of

sinkholes beneath

highway surfaces

peering inTo The void


important. Long-term management—in other words, asset management (AM)—is integral to taking on new assets after 2009. PSAB 3150 is more than an accounting exercise, and involves more than one deadline. It must be viewed as three distinct steps.

Bringing forward the history of the municipality’s infrastructure asset

acquisitions and representing this history as a net book value for the 2009 financial statements.

Creating business practices after the initial deadline that use the information

submitted to support subsequent financial statements in terms of adding new assets or removing old assets from the registry.

Introducing processes that address the management of each tangible capital

asset where these processes align with the financial reporting requirements, otherwise identified as AM.

Many Canadian municipalities are getting closer to completing the task of creating their asset

registry, an inventory of their tangible capital assets, and valuation of these assets to generate net book values for the 2009 opening statements in response to the new approach to municipal financial reporting, otherwise known as PSAB 3150. That being said, some Canadian municipalities are still at the beginning and in the midst of implementing a PSAB 3150 project.

The finish line, in the context of financial reporting only, is defined by the 2009 deadline, the official year in which municipal financial statements must reflect the net book value of their tangible capital assets. The ability to create the opening statement for 2009 is based on the ability to transform the long history of taking on assets by a municipality into a net book value.

The next steps, however, are more

Completing the first step should not preoccupy municipal resources. Therefore it requires the application of some practical steps and pragmatic assumptions to avoid getting lost in detail. Some tips for completing this step and overcoming an inadvertent pull into detail were addressed in a recent webinar presented by R.V. Anderson Associates and TCA Consulting (see renewcanada.net/resources).

Completing the second step requires a coordinated effort for implementing business practices by both the financial (works) and technical (engineering) officials of a municipality.

Technical officials manage the processes related to the collection of information required by the financial office; financial officials manage the transfer and analysis of this information in municipal financial systems, supporting the update of the asset registry and preparation of annual financial

Meeting psab 3150’s initial deadline is just the beginning

beyond 2009By Reg Andres and Calvin Hawke

1

2

3


statements. These processes will only be complementary if both sides are coordinated. Data collection exercises should be adjusted to accommodate simple extraction of information to be submitted to finance. Financial reporting processes need to be established based on policies that continue to provide a reasonable representation of the tangible capital assets over time.

Financial and engineering staff must work together to ensure the integration of respective business processes. This has been reinforced by the recent approval of the Statement of Recommended Practice

(SORP) by the Public Sector Accounting Board (PSAB) as it relates to supplemental reporting for municipal financial statements specific to condition of assets. This requires a higher level of cooperation between finance and engineering / technical staff within a municipal organization.

The third step in the process, the introduction of AM practices within a municipal organization, is required to support the recent move to manage tangible capital assets based on the principles of life-cycle analysis.

One of the processes embedded in AM is the

asset portfolio that includes the information needed to report annual changes to the tangible capital asset registry. Therefore, while PSAB financial reporting has, in many cases, preceded the implementation of an AM system, it has clearly demonstrated the need for a much closer coordination of efforts between the financial and technical staff within a municipal organization.

The task of introducing PSAB 3150 reporting requirements within an organization, therefore, requires a significantly closer relationship between the financial and engineering staff. In effect, PSAB 3150 is just the beginning, not

the end. The transformation of municipal business practices to introduce and integrate life-cycle analysis is a process that will take many more years of activity to become a natural and regular perspective of making key infrastructure investment decisions. The finish line for PSAB 3150 needs to be viewed in a broader context of introducing AM processes into regular practices of a municipal organization.

While psab financial

reporting has, in many

cases, superseded the

implementation of an aM

system, it has clearly

demonstrated the need for

a much closer coordination

of efforts between financial

and technical staff.

Calvin Hawke, CA, is president of TCA Consulting Ltd.

Reg Andres, P.Eng, is vice president of R.V Anderson Limited.

Subscribe by Phone 1-877-663-6866 ext. 112

want more articles about asset management?


Walking the pier towards Wave Star Energy's pilot project in Western Denmark.

Per Resen Steenstrup of Wave Star Energy hangs out on a wave machine.

Most people over 40 remember the oil crisis of 1973. In response to the Yom Kippur

War between Israel and Egypt, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) started the now infamous Arab oil embargo—any country that supported Israel in the war stopped receiving shipments of oil. The result for Canada, the United States, most of Europe and Japan was soaring oil prices, leading to a worldwide recession.

Most of the affected countries quickly initiated plans to conserve energy: speed limits were lowered and energy conservation programs began. Cars got smaller and more fuel efficient.

But when the crisis ended, most nations dropped those programs and went back to their old ways.

This is where Denmark was—and is—different. Being 99 per cent dependent on foreign oil, Denmark was devastated by the embargo. The country made a commitment to never again to be at the mercy of its oil suppliers and, after the oil started flowing again, the Danes kept conserving and working towards producing their own energy.

James Sbrolla goes back to scandinavia to explore alternative

energy and finds it’s come a long way in the last three decades.

Cred

its: James S

brolla

James Sbrolla (left) with Jesper Kjems at the top of the one-megawatt wind turbine on the island of Samsoe.

alTernaTive goes

MainsTreaM in

Denmark


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The Danish public got behind a program in 1976 to become entirely energy-independent and, with the development of new, clean energy systems, to completely cut off dependence on foreign oil. They drilled for oil and natural gas of their own, but they also introduced programs unrelated to fossil fuels over the next decades (see “Dutch Energy Programs” page 25).

Wind-power, an “intelligent export” and a source of green collar jobs, has grown into a major industry in Denmark. Canada’s standard wind turbines produce at most one megawatt. The Danes are commercially producing three-megawatt super-turbines and, according to some, there are five-megawatt turbines in the works that could be commercial in the near future.

Several entrepreneurs and companies are now trying to commercialize wave power. With strong government support and financial funding, Per Resen Steenstrup, CEO and founder of Wave Star Energy, is advancing that research. Initially funding the startup company on his own, he later brought on financial partners to build a proof-of-concept trial on the sea coast, west of Heming in Western Denmark. The pilot is producing electricity now—but to get to this point and construct the pilot, Steenstrup and his partners have invested over €10 million. This unit itself will likely never generate enough electricity to justify the construction costs, but it could be what the Wright Brother’s plane was to aviation: a model for future versions.

The next step, a 500-kilowatt prototype, is under construction and will be the first commercial standard system for ocean operation. It’s expected to be operational by 2010. This will be done in collaboration with two utility companies at a 160-megawatt offshore wind park in the North Sea.

The Wave Star Energy system has been developed in shallow water. The plan is to move into gradually deeper water as it is scaled in size. According to Steenstrup, as the system is doubled in size it moves into water twice as deep and the power increases by a factor of 11.

The country that was once

99 per cent dependent on

foreign oil is now the only

county in europe to be

energy self-sufficient—in fact,

it exports surplus energy.


“An important lesson learned from wind turbines is to take small steps,” says Steenstrup.”This is also [our] philosophy to limit risk and avoid accidents. Gradually the 500-kilowatt system will grow to six megawatts or even more.”

Dexa Wave, another Danish wind power developer, is close to putting a wave mill into the sea. Their approach is slightly different—they plan to install in deep water, while Wave Star works in relatively shallow water. The size of the market is such that if both are succesful they won’t compete head-to-head. It’s the equivalent of one manufacturer producing cars and one producing vans.

While wind production is filling up the surrounding seas, the islands that share that space are making their own achievements in sustainable energy. Years ago the islands of Samsoe and Lolland set targets of complete energy self-production and are embracing new technolgies to get there. Both islands now produce more power than they require and are net exporters of electricity.

Danish energy conservation programs on both small islands and the mainland have been so successful that over the last 30 years, even with extensive modernization and a seven per cent increase in population,

their annual energy use has essentially remained the same.

The country that was once 99 per cent dependent on foreign oil is now the only county in Europe to be energy self-sufficient—in fact, it exports surplus energy. Denmark has one of the world’s highest tax rates, yet it also has one of the highest standards of living. And polls show that the majority of Danes would pay even higher taxes to remain self-sufficient and live free of fossil-fuel dependence.

The public’s support will be critical if the Danes are going to achieve their latest goal: in 2007 they set out to provide 75 per cent of all electrical energy consumption from wind farms as soon as 2025. Steenstrup says, “Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has gone on record saying that we aim to make Denmark independent of oil, gas and coal in the long term and strengthen our position as a world leader in clean energy. We Danes buy into this. We feel that we just have to be a little bit smarter about how we live and be creative about how we produce energy.”

1 The country has implemented a strict energy-efficiency standard on all buildings.

2 The government committed $1 billion to develop and integrate better solar, tidal and fuel-cell technology.

3 District heating systems were implemented in most parts of the country, reusing heat produced by power plants by piping it directly into homes. Today more than 60 per cent of Danish homes are heated this way.

4 The government invested heavily in clean and renewable energy systems, especially wind power. Today 21 per cent of Denmark’s energy production comes from wind farms. They are also among the leading global exporters of wind-power technology—an industry that has created more than 20,000 jobs.

5 The government introduced rebate campaigns to help people buy more energy-efficient home appliances. Today more than 95 per cent of new appliances bought in Denmark have an “A” efficiency rating (which is the best).

James Sbrolla is a freelance journalist and partner in a private equity fund.

danish energY prograMs


The resorT MuniCipaliTy oF WhisTler, b.C.

Community Profile

Suggest your community and we may profile it. Email [email protected].

infraStats• The new 12,000-square-foot Whistler Public Library, opened this January, was built according to guidelines suggested by the Natural Step program (naturalstep.ca) and other key sustainability initiatives. It is the first municipal facility in Whistler to apply for LEED-Gold certification. The building is projected to use 45 to 50 per cent less energy than a comparable facility with no environmental initiatives.

• In June 2008, Whistler Council awarded two tenders for upgrades to its current water system as part of a comprehensive strategy to increase the safety and capacity of the municipal water system. The two projects, now underway, include the construction of a new Rainbow Park Pump Station and the Lorimer Road Pipeline. A third project, the construction of a new

whistler 2020 / FutureWhistler’s comprehensive long-term sustainability plan, Whistler 2020, contains strategies to achieve five tenets: enriching community life, enhancing the resort experience, protecting the environment, ensuring economic viability, and partnering for success. In 17 categories (including built environment, energy, economy, materials & solid waste, water), the plan details how exactly the municipality can realistically reach its goals.

whistler athletes Village District energy SystemWhistler Athletes Village will be home to over 2,000 athletes and trainers during the 2010 Olympic Games. Afterwards, it will become a residential neighbourhood for about 1,500 people.

As part of the RMOW’s overall Sustainable Energy Plan, the Village, to be located at the south end of Whistler

adjacent to both the RMOW’s closed landfill and municipal wastewater treatment plant, will include a district energy system (DES) that uses waste heat from the wastewater treatment plant, landfill gas, and ground source heat to supply Village heating needs.

The DES will be designed with the flexibility to transition to other renewable energy sources in the future. It will be modular in design, composed of separate loops that can serve the energy needs of the development as it grows.

The system is currently under construction, but will service the Village, to be opened this winter. There is a temporary operating system for now. Once finished, “the system will satisfy 98 per cent of required heat and hot water,” says Brian Burnett, general manager of economic viability, “a phenomenal amount of energy.”

—staff

Location: The Regional Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) is a resort town in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Canada, about 125 kilometres north of Vancouver.

Settled: 1914, by Myrtle and Alex Philip (incorporated 1975)

Population: 9,248 (2006). The seasonal population is around 30 to 40 per cent of resident population; the visitor population is about 55,000. “Servicing those seasonal residents annually is a huge challenge,” says Mike Vance, general manager of policy program development.

Land Area: Total 161.72 square kilometres

Capital and Infrastructure Budget: $38,786,024

Water Capital and Infrastructure: $7,976,500

Sewer Capital and Infrastructure: $32,387,500

Solid Waste: $750,000

Funding: The RMOW received a $2,250,000 Green Municipality Fund loan from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) for their district energy project. The FCM loan will be returned by the wastewater utility.

Awards: Whistler has won several awards for its long-term sustainability plan, Whistler 2020, including an FCM Sustainable Community Planning Award (2005), a Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators Award for Innovation (2005), a United Nations Sponsored International Livable Communities Award (1st place, 2005), and the Province of British Columbia Sponsored Green Cities Award (for a population between 5,000-10,000, 2006).

ultraviolet water treatment facility, which will provide an added level of protection for the 21-Mile Creek surface source, will be tendered in September, and construction is expected to start in fall 2008. Consultants have advised the RMOW to undertake a long-term strategy to develop adequate groundwater sources as an alternative to the 21 Mile Creek surface source to fully meet the community's build-out demands and to ensure the ongoing quality and safety of the water supply.

• From August 17 to August 22, 2008 the FCM Sustainable Communities Mission brought a delegation of municipal leaders on a series of study tours of leading sustainable communities in British Columbia. Among its stops was Whistler, where they visited Olympic sites such as the Athlete’s Village.

Whistler’s new district energy system involves a kilometre-long, 350-millimetre-diameter supply pipe.

Library construction in progress.

Cred

its: RM

OW

The resorT MuniCipaliTy oF WhisTler, b.C.


Four years since releasing the first version of the LEED Canada for New Construction (NC) rating system, the

Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) is preparing to release its next version. Enermodal Engineering, Canada's largest consulting firm focused entirely on green buildings, was chosen as the contractor to coordinate this revision with input from across the green building industry and the public.

Although the new version of LEED, referred to as 2009, will be similar to the original, there are several substantial changes likely to be included in the new document, including different point totals required for different levels of LEED (from Certified through Platinum); new prerequisites; and points awarded for each credit have been weighted based on environmental importance. Currently most credits are only worth one point.

The various LEED Canada application guides are being amalgamated into one document for ease of use.

"We're excited to use our experience on numerous LEED buildings to make this rating system more user-friendly and technically superior. This is a very important step forward for green design and the CaGBC," says Stephen Carpenter, Enermodal's president.

The new version of LEED is expected by early 2009, at which point Enermodal will have prepared the new version of the LEED reference manual and LEED submission documents. Canada and the United States are simultaneously developing the next generation of the LEED rating system.

After four years of use, the green building industry has seen ways to improve LEED, so the revised version will benefit from improvements identified by the CaGBC's Technical Advisory Group (a committee of LEED experts from across Canada) and the CaGBC's Task Force of industry stakeholder representatives. After being harmonized with the American version, the resulting document will be reviewed and approved by the LEED Design and Construction Task Force and LEED Development Committee.

Submit your input through Virtual Community forums at cagbc.ca.

enermoDal To CoordinaTe leeD 2009 rating SYStem

École primaire de la grande-hermine, Québec, Que.certified: september 18, 2008 leed® Canada-nC Certified

leeD® consultant: abCp architecture+urbanisme

PowerStream corporate head office, Vaughan, ont. certified: september 24, 2008 leed® Canada-nC gold

leeD® consultant: enermodel engineering ltd.

holy trinity academy, okotoks, alta.certified: october 1, 2008 leed® Canada-nC gold

leeD® consultant: Quinn young architects ltd.

cSl industrial complex certified: august 12, 2008 leed® Canada-Cs Certified


Cambridge, Ont. – Highlights: optimized energy cost performance of 35 per cent better than the Model National Energy Code for Buildings, with an energy consumption savings

of 41 per cent through: energy recovery ventilators, increased building envelope performance, and, lowered lighting power density. Reduced indoor potable water use by over 50 per cent with dual-flush toilets, waterless urinals, and low-flow lavatories, which are mandatory in all future fit-up; and, will ensure the use of lease agreements for all future tenants committing to fit-up that aligns with the credits achieved by the project.

west Village Suites certified: august 28, 2008 leed® Canada-nC platinum


Hamilton, Ont. – Highlights: optimized energy cost performance of 57 per cent better than the Model National Energy Code for Buildings, with an energy consumption savings of 54 per cent through: high efficiency central heading with heat recovery ventilators, very well insulated walls and roof, energy efficient double-glazed

windows with low-e coatings, and thermally broken aluminum frames, solar hot water heating system, and, lowered lighting power density. Reduced indoor potable water use by over 40 per cent with low-flow toilets, low-flow lavatories, and captured rainwater for sewage conveyance; and, providing superior indoor environmental quality for occupants through improved ventilation, construction air quality management, low emitting materials, user controllability of systems, thermal comfort, and daylighting and view, as well as a green housekeeping program.

Cred

it: Enerm

odel E

ngineering Ltd.

the leeD® liSt sponsored by

5 new leeD® certiFicationS in canaDaTotal leed® projects: 120

8 platinum, 46 gold, 37 silver, 29 Certified

This column reports on new leed®-certified projects in Canada using information from the CagbC. leed® is administered by the Canada green building Council. cagbc.ca.

This column sponsored by halsall. halsall’s purpose-driven approach to sustainability consulting focuses on connecting each client’s success factors to practical solutions. With our solid technical foundation, we provide green advice for forward-thinking building, community and policy development. halsall.com


StormWatch

renewing our infrastructure and buildings, cleaning and reusing our brownfields—that expertise will be readily available for use in the GTA or Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH). If Toronto becomes known as a city that’s revitalizing the planet, it will likely be seen as being on an upward trajectory, thus attracting restorative investment, restorative employers, and anyone looking to live in a place that’s on the rise.

To take advantage of this opportunity, all levels of government need to encourage and fund more research into restorative

development among the secondary and post-secondary schools of the region. The area’s schools also need to develop curricula and degrees to expand the restorative development workforce, both locally and for the world.

The Silicon Valley of the global restoration economy would have a spectacular redevelopment project in its own backyard. Toronto has what might be the world’s largest urban waterfront. What’s more, it’s on the Great Lakes, which might become the world’s largest and most important restoration project.

Project size aside, the ideal candidate city should also boast leading-edge “rewealth” projects that demonstrate the latest integrated, engaged techniques. The Brickworks has that potential, and Seneca’s King Campus is well-positioned to become a living laboratory for the integrated restoration of nature, agriculture and heritage.

The GTA is already on its way to developing this niche. The Revitalization Institute—an academic network focused on restorative development—recently moved from

Cities worldwide are jockeying for a position as a top global provider of financial services.

Toronto is currently ranked number 17. This September, public and private leaders interested in Toronto’s future, specifically its position among the world’s leading financial centres, met at Seneca College’s “Financial Innovation for Urban Prosperity” symposium (see page 40 for details).

President of the Toronto Financial Services Alliance Janet Ecker expertly delineated the strengths of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in her keynote address. Her strategy for moving into the top ten: establish a unique niche; become the recognized leader in a particular type of finance. This doesn’t mean abandoning other forms of financial services. A niche taps a growing segment and generates media.

This was the perfect foundation for my keynote presentation, which suggested an ideal niche market for the GTA.

What are the characteristics of a viable niche? Ideally, it should be huge, global, fast-growing, and long-lasting. It should be media-friendly, producing stories of broad interest. It must be unique—no other metropolitan area should be perceived as a centre of such expertise—and it should offer significant fringe benefits for the GTA.

The ideal financial services niche is restorative development: community revitalization based on the restoration and renewal of natural, built, and socioeconomic assets. It is huge and global, currently comprising at least $2 trillion in annual activities. Since it’s tapping a fast-growing global inventory of restorable assets conservatively estimated at $100 trillion, it will expand for centuries. It’s the major growth trend in community economic growth. Unlike sprawl-based growth, which undermines quality of life, there can never be too much restoration or renewal. Restorative development is media-friendly, generating dramatic “coming back to life” stories with lots of visuals, relevance and human interest.

As for fringe benefits, if the GTA becomes the centre of research, learning, workforce development, technology, and financial services—all related to restoring nature,

Washington, D.C., to Toronto. The Canadian Urban Institute, based here in Toronto, has provided tremendous restoration economy leadership. The Growth Plan put forth by the former Ministry for Public Infrastructure Renewal (which has unfortunately lost that wonderful name) only needs an effective implementation strategy to turn the entire GGH into a model of restorative development. That strategy should be based on helping GGH communities enhance their renewal capacity, as this column has described in earlier issues.

The opportunity to become a global leader via the restorative development niche is Toronto’s for the asking. The current global financial crisis makes the timing perfect. After all, restorative development is as non-cyclical as a niche can get: when times are good, communities have lots of cash to spend on restoring their natural, built and socioeconomic assets. When times are tough, revitalization is what everyone wants and needs. Why shouldn’t Toronto become the city that’s revitalizing the world?

how a Canadian city can benefit from the $2 trillion-a-year global restoration economy.

toronto—The neW siliCon valley

By Storm Cunningham

Storm Cunningham is the author of reWealth! (2008) and The Restoration Economy (2002). He is the founder of Revitalization Institute (Toronto), and CEO of

Resolution Fund, LLC (Washington, DC).

if Toronto becomes known as a city that’s revitalizing

the planet, it will likely be seen as being on an

upward trajectory, thus attracting restorative

investment, restorative employers, and anyone

looking to live in a place that’s on the rise.

Subscribe online renewcanada.net/subscribe.

interested in more articles by Storm?


From left, Durham Region representatives Roger Anderson, Patrick Olive, Doug Lindeblom and DSEA chair Dr. Kamiel Gabriel talk with Minister Smitherman.

Cred

it: DS

EA

gtma celebritY golF toUrnamentSePtember 11 – kleinbUrg, ont.Greater Toronto Area (GTA) business and municipal leaders got together to celebrate the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance’s (GTMA) second decade of working to attract direct foreign investment to the area. Co-chaired by Mayors Hazel McCallion of the City of Mississauga and David Miller of Toronto, the event included a sold-out golf tournament and an evening dinner which attracted hundreds more to the celebration. Funds raised will be used to provide economic development internship opportunities with the GTMA for university and college students. Details at greatertoronto.org

reVitalization inStitUteSePtember 17 – torontoRenowned author Storm Cunningham and Toronto Financial Services Alliance president Janet Ecker discussed the marriage of restorative development and economic growth for cities such as Toronto in this special morning session which culminated with a book signing by Storm of his book, reWealth!, published this past spring by McGraw-Hill. The Revitalization Institute has recently moved its global headquarters to Toronto’s Seneca College. Check out the “re” buzz at revitalization.org

ReEvents

halSall SUStainabilitY roUnD tableSePtember 25 – torontoEarlier this fall, with pre-election tensions running high, industry professionals met to talk over a breakfast spread at The Design Exchange. TVO’s Steve Paikin moderated a discussion on the increasing value of greening existing buildings and certifying them with LEED-EB. Panelists included Doug Webber (Halsall Associates), Tom Farley (Brookfield), Phil Gillin (Canadian Real Estate), Nancy Searchfield (Colliers) and Darryl Neate (Oxford Properties Group). Details at halsall.com

said, “There’s a new economic formula we have to embrace: if you can find just one solution to a global problem, the global resources will be at your door.” In other words: innovation equals money. A lineup of diverse speakers debated the viability of hydrogen, electric and other new modes of powering vehicles; how new policies shape the development and implementation of new technologies and how it all affects the environment. In an opening address, Enviromental Commissioner of Ontario Gord Miller warned the audience about “powerful vested interests in our economy that will attempt to skew our choices.” Details at dsea.ca

the FUtUre oF canaDa’S inFraStrUctUreSePtember 30-october 1 – toronto“The infrastructure of the carbon economy is crumbling?” said Christopher Kennedy, a civil engineering professor from the University of Toronto. “Good! We need some creative destruction.” The Strategy Institute’s fifth annual event echoed ReNew Canada publisher Todd Latham’s message in the Closing Shot column of our July/August 2008 issue: Canada needs decisive leadership and a clear mandate for fixing our country’s failing infrastructure. In a group exercise, most participants agreed that vision, education and communication are

tranSForming tranSPortationSePtember 25 – aJaX, ont.Presented by the Durham Strategic Energy Alliance (DSEA), this one-day conference and exhibition focused on advancements in energy and transportation and the interplay between the two sectors. In a keynote address, Minister of Research and Innovation John Wilkinson


ReEvents

important pillars of infrastructure investment. But who will lead the way? During Chantal Guay’s (Engineers Canada) Q&A, one delegate said it best, using the title from that column: “What we need is a benevolent dictator.” Details at strategyinstitute.com

hot ProPertieS: canaDian brownFielDS 2008october 22-24 – toronto“A brownfield developer walks into a bar…OUCH!” If you missed the ninth annual Canadian Urban Institute brownfields conference, then you missed that doozy of a punch line delivered as part of the gala Brownie Award ceremonies, sponsored by CMHC. Luckily, over 380 attendees also got to witness the presentation of CUI’s prestigious awards. Among the honoured were many Canadian projects that exemplify brownfield redevelopment excellence, and the individuals who immerse themselves in a diverse program of regulatory and risk issues, community engagement, and international case studies to encourage brownfield redevelopment. Over 50 booths filled the sold-out trade show area. Mark your calendars for next year—October 26-28, 2009 at the Bayshore Hotel in Vancouver, B.C. Details at canadianbrownfields.ca

From left, Brian Keating (Calgary Zoo), Lorrine Hamdon, Joe Chowaniec and Joe Barraclough of ESAA and below, in centre—the conference emcee and honorary “James Bond,” Mr. Fred Keating.

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From left, Minister George Smitherman, Rob Howald (Canada Lands Corp.) and Glen Murray (CUI) at Hot Properties.

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remtech 2008october 15-17 – banFF, atla.The Environmental Services Association of Alberta (ESAA) has got it going on. Beautiful mountains, a world-class resort and another sold-out conference and trade show on remediation technologies. The many receptions and casual meetings provided chances to mingle with over 500 players in the environmental industry. The Ilsa Mae SMA Research Fund raised thousands towards muscular dystrophy during the “RemTech Royale 008” casino reception and silent auction. Details at esaa.org


There has been a lot of talk about credit these days—some have it, some don't, and many are losing it. It's not

that suddenly there is less money in the world, there's just less trust. Our economy is locking up so we need tools that will provide assistance to loosen it. To help stimulate the local economy, Toronto Mayor David Miller recently announced he would freeze development charges on new residential construction as of February 2009, a move that was commended by The Toronto Board of Trade.

But that's an easy call. Why shouldn't he take the opportunity now, when we need new models for economic development, to do something more progressive? What could be better than a price freeze? Well, Canadian municipalities could offer a credit on development charges (call them redevelopment credits). Let's give credit where credit is due—to those who slog it out to turn underutilized, undertaxed urban

properties and infill into economically and socially vibrant communities.

The recent Canadian Urban Institute Brownie Awards gave lots of credit to the many organizations and individuals who won the prestigious awards of excellence in brownfield development (see above and pg. 41).

In whatever form credit should come, be it awards, tax increment financing, tax holidays or fast-tracked approvals, let's incentivize redevelopment and tax sprawl and unnecessary greenfield development. We can then tell the world that Canada rewards those who not only stimulate the economy with new growth, but do so in a sustainable way.

Closing Shot

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Todd Latham is the founder of this magazine and is proud to have personally congratulated every winner of the 2008 CUI Brownie Awards on October 23.

Eric Freudenthal of the Environmental Information Centre in Hammarby Sjöstad, Sweden accepts a special international Brownie Award from Dino Chiesa, Chair of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

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CrediT is dueBy Todd Latham

Jeff Westeinde of Quantum Environmental holds his “Brownfielder of the Year” Award (shared with his brother Jonathan) with Dino Chiesa.

Golder Associates Jeanette Southwood addresses the audience after accepting the award for their work on the Vancouver Island Conference Centre.

Revitalization Institute’s Storm Cunningham (left) with CUI’s Glenn Miller—the man who deserves much of the credit for the Canadian Brownfields conference success.

Calgary Municipal Land Corporation’s Chris Ollenberger gets credit for the winning Rivers District levy regulation from emcee Todd Latham.


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