WWW.LEXPERT.CA
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2019
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LEXPERT 15
Haythorne, John S. Dentons Canada LLP
(604) 691-6456 john.haythorne@dentons.com
Mr. Haythorne practises in the areas of construction, engineering and infrastructure,
with special emphasis on negotiating, drafting and advising on contracts. He is
particularly experienced in public-private partnerships, advising owners on the
structure and administration of procurement and legal issues relating to design
and construction. He is a Registered Professional Engineer.
Hardwicke-Brown, Mungo Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
(403) 260-9674 mhb@blakes.com
Mr. Hardwicke-Brown advises on major infrastructure project development
with a broad range of experience in P3 projects. His practice is primarily focused
on the energy and natural resources sector, including petroleum, natural gas,
oil sands, electricity, potash and other commodities, pipelines, storage, LNG
terminalling and supply arrangements, power generation and transmission.
Hankinson, QC, Stuart B. Bennett Jones LLP
(604) 891-5188 hankinsons@bennettjones.com
Mr. Hankinson's practice focuses on complex construction, commercial and
insurance dispute resolution. He counsels developers, EPC & EPCM contractors,
design-builders, design professionals, construction insurers and construction
project managers to mitigate and manage disputes. He also acts as a referee
on complex projects and as a member of Dispute Adjudication Boards
and Dispute Resolution Boards.
Hamilton, Peter E. Stikeman Elliott LLP
(416) 869-5564 phamilton@stikeman.com
Mr. Hamilton is a partner in the Banking & Finance Group. His practice
has a particular focus in the areas of corporate finance, project finance,
the regulation of financial institutions, derivatives, structured finance and
insolvency. He advises international banks on the acquisition of Canadian
assets, the establishment of Canadian business, transactional matters,
and regulatory requirements.
Groulx, Karen Dentons Canada LLP
(416) 863-4697 karen.groulx@dentons.com
Ms. Groulx's practice includes negotiation and drafting of various types
of construction documents on behalf of owners and general contractors;
and dispute resolution and litigation involving the awarding of contracts,
construction liens and related proceedings on behalf of owners, general
contractors and subcontractors as well as mortgagees. She has particular
expertise in E-Discovery.
Griffiths, Leonard J. Bennett Jones LLP
(416) 777-7473 griffithsl@bennettjones.com
Mr. Griffiths is part of the Environmental and Energy team that assists clients
with a wide variety of energy, industrial, mining and transportation projects,
including obtaining approvals, completing environmental assessments,
conducting M&A/financing transactions, risk management and litigation. He is
certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a Specialist in Environmental law.
LEXPERT-RANKED LAWYERS
economic booster as well."
Strategically, Bain says, Canada is seen as a spring-
board to the US markets, which have the opportu-
nity to become much larger given that their need for
infrastructure corresponds to their population size
(approximately 10 times that of Canada). Although
he is seeing P3 deals in the US, "we're watching for it
to become much more active."
International investors are coming to Canada to-
day, seeing the United States as being the market of
tomorrow, he says; in the United States the market
for P3 and other private participation is less robust
because they don't have the centralized procure-
ment agencies that exist in Canada. "e political
influence in the US tends to be more localized than
in Canada."
Financing
A traditional P3 approach to financing an infra-
structure project is for the private sector to deliver
the infrastructure, then arrange its own financing
to pay for the construction costs and amortize that
construction cost over the life of the asset, says Paul
Blundy, a partner in Bennett Jones LLP in Toronto
and leader of the firm's public infrastructure proj-
ects practice.
"e project vehicle would finance that [cost] by
issuing bonds or any long-term debt. And there's a
very healthy market for that long-term debt."
e Fort McMurray West 500-kV Transmis-
sion Line, which now runs from Fort McMurray
to southwest of Edmonton in Alberta, produced
Canada's biggest infrastructure bond offering to
date, Blundy says: a $1.4-billion bond offering,
for an estimated project cost of $1.6 billion. "e
[financing] structure there was that the project
vehicle went out and borrowed all the money they
needed to build the project, and are paying it back
over a period of 25 years to … bondholders. at's
more the traditional model for P3."
But in Ontario, at least, the pricing of that
long-term debt by the design-builders has been
perceived as too high relative to the cost for the
province to raise the money independently, says
Blundy; this has led to a model in which the
government pays most of the capital cost as the
construction proceeds. Infrastructure Ontario's
Highway 401 Expansion Project, for example,
has been set up to have three "milestone pay-
ments" to the piece, he says, "so that basically the
project vehicle just does short-term construction
financing, and the bulk of the financing is done
directly by the province."
Projects costing more than $200 million were
traditionally financed by bonds rather than bank
debt, but more recently the new Canada Infra-
structure Bank has been financing a subset of these
projects, Dunsky says. Last year a $1.28-billion in-
