Lexpert Special Editions

Special Edition on Infrastructure -Sept 2015

The Lexpert Special Editions profiles selected Lexpert-ranked lawyers whose focus is in Corporate, Infrastructure, Energy and Litigation law and relevant practices. It also includes feature articles on legal aspects of Canadian business issues.

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Griffiths, Leonard J. Bennett Jones LLP (416) 777-7473 griffithsl@bennettjones.com Mr. Griffiths is part of the Environmental/Health and Safety/Energy/First Na- tions team that assists with projects, including obtaining approvals, environmental assessments, M&A, finan- cing and risk management. Hamilton, Peter E. Stikeman Elliott LLP (416) 869-5564 phamilton@stikeman.com Mr. Hamilton's banking and corporate finance practice extends to PPPs, infrastructure, project and structured finance, financial institution regulation, deriva- tives and insolvency. He has lectured on banking law at Osgoode Hall Law School. Harbell, James W. Stikeman Elliott LLP (416) 869-5690 jharbell@stikeman.com Member of Partnership Board. Co-chair of National Energy and Toronto Real Estate Groups. Focuses on electricity, infrastructure and real estate, M&A transactions, development, and procurement for energy and government entities. Gross, QC, Morton G. Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (416) 367-6205 mgross@blg.com Mr. Gross's property de- velopment practice focuses on PPPs including those related to water facilities and toll highways; proposals on environmental and other matters; acquisitions and dispositions; leasing; joint ventures; and financings. Hammel, QC, Scott J. Miller omson LLP (780) 429-9726 shammel@millerthomson.com Mr. Hammel's practice focuses on construction and commercial litigation. He is a Fellow of the Cdn. College of Construction Lawyers and has extensive trial and arbitration experience, both domestic- ally and internationally. Hardwicke-Brown, Mungo Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP (403) 260-9674 mhb@blakes.com Mr. Hardwicke-Brown's M&A, corporate finance and energy practice focuses on project development in the natural resources and infrastructure industries. His experience includes petroleum, natural gas, oil sands, electricity, potash, pipelines and LNG. MUNICIPAL P3S | 15 Centre and the Montréal Symphonic Or- chestra Concert Hall." Borduas, a senior partner with Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP in Montréal, says, "P3s have numerous advantages; for example, you almost systematically achieve the timetable, on time and on budget, with a fixed price for your opera- tion and maintenance." On the other hand, one of the downsides is the process is not yet as standard as a tra- ditional procurement project, he says, "so you need to involve external consultants and bring the project to a point where its objectives are very well defined, so as to have a fair process for all the bidders and optimize the risk sharing between the pri- vate partner and the authority." Another challenge for both lenders and other private-sector entities is that, at the moment, across the country there is a lack of consistency in approach by municipali- ties to these projects. "If you're bidding on a very large provincial P3 project being pro- cured by Infrastructure Ontario, say a hos- pital, school or courthouse, there's a very standardized set of documents, a very well- established process and everyone knows what to expect," says Doyle. In contrast, municipalities are oen choosing from different approaches across the country; their documentation tries to take the best from everything, and so is not standardized. "What lenders to these projects are lending on is basically the con- tracts," says Doyle. "e project company doesn't own the asset, as that asset is still owned by the public. So lack of consistency among the documentation creates higher bid costs, as well as requires more due dili- gence on the part of the private sector." DIRECT PUBLIC INPUT Romoff says there's oen a much higher lev- el of consultation and input from the public in regard to municipal projects, as opposed to federal or provincial, as these tend to be projects that matter a lot more to the citizen on the ground. In 2013, the City of Regina held a pub- lic referendum that supported the use of the P3 model for its Wastewater Treatment project. Direct public input can sometimes determine whether a municipal project proceeds at all, says Doyle. "e Greater Vancouver Region is at the forefront of a very public discussion on in- frastructure development, having recently rejected a plebiscite on the region's long- term plan to improve transportation and how to pay for that plan. P3s will have to be strongly considered to deliver the projects Vancouver needs and wants," says Romoff. "Consultation is key when it comes to mu- nicipal projects as we're talking about in- frastructure that affects people's daily lives. e consultations in the Greater Vancouver Region are a great example of how the com- munity has a direct opportunity to impact infrastructure planning." ACCORDING TO THE CANADIAN COUNCIL FOR PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS, A SAMPLING OF P3 PROJECTS UNDER $100 MILLION CLEARLY HIGHLIGHTS BOTH SECTOR AND GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY: Moncton Water Treatment - $85M (DBFO) Charleswood Bridge (Winnipeg) - $15.6M (DBFM) Shenkman Arts Centre & Orleans Town Centre - $36.8M (DBFOM) Prospera Place (Kelowna) - $30M (DBFOM) Britannia Landfill Gas to Electricity Project (Peel Region) - $25M (DBFO)

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