the foreign connection...sector procurements are all new to the healthcare sector in B.C. The three...

theforeignconnectionLooking Outside Canada for New Technologies and Partnerships

Stéphane Dion on the Liberal

“green Shift” Plan

July/August 2008

CP

MP

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B.C. Leads the Way with P3s

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The Big Picture: Eco-Industrial

and District Energy

Contents

36

24

17

About the Cover

28

J u ly / a u g u s t 2 0 0 8

Construction of Libya’s Great Man Made River Project—the largest water pipeline in the world. Canadian company SNC-Lavalin was listed as a key player on this project in EDC's list of 50 International Projects with Canadian involvement, which appeared as a supplement in our May/June 2008 issue.

22

FeAtureS 17 Complete Communities If it’s not economic,

it’s not sustainable. By Glenn Miller and Michelle Drylie

41 eco Industrial A makeover for spaces that were once sprawling slabs of concrete. By Clay Braziller

INterNAtIoNAL 22 biomass Goldrush Kerry Freek joins a Canadian

delegation to Sweden’s World Bioenergy Conference and learns there are customers for our wood pellets.

24 Sustainable Italian Infrastructure James Sbrolla joins a Canadian and Mexican delegation on a tour of Italian waste management facilities, eco parks and more.

27 From the Ground up From economic disaster to best practice for three cities in Sweden. By Glenn Miller

28 Dutch Dirt Hon Lu traveled with a Canadian delegation to the Netherlands and learned the value of sand.

eNerGY 30 Forecast: high Winds Is there room for any more

developers on the wind energy bandwagon? By Mira Shenker

33 beyond Green building We know how to make one building efficient, now it’s time for entire communities. Brent Gilmour examines district energy’s role in community planning.

35 Putting the De in Development The infrastructure behind district energy systems. By Mike Sommer

ASSet MANAGeMeNt 36 AM 3.0 Municipalities need the accounting

techniques of the future, today. By Tanya Gulliver

38 PSAb Conflict The disagreement between financial accounting and engineering departments. By Silbert Barrett

39 talking roads and bridges The new technology that goes beyond visual inspection. By Michele Rochon

DePArtMeNtS 6 editor’s Note Where are all the skilled workers?

By Mira Shenker

7 Letters Stéphane Dion on the Liberal “Green Shift” Plan; environmental policy gone awry and more.

10 opening Shots P3s in Alberta and Nova Scotia, electric buses in Quebec and more nukes in Ontario.

12 reLocate Jobs gained and lost in the industry.

13 top 100 update Transportation and energy dominate the list.

14 reFinance Partnerships BC’s Larry Blain updates Dale Richmond on the province’s P3 progress.

45 Community Profile Iqaluit, Nunavut

46 the LeeD List Five new CaGBC certifications.

47 reevents FCM’s Annual Conference, Shifting into the Mainstream, Partnering for Public Infrastructure and more.

41 Closing Shot Todd Latham calls for benevolent dictators.

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CoNtrIbutorS Silbert BarrettClay BrazillerMichelle DrylieBrent GilmourTanya GulliverHon LuGlenn MillerDale RichmondMichele RochonJames SbrollaMike Sommer

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At a P3 conference I chaired in Edmonton this May (see page 48), Cathy Connolly’s presentation—a

list of tips from Borealis Infrastructure on how to attract investors—was interrupted by an audience member who wanted to know where the workers fit into the plan.

“We need funding for new projects, obviously” he said, “but the industry is at capacity right now. We don’t have enough construction workers to build any faster.”

Addressing the Toronto Board of Trade this June, Nora Brownell said the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) estimates it will need 100 nuclear engineers just to bring new plants planned online. “Are there even 100 engineers under 70 in the entire country?” she asked.

In Canada, there may not be. ECO Canada has a website devoted to environmental jobs—at least one new posting goes up every day from companies looking for engineers to biologists to water quality technicians. More career classified ads are running in newspapers (and in ReNew Canada).

While Canada’s not the only country with an aging workforce, what distinguishes us is the size of the baby boom generation. According to Statistics Canada, starting in 2010, the proportion of the population aged 65 and over will quickly increase, reinforced by a low birth rate and longer life expectancy. As these boomers hit 65 and retire, there are not nearly as many younger workers entering the labour market to replace them.

This is especially true when it comes to skilled trades workers. Partly, that’s because all those boomers encouraged their children to go to university and meditate on what they wanted to do with their lives. Kids in their 20s are given a lot of time to roam college campuses reading up on philosophy and poetry, or work bar jobs while they write that novel; the term “quarter-life crisis” is used without irony.

I’m as guilty as any of these confused, artsy youths: I did a liberal arts degree and then traveled around writing and taking odd jobs. I never once considered going back to school and learning a trade. It didn’t occur to me that I could be a welder or a builder and make a good living.

In an attempt to pad Canada’s dwindling labour force, the federal government is investing $5.5 million over the next three years—that includes $4.5 million to the

Construction Sector Council’s Labour Market Information Program. This June, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development announced two new projects to promote apprenticeships along with $1.37 million in funding to the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum (CAF).

PR out of their office says, “Canada’s sector councils have been successful at meeting emerging skills requirements, addressing skills and labour shortages, and building essential skills in the workplace as a foundation for continuous learning.” But is that true?

Statistics Canada data shows that skilled trades—those usually requiring a community college diploma or apprenticeship training—have grown at less than a third of the pace of the labour force as a whole. These jobs accounted for 30 per cent of the total labour force in 2001, down from 32 per cent a decade earlier. The number of workers with skills in certain construction trades dropped by between 40 per cent and 60 per cent.

So when John Kourtoff’s company, Trillium Power, announced plans to build a 40-turbine offshore wind farm in Eastern Ontario (see page 30), I asked him if there are enough skilled workers to get it done. He said a good portion of the workers can be repurposed from other industries. “That’s exactly what happened in Northwest Germany,” said Kourtoff. “Workers from industries in decline were retrained in green trades—now they’re the centre of the universe.” Believing that Ontario is going through a similar transition, Trillium Power is partnering with St. Lawrence College to turn blue collar workers into green collar workers. They’re also working with the First Nations Technological Institute.

Initially, the training is in offshore maintenance, which doesn’t exactly help get the turbines built. But Kourtoff seems pretty confident the capacity—both plant and labour—will be there when the time comes. Of course, he’s been working towards this for over a decade, so he has to believe in it. Anyone who used to work at the GM plant in Oshawa is probably pretty invested in the idea, too. Whether or not it works, this is exactly the kind of initiative writers in our magazine have asked the private sector to take (see January/February 2006, May/June 2007, November/December 2007).

Proud members of:

6 reNew Canada July/August 2008 www.renewcanada.net

FeAture CoNtrIbutorS

Letters

Thank you for supporting ReNew Canada.

Call 416.444.5842, ext.111 to be part of the

September/October issue. The deadline is August 29, 2008.

www.renewcanada.net

IN thIS ISSue

AECOM Canada 12

Aecon 15

BOMA Toronto 34

Canadian Asset Management Planning for Sustainable Infrastructure – West 49

Canadian Brownfields 2008 29, 49

Canadian Water Treatment 35

Cement Association of Canada 26

CH2M Hill 42

CPCI 16

CSPI 31

Earth Tech 34

Enbridge Gas Distribution 19, 30

Federation of Canadian Municipalities 27, 44

Gartner Lee 13

Golder Associates 18

Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP 11

Green Building Festival 21

Halsall Associates 46

IBI Group 23

Infrastructure Ontario 51

Jacques Whitford 17

John Laing Infrastructure 9

Macquarie Group Limited 20

Miller Thomson LLP 2

MMM Group 14

MSU Mississauga 25

Multiview 38

Municipal DataWorks 40

PricewaterhouseCoopers 13

reWealth 18

RIVA Modeling 37

Toronto Economic Development Corporation 23

Toronto Forum for Global Cities 48

TSH 14

Wardrop Infrastructure 35

WeirFoulds LLP 52

XCG 38

York Region 42

Dale RichmondDale is president of The Canadian Council for Public Private Partnerships (CCPPP). pg. 14

Michelle DrylieMichelle is a graduate of the University of Toronto masters program in planning who worked on the Halton Summit project. pg. 17

Glenn MillerGlenn is director, education and research, with Canadian Urban Institute in Toronto and is a regular contributor to ReNew Canada. pg. 17, 27

Climate change is the most serious environmental crisis

humanity has ever faced, and our cities and communities will be the front lines in our

fight against it. We cannot waste anymore time in taking up this fight. The United Nations’ Nobel Prize-Winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has made the cost of inaction all too clear: rising sea levels, heightened competition for fresh water, and extreme weather.

Canadian municipalities are already struggling to cope with the negative effects of climate change. They are already feeling the impacts of increasingly volatile weather on our infrastructure, and the situation is only going to get worse if we fail to act now to adapt. According to a recent government report by 145 leading Canadians scientists, Canada’s changing climate will lead to everything from increased storms in Atlantic Canada to retreating glaciers in our North.

We cannot let this happen. We must act now. But what is the best way to do so?

My party and I believe the best way to respond is to reform our tax system to encourage greener choices. By shifting taxes away from the things we want more of—income, investment, and innovation—to the things we want less of—pollution and waste—we can build more sustainable communities. This is what our Green Shift plan is designed to do.

The advantages of the Green Shift are threefold. First, it can be implemented quickly and easily. The message of urgency coming from scientists combined with more than two years of Conservative inaction, means we must put a price on carbon as soon as possible. Because a cap-and-trade system will take several years to build, we will start by implementing a broad-based, revenue-neutral carbon tax in our first year of government. This will allow our economy to start making the necessary transition toward clean energy and energy efficiency right away.

Secondly, the Green Shift will produce results quickly. Under our plan we will start to see reductions in emissions much faster than under the loophole-ridden Conservative approach. Cleaner choices will be cheaper and dirty choices more expensive. This simple approach sends clear signals to polluters to change their ways and allows the market to determine the most cost-effective means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Finally, the plan encourages investment in the green solutions that will allow us to achieve our environmental goals while making our economy more competitive. By putting a gradually increasing price on carbon, we will

create more demand for greener technologies. The companies that develop these products will see their profits swell while Canadians that purchase them will, in the end, be able to save more money. We will all benefit as our economy becomes more competitive by exporting these solutions abroad.

But most importantly, these three advantages will make it easier for us to build the sustainable cites and communities we need to adapt to the climate change crisis and to an increasingly carbon-constrained world.

Today the town of Colonsay, Saskatchewan is installing a more innovative geothermal heat system in its skating rink; a new fire hall in Richmond, B.C. is going to have a green roof and renewable energy systems; and Bécancour, Quebec is cutting its energy costs significantly just by replacing its streetlights.

All these moves were made possible in part because of the Green Municipal Fund we Liberals created. Under the Green Shift plan—with the right price signals in place to spur investment in green solutions and with a Liberal government working in partnership with municipal leaders—we will be able to accomplish so much more for our cities and communities.

Moreover, our Green Shift plan is designed to be compatible with the commitment we have made to address Canada’s municipal infrastructure deficit. While we implement the Green Shift, we will also start making unprecedented investments in infrastructure.

As I announced at the FCM Sustainable Communities Conference in February (see page 49), we will invest any surpluses, beyond a contingency reserve, in infrastructure, starting with sustainable infrastructure. By this we mean public transit, water systems, clean energy, and brownfield cleanup. These investments will be in addition to every penny that is currently earmarked for infrastructure.

Making the transition to a green economy must go hand-in-hand with investments in sustainable infrastructure to help our communities adapt. Under a new Liberal government, under the Green Shift plan, they will.

Stéphane Dion Liberal Party of Canada

“We will all benefit as our economy becomes more competitive by exporting solutions abroad.” —Stéphane DionMichele Rochon

Michele is manager of business development for infrastructure, Wardrop Engineering.pg. 39

The Green shift and Canada’s CiTies and CommuniTies


Letters

www.renewcanada.net

What’s your opinion?We may publish your feedback. email us at [email protected].

Re: P3s (aGain)Although delighted to see that

my article [“Partnerships Revisited”, March/April 2008]

encouraged a letter from Paul Moist of CUPE, that delight was tempered by his somewhat shameless praying-in-aid of my article to support some of his argument against the P3 form of procurement. I say shameless because he should have explained to readers the real reason for the letter. CUPE’s current policy appears to be enshrined in “Gaining Ground: Strategic Directions Program for CUPE, 2005-2007” in which it is stated that three major priorities for CUPE are to “strengthen our bargaining power to win better collective agreements; increase our day-to-day effectiveness to better represent members in the workplace; intensify our campaign to stop contracting out and privatization of public services.”

Specifically in relation to their third priority, they determined to “make the strengthening and expansion of quality public services (and the stopping of privatization and contracting out) a primary focus of CUPE’s community work.” I have to say to Mr. Moist that if I believed that the P3 procurement process failed to strengthen and expand public services I would still be in the U.K. Civil Service (and a member of CUPE’s sister union) doing what I had done for the previous 25 years. However, all my experience of actually working as a trade union member trying to deliver public services led me to the conclusion that we were failing the public. And why? We simply didn’t have the skill or the motivation to understand and manage risks associated with providing and maintaining public assets.

P3 procurement isn’t always better than other forms of procurement: it doesn’t always deliver as well as it might. Mistakes are made, and performance is uneven in P3 as it is in any other form of procurement. But nobody can argue that, when it is done properly, a new hospital or

school procured this way is anything other than an improvement in the general level of public service. Whatever one’s view is on the method of procurement, surely there should be no one who would deny the right of the people we are supposed to serve having access to an increasing stock of better quality and better-maintained public assets.

I don’t have a problem with individuals who, as a matter of principle, believe that the private sector should be excluded from the provision of public assets and that such assets should always be provided directly by state employees. But, as with any principled position, the implications should be acknowledged. When considering how to improve a country’s infrastructure there are implications for levels of taxation; for public service behaviour in controlling capital expenditure; for levels of competitiveness with neighbours; for keeping pace with the expectations of the public, and so on.

And, finally, a principled position can be fatally compromised if any one argument can be shown to be factually incorrect. Thus, when I read in Mr. Moist’s letter that “P3s have not proven themselves to be the best way to deliver on-time and on-budget construction, or provide more and better services. Indeed the opposite has often proven to be the case” with no reference as to geography or time period, I was troubled. As it stands, Mr. Moist’s words are plain wrong on any normal measure, and I challenge him to provide hard evidence that those words are generally true.

Until that point, and using my personal experience, I continue to believe that, if done properly, P3 procurement methods can be used alongside other methods to deliver more, better quality public assets over the short, medium and long term.

David Wright Morrison hershfeld toronto, ontario

haRbouR, noT gulfFirst of all, I really like the magazine. In the

May/June [2008] edition, I saw a discrepancy that I thought I should tell you about. In [Jason Magder’s “Looking Under The Hood”] it said that “Halifax would like to stop pumping raw sewage into the Gulf of St. Lawrence.” Halifax Harbour opens onto the ocean and is hundreds of kilometres away from the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Alan bentley hamilton, ontario

Last year, the Ontario Environmental Review Tribunal granted a small but vocal group the right to appeal to a

stringent set of approvals granted to Lafarge to improve emissions by replacing some of the coal used to fuel its cement plant in Bath, Ontario, with alternative and renewable energy sources. The tribunal decided that full compliance with tough environmental regulations isn’t enough to protect the environment.

This is an attempt to create environmental policy by a group whose members are not directly accountable to the people of Ontario. It’s ironic that the tribunal is second-guessing the project’s approvals, when alternative and renewable energies are safely used by cement companies the world over.

This decision should be a red flag for the Ontario government and the manufacturing sector. If allowed to stand, business will either face a hostile regulatory approvals process, or consider moving its operations. This could not come at a worse time, with Ontario in danger of slipping into the recession that has engulfed its neighbouring Great Lakes states and with many Ontario businesses dealing with the choice between important investment and plant closure.

Pierre boucher, President and Ceo Cement Association of Canada ottawa, ontario

who should RegulaTe the enviRonmenT?

editor’s Note: We regret the error.


moRe nuKes is good nuKesOntario Power Generation (OPG) has been selected to operate two new units on the Darlington site. “The Darlington site is a solid choice for a new nuclear facility. We have strong community support, a track record of safe operations and long-standing ties to Durham Region,” said Jim hankinson, president and CEO of OPG. “We also have a skilled workforce and many of the key business infrastructure components are already in place across Durham.” Before the shovels go into the ground, the provincial government must decide on a technology vendor, and financing and contracts have to be successfully negotiated. In the meantime, OPG will complete the ongoing Environmental Assessment and licensing process. Details at opg.com

RePoRT undeR WRaPsPartnerships BC has compiled a report on whether certain infrastructure projects should be built through P3s in Nova Scotia. But Murray Scott, their minister of infrastructure renewal, isn’t ready to share the report, which they paid $200,000 to have put together. The province submitted a number of projects for the firm to review, including a new or updated Victoria General hospital in Halifax, a new jail in northern Nova Scotia and twinning of Highway 104 from Sutherlands River to the Canso Causeway. Details at gov.ns.ca

milleR CombaTs ClimaTe ChangeThe global C40 announced in early June that the Mayor of Toronto, David Miller, will be the new chair of the C40 Large Cities Climate Initiative. “Where national governments are falling short, cities are taking action and achieving results,” said Miller. “Climate change is the issue of our time, possibly of all time, and through the C40, we have an opportunity to make real and lasting difference on this pressing global issue.” The C40 was set up in 2005 with the aim to accelerate cities’ programmes to combat climate change. Details at c40cities.org

WhiTe PaPeRs, Clean slaTe Metrolinx is seeking public input to help shape a strategy to create a better transportation system across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). Two new white papers set out a vision, goals and objectives and propose specific policies and concepts for a new Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). “We are looking at bold and innovative options in the white papers,” said rob MacIsaac, chair of Metrolinx. “Ultimately, the final RTP will be an ambitious combination of policies,

programs and investments to support a comprehensive, seamless and sustainable transportation system.” Potential initiatives include expanding the transportation system so that more people will be able to access rapid transit less than five kilometres from their home; creating comprehensive walking and cycling networks; building a high-speed rail link between Pearson Airport and downtown Toronto; and new regional trip-planning services. MacIsaac emphasized that the white papers, and the final RTP, go far beyond just infrastructure investments in addressing the region’s transportation needs. “We need to encourage people to embrace alternative ways of getting around,” he said. After consultation, a draft RTP (due in late July) and a companion Investment Strategy will be developed. Once approved by the Metrolinx board, the drafts will be available online for input from August to early October. A series of public meetings across the region in September will provide additional opportunities for input. The final RTP—a master plan for an improved transportation system in the GTAH region—will be released in the fall of 2008. Details at metrolinx.com

opening Shots

Send your news and announcements to [email protected]

redit: R

egional Municip

ality of Wood

Buffalo

ab looKs To CommuniTy P3sThe Alberta government is issuing a request for Expression of Interest for a public-private partnership to provide a “master planned” community for Saline Creek Plateau. The province seeks solutions that will generate reasonably priced, serviced lots for residential and commercial use and address the needs for essential community services quickly and efficiently, with environmentally-

conscious community designs that are sensitive to land, water and energy use. The developments will house around 40,000 people in thousands of new homes on 4,000 acres of land and be complemented by schools, health clinics, recreational facilities, parks and other community services. Construction will likely be done in phases with the first housing expected to be available in 2010. Details at vendor.purchasingconnection.ca

QuebeC CiTy goes eleCTRiC—foR $12.2mEight new electric buses, designed for Old Quebec's narrow streets, were launched into service June 2, under Transport Canada's Urban Transportation Showcase Program ($16.9-million in funding was devoted to the program last February). The buses cost $12.2 million. At the unveiling, Lawrence Cannon, minister of transport, infrastructure and communities and minister responsible for Quebec said, “The government of Canada is getting things done by investing in innovative transportation to deliver a cleaner environment.” Details at tc.gc.ca

Cred

it: Transport C

anada

Quebec’s new écobus.

Above:Cross Section, Firebreak road

Left: Fused grid design, conceptual block.

right: Fused grid design, neighbourhood design.


Ontar io ’ s provincia l government underwent a significant cabinet shuffle in late June, as Minister David Caplan moved from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal (PIR)

to the Ministry of Health. Premier Dalton McGuinty has combined PIR with the Ministry of Energy to create what’s being called a “super-ministry,” headed up by former Health Minister George Smitherman. The ministry will combine energy and infrastructure and will oversee several Ontario mega-projects, including the new nuclear facility planned for Clarington. Smitherman will manage projects including Ontario’s $26.3 billion nuclear expansion and $60 billion upgrading of transit, roads and infrastructure. “It’s a big job, but this guy is more than capable of taking on that responsibility,” said McGuinty.

Paul Massara will take over from outgoing chair betty Carr at the Toronto Board of Trade this month. He told insidetoronto.com that he’ll focus on working with the City on key issues like infrastructure—for example, the $200 million to $300 million takedown of the eastern portion of the Gardiner Expressway announced last month.

reLocate

the 5th annual summit which will be held September 30–October 2, 2008 at Niagara-on-the-Lake. Dodge is also the chancellor of Queen’s University. Dodge will join founding co-chair, Linda hasenfratz, CEO of Linamar Corporation.

Stan Westby, City of Powell River’s chief administrative officer, has been asked to chair the non-technical committee of the National Round Table on Sustainable Infrastructure (NRTSI). For

details about NRTSI, see Guy Félio’s letter in our March/April issue.

Members of the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) elected the Association’s officers and directors for 2008-2009 at its annual general meeting in Edmonton on May 28, 2008. New members of CUTA’s executive committee include Steve New (BC Transit) as Chair; Charles Stolte (Edmonton Transit System) as First Vice Chair; robert olivier (Agence métropolitaine de transport - Montréal) as Vice Chair - Communications & Public Affairs; and, Mark brager (New Flyer Industries) as Vice Chair - Business Members. Penny Williams (Transit Windsor) will become Immediate Past Chair.

J. David Adams, P.Eng., MBA, is officially the 89th president of Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO), the licensing body for professional engineers in the province. Adams succeeds Walter K.

bilanski, PhD, P.Eng., and will lead PEO’s 70,000 members and interns and chair its council in 2008-2009.

François Audette, Danièle Dion, Dr. trevor Gillmore, Maurice Jaques and Sandra Lloyd have been appointed to the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada (TATC), which provides an independent review process for anyone who has been given notice of action taken by the minister of transport, infrastructure and communities.

Nick Lewis has joined Toronto Mayor David Miller’s office as senior policy advisor for economic development. He was most recently managing director with RBC Capital Markets and will now assist the mayor in the implementation of the Agenda for Prosperity, as well as act as a liaison between the mayor’s office and Toronto’s business community.

David Dodge, former governor of the Bank of Canada, has joined the Ontario Economic Summit (OES) as one of two co-chairs for

David Adams

George Smitherman

Stan Westby


The Top 100 Update

The third annual list of Top 100 Canadian Infrastructure Projects is

being compiled. The 2009 list will contain more information about the companies and major players who are making these projects happen.

As usual, it looks like energy and transportation projects will dominate the list. If you’re involved in a project that can prove us wrong, send us that information by visiting top100projects.ca.

For now, here’s a look at some of the projects that have been added to the list so far.

Key Players: The TTC has a seven-year, $100-million contract with the Spadina Link Project Managers Team—a joint venture between Hatch Mott MacDonald, Declan and MMM Group.

estimated Spending: $2.63B

Status: Expected to start this April and be completed in 2015.

Form of Contract: Private

Transmountain Pipeline expansion, edmonton, alb.

The new pipeline will loop Kinder Morgan’s existing 1,150-kilometre, 60-centimetre pipeline with a new 76-centimetre pipeline. Seven new pumping stations were built and six existing pumping stations updated in British Columbia. Now a 243-kilometre section of 30-and 36-inch pipe will be built between Valemount and Kamloops and back to Edmonton. A third phase of the project involves a loop between Kamloops and the Lower Mainland of B.C.

Key Players: Kinder Morgan and Pembina Pipeline Corp. (owners)

estimated Spending: $1.5B

Status: Estimated completion date is 2011

Form of Contract: Public

Queenston-lewiston bridge Crossing, niagara-on-the lake, ont.

Phase Two includes construction of a commercial vehicle secondary inspection warehouse, additional passenger primary inspection lanes, a new central building for the Canada Border Services Agency, a new animal inspection facility, and the installation of a wall to separate traffic bound for Canada and for the United States.

Key Players: $62 million from the Government of Canada (under the Building Canada plan through the Gateways and Border Crossings Fund) and $12.9 million from the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission.

estimated Spending: $130M

Status: Phase One is complete, Phase Two is underway.

Form of Contract: Public

spadina subway extension, Toronto, ont.

Not since the Bloor-Danforth subway line was built 40 years ago has the TTC taken on such as large transit expansion project. Sponsored by three levels of government—federal, provincial and municipal (City of Toronto/York Region)—the project is unique in that the TTC subway network will go beyond the City of Toronto limits for the first time and link neighbouring communities in York Region.

to get your copy of our

Top 100 Canadian Infrastructure Projects

for 2008, contact [email protected].


reFinance

“This is a cross-government solution—that’s the basic notion,” said Blain during

a recent Toronto event organized by the CCPPP. “It’s not about one sector, it’s about all of them. And the lessons you learn in one you can apply in another.”

The province’s slate of P3 projects now incorporates a range of government activity including highways, bridges and a rapid transit system, wastewater treatment and an expanding list of projects in the health sector including hospitals and long-term care facilities.

Blain said he was delighted that the preferred proponents in three recent health sector procurements are all new to the healthcare sector in B.C. The three projects attracted a total of eight bids. “All three of them came over our affordability line,” said Blain. “What we’re starting to do in B.C. is calculate the public sector comparator, which is a risk-adjusted concept, and from that we create a 30-year affordability line, which is an understanding between us and

the bidders that if bids are above that line, then government has the right to say it doesn’t want to proceed.”

He was confident that all three projects would proceed and attributed the above-the-line bids to current conditions in B.C., where costs are rising in a very active construction market. “But all the design solutions of the preferred proponents were excellent and, in terms of accepting the concession agreement, we realized the risk transfer that we were looking to achieve,” he said. “There was little debate over what is now becoming our generic template agreement and the terms are holding up during the period of the RFP response.”

One innovative feature of this procurement was prompted by the turmoil in financial markets. “Just before we announced a preferred proponent, we allowed all the bidders to re-price their credit spread so that the tension of holding the financial terms over 90 days was broken a little bit,” said Blain. “We thought that would be a win-win for both sides and there were some pricing

Cred

it: CC

PP

P

P3s in b.C.

CEO of Partnerships BC, Larry Blain, speaking to CCPPP’s members.

Partnerships BC is involved in 25 projects

worth close to $9 billion completed, under

construction or in the marketplace. the

Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships’

(CCPPP) President dale Richmond is

encouraged by British Columbia’s progress.


adjustments, but basically all the pricing has held. So we have a fixed price deal at financial close.”

Blain said, “The financing terms came in more or less where we had expected. In subsequent deals the spreads may widen. For these [projects], the credit spreads were a little wider as expected, but the underlying bond rates had gone down so we came out more or less where we thought we should be.”

Blain also provided details of another big major project currently in procurement—the twinning of the Port Mann Bridge over the Fraser River near Vancouver, which has three proponents on the RFQ shortlist. Technical submissions for the $2-billion bridge and highway project have been received and final proposals are expected in mid-July.

Looking back over the five-and-a-half years since the creation of Partnerships BC, Blain noted that the organization has settled on DBFM as its preferred partnership model. But they have also done Design-Builds when the case analysis indicates that this is the way to proceed.

“Our first healthcare project, Abbotsford hospital, could be characterized as a ‘soft FM’ package where there was a lot in the [Finance-Maintain] package,” said Blain. “But in our subsequent healthcare packages it seems to be more in the ‘hard FM’ that we get the risk transfer that we’re looking for and the simplicity.

Whatever the partnership model, P3s in B.C. have been delivering projects on or under budget and on or ahead of schedule. The new William R. Bennett Bridge in Kelowna opened 108 days ahead of schedule, the Kicking Horse Canyon Phase 2 highway improvement project was completed early and the Canada Line rapid transit project is probably going to be ahead of schedule.

“When you think of some of the other

“When you think of some of

the other projects in B.C. that

weren’t done as P3s, but which

have been significantly over-

budget, then for the politicians

it’s very galvanizing when you

can finish these projects on

time and at the agreed price.”

—Larry Blain

projects in B.C. that weren’t done as P3s but which have been significantly over-budget, then for the politicians it’s very galvanizing when you can finish these projects on time and at the agreed price,” said Blain. “Politicians are definitely lined up behind the idea that P3s are the right thing to do—but only part of the time.”

Still, out of the government’s total capital spend of about $6 billion a year, only about 15-25 per cent is P3s. “The majority is not public-private partnerships and never will be,” said Blain. “It’s just the bigger projects,

the riskier ones where there can be scope for innovation and an active market to bid.”

Looking ahead, Blain sees a period of steadily increasing activity. As Blain says, a P3 is not always the answer, but it is a part of the solution and can contribute to addressing the public infrastructure backlog.

Submitted by the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships (CCPPP). Dale richmond is president of CCPPP.

reFinance


a new test to tell those who are sustainable

from those stuck in the past.

ComPleTe Communities

By Glenn Miller and Michelle Drylie

Although many trees have been sacrificed documenting earnest discussions about sustainability,

there is still a disturbing sense of unreality about these debates. The language typically used to describe the challenge of achieving sustainability is often evangelical in tone and lacking rigour. As a result of emerging issues in Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH), however, this discourse may be replaced by a new reality test: if it isn’t economic, it isn’t sustainable.

The provincial Growth Plan for the GGH adopted by the Government of Ontario in 2006 is now well into the implementation phase. But as municipalities get on with the hard work of updating and adjusting their official plans to meet intensification targets, some potentially intractable fiscal realities are emerging. Among them, the twin fiscal challenges of accommodating new growth while at the same time addressing pressing needs to renew and replace aging infrastructure that supports existing development.

The Growth Plan calls for the creation of “complete communities,” a term that acknowledges a desire to provide residents with options for where and how they choose to work, live and play. This means that municipalities must be able to fund long-term investments in both necessary infrastructure (such as storm and sanitary sewers, water, roads and transit) and community infrastructure (such as schools, hospitals, libraries, police stations and community centres).

Even if regional and municipal officials are able to design plans consistent with the vision expressed in the Growth Plan, not even the best growth management strategies can overcome the fundamental fiscal challenges facing both regional and local municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton (GTAH), a sub-set of the GGH.

To address these challenges, the Regional Municipality of Halton and the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) recently organized a financial summit for the benefit of

The city Matt Blackett created using Facebook’s “My City” application (above) is “a

place where citizens dare to dream of a sustainable city.”

On Facebook, if you can dream it, you can build it. In reality, planners and developers need

to figure out how to create financial sustainability first.

Credit: Flavien Charlon/Matt B

lackett


politicians from all orders of government in the GTAH to address four principal issues:

1. The financing model that worked for Metro Toronto in the ’50s and ’60s and when regional municipalities were created in the ’70s is no longer viable. Most municipalities in the region have accumulated infrastructure deficits, a problem exacerbated by the need to upgrade or replace facilities to meet stringent new environmental and safety standards informed by current policy goals. There are legal and practical borrowing limits that constrain a municipality’s ability to undertake multi-year projects, and the scope and scale of re-investment plus the costs to accommodate new growth has moved well beyond the capacity of upper-tier municipalities to cope with these costs.

2. The current model for financing growth with development charges (DCs) is based on principles established to meet rapid growth in the ’70s. This model was innovative and effective for decades, but circumstances have changed. The scope of development charges has been narrowed to exclude provision of soft services like community centres and libraries. Because DCs pay only for the costs of new growth, the expenses of maintaining service over the long-term fall on the municipality—an increasingly challenging requirement, given the regressive nature of the property tax regime.

3. A related problem is that, looking ahead, the Growth Plan calls for development of communities of the future—compact, transit-friendly and pedestrian-oriented. The costs established in DC bylaws are based on the past. The amounts collectible through DCs are based on the financial track record of the preceding ten years. If municipalities hope to move their development practices into the 21st century, then DCs need to be based on tomorrow’s urban form, not yesterday’s.

the Growth Plan calls for

development of communities

of the future—compact, transit-

friendly and pedestrian-oriented.

the costs established in

development charge bylaws

are based on the past.


4. Municipal treasurers are facing a cash flow challenge: when they add up the continuous costs of infrastructure replacement—including the borrowing limitations; the extra expense of having to completely rebuild or even replace infrastructure to meet modern standards; and the construction of facilities needed to support new residents and workers—it’s clear that DCs are neither a full nor perfect solution. Partnerships will need to be brokered. Principles will need to be revisited.

In laying out the fiscal challenges ahead, the session took pains to acknowledge significant commitments already made by the provincial and federal governements. Through the recently passed Invest in Ontario Act, the province has committed up to $2 billion out of 2008’s budgetary surplus to service capital debt and municipal infrastructure projects. The Municipal Infrastructure Investment Initiative (MIII) will allocate $450 million in 2007-2008 to municipalities that applied for project-specific funding. In the longer term, the province’s MoveOntario 2020 plan has identified that $17.5 billion in provincial funding will be needed for public transit investments over the next 12 years. It’s also expected that a forthcoming report called “Provincial Municipal Fiscal and Service Delivery Review” will shed light on how many of the fiscal challenges facing municipalities might be addressed.

For its part, the federal government is attempting to overcome decades of inconsistent commitments to renewing infrastructure through its flagship plan: Building Canada. While the plan draws its funding from the gas tax fund and the GST rebate, the scope of its mandate is broad, covering the requirements of smaller rural communities as well the needs of urban centres with funding for projects like the Spadina Subway extension (see page 13). To ensure continued access to gas tax funds, municipalities must undertake initiatives consistent with preparation of an integrated community sustainability plan.

What’s next?

Given the common interests in protecting and enhancing the prosperity of the region, a new collaborative model for addressing these complex fiscal needs is required. The province is committed to finding solutions, but what about other players? What role should the federal government take to expand its current investments in the social, environmental and economic threads that are intertwined through the regional economy? Is there a role for the private sector in this partnership?

Addressing the challenges of building “complete communities” requires a commitment to fiscal reform and innovation as far-reaching as the commitment to developing in a completely new way to implement the Growth Plan’s vision. One thing is for sure: municipal practitioners will soon begin to have more respect for that simple word: “sustainability.”

Glenn Miller, FCIP, rPP, is director, education and research, with CuI in toronto and is a regular contributor to reNew Canada.

Michelle Drylie is a graduate of the university of toronto masters program in planning, and worked on the halton Summit project. Find summit details at canurb.com.

Think you have the answers to these questions?email [email protected]


600 megawatts of heat. Wood waste that isn’t sold or used for bioenergy purposes is often subject to incineration in beehive burners, a practice that contributes to air pollution.

In addition to the man-made surplus, one small—yet impervious—insect contributes to Canada’s surplus. Dr. Staffan Melin of the University of British Columbia calls the mountain pine beetle infestation the “third biomass goldrush.” There are nine million hectares of dead coniferous species across the province, with 17 million hectares currently affected. It’s a bioenergy boon. This “natural disturbance” puts Canada in an ideal position for bioenergy investment.

“There’s a huge surplus of biomass in Canada,” Douglas Bradley, president of the Canadian Bioenergy Association (CANBIO) and board member of the recently-formed World Bioenergy Association, told international delegates at one event. “We need to sell it.”

That might explain why Canada hosted a side event during the conference to draw global attention to market drivers and investment opportunities—particularly in the form of partnerships with Scandinavian countries (Sweden is already the largest European importer of Canadian wood pellets).

But to develop a bioenergy market in Canada, Canadians need the incentive to use it. Sweden’s government actively incentivizes its citizens to make use of its bioenergy infrastructure. National incentives include no tax on renewable fuels until 2013 and lower vehicle taxes for clean cars. Until the

end of 2009, private owners receive a 10,000 Skr (CAD $1,700) rebate when buying a new clean car—there are now approximately 200 different makes and models of clean vehicles on the Swedish market. On a pre-conference tour departing from Stockholm, delegates learned that the city offers drivers perks like free parking, zero congestion charges, and gives “cut-the-line” priority to clean taxis.

Alexandra Volkoff, Canada’s ambassador to Sweden, opened the session by focusing on the federal government’s $1.5 billion ecoENERGY initiative for biofuels development, announced this time last year. These funds will help achieve the goal of five per cent renewable content in all gasoline sold in Canada by 2010 (diesel fuel and

A Canadian delegation to the 2008 World Bioenergy Conference in Jönköping learned that Växjö is not the only Swedish city working toward sustainability. Wood pellet-fuelled district heating plants appear in several smaller communities, alongside many biofuel, biogas and ethanol plants. And people are using these resources.

When compared to Sweden and other European countries, Canada appears to be slow on the bioenergy uptake. With ten per cent of the world’s forests, Canada is in a surplus situation: we have more biomass resources per capita than any country in the world. Despite this bounty, only six per cent of our energy supply matrix comes from biomass. We’re a country outfitted for oil and natural gas: change is slow and expensive.

Our forestry industry produces “waste”—for example, harvest residue (or “slash”) that remains at roadsides after deforestation—that could contribute enough energy for one million Canadian homes. The annual biomass surplus (mill residue, heritage bark piles, harvest residue), according to a 2005 study, is enough bone-dry tons to support thirty 150,000-tonne pellet plants and thirty 200 tonnes-per-day bio-oil plants, producing 1,200 megawatts of power and

“We don’t have to wait for international agreements on CO2,” said our

tour guide, Henrik Johannson, Växjö’s environmental controller. “We can do it anyway.” In February 2007, Sweden’s City of Växjö won the Sustainable Energy Europe Award in the Sustainable Community category. The city strives to use energy from renewable sources efficiently and is moving toward a fossil-fuel free transport system, with long list of goals to accompany its mission, including reducing CO2 emissions per inhabitant by at least 50 per cent by the year 2010 (compared to 1993).

Växjö—arguably the greenest city in Europe—is showing larger cities and even countries that change can happen on a local level. Its success is largely due to bioenergy practices, with serious biomass implementation beginning in the 1980s. In more recent years, the city has offered a 25 per cent subsidy to homeowners getting rid of oil boilers and switching to wood pellet burners. And of the 80,000 population, VEAB’s (Växjö Energi—a biofuel producer) Sandvik plant supplies electricity and heating to approximately 67,000. These are only a few of Växjö’s initiatives.

biomass Goldrush

Canada steps into the spotlight at sweden’s world Bioenergy Conference. By Kerry Freek

Biomass in the form of chips and pellets is increasingly available—but who will buy it?

Cred

it: Kerry Freek

Canada will need an estimated three

billion litres of renewable fuel per

year—we’re currently producing

around 800 million litres per year.

International


International

subsidies, export possibilities, and, of course, bioenergy feedstock resources. About eighty representatives from other countries attended Canada’s side event, and, by the end of the conference, the Canadian delegation had generated interest for business partnerships and new developments, such as wood pellet and biomass export and local bioenergy investments.

Canadian delegates networked with the Swedish delegates who are making Växjö’s plan to be a fossil-fuel free city by 2050 possible. Maud Olofsson, Sweden’s minister for enterprise and energy, said the first step is understanding that “time is not renewable.” If Canada keeps hitting the international scene like it did in Jönköping, there’s a chance we could come in under the clock.

Special thanks to the Embassy of Sweden in Ottawa,

the Canadian Embassy in Sweden and Elmia.

heating oil will require an average of two per cent renewable content by 2012). To meet these requirements, Canada will need an estimated three billion litres of renewable fuel per year—we’re currently producing around 800 million litres per year.

This past April, Alberta announced an investment of more than $17 million in grants to bioenergy projects. Fifteen companies will receive the grants—ranging from $18,500 to $5 million—to help fund new facilities and research to strengthen the bioenergy industry—all part of a larger, $239-million plan to build a viable market for bioenergy and encourage further private investment over five years.

With money comes research and development. Just this month, the Ontario government announced $7.5 million to help move two biofuel projects to the global

Kerry is associate editor at this magazine. She especially enjoyed her bioenergy “hyttsill” in Sweden’s Kostaboda glass factory. [email protected]

marketplace. The Institute for Chemicals and Fuels from Alternative Resources at the University of Western Ontario will receive $5 million to support its experimental field station. The institute, together with Agri-Therm Limited, is working to turn

agricultural byproducts into fuel and other chemicals, including organic insecticides, pesticides and fertilizers. The second project will take place at Stanton Farms and is expected to generate green energy from manure and waste water, while cutting GHG emissions and odour.

At the event, speakers from British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes made cases for development to come to their regions, highlighting provincial GHG reduction policies, green job funding commitments, development

with ten per cent of the world’s forests, Canada is in a surplus

situation: we have more biomass resources per capita than

any country in the world. despite this bounty, only six per cent

of our energy supply matrix comes from biomass.


International

James sbrolla joined a delegation of Canadian and mexican professionals on

a trip through northern italy and learned that to really make waste management

“sexy,” you need to throw in a panoramic view of the italian riviera.

sustainaBle infrastruCture, iTalian-sTyle

there are only a handful of energy-from-waste (EFW) facilities, managing less than 1 per cent of waste, Italy has 50 EFW units (31 units in the north, 13 in the centre, and six in the south) managing about ten per cent of waste. Italy’s shortage of landfills and

the new legislation on landfill management requires an increase of EFW facilities to over 100 within the next ten years. Potential end-users of waste management plants are municipalities, chemical industries,

The current dependence on oil imports has made energy security and diversification of sources top

priorities in Italy’s energy strategy. As of 2006, renewable sources were responsible for about 16 per cent of Italy’s total consumption of electricity. The target for 2010 is to take that number to 25 per cent.

In 2001, hydroelectric power already accounted for 56 per cent of Canada’s total electricity generated, followed by thermal (28.3 per cent) and nuclear (13 per cent). Other renewable energy sources, such as geothermal, solar, wind, wood and waste, accounted for the rest.

Another difference between the two countries’ energy mixes: while in Canada

machinery, pulp and paper industries, mining and energy companies.

The strong interest in EFW is mainly due to considerable progress in air pollution control technologies and intensive governmental support. According to Flavio Ferrari of

Actelios, a northern Italian company, “To promote the renewable energy development, the Italian government has introduced a Green Certificate (GC) trading system obligating all Italian energy producers and

touring these efw systems, delegates had only

two questions: “is it safe and can we afford it?”

Neil M

acDonald

Far away from the city, between two high mountains sits Genova’s “landfill

in the sky.” Inset: a close-up view.


International

importers to deliver a fixed amount of renewable energy into the national grid.” New legislation mandates that 4.55 per cent of the electricity producers and importers feed to the power grid be from renewables. If not, they have to buy an equivalent quota of Green Certificates. Before that, Italy had a program that guaranteed a higher feed-in tariff for electricity produced by renewables and sources seen as equivalent to renewables, like urban solid waste.

District heating is a major factor in both energy yield and profitability potential for projects in the EFW debate. For efficiency of processing as well as for emission displacement, district heating and steam as an industrial utility are important considerations. Whether tied into residential, commercial, industrial or large public infrastructure projects, the district model is an essential component for facilities to be efficient (see page 33). The delegation toured plants in Brescia and Milan and witnessed how this model can get infrastructure built at a fraction of the cost by leveraging resources. Hospitals, factories, schools and homes are heated and served by central facilities

through the district approach extensively in Europe.Touring these EFW systems, delegates had only two questions, put

simply by Clarington Mayor Jim Abernethy: “Is it safe and can we afford it?” The region of Durham has evaluated the appropriateness and cost effectiveness of building an EFW facility in the region and, according to Abernethy, “We came to the realization that we needed a long-term sustainable solution without relying on anyone but ourselves.”

Invited to visit a biogas plant in Genova, the delegation set off to the top of a mountain to visit their municipal landfill. Located between two mountains, the landfill is only accessible via a steep, narrow road. The biogas plant was interesting but landfill was, surprisingly, spectacular. Look past the waste and heavy equipment and it’s a panorama of the Italian Riviera.

Ontarians who still favour shipping their waste to far-away Michigan would love this mountainous landfill location. “Many North Americans continue to adhere to the idea that shipping municipal waste as far away as possible is an acceptable waste management solution,” said Abernethy.

The Italian attitude may or may not be more progressive. Either way, landfills are still the primary method for the disposal of urban solid waste. There are 657 landfills to dispose of about 72 per cent of waste—but that’s down 20 per cent in the last five years. Biological management has also gone up to 22.2 per cent.

The situation in Canada is less promising. The difference? Italy has been forced by a density of 200 people per acre to deal with their problems. While southern Italy has its challenges, the north of Italy has come to terms with the challenges of creating a sustainable society and embraced the goal. Toronto, on the other hand, has an anaerobic digestion system to treat 110,000 tonnes of organic material. It produces more than 12 million cubic metres of biogas which, if converted into electricity could power 1,700 homes for a year. But Toronto doesn’t have the facilities to convert biogas to

“Many North Americans continue to

adhere to the idea that shipping municipal

waste as far away as possible is an

acceptable waste management solution,”

—Jim Abernethy


James Sbrolla is a freelance journalist and partner in a private equity fund. he has developed expertise in sustainable development and clean tech over the last two

decades while completing trade missions through over 60 countries.

International

electricity, so it’s burned off.Back in Ontario, Mayor Abernethy said,

“The Italian Mission helped me to better understand what we have to do to advance sustainable development in Canada.” For one thing, Abernethy believes that “shipping our garbage to Michigan might be acceptable, but it is not sustainable.”

Abernethy said, “They site energy-from-waste facilities very close to populated areas because they have confidence in their technologies which reduce emissions to the level that they can locate them right in their own backyard.”

Special thanks to Sebastiano Metelli and

the Italian Trade Commission of Toronto.

He planned an excellent itinerary and was

instrumental in organizing the mission.

The delegation toured Turin and Venice where two large, formerly contaminated industrial sites had been rehabilitated and are now business centres focusing on the commercialization and development of environmental technologies.

Government and private industry have collaborated to host and finance environmental research and business development, turning these former brownfields into models of business infrastructure. Founded in 1996, through an initiative of the Piedmont Region, the Province of Torino, the City of Torino and the European Union, the torino environment Park in Turin hosts around 60 companies (full list at envipark.com) and includes what is purportedly the largest green roof in Europe. Venice’s veGA (venice Gateway for Science and technologies) park is currently developing what will be the world’s first hydrogen manufacturing facility. Founded in 1993, the park hosts 200 companies (full list at vegapark.ve.it) and employs over 2,000 people. The goal is to redevelop 2000 hectares of the industrial area of Porto Marghera.

For more on eco parks see page 41.

eco-business Centres

In 2005, Italy invested around $982 million in Canada, making it our 11th largest trading partner. The densely populated peninsula is well connected through an extensive system of modern railways, expressways, national roads, airports and seaports. Most of

the infrastructure was rebuilt after the destruction of World War II. While the road and rail networks are intricate and plentiful in the north and centre of Italy—where delegates tend to tour through—their southern infrastructure is not as strong.

all about italy


International

Few countries have demonstrated the ability to recover from economic shocks like those that rocked Sweden in the mid-1970s. The country’s problems began with the oil crisis in

1973, followed only a couple of years later by economic restructuring precipitated by the collapse of the nation’s shipbuilding industry. The sector vanished virtually overnight as competition from Asia resulted in cancelled orders and widespread bankruptcy, slashing

City-BuildinG, Brownfields

and sweden

Cred

it: James S

brolla The “twisted

torso” in Malmo, one of several environmentally progressive Swedish cities.

export revenue and undermining demand for steel and energy. The impact on dozens of Sweden’s waterfront economies was devastating, resulting in massive job loss and the abandonment of many well-located but heavily contaminated shipyard properties. The subsequent turnaround, which is still in progress, has been largely responsible for Sweden’s current reputation as a leader in sustainability and brownfield redevelopment.

Three cities have set the bar higher than many in North America could believe possible: they are Malmo (Västra Hamnen), Goteborg (Ålvstranden) and Stockholm (Hammarby Sjöstad). By treating holdovers from the shipyard era as heritage artifacts and emphasizing integrated thinking on all matters environmental—including decontamination, transportation, energy and waste—and insisting on the highest standards of design for public spaces and private investment, these communities have managed not only to replace manufacturing jobs, but in many cases, added many more in the IT, culture and creative industries than ever existed on the docks. The result has been housing and mixed use development of the highest quality.

A by-product of this success is a mini-tourism boom as developers, politicians, municipal officials, planners and architects trek to Sweden to see these waterfront jewels for themselves (see page 22). Hammarby Sjöstad alone receives 10,000 visitors a year.

Attendees at Hot Properties at Canadian Brownfields 2008 (Toronto

October 22-24) will hear a presentation on Ålvstranden’s recovery

and resurgence, and may meet with exhibitors from Sweden in the

Brownfields Marketplace. Visit canadianbrownfields.ca for the program

and information on sponsorship and exhibit space.

—Glenn Miller, CuI


International International

significant opportunities for Canadian companies to adopt Dutch techniques and innovations. In fact, Michel Beaulieu with Quebec’s Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks Ministry admitted, “We tapped into such global experts as far back as 1985 when we lead a mission to the Netherlands after researching best practices to resolve the case of Ville LaSalle. We were looking for functionality instead of multi-functionality.”

It makes sense that the Dutch would want to partner with Canada. Hans van Duijne, the international project manager with one of the mission organizers, Deltares (The National Geological Survey of the Netherlands), said “Deltares is concerned with areas where economic development and population pressure are high, where space and natural resources both above and below the surface have to be managed in multi-functional and intensive ways.” Sound familiar?

In order to apply Dutch-born in situ techniques to Canada, researchers have to consider local geology and ecology issues. The Dutch government has recognized the need for demonstration and verification pilots that show how in situ remediation works in various dynamic ecosystems. Deltares (formerly TNO Built Environment

I n the Netherlands, brownfields public policy has emerged from the legacies of Lekkerkerk (a Dutch equivalent to

Quebec’s Ville LaSalle Landfill or Ontario’s Port Hope) shifting towards a proactive and progressive attitude of national remediation targets and encouraging more in situ soil and groundwater remediation techniques from the private sector as a measure of sustainability.

“By 2030, everywhere in the Netherlands, all soil should be fit for the land use prescribed,” said Co Molenaar with the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM).

Canadians have been learning from the remediation innovations of densely populated nations like the Netherlands for awhile now, where integrated remedial, area-wide, and risk-based approaches have been verified to reap tremendous economic, social and environmental benefits. The Toronto Economic Development Corporation (TEDCO) partnered with Dutch-based Shell Oil back in the ’90s to pilot what was then one of Ontario’s largest applications of site-specific, risk-based restoration and redevelopment of contaminated waterfront lands at the Toronto Hydro Service Centre.

There have been, and continue to be,

and Geosciences) has been running a large technology pilot program in Holland (called HIP) for a few years and is now ready to take these efforts on an international road show.

The process provides an opportunity for Canada and the Netherlands to join forces, said Serge Delisle and Adrien Pilon from the National Research Council Canada/Biotechnology Research Institute. The current HIP program has focused on cultivating 24 large-scale in situ remediation pilots in a range of different field sites. The pilot sites were selected to respond to a schematic division of brownfields archetypes based on contaminant type and subsurface conditions. This systematic approach represented some 80 per cent of the typical remediation situations, acting as a growing reference database for remediations projects.

Contaminated soil as Resource

“One interesting difference I observed while in Holland was the intense understanding that contaminated soil was not considered a waste,” said Marcia Wallace, brownfields coordinator within the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “The shortage of soil and the limited options for landfilling make soil a valuable resource to the Dutch society.”

this may, hon lu joined a business mission on behalf of renew

Canada to report on a knowledge partnership between Canada

and the netherlands for soil and groundwater technology.

dutCh diRTC

redit: H

on Lu

Extreme Recycling: separating piles of sand from contaminated material for reuse.


the challenges and opportunities facing their respective regions. Looking ahead to future collaborations, delegates summarized the week with a three-year action plan for enhanced information sharing and technology pilots, policy drivers and the development of policy

pilots, and addressing the human resources gap in the creation of knowledge centres for soil and groundwater innovation.

For a complete list of Dutch and Canadian delegates from this mission, look for this article at renewcanada.net.

The operators of the soil and sediment washing facilities make a living from the precious aggregate and sand particles recovered from this “waste.” At Schiedam Boskalis Mineral Recycling, delegates saw the intense effort made to separate reusable sand from contaminated dredge material and organic matter—there’s something to be gained from a country so focused on valuing its land resources.

This attitude extends to Dutch public policy, where corporations responsible for polluting the environment are held accountable (after 1987). Eric van Nieuwkerk, Project Leader in Soil Management and GIS at Deltares, talked about the megasite development they’re working on in the Port of Rotterdam. van Nieuwkerk, who was born in Burnaby, B.C., recognizes the chance to share some Dutch innovation with his Canadian friends. Deltares’ work with the Rotterdam Port Authority has resulted in securing funds from private corporations responsible for off-site contamination to manage long-term risks and remediate urgent sites, while generating some revenues to further redevelop the more difficult contamination sites.

International International

hon Lu practises both as an urban planner and environmental engineer, specializing in brownfields revitalization at teDCo.

Potential Partnerships

With countries steering aggressively towards the restoration of their contaminated sites in various jurisdictions, the mission was timely. The Ontario government recently announced reforms that would help clear the way for more

brownfield redevelopment in the province, hosting multi-sector workshops in June on brownfield reform. Reform efforts like drafting and implementing regulatory amendments related to the off-site liability, updated standards, Tier 2 streamlined risk assessment and Record of Site Condition review process could gain some support from a strategic partnership with the respective Dutch Ministries.

The intensive week ended with a day-long workshop focused on developing enhanced Canadian-Dutch partnerships in soil and groundwater policy and practice. Both Dutch and Canadian delegates were asked to define

“One interesting difference I observed while in Holland

was the intense understanding that contaminated soil

was not considered a waste.”—Marcia Wallace


years of zoning applications, Ontario Energy Board (OEB) hearings, environmental assessments, elevation changes to satisfy locals, then after all that time and money spent, “you end up stranded.” No wires, no electricity.

That hasn’t stopped provincial governments from ordering up more megawatts of wind energy. This May, Quebec announced it will exploit its potential for wind generation and is aiming to connect 4,000 megawatts of wind power to the Hydro-Québec grid by 2015. Quebec will likely get as much interest as other provinces—and that’s a lot.

In PEI, Maritime Electric put out an Expressions of Interest for wind projects. The maximum electricity demand there is around 200 megawatts—they got proposals for 1,500.

“A province says ‘let’s explore wind energy’ then gets buried with submissions and realizes

A riotous scene with police standing by outside a town hall while Windrush Energy president John

Pennie faces a crowd of protesters—it’s your average public consultation on a proposed wind farm, somewhere in Ontario.

There are as many anti-wind groups in Canada as there are wind developers. But CanWEA (Canadian Wind Energy Association) Vice President of Policy Sean Whittaker says there’s nothing wrong with a little healthy cynicism; it keeps developers honest. “In the end, the truth will always come out,” he says. Whether they’re right or not, anti-wind lobbyists are a barrier, not an impasse. When I ask CanWEA’s Ulrike Kucera what the barriers to wind energy are, she has one word for me: “infrastructure.”

“Transmission is the issue,” says Whittaker. Pennie says each project means

that the key is wires,” says Whittaker. In Nova Scotia, there are around 2,000

megawatts of wind power in the connection queue. There are similar restrictions in Alberta, with “serious transmission constraints in the southeast portion of the province,” says Whittaker.

It’s the same in Ontario, where some projects have had their connection approvals revoked, leaving developers with a land use permit but the inability to build any turbines. In the last year and a half, contracts have been given out for 1,300 megawatts of wind power in Ontario, all put on hold while the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) reevaluates the Standard Offer Program (SOP).

The idea behind the standard offer was to encourage local communities to put together ten-megawatt projects. The OPA provides small electricity generators (from residential

foreCast: high Windsso many public and private entities are jumping on clean technologies

like wind power, they’re weighing down the bandwagon. By Mira Shenker

energy energy


photovoltaic rooftop generation of one kilowatt up to small wind farms of ten megawatts) with a standard pricing regime. John Kourtoff, president of Toronto’s Trillium Power Wind Corporation says, “The SOP is very good, but it’s been abused by the industry. It was meant for community power, but developers chopped big projects up into smaller, ten-megawatt parcels.”

Pennie says, “The windy part of the southwestern Ontario is now totally blocked with projects, and a large percentage of them can’t get connections until upgrades are made to the Bruce Transmission line.”

Upgrades to that line are scheduled for completion in 2011, but Pennie says it will likely just mean a limited feeder upgrade, limiting the market to large capacity projects. “In the orange zone (southwestern Ontario) all turbines are at capacity and it won’t get better with new transmission in 2011,” says Pennie. “It won’t change the standard offer.”

According to Kourtoff, it’s the standard offer—or its regulator—that’s the problem. “I don’t think the OPA’s plans are dynamic enough,” he says. “You can’t determine what the market will be with an IPSP (Integrated Power System Plan) created four years ago, a plan that’s not even approved yet.” He would rather see a feed-in tariff like the one used in the European market. Something like the European REFIT (Renewable Energy Feed-In Tariff) could assign a separate category for small community power.

Ontario’s new energy minister, George Smitherman, said at the World Wind Energy Conference in Kingston this June that he’s open to introducing a Green Energy Act that would replace the current SOP.

Pennie says at the very least there needs to be a change in SOP pricing to reflect the cost of turbines. This is a global market and, as Pennie says, “there’s a world shortage of turbines.” This increased demand, along

“I don’t think the OPA’s

plans are dynamic enough.

You can’t determine what

the market will be with

an IPSP plan created four

years ago, a plan that’s not

even approved yet.”

—John Kourtoff

energy energy

with a shortage of skilled labour (see page 6) and the high price of oil has pushed the cost of turbines up—on average by 34 per cent in the last two years, according to Pennie. New manufacturers of turbines are showing up, but Pennie says a five-turbine project costs about $25 million—“you need to borrow at least $20 million.” And banks won’t finance a start-up company’s product. That leaves developers with only a handful of vendors to choose from. Their capacity is constrained and the prices reflect it.

“A lot of developers won’t even respond to an RFP anymore unless they know they’ve

got the capacity,” says Pennie. Michael Bernstein, executive director of infrastructure and utilities at Macquarie, said they’ve been stockpiling turbines for years because they knew the increased demand was coming.

But Trillium Power has something else in mind—potentially better than stockpiling, if it works. They’re working a deal with German offshore wind turbine manufacturer Multibrid (see sidebar, page 32) who plans to build a turbine manufacturing plant in North America—more specifically, in Ontario. Hundreds of megawatts of onshore wind farms have been built around Ontario,


but the turbines were imported from plants in Europe or the United States. “Ontario lost the wave for onshore—that business has gone elsewhere in the world—but we can be a major player in offshore,” says Kourtoff.

Kourtoff says the only thing stopping them right now is, basically, the same thing stopping everyone else: “there’s no opportunity for us to participate in the Ontario grid right now.” Trillium’s proposed project in the Great Lakes depends on their ability to make a power-purchase agreement with Ontario,

and the OPA’s current position is that offshore projects are too expensive.Kourtoff says the numbers in a report (prepared by Helimax Energy) recently submitted by the OPA to the OEB are inaccurate.

Whittaker says offshore wind farms do cost more to build, but the wind resource is better. Basically, they’re a good idea for anyone who can make the numbers work. Kourtoff is sure it will work—he says Trillium has 30 years worth of data to back that up. “Offshore development is like an

economic tsunami—in a good way—and it’s unstoppable.” He also stresses that it’s the OPA, not the government, giving them trouble. “The government has been great,” he says, “but now it’s up to the private sector to step up to the plate.”

Source: CanWEA

Mira Shenker is the editor of this magazine. She would like someone to build a turby on her roof so she, too, can queue up to be added to the ontario grid. [email protected]

energy

This June, BC Hydro issued a Clean Power Call hoping developers will provide the province with the

infrastructure to keep at least 90 per cent of all electricity generated coming from clean sources. The RFP isn’t exclusively about wind energy, but the province did just start the search for a consultant team to undertake a wind data study to scout potential turbine sites. Details at bchydro.com

A 320-megawatt offshore wind energy development is proposed off British Columbia’s Queen Charlotte

Islands. NaiKun Wind Energy Group has already invested $2.5 million in a marine meteorological station. If construction starts in 2009 as planned, it could be North America’s first offshore wind site. Details at naikun.ca

This March, Seattle-based 3TIER launched an online, 15-kilometre resolution global wind map to help

countries and organizations plan potential wind projects. Right now, the map covers the

windRePoRT

right now, 81 wind

farms across Canada

are producing 1,856

megawatts of electricity

and more are under

construction. here’s a

look at the companies

hoping to add to the

1,398 turbines already

spinning in Canada.

United States, Canada and Mexico. Details at remappingtheworld.com

The Windfarm Action Group says this project “will industrialize over 45,000 acres of rural countryside”

but Enbridge is moving forward with the 182-megawatt wind farm in Ontario’s Bruce County on Lake Huron. Enbridge downscaled the wind farm and after 14 months of appeals, a provincial tribunal overruled residents’ concerns about noise and unsightliness. Details at enbridge.com, windaction.org

Also in Ontario, EPCOR Utilities’ 158-megawatt wind farm, Kingsbridge II, is still on hold. EPCOR spokesman

Neil Levine told Reuters there were several delays, and that the project faced opposition. The utility, owned by the City of Edmonton, has ended agreements with some suppliers for the project. Details at epcor.ca

This June, a Multibrid representative told reporters in Toronto that southern Ontario

has a skilled manufacturing base that makes it a strong candidate for a turbine manufacturing plant. Europe and the United Kingdom have already bought into offshore and Canada may be next. Details at multibrid.de

This May, TransAlta Corp announced it will spend $123 million on expanding Alberta’s

Summerview wind farm. Construction is set to start in 2009 on 22 new turbines to increase the field’s capacity to 136 megawatts. TransAlta told Reuters there’s potential to develop another 500 megawatts of wind power in southern Alberta, but insufficient transmission capacity is a barrier. “Frankly, Alberta is dangerously behind almost all major jurisdictions in terms of transmission to support the reliability,” said TransAlta spokesman Michael Lawrence.

TransAlta also plans to get started on the 96-megawatt Kent Hills wind farm in New Brunswick later this year. Details at transalta.com


energy

contributing to local community infrastructure and energy conservation in urban regions.

The two-year initiative resulted in, among other things, the development of tools and products to assist policy makers, corporate decision-makers, investors, building owners, planners, environmental managers and organizations with generating ideas on how to advance district energy in communities across Canada.

The work also highlighted that district energy is doing much more than meeting heating and cooling demands. It’s also leading communities to achieve economic growth and land-use objectives, such as compact urban form, while also reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. An example of this is the district energy system operating in Markham, Ontario.

Markham has been working to integrate the concepts of sustainable development into its planning activities since the late’90s. The town was among the early adopters of New Urbanism, which supports the practice of compact and land-efficient urban form, higher density development, a wide range and mix of land uses, a pedestrian-friendly and connected grid pattern of streets, and high quality urban design. These principles continue to guide Markham’s growth, but are now broadening to address concerns with GHG emissions and energy consumption.

Early in the planning and development of Markham Town Centre, the town identified district energy as an important component for achieving energy reduction goals and land use development objectives. They recognized that a district energy system could help lower energy consumption in the town centre by

The global environmental crisis we’re facing is in large part due to how we’ve designed and built our communities.

It’s a result of how we use resources, produce products, develop land, construct infrastructure, supply services and connect places.

Cities represent less than one percent of the earth’s total surface, but urban activities around the world generate close to 80 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions, and consume nearly 75 per cent of all energy produced. Transportation accounts for a significant portion of the energy consumed in Canadian cities, but the built environment still represents 30-40 per cent of all energy consumed in Canada.

Yet when buildings and cities are properly designed, they can encourage and support a low-carbon, energy-efficient and prosperous lifestyle. Increasingly, communities in Canada are incorporating sustainable urbanization practices into planning activities: land uses that support higher density populations, localized energy generation, enhanced local ecosystem integrity (including the use of green infrastructure to minimize flooding), public transit and improved energy, water and material efficiency in the built environment. It makes sense, then, that cities would look at using community energy management strategies that incorporate district energy.

District energy appeared in Canada in the 1880s, providing heating to the university, hospital and government complexes in London, Ontario. Today, there are over 116 systems operating across the country. District energy works to manage the energy needs of a community at the building level. As a management system, it helps accommodate and meet the different energy demands of buildings and industries that use energy in different amounts and patterns.

To help communities address their energy supply and infrastructure challenges, the Canadian Urban Institute, Canadian District Energy Association, and the Toronto Atmospheric Fund formed the Urban Energy Solutions (UES) infrastructure research partnership. The UES initiative set out to identify the challenges to the advancement of district energy across Canada, and demonstrate how district energy has a direct role in

20-30 per cent, while also contributing to the concentration of urban form, particularly the mixing of high-density residential and commercial buildings.

The initiative also revealed that district energy was being used increasingly by communities across Canada to meet goals like intensification, re-urbanization, community economic development or sustainable energy planning. For instance, the City of North Vancouver incorporated district energy as part of a larger strategy to revitalize and redevelop city-owned lands along the waterfront. In this case, district energy provided an incentive for developers and investors by reducing the need for capital investments in constructing heating

and cooling systems. The city attracted much-needed investment in the downtown while also moving toward meeting energy and GHG reduction goals.

For the Town of Revelstoke in British Columbia, district energy became an integral component of a long-term strategy for economic advancement and retention. New restrictions on the burning of wood residues threatened to force a vital local sawmill to close or relocate, but the town created a public-private partnership with the owners of the sawmill, which led to the development of a renewable fuelled (wood biomass) district energy system. The system meets the economic needs of the sawmill operator by providing an affordable heat source to operate wood drying kilns and supplies the town with a largely free source of heat for local businesses, institutions and municipal operations.

district energy can be a tool to build efficient communities,

not just efficient buildings.

Beyond gReen building

By Brent Gilmour

“Energy use in communities depends on how individual

component services in a community are designed and how

the components and systems work together. In Canadian

communities, the most promising methods of reducing energy

use are known, such as district energy and combined heat and

power systems.” —National Advisory Panel on

Sustainable Energy Science and Technology


energy

Tools to beat the barriers

Among the recent developments that have emerged in both the United States and Canada to advance the cause of district energy is the importance placed on integrated design and planning. A number of communities have undertaken or are engaged in the development of community energy plans.

Traditionally, energy planning for communities kept the optimization of district energy systems and the energy performance for buildings separate.

Today, there is general agreement that to ensure a district energy system achieves the highest efficiency levels possible, design teams for a new building connecting to a system need to consider the performance metrics of a district energy system from day one of a project. That means assessing the performance of a building and energy supply systems as a single integrated system. This approach for evaluating district energy was recently adopted by the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) with the Application Guide for Campus and Multiple Buildings, which incorporates an Interpretation Guide for District Energy Systems (available for download at cagbc.ca).

Following an integrated process can lead to innovative design in the development of a building, as in the case of a residential development connecting to the Lower Lonsdale District Energy system in North Vancouver. The system operator incorporated a cooling service to address consumer demands for centralized air conditioning. The end result was that the residential developer applied passive design techniques to meet cooling requirements, eliminating the need for air conditioning.

When broadened out to the community level, integrated energy planning can provide communities with an entirely different approach to achieving energy needs by assessing opportunities to lower energy use across an entire community, improve the energy efficiency and operating performance of a building, effectively turn community “wastes” (biomass, sewer heat or landfill gas) into energy assets. When integrated with community planning, district energy becomes an energy management strategy that meets sustainable development objectives.

brent Gilmour is a project manager with the Canadian urban Institute. he’s responsible for CuI’s urban energy practice.


energy

Today’s centralized energy system meets peak demand periods by using standby systems, or spinning reserves, which sit idling until they’re brought online. This

redundancy costs billions of dollars per year. A more efficient way to meet the growing needs of business and society is to draw from renewable sources like wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) during peak demand periods. District energy (DE) projects that include distributed storage and microgeneration platforms can help create a buffer between our consumption and the availability of electricity. They can be seen as distributed energy platforms that include intelligent storage technologies.

A DE project can generate peak power to help offset and balance the supply-and-demand of electricity. To do this right, we need to look at various forms of power generation, storage and the ability for all members of the community to participate. Consumers can participate through grid-tie systems and send power back to the grid when needed.

The hybrid residential community:In this example each house has an energy platform on the in-home side of the meter. The platform includes AGM (Absorbed Glass Matt) battery storage, an inverter/charger, renewable energy integration (micro-wind or PV) and a backup high-power DC battery charger. The charger recharges the battery and powers the home when the rate of discharge from the battery can’t be met through renewable-generated power.

Each home, and the entire residential community, will be grid-tie enabled with the ability to sell power back to the grid when needed during peak demand. Included in the system, as part of the platform, will be open protocol-based intelligence that communicates with the utility-supplied smart meter. The platform will also provide real-time data that the homeowner can view remotely. The district utility can, if it chooses, aggregate the community energy consumption and negotiate a preferred rate for power.

The price of this system today is about $10-$20,000 depending on the size of home or business and the connected electrical loads. The current price for residential power, at least in B.C., makes defining a realistic payback period for this technology difficult. But utility-sponsored programs and incentives can help the residential community install this system.

—Mike Sommer, ALteN energy Solutions Inc.

deConsTRuCTing

dethe infrastructure that makes district energy work.

Using Google platforms and GIS, users can view the location of district energy systems across Canada and access basic facts and figures on operating systems, as well as download case studies and other relevant information. This and other tools and products are available for download from the Canadian District Energy Association website at cdea.ca/resources.

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and accounting practices take into account the net expenditures and quality, not just what occurs in the short term. Towards these goals, all options are on the table, including public-private partnerships.”

Ian Woodbury, president of Riva Modeling Systems Inc., says, “Asset management is the practice of getting the most out of our assets over their entire life cycle, including the planning, purchasing, maintenance and replacement of the asset. At each phase we have to spend our money in the most efficient way to achieve the best outcomes for the community. The most effective management can vary based on the asset. Sometimes it is delivering capacity, or maintaining level of service or even managing risks.”

While the recent injection of funding from the federal government will help address some infrastructure issues (when it rolls out), Woodbury points out that “there is a huge and growing problem in managing the backlog of rehabilitation and replacement work on our assets.” This backlog—the infrastructure deficit—may take decades to solve, says Woodbury, and municipalities need to understand how to choose what work to do in which year.

This isn’t just about older assets; it also includes expansion, growth and ongoing

On March 4, 2008 the CBC reported that Winnipeg crews were investigating Osborne Village’s

third watermain break in a month. On June 20 it reported a major break in central St. John’s that closed the Art Gallery of Newfoundland for a day. These aren’t rarities. In fact, the watermain break clock (watermainbreakclock.com) reports that 700 watermains break every day in Canada and the United States, costing over $8 billion to repair (since January 2000). Winnipeg’s FAQ on watermain breaks brags that it now only averages two breaks per day versus the six per day they were having ten years ago.

The problem isn’t just a lack of technology or corroded pipes and harsh winter cold; it extends much deeper than watermains to the management of local community infrastructure assets.

The term asset management means different things to different people depending on perspective. Lee Harding, provincial director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Saskatchewan, says, “Good asset management delivers defined standards of service with minimal expense and personnel. In all stages, it considers the operation, maintenance, refurbishment and replacement of assets. Goals, implementation

service enhancement. Nancy Conrad, Senior Vice President, Policy with the Halifax Chamber of Commerce agrees: “It’s critical for the municipal bottom line that older assets are replaced and new assets purchased at the right time. Timing is critical—often, operational costs of aging assets far outweigh replacement costs.” Halifax’s transit system, for example, can’t meet growing demand, but service can’t be expanded until a new bus service garage is built

Timing is also critical because of a four-letter acronym that has become the bane of most municipal managers’ existence: PSAB. The Public Sector Accounting Board has set a January 2009 deadline for municipalities to comply with PSAB 3150. According to PSAB 3150 policies and procedures, municipalities have to report the values and depreciation charges of infrastructure assets on to their annual financial statements.

The executive director of the Ontario Good Roads Association, Joe Tiernay, says, “While PSAB valuation and depreciation won’t miraculously increase a municipality’s infrastructure capital budget, it does establish a baseline upon which to build.”

He offers up an example: personal GPS units.”They are wonderful tools to show you where you are,” says Tiernay, “but their

municipalities are trying to

manage cities of the future

with accounting techniques

from the past.

asseT managemenT 3.0

By Tanya Gulliver

Asset Management Asset Management


Asset Management Asset Management

true value is only realized when you decide where you want to go.” PSAB will show you where you are; it’s a first step. PSAB is, of course, linked to asset management. Tiernay says, “The very basis of PSAB is data collection. Doing effective asset management requires data on your assets, but generally requires more detail than is needed for PSAB compliance. Why not collect data in such a way that it can be used for asset management?”

It’s the data collection—the first step—that’s challenging some municipalities. Woodbury, whose firm sells strategic long range physical asset planning software, says, “Traditionally the biggest barrier to effective asset management has been data collection and the related costs of building an inventory. Municipalities had poor inventories of their assets and little or no condition information.” Riva has developed various management tools to help municipalities have a better understanding of what assets they own, their condition, cost to replace and life expectancy. These, he says, will help those who need to know, such as politicians and managers, get a better picture of their assets.

But do they want to know? Harding feels that reluctance amongst civic leaders (staff and politicians) to do something new is a major roadblock. She says, “There’s a strong political will to stare down the unions and do what it takes to outsource, streamline and reprioritize services.”

Tiernay says he’s heard numerous members of the engineering community say, “I don’t care what it cost to build that bridge 40 years ago, or what it’s worth now. I need to know what it’s going to cost to replace it in five years”.

“Most public works directors and engineers don’t hold the PSAB exercise in very high regard,” says Tiernay, “and I think it’s safe to say that some clerk-treasurers may also be questioning the worth-to-effort ratio of inventorying and valuing all municipal assets.”

Tiernay says that sentiment is not without merit. “Engineers work with replacement values and life cycle events; knowing the present-day value of a 40-year-old structure is irrelevant from that perspective.” But he also says, “PSAB should be a corporate initiative and not a bean-counting exercise.” Bringing all departments together and working in unison to build the asset inventory with the proper data will ensure that the finance folks and auditors get what they need and the public works folks get what they need to build defensible capital plans. Tiernay comes back to the GPS metaphor of PSAB as a starting point. “It

will elevate Council’s awareness of the size of a municipal operation—a municipality with $20 million worth of infrastructure assets that’s only investing $200,000 a year to maintain it will be able to tell Council their investment ratio is only one per cent. That’s a pretty compelling argument for either the public works director to make to their council, or for the council to make to the province.”

Some cities are taking this issue very seriously, and they must, given their aging infrastructure, inevitable expansion,

economic growth, the need to attract businesses, and the general dissatisfaction residents will feel with ongoing problems.

Woodbury says his company works with local governments from St. John’s to North Vancouver, and many in between including Halifax, Ottawa, Brandon and Calgary. He says Calgary is building long-range plans for managing their assets in every department. “The scale of the project is very large, but starting with transportation and now working with fire, they’re building a comprehensive and sustainable asset management practice.”


Asset Management

Harding points to the City of Regina, who hired a third party consultant to review municipal services and then hired him when the city manager retired. “[He was] given the power to implement his recommendations. The result meant millions of dollars of savings each year. Mayor Pat Fiacco has stated his goal of being the best-managed city in the country, and it remains a work in progress.”

The City of Halifax has created a Department of Infrastructure and Asset Management to deal with these issues. The City of Toronto, in a move similar to Winnipeg’s, has formed an independent review panel to look at overall fiscal operations. In his press release announcing the panel (look for results, once released, to be posted at renewcanada.net), Mayor David Miller said, “We know the city is run professionally and competently, and that we are constantly finding ways to do things better. But it’s also a large organization and there may be room for further improvements and efficiencies.”

It’s clear that there is movement; but is it enough?

tanya Gulliver is a freelance writer, community development consultant and university instructor in toronto.

The cost of maintaining infrastructure assets often represents a significant portion of a municipality’s operating budget, so it’s important to agree on

depreciation estimates. For a municipality to determine whether or not it’s financially sustainable, managers need to calculate the ratio of capital spending to annual depreciation charges.

One incentive to work things out is PSAB’s ever-nearing deadline (see page 36). But it’s unclear whether PSAB’s requirements will lead to more sustainable infrastructure management. Municipalities that use the conventional straight-line depreciation method because it’s easier and that fail to recognize the link between strategic asset management and financial accounting will just continue to argue over unfunded depreciation of our assets—the infrastructure deficit.

If the experience of Australian municipalities in meeting Accounting Standard Board (AASB 116) requirements for infrastructure accounting is any indication of how this process might play out in Canadian municipalities, there could be some difficulties ahead.

—Silbert barrett, toronto transportation Services Department

Psab ConfliCT: enGineers vs. aCCountants

These are the author’s personal opinions and do not reflect those of his employer. These opinions are based on his involvement in the pilot implementation of capital asset accounting as a project manager for the City of Hamilton and the Ontario Benchmarking Initiatives (OMBI).

Look for a full article on these and other PSAb issues, including information on a best practice study for british Columbia’s government (which includes a look at AASb 116) in our upcoming Sept./oct. issue.


Asset Management

which monitors and defines the health of transportation engineering infrastructure, is now being used to better manage civil infrastructure systems. Operation, maintenance, repair and replacement of structures is optimized by gathering and analyzing more reliable, consistent and objective data on their condition.

Take the example of a bridge, which experiences far more change over its life span than visual inspection can identify, change that may be further amplified by increased load stresses and warmer temperatures. More like an organism than an object, a bridge’s evolution depends on uncertain events, both internal and external. Some uncertainties start during construction, leading to structural behaviour that design and simulations can’t predict. Once in use, each structure is subjected to evolving patterns of loads. Design can only predict so many different intensities and types of loads—in many cases they remain mostly unknown in both nature and magnitude. The sum of these uncertainties forces the engineers and institutions in charge of structural safety, maintenance and operation to define service levels and prioritize maintenance budgets using only models and superficial observation. Regular inspection can reduce uncertainty, but still restricts observation to short bursts spaced by long periods of inattention.

By permanently installing sensors and continuously measuring parameters relevant to structural conditions, it’s possible to produce a real-time picture of a structure’s state and evolution and detect the early appearance of new degradations. In essence, IHM lets the bridge “organism” identify its

The transportation infrastructure “organism” is subject to the same serendipities as the living, breathing

carbon kind. Though not one of us is quite the same as the next, MRIs, CT scans and ultrasounds make sure we’re holding up just right. In the same way, Infrastructure Health Monitoring (IHM) systems are being implemented to detect early symptoms of ailment in our structures. The idea is that advances in managing infrastructure will allow us to extend the life cycle of a transportation system the way advances in medicine have extended our own.

The obvious causes of deteriorating transportation systems—mushrooming populations, higher mobility and the resulting increases in traffic volumes—are not the only ones. Some theorize that climate change is a factor. Increases in the frequency and severity of hot days should have asset managers worried that Canadian roads could experience pavement softening, traffic-related rutting and migration of liquid asphalt (flushing and bleeding) to pavement surfaces from older or poorly built pavements. Asphalt rutting is especially problematic as the factors combine: extended periods of summer heat on roads and bridges with heavy truck traffic.

To deal with the new problems, new approaches are cropping up that make it possible to detect small structural changes or anomalies and quantify their effects all the way up to the infrastructure development decision making process. IHM, also known as Structural Health Monitoring, has been evolving over the past 20 years, and may be able to help track and manage the effects of these new afflictions. The technology,

own sensitivities and tell managers how it’s performing under the loads it carries. It may even allow for better planning of inspection and maintenance activities by shifting the response from reactive interventions to on-demand assessment and failure prevention.

Evidence certainly shows that after emergency situations such as earthquakes, floods or hurricanes, IHM and asset management data have saved many structures. But it’s the day-to-day monitoring and the more gradual changes that remain in question.

In the same way IHM contributes to more accurate life-cycle costing (LCC), LCC may in turn serve to measure the benefits of IHM, but only if the LCC method adequately addresses real-world challenges like climate change.

Civil designers and asset managers seem to agree on the following simple-to-complex LCC method:

1 root method: deterministic analyses

2 Sensitivity analysis: disturb the deterministic model variables to determine relative effect on outcomes

3 risk analysis: identify dominant alternatives, consider combined, simultaneous influence of multiple “disturbed” model variables and add probabilities

4 Iterative: incorporate IHM feedback into the LCC process to inform each stage of the design process, refine the design options—manage the complexity.

This method represents a broadly applicable way to develop LCC that is widely accepted for the management of complex civil infrastructure systems, particularly

new technologies let asset managers find flaws in transportation systems that visual inspectors might miss.

teaChinG Roads and bRidges to talk

By Michele Rochon sensoR loCaTion

36-Ton TRuCK


change, temperature-induced strains detected on structures by IHM, for instance, are often misinterpreted. The presence of stresses caused by thermal forces is also not always detrimental and not all structures change their pattern of load response with temperature fluctuations. The science of IHM is also still suffering from a knowledge gap in the interpretation of data the systems provide.

The implementation of this technology will depend on adaptability of IHM systems to the specific needs of the civil infrastructures they monitor; improved data interpretation; correct isolation and interpretation of temperature-induced strain on IHM-monitored structures; differentiating those structures affected by climatic warming from those that are not; and synergizing LCC and IHM.

Amidst other emerging technologies for managing infrastructure assets, the use of IHM to monitor and respond to its new burdens is promising. Analysis of the IHM data can contribute to the development of cost-effective maintenance procedures that will save taxpayer dollars over time. Eventually, computer-based, automated signal-analysis algorithms will routinely process incoming data and determine anomalies based on pre-defined response

thresholds. Then, all city managers will have to do is respond.

IHM technology is being used in several projects, including the Taylor Bridge at Headingly, Manitoba, which was the first structure worldwide to be monitored remotely via a telecommunications line, the Esplanade Riel Pedestrian Bridge Project in Winnipeg, Manitoba, whose system provides some of the most complete IHM analyses of a cable-stayed structure in the world, and most recently, the Trans Canada Highway No. 1 East Twin Bridges, which stretch across the Manitoba Floodway.

those monitored using IHM. In embracing a technology such as IHM for monitoring the effects of exponential changes in loads and climate change on civil infrastructure,

this LCC method allows asset managers to employ deterministic analysis, then measure the analyses’ sensitivities, temper the exaggerations with probabilities, and finally, continually improve the process.

Of course, no two transportation infrastructure systems are exactly alike, which means a standard implementation process is impossible. In the case of climate

in essence, the bridge

“organism” can identify

its own sensitivities and

tell managers how it’s

performing under the

loads it carries.

Michele rochon is the manager of business development for infrastructure at Wardrop engineering. Michele has worked in the engineering design and consulting industry for over 10 years.

for more details on these case studies, visit renewcanada.net

Asset Management


Beyond green building, eco industrial parks can create green industrial lands.

PuttinG the eCo in indusTRial

By Clay Braziller

This map shows the degree of impervious landscape in the eco business zone that Partners in Project Green has put together for Pearson Airport. This means that rain and melting snow currently have nowhere to run off to except a storm drain, bringing toxins with it. For more details, see map on page 43.

Over the last 20 years, manufacturers and other businesses have migrated from city centres to outskirts, often

to what were once wooded areas or productive agricultural zones. This expansion has been, for the most part, welcomed by cash-hungry municipal councils looking to diversify their tax bases.

But a lot has changed in the last two decades. Cheap land doesn’t exist anymore; the cost of servicing industrial parks has continued to rise faster than the taxes they generate. These are vast, dreary stretches of land that offer little in the way of public access or amenities. Layer on the cost of oil, the green rush and NIMBYism and it’s easy to see why municipalities are feeling

pressured to do a better job when developing industrial lands.

At a very high level a better industrial park will meet the needs of the businesses occupying while having a positive financial and social impact on the community. In practical terms, this means it shouldn’t create new air quality problems or burden the wastewater management systems, and it should allow the public to continue to enjoy the open space.

For a lot of municipalities, the first stage in improving a park is to ask developers to choose green buildings or plant more trees—rarely will they do this of their own volition. Less obvious, and more effective for a large park, is to consider the impact that

the infrastructure has on the environmental footprint of the park. Traditional infrastructure is designed with a single purpose in mind, whereas the design process for “green” infrastructure begins with a much wider scope. For instance, considering how a wastewater system interacts with other planned development projects, industrial water use or a community energy plan. Or how changing a building’s location can reduce the amount of truck traffic or emissions produced by the park.

With the help of the rising price of oil, plus modern bylaws and zoning, we can give industrial parks a well-deserved makeover and turn them into financial, environmental and socially positive public amenities.

Cred

it: Eco Ind

ustrial Solutions Ltd

.

imPeRvious value by landuse


Lcated in Hinton just outside of Jasper National Park, Innovista will include natural walking trails

with 56 per cent of the area remaining treed—only 7 per cent of the development will be covered in roads as compared to 12 per cent in a regular industrial park.

Innovista makes use of an innovative sanitary sewer system called a small-bore sewer (SBS) system. The system, designed by Ontario-based Clearford Industries, allows each property to have an individualized primary treatment facility (a clarifier tank). The tank separates the solid and liquid components of the sewage and then gravity takes the liquid effluent through fused-joint high density polyethylene pipes to the final treatment plant. The company claims the pipes have a design life of 90 years, compared to the 35-year lifespan of conventional polyvinyl chloride pipes.

For even more information about Innovista, visit eip.hinton.ca.

innovista

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it: Eco Ind

ustrial Solutions Ltd

.

The concept plan for Innovista, in Alberta.


Another Albertan eco-industrial park success story is TaigaNova. The Regional Municipality of Wood

Buffalo, Alberta, has embedded the concept of green infrastructure into bylaw requirements for one of Canada’s newest eco-industrial parks. Fort McMurray, not known for being green, is actually a leader in the area. Bylaws for the park address a private utility’s future allowance to

A cross-sectioned road in TaigaNova, in Fort McMurray.

Cred

it: Associated

Engineering Ltd

.

Taiganovaprovide electric power, sewage disposal, steam and nearly a dozen other services on the site. The site’s infrastructure design, a layering of service corridors underneath roads and pedestrian trails, is in synch with the bylaw focus on future allowances. Bylaws in the area also mandate the use of permeable paving materials and give preferential parking to energy-efficient cars. To keep traffic to a minimum, the stacking of

industrial buildings and joint logistics facilities are being mandated.

Narrower than traditional roads, paved areas accommodate a nine metre-wide utilidor (five metres within the road and four metres within an easement along lot fronts) to future-proof the site for eco-industrial opportunities like district energy or by-product synergies between businesses. Though unusual in an industrial park, sidewalks and pedestrian trails (separated from the roadways) are also required.

To deal with stormwater and snow melt, surface runoff management is integrated into the landscape design—a retention pond was designed to allow for the distribution of stormwater or wastewater to displace potable water in certain industrial applications.

For a full description of all the bylaws and infrastructure improvements at Fort McMurray’s eco-industrial park, visit taiganova.com.

Credit: TRCA

The study area at Pearson

In our July/August 2007 issue, we featured the development of North America’s largest eco-business zone, in the Greater Toronto Area.

The partnership between the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, Region of Peel, City of Toronto, City of Brampton, City of Mississauga and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority is moving forward. Partners in Project Green aims to transform the business area surrounding Toronto Pearson into an internationally recognized community known for its competitive, high performance and eco-friendly business climate.

update: a Pearson eco-business Zone

Project scale:• Over 12,000 hectares of industrial

and commercially zoned lands surrounding Toronto Pearson

• Over 350,000 jobs and more than 12,500 businesses, making it Canada’s largest employment zone, with logistics, aviation, automotive and food processors being the largest sectors

• Over 25,000 people already employed in green economy jobs

• Over 5.8 million megawatts of electricity-use and more than $563 million spent on energy-use a year, with manufacturing and logistics sectors being the largest consumers

Through the project’s consultation process, a number of initiatives were identified by the business community. Those being worked towards include:

• Green Building Retrofit Program (targeting large property owners and multi-tenant facilities)

• Green Purchasing Block Program (multi-stakeholder procurement of green technologies)

• Regional by-product exchange program (one company’s waste becomes another’s feedstock)

• Regional Green Economic Development Strategy

The official launch of the project will be in October 2008. Details at partnersinprojectgreen.com

Clay braziller works with eco Industrial Solutions Ltd. in british Columbia.


Community Profile

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

iqaluit, nunavutinfrastats• The city is building the first phase of the Apex Trail, an informal walking trail that links Iqaluit and Apex, a community five kilometres southeast of the city centre.

• In recent years, several landmark buildings were completed, including the expansion to the Qikiqtani General Hospital and the construction of the Nunavut Justice Centre. A private developer who recently built the new Nova Hotel also submitted plans for re-development of the Kamotiq Inn site. The government is considering building a women’s healing facility and a new high school.

The award-winning Core Area and Capital District Redevelopment Plan proposes

a greater concentration of housing in the core area, along with a variety of other retail and institutional uses. This more compact development will prevent the loss of the tundra and ensure that Iqaluit continues to be a city where people can move about easily on foot. A network of civic, ceremonial and public spaces linked throughout the core area will respond to the arctic landscape, reflect Inuit heritage and make Iqaluit a capital that represents all of Nunavut.

Two “bookend” public squares are proposed in the plan. Another key recommendation of the plan is to enhance the quality and safety of the pedestrian realm. Because the bus route experiment failed, walking is (and must be) a viable mode of transportation through the core area.

To this end, the city has created pedestrian walkways—“sidewalks” that fits the northern context—along the major streets.

“The concept of the walkway also introduces the installation of street furniture and carvings along the road and in key public areas as a means to represent and honour the Inuit culture in the urban context,” says Bertol.

The plan focuses on encouraging compact and mixed-use development in the core area and the capital district by identifying and promoting opportunities for infill development on vacant lots, and the redevelopment of underutilized lots. This approach maximizes the use of existing infrastructure, thus reducing the rate at which the City needs to expand into new development areas.

—staff

Location: In the Everett Mountains rising from Koojesse Inlet, an inlet of Frobisher Bay, on the south-east part of Baffin Island.

Founded: Official settlement status in 1970 (as Frobisher Bay); city status in 2001 (as Iqaluit)

Population: 6,184 (2006)

Funding: The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) financed Iqaluit’s Water Reclamation Pilot Project with a $77,500 grant and the same amount in a loan (total project value: $310,000). In 2005, the municipality designated a part of an area called The Plateau for the development of a sustainable arctic subdivision. FCM’s Green Municipal Fund provided $103,700 for a Sustainable Subdivision Development Feasibility Study (total project value: $207,400). The resulting Plateau Lot Development Scheme provided a list of stringent requirements with respect to site layout, building design and building systems. Examples include requirements to design south-facing active living spaces within each house to maximize passive solar gain, and to incorporate wind-lock entry vestibules on the leeward side of homes to minimize cold air infiltration. Today, all the single family lots of Phase 2 are awarded and only a few multiplex lots are still available. Phases 3 and 4 will be developed as demand warrants.

Michèle bertol, director of planning and lands, says: “We are confident that there will be continued demand for housing in the Plateau Subdivision over the next few years.”

Awards: Iqaluit received the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) Places Award in 2005 for the Core Area and Capital District plan, an overall redevelopment strategy for Iqaluit’s central area.

Cred

its: Hannah S

henker

iqaluit’s City Plan

• On July 20-23 the City will host a Symposium on climate change. The event will bring together 200 international delegates including Inuit Elders, planners, scientists, policy makers and journalists.

• In 2005, a transportation and urban design study was released. As a result, the City has acquired lands in the core area to create municipal parking. To alleviate traffic congestion at the Four Corners intersection, the planning and engineering design of a by-pass road has been completed; however, the high costs have put the project on hold. Iqaluit experimented briefly with a one-bus public transit system, but it wasn’t economically feasible and didn’t last long.

Sled dogs can provide transportation at speeds of around 30 kilometres per hour.

In 2005 the City of Iqaluit spearheaded a planning process for the establishment of deepwaterport facilities. Plan details at city.iqaluit.nu.ca


The leed® lisT sPonsored By

Certified: may 30, 2008, leed® Canada-Ci Platinum

Tenant: halsall associates limited

leed® Consultants: halsall associates limited

halsall associates limited, ottawa office

5 neW leed® CeRTifiCaTions in Canadatotal leed® Projects: 104

6 Platinum, 40 Gold, 33 silver, 25 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

ottawa, ont.—highlights: a reduced lighting power density of greater than 41 per cent below ASHRAE/IESNA 90.1-2004, a heat recovery ventilator as part of a strategy to reduce the design energy cost of the HVAC system by 17 per cent compared to a baseline system; installation of sub-metering equipment to measure and record energy uses, and performing enhanced commissioning to ensure that the space is designed, constructed, and calibrated to operate as intended. Potable water consumption was reduced by over 44 per cent through the use of waterless urinals, dual flush toilets, and low flow fixtures, and the project achieved excellent indoor environmental quality for the occupants through many strategies including low emitting material, thermal comfort control and monitoring, and occupant controllability of lighting, temperature and ventilation systems.

Cred

it: Paul Johansen

Certified: may 2, 2008, leed® Canada-nC Gold

owner: the humber College institute of technology & advanced learning

leed® Consultants: enermodal engineering ltd.

humber College urban ecology Centre

toronto, ont.—highlights: achieved an energy cost performance of 60 per cent better than the MNECB through such features as: radiant floor heating connected to an energy efficient condensing hydronic boiler; enhanced building envelop performance with improved building insulation levels and triple-glazed, argon-filled, low-e windows; exhaust air heat recovery; and a mix of energy efficient fluorescent and compact fluorescent fixtures combined with occupancy sensors for lighting control. The project provides measurement and verification to ensure continued, optimal energy performance. Indoor potable water use was reduced by approximately 35 per cent through water conserving toilets, urinals and faucets, and the use of rainwater for toilet flushing. The building achieved an Innovation in Design credit for Exemplary Performance in Reducing the Heat Island Effect of non-roof surfaces.

Cred

it: Joe Martz

Certified: January 31, 2008, leed® Canada-nC

owner: options habitation quebec

green building Consultant: lyse m tremblay architecte

Montreal, Que.—highlights: achieved an energy cost performance of 27 per cent better than the Model National Energy Code for Buildings (MNECB), with an energy consumption savings of 28 per cent. Windows are argon-filled, with thermal break; and there is an increased thermal performance of the envelope. Indoor potable water use was reduced by 40 per cent with dual-flush toilets, and low-flow faucets and showerheads. The project utilized over 30 per cent regional materials, and light pollution was reduced.

les condos Wellington

Certified: april 16, 2008, leed® Canada-Ci silver

owner: teknion furniture systems

leed® Consultant: Jacques whitford limited

ottawa, ont.—highlights: achieved optimum energy performance with reduced lighting power density of greater than 26 per cent below ASHRAE/IESNA 90.1-2004, ENERGY STAR® rated products for 100 per cent of eligible equipment and appliances, and purchasing green power certificates for 100 per cent of the project’s energy consumption over a two-year period. The project diverted around 99 per cent of construction waste from landfill, implemented a Green Housekeeping policy; and achieved excellent indoor environmental quality for skilled trades and tenants by utilizing low emitting paints, coatings, sealants, adhesives and furniture systems.

Teknion furniture systems, ottawa showroom

Certified: april 24, 2008, leed® Canada-nC silver

owner: department of transportation and infrastructure renewal, Province of nova scotia

leed® Consultant: solterre design

sir John a macdonald high school

halifax, N.S.—highlights: achieved an energy cost performance of 41 per cent better than the MNECB, and energy consumption savings of 46 per cent using high efficiency boilers, heat recovery on exhaust air, DDC control allowing shut down of building ventilation when the building is not in use and occupancy sensors. Indoor potable water use was reduced by 75 per cent with waterless urinals, dual flush toilets, low-flow lavatories and use of rainwater for sewage conveyance. The project remediated a formerly contaminated site, and provides excellent indoor environmental quality for students through construction IAQ management, low emitting adhesives, sealants, paints and coatings and a Smart Scent Policy.

Cred

it: Ken K

am


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PaRTneRing foR PubliC infRasTRuCTuRemay 12-13 – ToRonToThe Canadian Institute’s conference on financing, development and infrastructure renewal featured speakers like Metrolinx Chair rob MacIsaac and was chaired by Paul May, director of infrastructure planning for York Region and Brad McLellan of WeirFoulds LLP. Infrastructure Canada’s Gerry Maffre spoke about federal spending under the Building Canada plan, including the $1.25 billion for PPP Canada Inc., the national P3 office which will vet any federal project request over $50 million to determine if a P3 approach would work. A panel on risk transfer with Jim Mitchell of PCL and David bowcott of Aon Reed Stenhouse concluded that risk allocation in P3s is really about incentive management. ReNew Canada’s todd Latham gave a keynote presentation that estimated the infrastructure deficit at $248 billion, reviewed the past and upcoming Top100 Projects listing and pitched how governments across Canada need more benevolent dictators to make hard decisions in order to address our infrastructure deficit (see page 50). Details and presentations at thecanadianinstitute.com

Conference co-chair brad McLellan opens the May 13 panel on P3 risk allocation

Cred

it: Todd

Latham

Private equity Analyst’s Jennifer rossa moderates a panel with, from left, Steve hogan (Northwest Parkway Public highway Authority), John Munoz (texas Department of transportation) and John Schmidt (Mayer brown LLP).

From left, Mira Shenker, Michael bernstein, Paul boucher and torys’ Krista hill.

Cred

it: Dow

Jones

the ‘Senators’ of oPWA pose for a rare group shot at the National Public Works Week kick-off event.

Cred

it: Paul M

ay

naTional PubliC WoRKs WeeKmay 14 – ToRonToThe Ontario Public Works Association held a kick-off event in Ontario for the National Public Works Week by celebrating past winners of awards for excellence in public works projects, including the St. John’s sideroad project near the McKenzie Marsh in York Region. Storm Cunningham was the keynote luncheon speaker and gave an inspiring presentation on renewal engines and economically beneficial restorative development from his second book, ReWealth! Led by current OPWA President Linda Petelka, the association later recognized many of the past presidents and chairs of the association with a group shot of several hundred years experience in public works in Ontario. Details at opwa.ca

Cui RoundTablemay 15 – ToRonToThe Canadian Urban Institute chose the beautifully restored Distillery District in the eastern downtown as a most appropriate venue to host a breakfast workshop on practical solutions for city building and urban regeneration. The special breakfast session was held in cooperation with Seneca College who has brought Storm Cunningham and the Revitalization Institute to Canada. Following a brief presentation by Storm, discussion of the institute’s role was led by thoughtful statements from Glen Murray and Glenn Miller of the CUI and bill humber of Seneca College. Details at revitalization.org

doW Jones infRasTRuCTuRe summiTmay 13 – neW yoRKReNew Canada editor Mira Shenker moderated a panel to dazzle the mostly American audience with details about the market for infrastructure investment in Canada. The general consensus was that the private sector has a much easier time working in Canada than in the United States. On the Canadian panel, Macquarie’s Michael bernstein put it best when he said

a deal in Florida’s Port of Miami “wore me down.” Investors like Bernstein and fellow panelist Paul boucher (Babcock & Brown) said, the first step in any U.S. deal is to assess the political will. “If it’s not there,” said Bernstein, “forget about it.” Stephen vineburg, CVC Capital Partners, said these deals are all politics. Comparing the private sector to Gulliver and local authorities to Lilliputians, he said, “This giant will get up and start punching.” Details at events.dowjones.com

Cred

it: Todd

Latham

Glen Murray engaged workshop attendees in a discussion on the need for advanced education programs in the discipline of restorative development.


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forum for discussion of Canada’s most pressing issues related to public-private partnerships. Topics of discussion included the bidder selection process, the recent credit squeeze gripping financial markets, and the growing concerns around the reduction of transaction costs. Deemed a great success by organizers and participants, the Conference Board hopes to hold more P3-specific weekenders in the near future. Details at conferenceboard.ca

ontario’s Premier Dalton McQuinty and former Public Infrastructure renewal Minister (see page 12) David Caplan, talk with reNew Canada Publisher todd Latham during a break in the CuI urban Leadership Awards ceremonies.

Cred

it: Jenna Muirhead

-Warren, Lib

eral Caucus S

ervice Bureau

reNew Canada Publisher todd Latham moderated the Managing Infrastructure panel. From left: Jean-Marc Arbaud (Intransit bC), Leslie Woo (Metrolinx), todd and Carl Desrosiers (Montreal transit Corporation).

Cred

it: CU

TA

PubliC-PRvaTe PaRTneRshiPsmay 21-22 – edmonTonChair Mira Shenker refereed a two-day open dialogue about the value of infrastructure funds, picking the right projects, and attracting investors. Partnerships BC’s Larry blain (see page 15) made it clear a desire to get projects off the balance sheets is no reason to choose the P3 model. “The major reason,” he said, “is if you’re interested in risk transfer, life-cycle analysis and competition.” Presenters faced some tough questions from audience members about the accuracy of value for money reports. Presenter Jonathan huggett (JR Huggett Company) said he has learned the most from projects that went wrong, calling British Columbia’s Seymour Water Filtration Plant “the biggest communication screw up ever.” Corpfinance’s Chris ball talked about the complexities of energy, the only sector where a bidder agrees to take on all obstacles, including local authorities and land claim disputes. Details at infonex.ca

CuTa may 24-28 – edmonTonPast Reflections. Future Visions. That was the theme for the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) Annual Conference. Held to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the

Edmonton Transit System, delegates and guests of the conference were treated to complimentary transit passes and commemorative ETS pins. CUTA President Michael roschlau talked passionately about the need for a national public transit plan and recognized the recent increases in transit funding from the federal government. Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel said, “The new ideas and technologies discussed at this conference will help improve public transportation options for years to come.” Details at cutaactu.ca

P3 eXeCuTive WeeKendeRmay 29-31 – monTebelo, QuebeCThe Conference Board of Canada hosted top P3 leaders in the public and private sectors. Limited to 35 participants, it provided an open

Cui uRban leadeRshiP aWaRdsmay 27 – ToRonToThe Canadian Urban Institute throws great awards parties. And while this was more of a sit down lunch for the hundreds of people who filled the Royal York Hotel ballroom for


these fifth annual awards, the excitement level was standup. The diversity of the recipients and the unique stories each told about their contributions towards vibrant, safe and sustainable communities was inspiring. Phyllis Lambert, founding director, Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) and lifelong urban advocate won the Jane Jacobs Lifetime Acheivement award, while Habitat for Humanity Movement in Canada and its 70 affiliates and volunteers won for City Renewal. Full listing of award winners at canurb.com/awards/ula

fCm 71sT annual ConfeRenCemay 31-June 2 – QuebeC CiTyThis year’s conference and expo followed the same green theme as many, with exhibitors and sessions that focused on eco-friendly advances in municipal management and sustainability. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) new Green Municipal Corporation (GMC) announced its ability to help municipalities access funding for projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Along with NDP Leader Jack Layton and Green Party Leader elizabeth May, Liberal Leader Stephane Dion was there to cozy up to the delegates. In a Sunday morning address, Dion told the roomful of municipal politicians and staff from across the country, “No Liberal government will ever call you a whiner or a pothole fixer.” On Saturday, the winners of FCM’s Awards for Outstanding International Volunteer Contribution and the 2008 FCM-CH2M HILL Sustainable Community Awards were announced. In its annual meeting, FCM’s Standing Committee on Municipal Infrastructure and Transportation Policy again called for a national transit strategy and fair costs for granting telecommunications companies access to municipal rights-of-way. Details on rights-of-way, award winners and other conference details at fcm.ca

global CiTiesJune 9 - 12 – monTRealhenry Kissinger, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, was one of the keynote speakers at the 14th edition of the International Economic Forum of the Americas/Conference of Montréal. More than 3,000 delegates from the private and public sectors, as well as several international delegations, showed up to hear some 160 speakers. Together, they focused on the state of the world, given that countries are increasingly facing the same issues. Details at conferencedemontreal.com

Raising The gReen RoofJune 10 –ToRonToCelebrating the release of a new 15-minute DVD, Jackman Avenue Public

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School hosted its premiere educational event for Raising the Green Roof, a short documentary about green roofs and their positive impact on city life. Our tour guides—budding environmentalists bearing green bandanas—led a steady stream of parents, friends and community visitors through a maze of industry displays and a cluster of snacks. At the summit of the tour, Jackman’s pride and joy: its own 90 square metre green roof, which opened in 2006. Official remarks highlighted the Toronto District School Board’s latest green projects, the City of Toronto’s green roof incentive program, plus Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. Details at toronto.ca/greenroofs

Kerry Freek and Miles Andrew baker man the reNew Canada/Canadian Water treatment booth.

Cred

it: Todd

Latham

shifTing inTo The mainsTReamJune 11-12 –ToRonToAttracting over 1,000 professionals from all sectors of the building industry, the Canada Green Building Council’s (CaGBC) inaugural national summit on green building took place at Toronto’s Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Amidst discussion panels, pilot projects, case studies and a naturally lit trade show area, Peter busby (Chair, CaGBC) and thomas Mueller (President & CEO, CaGBC) announced that the CaGBC is committed to reducing emissions by 50 megatons by 2015.The two put carbon emissions into perspective when they said “We have 3,000 days to fix this problem, and 80 per cent of the goal comes from existing buildings.” The CaGBC will roll out its LEED for Existing Buildings in the second quarter of 2009. Details at shiftingintothemainstream.ca

Coming soon: CCPPP’s annual naTional ConfeRenCenovembeR 24-25 – ToRonTo P3 2008: Public-Private Partnerships & National P3 Awards is the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships’ (CCPPP) 16th annual conference. Over 750 delegates and speakers will spend two full days in sessions featuring the key public and private players in the P3 field. The National Awards for Innovation and Excellence in P3s will also be presented. CCPPP members can pre-register for the 2008 conference now. Non-members can register in October, subject to availability. Details at pppcouncil.ca


On page 6, Mira points out the shortage of skilled tradespeople. It’s true—Canada needs more skilled labourers, period. As badly as

we need welders, we also need fearless municipal and provincial leaders. Politics have become too political—where are the strong decision-makers to push infrastructure renewal forward?

Those of you who read Plato’s The Republic in school will recognize the concept. In 360 B.C.E., Plato divided the populace into classes as part of his vision for an ideal society. The governing class is comprised of “philosopher kings.” They wield almost absolute authority over the populace with society’s best interests as their motivation.

How does this apply two thousand years later? We need leadership that puts the public good ahead of all else, regardless of partisan politics, minority opposition or special interest griping. Chicago’s Mayor Daley, billionaire Mayor Bloomberg in New York, California’s Governor Schwarzenegger, and carbon tax man Gordon Campbell in British Columbia have only increased their popularity by being decisive. Toronto’s Mayor Miller should be given that same chance. He wants more power, and Council should give it to him. Strong mayors and regional leaders make strong cities, and strong cities are the global economic powerhouses of the 21st century.

In a report on Singapore’s “benevolent dictator” Lee Kuan Yew, the Sustainability Institute’s Diana Wright wrote: “He has interfered with every aspect of Singaporean life and the result is a prosperous, clean city. Singapore’s economy has grown exponentially. The average life expectancy is now 71 years; no one is homeless; virtually everyone has a job. This is, seemingly, a dictatorship with free speech. It’s an economy that uses capitalist means to attain socialist ends.”

Kuan Yew requires all workers to save 25 per cent of their salaries (their employers kick in an additional 10 per cent) until the age of 55. This forced savings rate is one of the secrets of Singapore’s incredible economic growth. The money goes into a Central Provident Fund, with which the government builds roads, schools, hospitals, and especially housing.

To make hard decisions about infrastructure rehabilitation and replacement, we need one person who can stop the endless cycle of environmental studies and fruitless consensus-building delays. Top elected officials and beaurocrats must be given the authority (or be allowed to take it) in order to make things happen in the best interest of the majority of the population. In short, we have some openings for benevolent dictators. Any takers?

Closing Shot

WanTed: Benevolent

diCtatorsBy Todd Latham

Cred

it: Todd

Latham

Wielding a big stick (or sledgehammer) is one way to get things done.

In this candid shot taken in March 2006 at the beginning of Toronto’s

West Don Lands revitalization, Liberal stalwarts (from left) George

Smitherman, John Baird, Bill Graham and David Caplan don hard

hats and ceremoniously take down the last remaining obstacle to

redevelopment of the brownfield site near the mouth of the Don River.

todd Latham is the publisher of this magazine. email your philosophy on governance and infrastructure to [email protected].


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