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Our TOwn, POsT-IndusTrIalReinventing the Canadian Small Town for the 21st Century

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Managing Assets: Are Canadians Approaching

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InfraIndexing: Where and How to Invest

in this Mega-Sector.renewcanada.net $9 00

rOundTable revOluTIOnOur Annual State of Infrastructure Report

September/October 2008

Toronto Oct. 22-24

HotProperties

@ Canadian brownfields 08

pg. 39

Contents

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32

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AbOut the COver

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S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 0 8

Architectural studio raw Design’s team (pictured here) developed a concept for small Ontario town St. Catharines: a principal axis through the town that links the downtown core (and river valley and rail network) to the lake. ReNew Canada’s designer Donna used their renderings to create this issue’s graphic cover.

58

FeAtureS

32 the State of Canada’s Infrastructure The industry works to solve unprecedented problems and overcome funding and knowledge deficits. By Mira Shenker

36 PSAb Learning Curve When does 50 per cent equal 75 per cent? When engineers and accountants both tackle the same asset management problem. By Silbert Barrett

reGIONAL FOCuS: ONtArIO

12 Ontario News Each issue focuses on a different region of Canada.

14 Our town, Post-Industrial An in-depth look at three small Ontario towns and their struggle to rebrand themselves and renew their assets in a post-industrial age. By Larry Frolick

28 St. Catharines: An Image Makeover RAW Design’s ideal vision for small-town Ontario in the twenty--first century.

CANADIAN brOWNFIeLDS 2008

39 Cleaning up After Copper The Britannia Mine remediation. By Gerry O’Hara and Barry Azevedo

42 Case by Case A look at brownfield projects across the country.

46 Qualifying “expert” New legislation in Ontario holds Qualified Professionals accountable for the projects on which they consult. By Michael Monette

DePArtMeNtS

4 editor’s Note Mira Shenker plays Where’s Waldo: Election ’08 Edition

5 Letters A Progressive Conservative response to Canadian “dictatorships,” InfraIndexing, Best of the Web and more.

8 Opening Shots New bridge for Quebec, a $1.9-billion power grid, carbon capture and more.

10 reLocate Jeffrey Steiner, John Jung and others change jobs in the industry.

50 re: the Law Could you be liable for infrastructure affected by climate change? By Sabrina Gherbaz and Patricia Koval.

53 Community Profile East Gwillimbury, Ontario.

55 StormWatch How to write an RFP/RFQ. By Storm Cunningham

57 reevents Golf and OPWA good deeds.

58 Closing Shot Batten down the hatches, it’s another 100-year storm. By Todd Latham

Cred

it: Raw

Design &

Donna E

ndacott

September/October 2008 reNew Canada 3www.renewcanada.net

eDItOr Mira Shenker

September/October 2008 volume 4 Number 5

editor’s Note

www.renewcanada.net

PubLISher Todd Latham

INterN Kenneth Brown

CONtrIbutOrS Barry Azevedo Silbert Barrett Storm Cunningham Larry Frolick Sabrina Gherbaz Patricia Koval Michael Monette Gerry O’Hara

CIrCuLAtION Kerry [email protected]

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

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

Art DIreCtION& DeSIGN Donna Endacott

FINANCe Jane Addie

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

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

Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement 40854046

ISSN 1715-6734

By Mira Shenker

Infrastructure: The Where’s Waldo of The 2008 federal electIon

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

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

Website: renewcanada.net

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

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

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

Apparently we’re having an election on October 14. But it’s been such a quiet campaign, I’ve heard more

from FCM than the campaigning parties. All I can get out of Infrastructure Canada is more PR about the four Building Canada Framework Agreements that have been suddenly signed in the past month.

Compare that to the roar of the U.S. elections, which has been going on for almost two years. Recently I saw Stéphane Dion standing on a street corner in Montreal, drinking his coffee and having a relaxed Sunday. When would you ever see Barack Obama in public without a security entourage?

Our elections are quiet, partly because our country is nowhere near as polarized as the United States. Our parties tend to shift left or right as the occasion calls. But the issues—according to the public—are the same. A recent Environics/CBC poll shows that the top issues for Canadians going into the election are health care, environment and economy. Infrastructure isn’t on the list, even though without it, emergency-room wait times would be the least of our problems.

Campaigning has consisted mostly of each party pointing out the others’ inadequacies—there’s more time spent animating pooping puffins than talking about how we’ll renew our transportation corridors while still protecting the environment.

Ontario Good Road Association’s Joe Tiernay isn’t surprised a federal race would ignore the infrastructure issue. He recently told me, “The federal government has been missing in action when it comes to infrastructure for years.”

We have a national highway system that’s funded by the individual provinces, not the federal government. “I have no idea what the Ministry of Transportation even does,” says Tiernay.

At the municipal level, the feds are even more disengaged. In a statement following the election announcement, FCM president Jean Perrault said, “Canadians want practical answers from federal party leaders to the problems and challenges they experience first-hand in their communities and in their neighbourhoods.”

FCM’s members want “national leaders who

are ready to partner with their community.” But an examination of how the different parties treat cities, it looks like partnering with communities is not on the agenda.

The conservatives have doled out some cash, but it’s totally out of proportion with what cities need.

Their $8.8 billion over seven years looks minor in the context of Edmonton’s supposed $19.207-billion infrastructure gap (over the 2008-2017 period). A recent Canada West Foundation (CWF) report says, “Efforts by the City of Edmonton have allowed the City to boost its investment in infrastructure, but much of the City’s reported needs remain unmet.”

As an alternative to raising property taxes (which, according to CWF’s report, Edmonton would have to quadruple to pay off their deficit), cities asked the Harper government for one per cent of the GST annually for infrastructure funding, or $6 billion per year. Federal minister of finance Jim Flaherty made some statements about whiny municipal leaders that, for a while, put the infrastructure gap in the news.

When Dion spoke at the FCM conference in Quebec City he said to the crowd of local leaders, “We will never refer to you as whiners and pothole fillers.” Since June, Dion’s infrastructure promise has appeared again, this time in an address from Liberal Urban Communities Caucus chair, Senator Larry Campbell. But when I recently asked Dion whether he would have granted the cities their one per cent, he said no.

Even so, the Urban Communities Caucus the Liberals have been running shows some promise (Find a May 2008 discussion paper at renewcanada.net/resources).

As often as we’ve said in the magazine that funding alone is not the answer to our infrastructure deficit, we’ve also said that an ongoing, public dialogue is critical. If this election campaign is any indication of how the next few years will proceed, a lack of funding is not the industry’s only problem.

Proud members of:for our analysis on what all the parties have done in terms of infrastructure for cities,

go to renewcanada.net/resources.

4 reNew Canada September/October 2008 www.renewcanada.net

FeAture CONtrIbutOrS

Letters

Coming in November/December: The Money Issue.

Call 416.444.5842, ext.111 to be part of the next issue.

The deadline is October 17, 2008.

www.renewcanada.net

IN thIS ISSue

AECOM Canada 29

Aecon Infrastructure 40

AGAT Laboratories 48

AIG Environmental 41

Armtec Ltd. 21

Atlantic Industries Ltd. 23

Autodesk 15

Canada Lands Company 41

Canadian Brownfields 2008 46

Canadian Brownfields Network 57

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation 49

Canadian Water Treatment 49

Cement Association of Canada 47

CleanEARTH Solutions 20

Con Cast Pipe 38

CPCI 7

CSPI 19

Decommissioning Consulting Services Ltd. 17

Enbridge Gas 30

Environ (EC) Canada Inc. 22

Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) 48, 52

GlobalTox International Consultants 47

Golder Associates 43

Goodmans LLP 10

Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP 9, 27

Grey House Publishing 49

Halsall Associates 54

IBI Group 55

Jacques Whitford 31

John Laing Infrastructure 11

Lafarge 20

Macquarie Group Ltd 13

McGraw-Hill Ryerson 33

Miller Thomson LLP 2

MMM Group 38

MSU Mississauga Ltd. 50

Municipal Data Works 25

Multiview 42

Ontario Centres of Excellence 33

Ontario Public Works Association 57

Pinchin Environmental 44

PricewaterhouseCoopers 42

RCCAO 36

Riva Modling 37

Royal Danish Consulate General 44

Seneca College 56

TBE Group 51

Toronto Economic Development Corporation 17, 45

Toronto Forum for Global Cities 35

Transportation Futures 45

Wardrop Engineering 55

WeirFoulds LLP 22, 60

XCG Consultants Ltd. 10, 47

Zurich Insurance 59

Larry FrolickLarry is the author of four books on post-modern society including Bastard Eden/Our Chernobyl (2008).pg 14

Michael MonetteMichael is president and chair of the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE).pg 46

Silbert BarrettSilbert is working as a research analyst with the City of Toronto, Transportation Services.pg 36

From earthquakes in China to a bridge collapse in Minnesota to state and local governments looking

for new revenue streams, infrastructure is making daily headlines around the globe.

According to Brookfield Asset Management, global infrastructure spending will average $2 trillion annually through 2015. Accelerating population and economic growth are putting increased pressure on existing infrastructure, such as toll roads, water and sanitation. At the same time, government budgets—the traditional source of funding for infrastructure development—are diminishing. The resulting “infrastructure gap” presents private investors with an opportunity to enter this rapidly evolving sector.

In addition to a relatively inelastic demand profile, investing in infrastructure assets offers a compelling combination of current cash flow and inflation-correlated characteristics. It also offers low volatility, high barriers to entry, and high operating margins coupled with low maintenance expenditures.

But for institutional investors and plan sponsors, taking advantage of these infrastructure investment opportunities presents some challenges. For instance, what does and does not count as an infrastructure asset? How do you track and benchmark infrastructure portfolios?

The recently launched Dow Jones Brookfield Global Infrastructure Indexes—representing a total market capitalization of some $500 billion—uses a set of specific rules and requirements to

benchmark infrastructure assets. All 94 companies listed derive more

than 70 per cent of cash flow from the development, ownership, lease, concession or management of infrastructure assets. These include airports, toll roads, ports, communications, electricity transmission and distribution, oil and gas storage/ transportation, and water.

Securities must satisfy three other conditions in order to be included in the index. They must have a minimum float-adjusted market capitalization of $500 million; have a minimum three-month average daily trading volume of $1 million; and be located in a country with a liquid market listing.

Together, these requirements enable the index to capture the performance of companies that exhibit pure-play infrastructure characteristics, making them a true representation of the market. For example, construction companies are excluded because their business models do not result in stable, predictable, inflation-linked cash flows, which are typical of infrastructure assets. Power generation companies are excluded because they exhibit higher volatility than other utilities (which also are subjected to further screenings) as they are affected by external risk factors—oil and power prices, that fluctuate daily. The result is a principled and diversified approach to infrastructure investing.

richard Ciuba, Senior Director, Americas Sales of Dow Jones Indexes New York, New York

Storm CunninghamStorm is the author of reWealth! and The Restoration Economy.pg 55

hoW To Invest in The asseT class of The 21st century

Todd Latham’s article in the July/August [“Wanted: Benevolent Dictators”] is a call to all

involved in the process of renewing our infrastructure to ensure that we preserve our standard of living. But your suggestion of a “benevolent dictator” is likely to fall on deaf ears in terms of the current government in Ontario.

We in the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario share your concern. In fact, we would go one step further and propose that the only way to achieve the

objectives of sound planning, funding and implementation of sustainable infrastructure is to elevate that process beyond politics.

We have been articulating a clear policy direction on infrastructure for the last five years and have advocated a “shovel in the ground” approach based on four pillars: a sound planning function, a capital needs identification process that is consistent and transparent, funding that is predictable and sustainable and finally an accountability mechanism that

dIctators of The fuTure

(continued on page 6)


Letters

www.renewcanada.net

What’s your opinion?We may publish your feedback.

email us at [email protected].

Best of The WeB

I enjoyed Kerry Freek’s article on Sweden’s bioenergy conference [“Biomass Goldrush,” July/August 2008]. I am the coordinator for our wood grinding unit and my responsibilities include biomass/woody biomass alternative fuel sales. To me, the potential of woody biomass as an energy source is enormous, especially in Canada. In the past few years I have been to several energy conferences and have collected a substantial amount of information, but the article contained some interesting facts related to some biomass projects that I am currently planning.

John S. Walker Walker environmental Group, thorold, Ontario

Wood PoTenTial

I just read Storm Cunningham’s article about the disconnect between planning and economic development [“StormWatch,” May/June 2008]. Thank you so much for this great information! I would greatly appreciate Mr. Cunningham’s input on a project that we are currently working on. We are looking at developing an Arts / Culture and Heritage Strategy for the Region of Durham and would like to incorporate feedback from all eight of our municipalities and our stakeholders (arts and culture organizations) and avoid the silo issues referred to in your article. I love the idea of visioning, culturing, and partnering and am keen to learn more. I’m wondering if there are any resources that you would suggest for us as we develop the arts in culture sectors in Durham.

Many thanks,

Kerri King tourism Manager, the regional Municipality of Durham, Whitby, Ontario

Storm Cunningham’s response:Richard Florida is the obvious one for the tie-in between arts and revitalization. My new book, reWealth!, explains how to apply the principles I mentioned in that ReNew Canada article. You might want to take a look at the Renewal Capacity Program offered by Resolution Fund (resolutionfund.com/Program.html). It could easily be tailored around an arts/culture/heritage strategy.

resources

todd Latham: NIMBYism is everywhere. It amazes me when communities who tout their green goals, environmentally-friendly outlook and high waste diversion/recycling rates are usually the loudest opponents to wind power. The environmental assessment process is also to blame for delays and downturn in the wind energy business in Canada.

Lynne Di Cocco: A new report by E.On, the major power company in Germany, claims wind energy is too unreliable and it would be impractical to try to replace 20 per cent of Germany’s energy supply with it. The question remains: is it worth pouring millions or billions of dollars into transmission grid upgrades to accomodate an intermittent and unreliable source of energy?

ron: Real education should always trump propaganda.

D.Quixote: To have a pristine, wild landscape that depends totally on a tourist industry to generate funds to feed and clothe the children of these many rural communities be hacked apart and literally destroyed by these monster wind mills is criminal. Not only are the people of these communities residents, they are the “caretakers” of the lands that surround them and all the while inviting the city folk to come and enjoy that very wilderness that is being threatened by this industrialization.

Moe A.: Absolutely no full environmental assessment has been done for ANY wind project ever in Ontario. Every project is rubber stamped. In the eyes of the provincial government, there is no such thing as a bad place to site these things.

full comments and article are available at renewcanada.net.

requires all levels of government to measure progress and results.We believe this approach will not only hold government accountable

for the large investments (of tax dollars) that are required for public infrastructure, but will also promote confidence for private sector investments needed for major infrastructure projects.

The current practice of politically driven, high profile, one-off funding announcements may produce good media but it fails to address the fundamental need to put in place a comprehensive framework for the planning and funding of our public infrastructure. We all agree that our infrastructure is a priority but surely the solution is not to simply create funding programs that lack accountability and direction.

We believe that once the political decision has been made to

prioritize infrastructure, then that decision must be backed up with the resources and the reliable and sustainable funding to ensure that the job gets done. And from that point on, the project is insulated from political tampering. It sounds simple and perhaps to some naïve but we have many examples of initiatives that are announced and never funded.

Once a government commits to a project it should be implemented by professionals who have the expertise to deliver and who should be left to do so without political interference. That is our approach and we encourage the current government to consider making it theirs.

Frank Klees, MPP, Newmarket-Aurora PC Critic, Public Infrastructure renewal and transportation

The newly relaunched renew canada website with increased

news coverage and blog contributors is already causing a stir.

This issue’s Best of the Web comments come from a back-

and-forth over an article [“Forecast: High Winds,” July/August

2008] posted by our editor, Mira shenker.

(continued from page 5)

Correction: In our July/August issue, Todd Latham included John Baird on a list of “liberal stalwarts” (“Wanted: Benevolent Dictators”). We think you can guess the error.


lucKy nuMBer seven Seven renewable energy projects across Canada will see funding from the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program. In British Columbia, the Kwalsa low-impact hydro project near Harrison Lake will receive up to $35 million. Advanced Energy Systems’ South Cranberry Creek Power Project, near Revelstoke, B.C., will receive up to $3.7 million over ten years. One hundred and thirty new homes in Salmon Arm, B.C. will get solar water heaters with a $130,000 investment in the Thermo Matrix Solar Project. Synex Energy Resources’ Cypress Creek Hydroelectric Project (low impact, run of river hydro) will get up to $1.1 million. Alberta’s ENMAC Corporation will see $450,000 to launch its new solar hot-water program, which is currently in its testing phase. In Prince Edward Island, Norway Wind Park will receive up to $2.8 million over ten years for its three wind turbines. The $50-million East Point Wind Plant developed by the PEI Energy Corporation will get up to $9 million over ten years for its ten turbines. Details at ecoaction.gc.ca

let’s Get ready to cruMBleYet another study has confirmed that Canada’s infrastructure is in trouble, and that the country’s competitiveness and productivity depends on increased investment in our public infrastructure. According to “Infrastructure Investment: The Foundation of Canadian Competitiveness,” released by the Institute for Research on Public Policy, investment in public infrastructure, including highways, port facilities, water treatment and distribution systems, as well as sewage treatment, has fallen dramatically since the 1970s, and an injection of up to $200 billion will be necessary to address the problem. The figure is a jump from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ “Danger

Ahead” calculation of $123 billion. “Public infrastructure has built this nation, and we will not continue to be competitive if our viaducts are in danger of collapsing and our water systems in danger of contamination,” says study author James Brox, a professor of economics at the University of Waterloo. Details at irpp.org

near-Zero HeroesSiemens Fuel Gasification Technology GmbH & Co. KG will be the technology provider for the design of a coal gasification facility that could deliver improved air quality and capture carbon emissions for permanent storage. The project is being led by EPCOR Utilities Inc. and involves the Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) of an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) technology power plant. If investment and construction goes as planned, a 270-megawatt (net) generating station using Siemens’ SFG-500 coal gasifier technology would open in 2015. The Alberta Energy Research Institute, Natural Resources Canada and EPCOR have each contributed $11 million to the $33-million project. Details at epcor.ca

caPture tHe carBonAlter NRG Corp. wants to develop its coal reserves in the Fox Creek Area of Alberta into diesel fuel and naphtha. The company is pushing Canada’s first Coal to Liquids (CTL) with carbon dioxide capture project, meant to provide a cleaner energy solution for alternative oil production. A recently released Public Disclosure document outlines the project’s goal to extract Alter NRG’s coal resource and, through gasification and other processes, produce diesel fuel and naphtha. There’s enough coal to produce 40,000 bbls/d of liquid fuels (like diesel) for over 50 years. The project is expected to be operational as early as 2014. Details at alternrg.ca

settInG tHe standardLawrence Cannon, minister of transport, infrastructure and communities announced this August that The Infrastructure Solutions Project, a partnership between the federal government and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), will get up to $1.5 million during its first two years of operation. CSA will provide best practice guides, new standards, and training modules for the practitioners responsible for most infrastructure. Municipalities and municipal service providers should be able to access the first training modules by early 2009. Details at infrastructure.gc.ca

$1.9 B for QueBec’s PoWer GrIdHydro-Québec has announced that it is investing $1.9 billion to refurbish Gentilly-2 nuclear generating station in Bécancour. Refurbishing the 675-megawatt plant will extend its operation until about 2040. The project has two components: refurbishment of Gentilly-2 nuclear generating station, commissioned in 1983, and construction of a solid radioactive waste management facility. Details at hydroquebec.com

BrIdGInG tHe GaPThe federal government says it’s serious about replacing Montreal’s Champlain bridge and that a new bridge could save between $10 million and $30 million in annual maintenance costs. The 46-year-old bridge connecting Montreal to the South Shore is expensive to repair, and that money could be put to better use if a new structure were built, Minister Cannon said during a visit to Montreal. A new Champlain bridge would likely be financed through a public-private partnership and would probably require tolls, he said. The Champlain bridge first opened to traffic in 1962. Its replacement will take between 10 and 15 years to build. Details at tc.gc.ca

sIlver for sPorts venue?The federal government will support the construction of Halifax Regional Municipality’s (HRM) $40.5-million Mainland Common Centre, a primary venue for the 2011 Canada Winter Games, which will be hosted by HRM. The building will include a geothermal well system for earth source heat/cooling, energy saving lighting technologies, and the use of recycled and local materials, elements that will help its application for LEED Silver designation. The federal government will provide up to $12 million through its Building Canada agreement with Nova Scotia. The province will invest another $12 million. Details at halifax.ca

tWInned HIGHWaysThe federal government is putting $100-million into twinning another 14 kilometres of the Trans-Canada Highway. The roadway will now be twinned all the way to Lake Louise. Funding comes out the $33-billion Building Canada infrastructure plan. Road construction should start this spring. Details at buildingcanada-chantierscanada.gc.ca

Opening Shots

Send your news and announcements to [email protected].

Cred

it: Synex

A new turbine in the powerhouse building at the Cypress Creek hydroelectric Project in b.C.


The Toronto Economic Development Corporation (TEDCO) has announced president and CEO Jeffrey Steiner’s intent to resign effective December 31, 2008. "During Mr. Steiner’s tenure, TEDCO has accomplished a great deal to help Toronto become a vibrant and prosperous city, with a focus on aggressive and innovative development, including cutting-edge green buildings," said Toronto’s deputy mayor, Joe Pantalone. Highlights of Steiner’s career include work on FILMPORT, Evergreen, waterfront revitalization and the Canpar logistics facility—the first LEED green building owned by the City of Toronto.

will be essential to expanding our practice throughout our global network.”

Legend Power Systems Inc. has appointed Michael Costello, former president and CEO of the BC Transmission Corporation and president and CEO of BC Hydro and Power Authority, to its board of directors.

reLocate

Colin Andersen is the Ontario Power Authority’s (OPA) new CEO. He succeeds Dr. Jan Carr, founding CEO, who is leaving after three years of leading the OPA’s

initiatives to improve the long-term reliability of Ontario’s electricity supply.

Kasian Architecture Interior Design and Planning is expanding its Edmonton offices. Don Kasian, president, recently announced the appointment of Peter Streith and vaughan hoy to principals. “This city continues to grow and develop and our goal is to keep pace with this growth to ensure our current and future clients have access to excellent talent,” says Kasian.

Jean-Denis Pelletier of Laval, Quebec, has been appointed to the board of directors of the Canadian Transportation Agency for a term of five years. Pelletier has been a commissioner and administrative judge with the Commission des Transports du Québec since 2005.

beverly horii, previously at B+H Architects and Teknion Inc. of Toronto, has joined HOK Advance Strategies in the Toronto office as a vice president. hugh Painter, director of Advance Strategies said, “Her leadership

The Canadian Green Buildings Council’s Greater Toronto Chapter has named Lyle Shipley as its new executive director. Shipley has worked with the TRCA,

Toronto Community Housing, ONPHA and CSA. He has also been involved in the Cities of the Future project with PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Kevin MacDonald has been appointed president of the Sydney Tar Ponds Agency. MacDonald replaces Frank Potter, who has moved to the position of special projects engineer with Nova Scotia Lands Incorporated. The $400-million project is set to be completed in 2014. See the 2008 Top 100 Canadian Infrastructure Projects supplement for more info on the Tar Ponds.

robert Presser is the new chair of Defence Construction Canada. Presser is currently VP of marketing and product manager with Montreal-based Acme Engineering Products Ltd.

After ten years with the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance (GTMA), John Jung is leaving to head Canada's Technology Triangle (CTT), an organization that positions the Waterloo Region as a leading location in the world for investment.

LyleShipley

ColinAndersen

Jeffrey Steiner (left) at the FILMPOrt opening in August 2008


Starting with this issue, we will run a Regional Focus section—each issue will focus on a different region in Canada.

will eventually house the entire FILMPORT district. Using funds provided by Imperial Oil, the Toronto Economic Development Corporation (TEDCO) has been bio-remediating the contaminated soil onsite, saving approximately 3,000 truckloads of gas and carbon emissions.

Aecon Wins $31M hospital Contract – Aecon Group Inc. will re-develop the Perth and Smiths Falls District Hospital in Smiths Falls. Construction, to be completed in three phases, will start this September with a scheduled completion date of December 2010.

remediating the Past – XCG Consultants Ltd. just bought a property Electrohome Limited has owned for nearly 100 years on Victoria Street North in Kitchener, with a commitment to remediate for future redevelopment. The 0.8-hectare property has been vacant since 1994.

Port Lands report – David Crombie’s report consolidating ideas on the future of Oshawa’s harbour—now “caveated lands”—was finally released this September. The most significant of eight recommendations is that ownership of the port lands should be transferred to the City of Oshawa. The city’s official plan calls for a mixed-use waterfront that balances industrial, commercial, retail, residential and recreational uses. Two

development opportunities include a rail spur line and an ethanol plant. Following the environmental assessment, the federal government will work with the city to remediate lands. Find the full report at tc.gc.ca/programs/ports/crombie.htm

transIt/transPortatIonGO transit repairs – The $69.5 million Lakeshore East corridor expansion projects are meant to relieve congestion and reduce delays for the 44,700 riders who use the corridor each weekday. GO Transit has introduced 12-car passenger trains, the longest in North America, allowing over 300 new riders per train. Bridges at Warden, Danforth, St. Clair and Eglinton Avenues were expanded to accommodate the additional track, and the pedestrian overpass at Woodrow Avenue was replaced. For full project details, visit gotransit.ca

$300M to Get Moving – Road and highway construction is underway across the province, including the widening of Essex County Road 22 from Lakeshore Boulevard to Patillo Road, part of the Let’s Get Windsor-Essex Moving strategy. Coco Paving Inc. of Windsor has been awarded the two contracts totalling $11.62 million. Construction also continues on the Walker Road Canadian Pacific Railway grade separation and the Highway 401 widening between Highway 3 and Manning Road.

fundInG$1.1b For Ontario – The province will fund improvements to municipal infrastructure—lucky recipients include Toronto ($238M), Peel Region ($67M), York Region ($52M), and Hamilton ($48M). But it’s not all roses: “The economic challenges we’re facing this year mean I can safely predict I won’t make this kind of announcement 12 months from now,” warned Premier Dalton McGuinty at the Association of Ontario Municipalities’ annual conference.

Infra Loans expand – Infrastructure Ontario’s (IO) OSIFA Loan Program will soon provide financing to not-for-profit professional arts training institutions, Local Services Boards (LSBs) and social and affordable housing providers. “The availability of low-cost loans to arts training organizations will have a significant impact on their capacity to make capital investments in their facilities,” said Minister of Culture Aileen Carroll.

develoPMentbrownfield Goes hollywood – Phase 1 of FILMPORT, Toronto’s new $90-million film district and home of the largest purpose-built sound stage in North America, opened in August. Built on a former brownfield site owned by Imperial Oil in the 1970s and 1980s, the 47-acre site

regional Focus

onTario


$105M For hWY 401 – Aecon Group Inc. has been awarded a $105-million contract by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) to reconstruct and widen a 15-kilometre stretch of Highway 401 near Woodstock. The contract requires almost 700,000 cubic metres of earth excavation, 1.2 million tonnes of granular base, 400,000 tonnes of asphalt, and 12,500 cubic metres of concrete. It should be finished by fall 2011.

GroWtH PlannInGGreenbelt Loosens a Notch – New criteria, released in August, will be used to assess municipal requests to expand the Greenbelt, helping to grow and further protect more forests, wetlands and farmlands. The criteria, developed through consultation with the public, municipalities and stakeholders, makes it clear that requests to remove areas from the Greenbelt or reduce its size will not be considered. The plan includes the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, land-use planning reforms, proposed Lake Simcoe protection strategy and a sustainable transportation network under Metrolinx.

MerGers and acQuIsItIons OMerS Acquires Maxxam – Maxxam Analytics International Corporation, the second largest North American environmental lab services provider, has been acquired by OCPI MA Holdings Inc., an acquisition vehicle majority-owned by OMERS Administration Corporation and OMERS Capital Partners—the entity responsible for OMERS’ private equity investments.

Acorn energy Acquires Coreworx – Acorn Energy, Inc. has acquired Coreworx Inc., provider of a software tool for capital project information management and collaboration. Coreworx is currently utilized to help manage the construction of capital projects, including offshore oil production, refineries, mining operations and power plants around the world.

MrC Merges with MMM – McCormick Rankin Corporation (MRC) and MMM Group (MMM) have merged to form one of Canada’s largest privately-owned transportation consulting practices. MRC is a transportation focused, Canadian consulting engineering services firm, diversified in transportation sectors that include highway design, transit, and transportation planning. Similarly, Ecoplans is a leading full service environmental consulting firm. Both firms will operate under these well recognized names as part of the MMM Group.

utIlItIes Clean Water For Orangeville – The upgrading of the water pollution control plant in the Town of Orangeville will be considered a priority for up to $2,379,433 in federal infrastructure funding. Funding for the project, which will cost $7,138,300, comes from the $200 million top-up the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (MRIF) nationwide.

biogas energy – Organic Resource Management Inc. (ORMI) has an exclusive, 20-year agreement to supply organic residuals to a farm-based anaerobic digester (AD) at Ledgecroft Farms Inc. located north of Kingston. The 1,500 cubic metre AD, which will produce renewable biogas energy, is expected to generate about 500 kilowatts, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week—enough energy to supply roughly 400 households. Ledgecroft will be energy self-sufficient and sell electricity to the Hydro One distribution grid under the Ontario Power Authority’s Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program.

—Staff

the regional focus for our next issue will be Western Canada.

regional Focus


What should a small town do when the big factory closes, and the original reason

for its existence starts to fade into a historical footnote? It’s a problem that affects all Canadian cities, but one that especially threatens municipalities under 200,000, as the shift from manufacturing to information technologies continues. These and other towns can’t afford to make strategic mistakes. The competition for capital and highly-educated workers is enormous, and transnational.

In the case of three adjacent southern Ontario cities—Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Falls and St. Catharines, the problem is especially acute and its outcome uncertain. Their mixed agricultural and car-based manufacturing industries face rationalization and global competition on an unprecedented scale.

In Niagara-on-the-Lake, the CanGro cannery shut down in mid-2008 due to competition from China and South Africa, putting 190 long-term employees out of work. Despite last-minute efforts to save it, CanGro’s equipment was sold off. Pickups drove off daily with fruit bins snapped up at 20 cents on the dollar; the 10-hectare site now awaits redevelopment by its new owner.

reinventing the small

city in a Global age

our toWn,PosT-indusTrial

By Larry Frolick

More Canadians live in small towns than in either rural regions or big urban centres—40 per cent. Our ten largest cities, each with over 500,000 people, total 9.5 million and get the lion’s share of government services and internal emigration. Another 9 million

live in rural areas; while the balance of 15 million is spread over 3,000 towns.

All P

hotos by: Larry Frolick


our toWn,PosT-indusTrial

course for themselves and prospective stakeholders. Their ultimate success depends on whether the international marketplace buys the vision they’re selling of the next small-town heaven.

niagara-on-the-lake: the new old town

Niagara-on-the-Lake, population 15,000, was a historically-significant Great Lake port and colonial capital prior to the War of 1812, when the town was systematically torched by American troops. Called Newark, then Niagara, its solid Georgian housing stock was rebuilt after hostilities ended. But the colonial authorities learned the martial lesson, and invested their hard-won Early Industrial capital in more secure York, renamed Toronto.

Niagara-on-the-Lake languished in obscurity until the mid-1970s when historian Peter Stokes and schoolteacher Laura Dodson rescued it.

“Laura Dodson’s contribution to Niagara-on-the-Lake’s preservation was immense,” says Julian Smith, a practicing architect and newly-appointed Director of the School of Restoration Arts at Willowbank.

Along with a posse of industrious elves called Gentrify, Second Home, Boutique Winery, and B & B, Dodson and Stokes’ heritage activism created a town with no condo towers or malls.

The negative spin-off of cumulative plant closings hurts local fruit growers and third-party services like trucking, produce packers and commodity suppliers, all down the distribution chain, as well as shrinking the town’s tax base. In most cases there’s no second chance.

The ripple effect of local hospital closures and other provincial initiatives aimed at centralizing regional services puts even more pressure on nearby St. Catharines. With a population of 130,000, it’s the largest of the three towns and the easiest target for mandated cutbacks.

These cities are on their own: with pressures like these, they must reinvent themselves, or wither.

In this new era, mayors and staff make the rounds with PowerPoint presentations calculated to entice investors. After strenuous sales efforts, St. Catharines convinced several Finnish tech companies to locate there in 2006. The question is, what are these towns selling? And what are investors really buying?

While they are close neighbours, sharing the clement weather of the Niagara Peninsula and common origins in the 19th-century Industrial Age—as well as the administrative mantle of the Niagara Regional Municipality—the three little cities under review have distinctly different strategies in plotting a future

“I feel Laura’s spirit here everywhere,” says Smith, pointing to the Greek Revival tulip-wood columns, which frame a green estate that hasn’t changed much in 200 years.

“Laura and Peter were visionaries,” says Smith. “Like Jane Jacobs, they didn’t accept established International Modernist ideas of planning and design. Today Niagara-on-the-Lake is maybe the only place in Canada where a local vernacular architecture is emerging, self-consciously expressed. It will be interesting to see how our young people design new buildings in the future, after absorbing the lessons of this town’s intact, 19th-century neighbourhoods.” (Check out RAW Design’s take on a city of the future on page 28.)

Smith says the town is overlooked because of Modernism’s fixation with buildings as objects, rather than as connections to a streetscape.

Taking a chair in his green room office—an expressionist wonderland of peeling wallpapers that records Ontario’s decorating styles from 1834 to 1990—the MIT graduate and restoration architect distinguishes Willowbank’s philosophy from post-modern concerns with splashy design statements—and the notion of “planning” itself.

“With Modernism, architects design and developers build—there’s a deep split between theory and practice. It inevitably focuses on the Object, an isolated monument

does little have something to teach Big?

it’s a radical notion that might

just save other local communities

everywhere. But such radicalism

is not readily apparent from

the placid look of noTl, a

deliberately low-rise town, which

is easy to dismiss as a variation

on post-modern aestheticism,

its Georgian stock conforming

to visual type: severely formal

houses marked with bronze

plaques, and all based on yet

another “built theory.”


that looks great in Rizzoli coffee-table books, but is removed from context and use. Canada’s traditional main streets were not designed as objects, but to serve as corridors of daily social experience. It’s not about how they look in a black-and-white art photo; but how the streetscape actually functions.”

The town’s mayor, Gary Burroughs, agrees that his constituency is opposed to condo towers and other symbols of “inevitable” modernity.

“We see our town’s future promoting ‘quality of life.’ Environmental tourism, using our public green spaces for running and biking trails. Everyone wants quality of life today.”

Mayor Burroughs’ views on the role of the contemporary small town are set out on the website (renewcanada.net/fromthemagazine), along with sometimes contrary ideas from the mayors of St. Catharines and Niagara Falls. His notion that a town can stubbornly resist global development trends, even opt out of them to set its own agenda for the future, needs to be examined further. Surely there are economic and social limits to civic autonomy.

How much freedom does a small town have today, in a world that is otherwise interconnected at so many levels?

small town as niche Market

“We don’t create demand,” says Eve Lewis, CEO of MarketVision Realty, a Toronto-based brokerage firm that has put hundreds of millions of dollars on the condominium deal-table in that booming city, over the past 25 years. “We only satisfy it.”

MarketVision and its sister firm, Urbanation Inc., produce reams of proprietary data that pinpoint the specifics of GTA’s current housing demand—identifying quarterly trends, for example, that tell developers their condo units ought to be 10 per cent bigger than before, or west of that major street—or that low-rise projects have suddenly dipped in popularity.

This information doesn’t come cheap. Urbanation’s reports sell

Taking a chair in his green room office—an expressionist wonderland of peeling wallpapers that records Ontario’s decorating styles from 1834 to 1990—MIT graduate and restoration architect Julian Smith says, “It’s not about how a main street looks in a black-and-white art photo; but how the streetscape actually functions.”


Drug Mart. The successful bidder for the CanGro property, Hummel has many infill projects going in Niagara Region, including an upscale lakefront hotel and 100-lot plus subdivisions. As a “small developer,” he says he must do his due diligence up front—unlike the big developers who “tie-up thirty deals with conditional offers, then cherry-pick the ones they decide to like.”

The developer points to his Hunter Estates infill project in Virgil, a village now part of Niagara-on-the-Lake, as an example of “supply-induced demand.”

“When I started this project in 2000, the absorption rate in Virgil was six houses a year. If you do 120 homes it should take 20 years to sell them. If houses in nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Old Town are selling for 100 cents, and houses over in St.

for $6,000 a copy. A city of three million like Toronto has sufficient clientele to justify the cost of producing data on the vagaries of what is essentially local taste. How can small towns compete in this sophisticated information market? Their local markets are no less unique—just more obscure to outsiders.

“Is everything a niche market today?” asks Charles Stuart, MarketVision’s Vice-President of Land Development. “Yes, basically. We know a Toronto developer who recently began an upscale residential project in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Slow sales, on a deal that looked great from the elevations. The problem comes when private ambition fails to meet public demand. You really have to know your buyer before you build.”

Social anthropologists term unrealistic capital projects cargo cults, after the efforts of South Pacific islanders who erected primitive airports from mud and palm thatch, hoping airplanes would land with crates of fruit cocktail and soda pop, like military bases got. But how do you distinguish such wishful thinking from ordinary risk-taking?

“Supply-induced demand,” insists Niagara developer Rainer Hummel, “is built on a real sense of place. You actually create demand by providing a specific supply.”

Hummel’s firm, Felcon Datvox, installs high-speed data networks across Canada for clients like Niagara College and Shoppers

Catherines for 50 cents, Virgil should be 52 cents. You offer St. Catharines’ prices in a premium location. They sold like hotcakes; even my sister bought one.”

Hummel points to the unending problems of one developer’s dramatic lakefront tower project in nearby Port Dalhousie, St. Catharines, as a failure of public imagination, not market demand, recalling how some

locals also bitterly fought the Shaw Festival when it was first proposed for Niagara-on-the-Lake. While “no one remembers those particular objectors now,” the key issue of “sharing a vision” remains problematic.

Hummel says it begins with area planners. “In my experience, planners can either be solution providers, or problem creators. We’ve lost 1.3 million visitors to Niagara-on-the-Lake since 2001, first from 9/11, then

“Our attention is always on the relationship of the new

to the old. Any proposed buildings have to reflect back on

what’s already here to move forward. If you are looking for a

condo tower, I suggest someplace else—about ten miles east.”

—Stephen Bedford

Downtown St. Catharines is suffering from a 10 per cent commercial vacancy rate.


SARS. Yet the New York Times just listed it as the eighth must-visit place in North America. The current resistance to Project Niagara, a proposed music concert project partnership with the Toronto Symphony, is a repeat of Shaw’s early history.”

The job of small-town planners is tricky. Highly visible, they must take the brunt of public pressure on all permit applications, everything from wooden porches to giant shopping malls. And, as one staff member confided, politicians play both sides of the fence, sometimes using staff as whipping boys when approvals slow down, yet demanding they strictly enforce the rules, too.

Niagara-on-the-Lake, with nine planning staff, and St. Catharines, with 20, have reputations for lots of bureaucracy. Indeed, developers say Niagara-on-the-Lake requires up to 23 departmental approvals before an application can proceed.

Stephen Bedford, director of planning for Niagara-on-the-Lake, however, disagrees with this perception:

“That number 23 sounds too high to me. I can say that since 2004, not one major planning application had to go to the Ontario Municipal Board on appeal. We have traditionally had a pre-consultative, collaborative approach to planning and urban design—the proposed use, and the project’s fit with our valuable heritage architecture. We always got involved in the ongoing design process, and a recent amendment to the provincial Planning Act, Bill 51, confirms the right of a municipality to regulate such design.”

Niagara-on-the-Lake uses an Urban Design Committee composed of three architects and three laypeople to peer-review all building applications at the earliest possible stage.

Bedford says that their public role is clear: “Our attention is always on the

relationship of the new to the old. Any proposed buildings have to reflect back on what’s already here to move forward. The low-rise scale of a recent project like Southbrook Winery on Highway 55 by A. E. Diamond, is appropriate to an agricultural community of four small towns within 30,000 acres of farmland. If you are looking for a condo tower, I suggest someplace else—about ten miles east.”

The preponderance of pastel-stucco B & B’s doesn’t faze the town planner, who quickly distinguishes Niagara-on-the-Lake’s design policy from the regulated aestheticism of projects like Celebration, a totally-planned seaside town in Florida. “Celebration is an attempt at a perfect plan, but it’s not organic. Whereas our

community is organic, it grew from local tradition, so like anything organic it’s not perfect.”

Currently, Niagara-on-the-Lake has engaged new planning studies of three constituent communities, Queenston, Glendale, and Old Town, using funds from town tax revenues, not from the province, which selected 25 communities for its largesse in 2006.

“We’re not part of the province’s Urban Growth Program,” says Bedford, “We fund our own future growth studies. We expect

growth to level off at 25,000 or 30,000 residents from 15,000, as our vacant development land gets consumed.”

did the BlackBerry create old town?

The real reason for developers’ perception of municipal inertia may be demographic.

Niagara-on-the-Lake has over 200 licensed B & Bs, and other tourist venues like jam shops, retailing a British Colonial theme; and a well-heeled retirement community drawn to the “prettiest town in Canada.” They buy


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the circa-1820 Georgian houses, in today’s market starting at $800,000 to over $4 million, and install granite kitchens, triple-car garages and skylights.

These groups are highly vocal. A recent application to renew a licence

for a jet-boat operation on the Niagara River prompted months of complaints about intolerable noise and threats of legal action, although the tour operators had already been in business for five years. It appears to be the mechanical nature of the river-boats that provoked the outcry.

As with other “eco-cred” sites like Celebration in Florida, this vogue for revisiting the prettified past commands a premium. The town’s become a money-gated enclave for newly-minted Toronto arrivistes. Another lobby opposing the opening of a Tim Hortons shows how the privileged social code works: “Too commercial” means “Non U.”

Despite the vaunted social ambition, however, Old Town’s brand is getting frayed. Tourism is down 30 per cent since 2006; and even with hefty government subsidies, the Shaw Festival lost $1 million in 2007, the third such big loss in five years. Basic community services like a YMCA, a proper grocery store or real cafés are lacking. There’s no public transit; a cab to the nearest bus line in St. Catharines is $35. There are few jobs for youth except seasonal as wait staff for hotels and the new wineries, or landscaping.

Although service jobs can pay well, posh cuts two ways. Jeff, a 26-year-old sommelier student at nearby Niagara College, says he makes $1,500 a week in a popular Old Town wine bar, but plans on moving to Halifax after graduation, because he finds living in “cliquey” Old Town “so unfriendly”—his code for “class-bound.”

If not retired, Old Town’s moneyed seasonal residents, employed by multi-nationals, show tepid allegiance to local issues that don’t enhance property values. There’s a palpable lack of civic leadership seeking new industry to replace lost assembly plants like CanGro. Some taxpayers and councillors even exhibit a lax attitude to threatened closings of three of its four public schools and its only high school, arguing, as one letter-writer to local paper The Advance put it, “Why should my tax money go to educating other people’s kids?”

This is all anecdotal, of course. But the same demographics that show declining school enrolment in NOTL are themselves a product of an accelerating policy drift that deters family life. The staff at an upscale development site openly discourages


Niagara-on-the-Lake plays host to upscale events like this international equestrian competition. The horsey set favours NOTL for its green treed vistas and pricey but authentic Georgian homes.

prospective buyers with children, telling them the bungalows are “intended for adults only” despite that it’s a freehold project and such restriction is unlawful.

In this mobile era, the smallness of towns easily slides into a type of smallness; one that doesn’t necessarily favour everyone, and inevitably ousts the non-fits. This town has an

artisanal bakery café with prices double Tim Hortons’. Let’s be honest. What the Willow sells are positional goods, pretty foam the Dictionary of Urban Slang defines as latte: “A coffee with milk, which costs about five times as much as coffee with milk.”

But then, why shouldn’t a town like Niagara-on-the-Lake embark on becoming an

exclusive enclave for upscale seniors? Recent applications for a 100-unit retirement project on a former Catholic school site, (rents from $3,300 a month), and The Sterling, a seniors’ condo project (“retirement living without compromise”) on a ex-Christian school site, point to a timely convergence of demographic trends and local market savvy.


If the point of a rationalized municipal economy is to identify and satisfy unique consumer preferences, then it’s a niche target marked in Niagara-on-the-Lake by the sound of well-shod feet sauntering into a quietly-understated show-room.

niagara falls: the Border town

Thirty kilometres away, the City of Niagara Falls, with its revolving tower restaurants and glittering casinos, promotes a civic image based on powerful spectacle, the harnessing of nature’s roaring energy. Although it sounds like urban myth, the Niagara River’s torrent is indeed turned on and off like a tap, to coincide with peak tourist hours.

With 14 million visitors a year, this city of 80,000 is vigorously pro-development, and is expected to surpass St. Catharines as Niagara Region’s largest municipality, when current plans for increased density are realized.

Among recent capital projects are a 3,600-unit housing development, and a 265-megawatt co-generational power plant (Ontario’s largest), both slated for adjacent Thorold; and Ontario Power Generation’s $1-billion water tunnel, now being excavated under the city by an Austrian firm, to deliver high-efficient hydroelectric power for the international marketplace by 2010.

Oddly, all this loose cash has not done much for the city’s core. Niagara Falls was obliged to initiate a Downtown Community Improvement Plan in 2004 aimed at key targets: upgrading retail renovations and street landscaping, and increasing both public spaces and downtown residential densities. The city also developed a scheme to emend its brownfields under a 2006 program that subsidizes owners’ environmental studies.


Mayor Ted Salci, a long-term real estate broker (now inactive), says Niagara Falls is “open for business.”

“This week we are developing a new brand for the city, something with ‘majestic,’ and ‘playground’ in it. The Greenbelt legislation handed us a gift by pushing development south of the GTA. We have hundreds of millions of dollars in new projects coming. Now, the joke is, when David Caplan, Minister of Infrastructure, sees me coming, he reaches into his pocket before I even say hello!” (Ed Note: It will have to be Minister Smitherman now!)

If Niagara-on-the-Lake retails sepia dress-up as its market niche, Niagara Falls offers hot action. In 2007 the city hosted 14 million tourists, of which 8.5 million visited its two dazzling casinos. That is, 175 tourists for every man, woman or child; and over 100 gamblers per resident.

How do such surging imbalances affect a little city of 80,000? Away from the casinos, crowds and mega-projects, people do live here. The question is, where?

One of the city’s biggest employers is the Niagara Parks Commission (NPC), a provincial body with the express mandate to “preserve the natural beauty of the Falls for visitors,” and wholly self-funded from user fees. The NPC hires over 1,000 locals and completed a $35-million renovation of

its Table Rock complex in 2008. Yet, as with other such “branch plants,” its relationship with the host town is thin.

“Niagara Parks could not exist without tourism,” says Robert Ritchie, a naturalist with the NPC. “But there is also a perception that Niagara Falls is a tourist town; that any monies earned simply goes back to attract more tourists, not into community services. Our family looked into living here, but we decided otherwise.”

The paradox is that Niagara Falls is a victim of its international success.

“We’re seeing big commercial and industrial growth in the city,” says Wendy Canavan, an economic development officer with Niagara Falls. “[We’ve got] a 60-storey hotel-retail complex, and the Oil Sands Initiative that finds new opportunities in the west for our local machine shops and manufacturing firms. Yet our housing is still low at 250-300 units per year; lack of road infrastructure delayed our residential development.

“It’s taken seven years to see results from our downtown improvement plans; today we have ten art galleries. But cities like Kitchener-Waterloo, linked to the Highway 401 system, grew a lot faster in the same time-span. They have great schools, population, lots of cash. We’ve learned—infrastructure is everything.”

“it’s taken seven years to see results from our downtown improvement

plans; today we have ten art galleries. But cities like Kitchener-

Waterloo, linked to the highway 401 system, grew a lot faster in the

same time-span. They have great schools, population, lots of cash.

We’ve learned—infrastructure is everything.”—Wendy canavan

Niagara Falls has successfully encouraged several art galleries to take space in its slowly reviving centre.


Canavan points out that Niagara Parks, for example, doesn’t pay city taxes despite occupying huge swathes of land. A big federal government presence is also tax-exempt. However, the real challenge for her economic development team is access to information.

“We know our city population is aging, but our demographics are out of date. We haven’t got our 2006 figures yet from Statistics Canada, and we have to pay for them. Other levels of government control access to data. We never thought about condo towers or big projects ten years ago. Now we do, but it’s difficult without up-to-date information.”

small town as urban experiment

The New Urbanism planning movement dates to the 1980s; its post-modern program is actually pre-modern, founded on idealized New England towns. It includes a lively Main Street with iconic items like clock towers; kid-and-pedestrian friendly treed avenues; socially-mixed, affordable housing; and appropriate retail density—all “authentically” inhabited. Put another way, ironic is okay, but “nostalgic” is vulgar.

What can a town do to satisfy social needs, the public tastes that are explored and measured by sophisticated marketing tools like aspirational branding, social-media optimization, even invidious consumption—a need for goods that inspire envy in others? Developers routinely employ such stratagems. Are towns not obliged to, as well, by the same market forces that have replaced theory with spreadsheets of measurable results?

The rising global importance of border towns like Niagara Falls suggests their function is psychological as well as economic, providing a study model for both marketers and consumers. Does the neon glow of Niagara Falls hide a cutting-edge social laboratory?

This is not a rhetorical question. Guelph University researchers Karen Finlay and Harvey Marmarek are engaged in a $1-million study on Ontario’s gambling behaviours, focusing on the trance-like states that casino designers seek to induce in players.

Niagara Falls’ two casinos grossed $650 million in 2007; and according to the 2008 Economic Impact Statistics Report, they pay a fixed $2.6 million fee to the city as “annual compensation for hosting a commercial casino.”

“You sure we’re really getting that money?” asks cab driver, Carl, 65, as he cruises the Falls Parkway to the forlorn, eastside downtown. “Don’t see much of it coming here.”

Hip-hopper Josh in central St. Catharines: 5,000 students attend nearby Brock University.

Two of Silicon Knights’ game designers take a break at their company headquarters in downtown St. Catharines.

Semi-abandoned buildings line Niagara Falls’ former downtown.

In 2007, Niagara hosted 14 million tourists—that is 175 tourists for every resident.

does the neon glow of niagara falls hide a cutting-edge social laboratory?


In Learning from Las Vegas (1972), architect Robert Venturi found that the success of that casino city was due to its unabashed convergence of signage and building, a then-novel mix he called “scenography.” His study concluded this tactic not only united the built environment in a radical way (by permitting, for example, everything and therefore anything to happen within the context of a single building) but it also expanded the active interface between users and designers to an unparalleled degree.

It was the developers, encouraged to envision and satisfy public demand by unrestricted planning policies, who taught academics and designers their advanced consumer lessons:

Venturi merely noted the solutions the casino operators had discovered on their own.

However, few talk about the ownership of this raw consumer data.

“Who gets to use this information on mass-consumer motivation—and for what purpose?” asks Wendy Canavan. “They often hide behind privacy-disclosure rules.”

The opacity of the big players in Niagara Falls points to difficulties every small town encounters, seeking accountability from its branch industries—no less so now that

the Information Landscape has superceded the physical environment in strategic importance.

st. catharines: the Garden city

The Garden City, St. Catharines’ long-term civic brand, is intended literally. The town’s brochures promote its “1,000 acres of public gardens” including Montebello Park, designed by U.S. landscape architect,

Frederick Law Olmstead in 1887, without referencing the 1900s British Garden City movement. Like Buffalo, St. Catharines grew from investment following the completion of the Welland Canal in the 1820s.

Evidence of the city’s traditional industrial wealth includes its handsome Victorian houses and impressive churches, drydock yards (near-moribund) and decidedly 19th -century factories like the Hair Cloth Building (proposed for arts events). Tree-lined streets, Victorian bell towers, good schools and

regular transit, affordable housing stock: St. Catharines is already a New Urban

town—only it’s not working. The decline of St. Catharines’ GM plants

(originally 9,000 employees, now 3,000) is reflected in other telling statistics. The city’s population of 130,000 has remained static for a decade. The median income of $23,000 ranks the city as second lowest in Ontario. The 11 per cent commercial vacancy rate is apparent from a faded downtown peppered with For Lease signs.

But the “positional assets” supporting potential growth are also here: Brock University, with 5,000 students; a major fibre telecommunications trunk-line, with homegrown tech companies like Silicon Knights online; and value-added specialty industries like boutique wineries—the same “gas math” that made a St. Catharines housewife take the bus instead of her Camry to visit family in Calgary is creating healthier business for regional tourism.

Mayor Brian McMullan says he is pushing for a new GM transmission plant (which needs government guarantees), at the same time as he is looking “to make our town a green place.” There is a lot to do: “Council banned pesticides from the city and we are

“everybody in the world wants the same things.”—Greg redden


making upgraded infrastructure a priority.” (See Mayor McMullan’s comments in the extended online version at renewcanada/fromthemagazine.)

With $100,000 in funding from the Ontario government’s Urban Growth Plan, as one of 25 urban centres targeted in 2006 for intensification, St. Catharines commissioned an independent consultant’s study to explore the revitalization of its downtown core. How do you unlock this potential? Where do you start?

“The city is pretty much built-up now,” says Brian York, an officer with St. Catharines’ Economic Development Department. “So while we have a large workforce available to support a major new plant out of town, we are looking for hi-tech businesses with 10 to 300 employees to kick-start the downtown in our NGen Programme. We are identifying ‘incubator sites’ and exploring the reuse of older buildings as innovative tourist facilities—like a wine-tasting centre—that could be part of the region-wide Wine Route.”

Small cities are constrained in their approach to potential investors by the terms of the Ontario Municipal Act, which forbids offering tax breaks and other cash incentives.

“Cities don’t have those restrictions in the United States,” says York. “We have to rely on good planning and other attractions. The historical Hair Cloth Building was just used for the first time by the Niagara Art Company for an event. We have to rethink our uses.”

small town & social activism

One of two key problems addressed by the study, the 2008 Downtown Creative Cluster Master Plan, is that the town’s educated youth don’t stick around. The other problem is linked to the first. The city’s inner road system is bike-unfriendly and geared to an old-school, free-wheeling, aggressive car-culture—which a once-hip city, Toronto, capped by canceling its Spadina Expressway in 1971.

The kids don’t like it, and say so. A 20-something skateboarder on downtown St. Paul Street says he routinely gets hooted at and cursed by local drivers, “Even if I stay on the sidewalk, it’s a joke. I go skating in Toronto and nobody bothers me.”

The revitalization plan’s chief researcher confirms similar complaints were expressed by participants.

“We have been trying to merge cultural considerations with local economic and planning needs in our study,” says Stasia Bogdan, a principal with Joseph Bogdan & Associates Architects, and author of the St.

Yet another bike accident in downtown St. Catharines shows the need for dedicated bike lanes, but turf wars at City Hall have slowed proposed by-laws.

Ian, a retired factory worker, says he enjoys living in old Niagara Falls and shopping in local thrift stores.

Master winemaker Ann Sperling at Southbrook winery, the latest addition to a boutique industry reaching for critical mass in NOTL’s growing tourism industry.


Catharine’s Creative Cluster Master Plan. “St. Catharines has ‘good bones.’ We saw our role as: how

do you make a small place a great place? Affordable, with jobs, direct access to outdoor spaces and recreational activities, and good transportation to other regional centres? That’s the sticking point. The problem is St. Catharines has also been studied to death; certain segments are jaded. But we think the province’s intensification funding will make a difference this time.”

The city commissioned the research in anticipation of amending its Official Plan and in advance of the Niagara Region’s own Growth Management Study. There are three levels of government with jurisdictions, plus multiple city departments with their own agendas. Conflict is inevitable, but as Bogdan happily notes, David Oakes of St. Catharines Economic Development was able to secure $200,000 in provincial funding for the downtown Interactive Media Arts Cluster, aimed at digital-media development.

The balancing act is to match local cultural groups’ needs with development plans,” Bogdan says, “One of the exciting possibilities is for Brock School of Performing Arts to move downtown and work in conjunction with the new Niagara Centre for the Arts. The Master Plan is not just a technical exercise of assessing underperforming land uses, but an examination of the relationship cultural institutions have with city renewal—arts groups told us they don’t want to be another Queen Street West in Toronto, where gentrification takes over.”

A walk through St. Catharines’ downtown one recent weekend reveals the consequences of an outdated traffic-planning philosophy. Multi-lane, one-way streets dominate the core and breed casual sport-driving. Accelerating cars race stoplights and each other, putting pedestrians and cyclists at high risk. We saw a near-collision between a cyclist and a van, caused by the driver passing and then intentionally or willfully cutting the cyclist off. So the problem is also lack of police enforcement. (A 2007 study by the Pembina Institute confirms these impressions, ranking Niagara Region last of 27 cities for poor transport).

The city’s traffic department has been criticized for not implementing recommendations for designated bike lanes. Dennis Soron, associate professor of sociology at Brock University, says without hesitation; “We have a real culture of driver entitlement here.”

His organization, The Garden City Alliance for Sustainable Bike Transportation, (the name is perhaps a joke on the current fetish for technical-sounding acronyms), is pushing for the de-suburbanization of the St. Catharines downtown core.

“The city is drunk on the idea that the Hair Cloth Building might be used by the Brock Performing Arts Faculty,” says another local activist, architect Greg Redden. “You can apply a costume drama to a whole city, finding the things that make it special.”

How does this process start? Redden speaks from personal experience.

“It could be like Halifax. When I was going to school there, the downtown came back to life, by encouraging students and pedestrians to hang out. Grocery stores, laundromats, and bodies on the street followed, creating a sense of security. It’s not that difficult—everybody in the world wants the same things.”

Larry Frolick is the author of four books on post-modern society including Bastard Eden /Our Chernobyl (2008), and won the Lange-taylor Prize (uSA) for documentary journalism with Don Weber. he lives in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.


Having passed through St. Catharines mostly en route to somewhere else

along the Queen Elizabeth Way, I have a hard time forming a mental image of the city beyond a vague memory of a typical struggling small town in Ontario. It’s easier to visualize Port Dalhousie, the town’s waterfront, as a casual and pleasant area surrounding a small harbour and scenic rowing basin.

if small town st.

catharines had

unlimited resources,

how could it become

a thriving city?

Toronto-based raw

design’s concept

for st. catharines

centres on the idea

of an axis that runs

through the city,

providing a system

of access between

its key elements.

The point of departure for raw’s design is to propose a new way of living for smaller cities—a more compact but small scale and mobile way of living which takes advantage of the inherent “space” and openness for which the small city is loved, but without the disconnectedness and reliance on expensive personal transportation that living in a small town has come to entail.

All rend

erings by: raw

Design

(continued on page 31)


“if demographics, infrastructure, technology and industry have changed it follows that

the ways of living must also change. The evolving mixed use buildings that we propose

will bring people back to the centre of the small town.”—richard Witt, raw design


“When successful, architects design and build objects that capture the public imagination and push

the boundaries of what is possible. examples range from the eiffel tower to ocad to the new Beijing

olympic stadium. Good design captures the essence of place and re-presents it in new form.”—rW


Economic well-being is dependent upon transportation and infrastructure, as well as social, geographical and financial factors, but there is a critical cultural element. When people can form a strong positive mental association with a city or town, they may be more likely to invest in that area.

The way to capture this energy is to make a strong urban statement about the nature of St. Catharines. We propose the creation of a strong physical and visual link between downtown St. Catharines and Port Dalhousie—linking the institutional and recreational/entertainment areas of the city. A mini-transit system, similar to the one used effectively in Perugia, a town of similar size in Italy, could knit the port and the core together inextricably in people’s minds.

The structure would loosely parallel Ontario Street and the Twelve Mile Creek

“With this proposal, we’re trying

to make explicit the character

of st.catharines, running through

the river valley and out to

Port dalhousie.”—rW

Valley, creating a strong spine for future development. This route could limit disruption of the existing urban fabric while reinventing the character of Ontario Street, currently characterized by parking lots and drive-throughs. The route could make use of old industrial lands, and give passengers glimpses of the Twelve Mile Creek.

The transit system would use small cars on an elevated right-of-way supported periodically by a tiered parking structure containing ground-floor retail units, designed to be gradually converted to residential and office uses as car dependence recedes. The structure would also include an elevated linear garden.

This new piece of infrastructure will make it obvious that St. Catharines is suited to a new model of urban living—one that is not reliant on the automobile—better suited to the aspirations of its future citizens.


BrIdGInG tHe [fundinG] [KnoWledGe] [daTa] GaP

even be accessed. Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion has expressed to us—on several occasions—her frustration at the glacial flow of funding dollars.

After Ontario signed on to Building Canada in July 2008, Andy Manahan, executive director of the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario (RCCAO) said, “If there is a fall election, this tends to slow the bureaucratic machinery. Thus, the process for accessing the Building Canada funds could be further delayed.”

Manahan was right—the PM has called an October election (see page 4). But, if anything, it seems to have sped up the allocation of funds—or at least pushed Infrastructure Canada to get the last holdouts to sign the Framework Agreement for Building Canada.

Unfortunately, funding—or the promise of funding—is not the answer to this industry’s problems. Canada is facing energy

Since the Building Canada Plan was announced in Budget 2007, Infrastructure Canada has not

changed its message—in fact, they’ve tried twice to submit a letter for our readers, but have nothing new to say since Minister Cannon’s last submitted a letter for our September/October 2006 issue. They’ve just slowly worked away at getting provinces and territories to sign on to the plan. This September, Manitoba became the final province to sign up and earn itself a piece of the $33-billion pie.

Last year, Minister Cannon told ReNew Canada that the $33-billion number was based on the Federation of Canadian Municipality’s (FCM) $60 billion infrastructure gap estimate. But that estimate keeps rising—FCM already has it up to $123 billion. By the time this seven-year plan is played out, the deficit estimate will be even higher. That’s if funding can

challenges that are interconnected with the transportation sector; assets that have never been replaced are at the end of their service lives and climate change is shortening the lives of other assets.

With every organization, association and local government sharpening their elbows for the funding table, it’s easy to forget that a pile of cash is never the ultimate solution.

Certainly not the $1.8 billion devoted to a federal P3 office. Under the Building Canada Plan, any projects greater than $50 million in value will go through a “P3 filter,” meaning that projects will be vetted by the federal P3 office. Manahan says, “To give you an idea of how slow things have been moving at the federal level, RCCAO put forward the idea to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty seven months ago to have a construction advisory committee with representatives who have done public-private partnership deals. In January, we supplied the names of seven

our annual look at the state

of canada’s infrastructure.

By Mira Shenker

A report released August 2008 by the Institute for Research on Public Policy estimated Canada needs a $200-billion investment in public infrastructure. University of Waterloo economist James Brox, who led the report, warned the state of Canada’s infrastructure is reaching a critical stage.

Cred

it: Mira S

henker


qualified candidates but there has been no movement on this.”

Manahan says, “The process to set up this P3 office has been painfully slow,” but adds that there is, at least, an interim acting chair from Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation. He says Flaherty’s office also advised him that the call for applications for the chair, board members and CEO closed last week.

Brookfield Asset Management’s estimates put the global publicly listed universe at over $1 trillion. According to Brookfield, infrastructure is so attractive because of the inflation protection it offers. Water companies in the United Kingdom, for example, generate returns based on regulated “real return” targets, meaning the return is above inflation.

While P3 offices sort themselves out, private and publically traded funds are slowly moving in. Macquarie Essential Assets Partnership (MEAP) had invested $460 million in Canadian infrastructure in its first year (2004). The Claymore Global Infrastructure Fund was launched this August, also acknowledging the attractive rate of return infrastructure offers.

Governments around the world and in Canada are welcoming these investments as extreme weather is making roads, water supplies, sewer systems and government buildings more vulnerable to multi-billion-dollar failures. In June 2008, Engineers Canada and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) released “Adapting to Climate Change: Canada’s First National Engineering Vulnerability Assessment.” The report says, “Added demands arising from changing climatic conditions could mean that, given their lifespan, some infrastructure lacks the necessary load capacity or adaptive capability.”

Despite the significance of its warnings, this is the second federal government report about climate change impacts to be quietly posted online with only mild media interest. Authors of a third climate change study, sponsored by Health Canada, are saying the Harper government has delayed its release and will try to downplay its findings.

Lack of data and information is becoming as big a problem as the lack of funding. Without the right data, governments can’t make the right decisions about how to allocate the funds they’ve got.

So where are the blanks and how can they be filled in? Ontario Good Roads Association’s (OGRA) Joe Tiernay says they’ve asked the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy to help fund Municipal Date Works, their asset management tool.


Mira Shenker is the editor of this magazine and has written two previous articles on the state of Canada's infrastructure.

“PSAB requirements are not enough data to do asset management,” says Tiernay. “The province could fix this by requiring asset management as a condition of receiving grants. If it was in exchange for predictable funding over a ten-year period, municipalities would be willing to go that extra distance.”

If OGRA wants funding for information-gathering, they’ll have to wait in a long line of professional associations who feel they have the solution, if only someone would fund their work.

The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) is the latest to develop a framework for spreading knowledge and best practices across the country. PR for their Infrastructure Solutions Program (ISP) says, “Although pockets of knowledge exist across the country, the best of Canadian and international infrastructure know-how needs to be accessible to all professionals and trades who need it.” Sounds a lot like InfraGuide.

In fact, members of the Canadian Society of Professional Engineers (CSPE) have expressed surprise over CSA’s move to take over where the program, operated by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the National Research Council, left off.

Infrastructure Canada is providing catalyst funding of up to $1.5 million for ISP’s first two years. Another bidder for federal funding, The National Roundtable on Sustainable Infrastructure (NRTSI), got $815,000 in March 2008, split between the

National Research Council and Engineers Canada. There, too, surprise was expressed over this new funding for CSA-ISP.

R.V. Anderson’s Reg Andres says, “Rather than seed funds for the initial operation of a secretariat to support the roundtable activities, Infrastructure Canada opted to support the roundtable by providing funds for projects to develop infrastructure management tools and knowledge.”

When asked about funding for one program versus another, Infrastructure Canada will only say that we should contact CSA is we’re interested in their new project.

While some have called this a “pissing contest” between associations, CSA Program Manager Mike Mortimer says, “There is a multitude of approaches, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

He did say that CSA-ISP’s goal to become financially self-sustaining sets it apart from other programs. “Very few standards are self-sustaining,” says Mortimer. “Most are subsidized by the government. We look for multiple sources of funding.”

What about NRTSI? Mortimer says, “NRTSI is a concept right now. As of today it doesn’t have a secretariat—Engineers Canada is carrying the torch and offering up its own staff. It’s very embryonic. As its purpose becomes clear to stakeholders, that will determine its function.” Guay is very clear on the roundtable’s purpose. “The main purpose of the NRTSI’s framework is to facilitate decision-making,” she says, “to provide tools to manage assets, set standards and prioritize.”

Guay says, “In our mind, any training modules have to be done in collaboration with the people who use them and the best venue is the roundtable.”

And after meeting with Mortimer and other members of CSA on September 11, Guay seems to have convinced them of that. “I’m really excited about how Chantal laid [NRTSI’s plans] out,” says Mortimer. “We had a very energizing discussion and I see a lot of opportunities for synergy and collaboration.”

Both Guay and Mortimer now seem excited to work together in a forum where planners, engineers and accountants come together and work on what Mortimer calls “cross-cutting issues.”

Edmonton’s office of Infrastructure Konrad Siu and Hamilton’s director of capital planning and implementation Gerry Davis are already fighting the disconnect between engineers and accountants by sitting on accounting boards like CICA (Chartered Accountants of Canada).

“Some of the dialogue is loud and some is confrontational, but at least it’s happening,” says Mortimer. Guay agrees. “We’re going to make sure it all ties together,” she says. “We just need to work together.”

Members of csPe have expressed surprise over

csa’s move to take over where infraGuide left off.

The Road Infrastructure Program of Canada (TRIP) argues that fewer highways actually add up to higher GHG emissions because of congestion.

Cred

it: Mira S

henker


SPEAKERS INCLUDE

DaltonMcGuinty PremierofOntario(Canada)

DavidMiller MayorofToronto(Canada)

JohnW.Snow formerUSSecretaryoftheTreasury(USA)

ComptonBourne President,CaribbeanDevelopmentBank(Barbados)

StaceyRitter Mayor,BrowardCounty(USA)

PerrinBeatty PresidentandCEO, TheCanadianChamberofCommerce(Canada)

YoshioIshida Vice-Chairman,EastJapanRailways(Japan)

Jean-PierreLoubinoux President,SNCFInternational(France)

MattMcManus DivisionChief,EnergyProducerCountryAffairs, U.S.DeptofState(USA)

DonaldLowry PresidentandCEO,EPCOR(Canada)

ThomasMueller President,CanadianGreenBuildingCouncil(Canada)

Online registration open as of September 29, 2008

GLOBAL CITIES AND THECHALLENGE OF COMPETITIVENESS

Information:416 607-5422

EventProducedby:

TRANSPORTATION, ENERGY, FINANCE AND INNOVATIONDecember 8th and 9th, 2008WestinHarbourCastleHotel,Toronto

www.forumforglobalcities.com

ContactToddLathamat416-444-5842,ext.111forsponsorshipandgrouptableinformation.

Engineers and accountants have spilled a lot of ink trying to put together a sustainable framework for infrastructure management. Public finance and

economics are issues for every country. In Australia, the entrenched political culture of municipal governance has made it hard for decision-makers to effectively manage public assets. Consultant Leo Gohier says the same type of political culture exists in Canada.

“It’s mostly fuelled by the short-term view of constituents and the relatively short term that officials are in office,” says Gohier. “This makes it difficult for society as a whole to make proper decisions on long-term infrastructure within a four-year context.”

While the situation in Australia is ever-changing, and by no means disastrous, it can teach Canadian managers a lesson in what not to do.

It’s important to take steps to avoid forcing future generations to pay for services current taxpayers are using—something reflected in the new accounting standards emerging from the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for the public sector. The IFRS states, “The depreciation basis must reflect the pattern of consumption of future economic benefits or service potential embodied in the asset. Not all assets lose their service potential in a

sometimes the fastest way from one

point to another is not a straight line.

learninG curve

By Silbert Barrett

The Construction Industry Voice

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

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

RCCAO is an alliance composed of

management and labour groups that represent

all facets of the construction industry. Our goal

is to work in cooperation with governments

and related stakeholders to offer realistic

solutions to a variety of challenges. RCCAO

has commissioned a number of reports on

promoting greater infrastructure investment.

For more information,

please visit www.rccao.com.

The RCCAO is an alliance of:

• Heavy Construction Association of Toronto

• Greater Toronto Sewer and Watermain Contractors Association

• Joint Residential Construction Council

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

• LIUNA Local 183

• Residential Carpentry Contractors Association

• Carpenters’ Union

• Ontario Concrete & Drain Contractors Association

• Toronto and Area Road Builders Association

RCCAO25 North Rivermede Road, Unit 13

Vaughan, Ontario L4K 5V4

how 50 per cent can equal 75 per centAccountants use the X-axis and straight-line depreciation while engineers use the Y-axis and the degradation curve. Accountants measure useful remaining life and engineers measure condition.

Cred

it: Leo Gohier

75

%

50%life

con

dit

ion

degradation curve

sl depreciation


uniform (straight-line) way.” In fact, very few assets, if any, actually physically deteriorate in a straight line. (It should be noted that we are only talking about the physical life of an asset at this point. The useful life of an asset does deteriorate in a linear fashion, while the economic life of an asset does not. It’s important to clearly identify what “life” is being measured and why.)

To avoid unfunded depreciation and its ripple effect into future generations, Canadian accountants need to embrace asset management-based accounting for infrastructure as practised in Australia and, to a greater extent, New Zealand, with accounting guidance from IFRS. Right now, they’re treating major economic assets like office furniture, when they really need to apply decision-making tools like risk analysis, data trending and forecasting,

discounted cash flow analysis and life-cycle cost analysis. There’s a lack of accountability and nowhere near enough corporatization (not privatization) of key asset management functions.They can also incorporate tools like Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs), another form of public-private partnerships (P3s) where local governments use private sector management and expertise to deliver public infrastructure and other services.

The Australian Accounting Standard Board (AASB 116) has adopted many of these standards. But they’re not following through properly. Audit results for 2006-2007 out of local Australian governments, particularly the Auditor General’s offices in Queensland and Victoria, show that, in some cases, the definition and methodology used in valuing and depreciating infrastructure

assets were incorrect. More importantly, no significant

supporting evidence is given to justify key assumptions in the valuation processes, in particular road pavements. However, it must be recognized that this is a complex issue; it’s difficult to use science to predict the future since infrastructure assets are long lived—no data can be collected on the future because it hasn’t happened yet. That said, conducting regular condition assessments on major economic assets such roads, water and sewers, and setting service levels will

give managers a better chance at achieving sustainability. Those local Australian governments that aren’t working with a correct definition of “fair value” and are applying an overly simplified straight-line depreciation method to infrastructure assets may not be collecting the correct data.

Leo Gohier says, “The counter-argument is that the start-point and end-point are the same, in that the start point is when the asset is new and the end-point is when the asset has no residual value.” He says that, in terms of intergenerational fairness, it could

Those local australian

governments that aren’t

working with a correct

definition of “fair value”

and are applying an

overly simplified straight-

line depreciation method

to infrastructure assets

may not be collecting the

correct data.


These are the author’s personal opinions and do not reflect those of his employer. Nor is the author making inferences about how infrastructure assets are managed. The author bases his opinions 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).

be argued that straight-line depreciation is fine if the asset’s useful life is one generation or less. “However,” adds Gohier, “that’s rarely the case, so it is better to use a more reasonable assumption than a straight line for a deterioration curve.”

The stable condition state method—also being used in the United States—is not the most reliable estimate of future economic benefit or service potential. In the absence of cash inflows and an active market for assets like roads and bridges, condition-based depreciation is the best approach. It’s more likely to produce

a lower annual depreciation rate than the simplified straight-line method in the early stages in an asset’s life, while the depreciation rate rapidly increases in the latter half of the asset’s life. Also the depreciable amount is reduced by the residual value which is easier to forecast based on the asset condition state. What’s needed is an asset consumption model that can predict the effective age of successive capital improvements on a declining balance ratio (or factor) correlated to an assessed condition index.

Since condition assessment is the only basis

from which to determine service potential, it limits the risk of asset impairment when used as a factor to discount current replacement cost. It’s therefore a valuable tool for the public sector asset to use in determining their carrying amounts for financial reporting. This will no doubt create a strategic context in which the roles of both accountants and engineers are clearly defined, each profession providing the checks and balances needed to ensure sustainable management of community infrastructure—and delivering data to accurately inform and educate policy makers.

Silbert barrett is working as a research analyst with the City of toronto, transportation Services, while pursuing a graduate degree in engineering and Public Policy(MePP) at McMaster university.


In 1922 it cost $1 million to build the mill at Britannia Beach, B.C.— these machines processed 6500 tonnes of ore a day.

Cred

it: Photos rep

roduced

courtesy of the BC

Museum

of Mining

economics: who pays?Remediation work often involves large capital expenditures and operating costs that may be long-term, maybe even in perpetuity. While the mining company may be held responsible for remediation costs, it’s not always that straightforward. For example, when the last mining company to own the Britannia property closed the mine in 1974, it was generally in accordance with the province’s requirements. But before the province took primary ownership in 2003, the property changed hands a number of times.

When the province started remediation work in 2001, it used the legal principle of joint and several liability that had recently been enacted into provincial law to determine who was on the hook for remediation costs. It approached the modern descendents of all the prior owners and absolved them of any future environmental liability in exchange for $30 million. This money would fund part of the environmental remediation works at the mine and their long-term operating cost.

It helps that the Britannia lot is located beside the ocean and with a view of snow-capped mountains, just an hour’s drive north of Vancouver along the Sea-to-Sky Highway, leading to the four-season resort of Whistler. Many mines, sited in remote areas with limited road access, are not good candidates for residential development. In this case, when over 100 utility-serviced but

I n the early twentieth century, Britannia Mine, just north of Vancouver on British Columbia’s coast, was the largest-

producing copper mine in the British Empire. But after mining operations stopped in 1974, the property became better known for holding a different record—as one of the biggest point sources of metal pollution in North America.

Much of this contamination came from the five million cubic metres of water that flows through the mine each year, picking up metal content along the way. Before the recent installation of treatment systems, the mine water carried an average of 300 kilograms a day each of copper and zinc into Howe Sound, a fjord-like arm of the Pacific Ocean. Metals-containing mine-waste dumps on the surface also resulted in contamination of both surface water and groundwater, which also flow into Howe Sound.

Solving these water contamination issues was just part of this remediation. Turning a brownfield into a success story requires an understanding the social, economic and political issues surrounding the site.

The lessons learned at Britannia are relevant to many brownfields, particularly former mining properties. Mining companies in many parts of the world, including Canada, are being obligated to pay more attention to the issue of closure, which means managing any adverse environmental and social effects emanating from the property.

vacant building lots went on the market on part of the (now former) mine property, the entire package sold out within four hours. Some of these building lots are trading on the secondary market for over double their original purchase price.

As construction on newly-established building lots progresses, a considerable increase in the tax base for the local municipality is expected.

social: who’s got spirit?For most of the twentieth century, Britannia Beach was a company town inhabited only by mine employees or support-service providers like teachers and clergy. After the mine closed, the remaining housing community was bought by a property developer. It provided limited services and poor infrastructure maintenance to residents, who rented their dwellings on a month-by-month basis, knowing that they could be evicted with little notice.

Community spirit was low when the current property developer, Macdonald Development Corporation, bought the site under an agreement with the Province of British Columbia in 2003. But this company held meetings with residents to determine the community’s needs and expectations. As a result, improvements included new roads, power distribution, water and sanitary systems. The company also offered residents

Going beyond technology: the Britannia Mine remediation

cleaninG uP afTer coPPerBy Gerry O’Hara and Barry Azevedo

Canadian brownfields 2008


of a concrete plug at one of the upper entrances to the mine to route all drainage through a single lower-level entrance. The University of British Columbia Mining Engineering Department did this as part of a research project in consultation with the province.

Another step was to reduce the scope of the problem: much of the water in the mine enters at one of the highest parts of the mine property, surface excavations linking to the underground workings within an area known as Jane Basin. Filling in the excavations was assessed as impossible, so instead, three surface water diversions were installed to reduce the flow of water entering the mine by this route and becoming contaminated within the mine workings. This system, involving collection structures, ditches and pipes, is expected to divert about 10 to 15 per cent of the mine water once it’s optimized.

In 2001, the province retained environmental and geotechnical firm Golder Associates Ltd. as project manager to oversee the cleanup of mine waste and other closure aspects beyond the mine water issue.

The configuration of the mine workings allows the interior of the mine itself to be used as a storage reservoir to balance outflows from the mine to the water treatment plant. This is important because of the fluctuations in mine water production—high in the spring and fall.

The province decided on a Design-Build-Finance-Operate form of contract for procuring the water treatment plant and its operation, in a public-private partnership (P3) in which the province pays a pro-rated fee when the plant’s discharge is within permitted limits. The initial contract, won by EPCOR Water Services Inc., calls for design, build and operation of the facility for 20 years, starting in 2006.

The chosen water treatment technology is a high-density sludge (HDS) process. Lime is added to the mine water, which precipitates dissolved metals by pH adjustment and re-circulates some of the precipitated solids to enhance the efficiency of the process. The water is then clarified before being discharged as treated effluent to a deep outfall and diffuser system in Howe Sound.

The waste product from the treatment process, a sludge containing the metals removed from the treated water, is pressed into a “filter cake,” which is temporarily on-site. This material is then transported up a newly-refurbished 11-kilometre back-country road to Jane Basin, high up in the mountains, and disposed of in the existing

the option to buy the parcels of land on which they were living at a reduced rate and assisted with financing arrangements.

Because of a rise in community spirit, residents have invested significant time and money in improving property appearances.

The community has also seen the development of the British Columbia Museum of Mining, housed in several buildings near the renovated and iconic gravity-feed copper concentrator building (“the mill”) built into a mountainside. The Museum offers underground tours of

the mine as well as visits to the mill, and to the new treatment plant for the mine water, which has interactive displays on the water-treatment process.

environmental: the “hard” issues

These “soft” issues were dealt with at the same time as the “hard” issues of mine water/surface water/groundwater management and treatment, contaminated soil management, mine access and safety-related work programs.

An early step in this process was placement



commercial and residential development opportunities. The 3,600 hectares of back country could also be opened up for recreational use.

What was once an unused, former industrial site, is now a cultural centre, residential development, and potentially a park for recreational use. Money was spent on remediating this site, but the return on investment is far greater for all parties involved, including the municipality.

surface excavations whereby any water leaching is directed back into the mine.

About half of the electrical power needed to operate the mine water treatment facility is generated on-site through two hydro-electric generators. These generators use the head of water developed inside the mine reservoir for power, with backup via the electrical grid.

the long-term

To further protect the waters of Howe Sound, seven pumping wells have been installed near the shoreline to treat the flow of groundwater contaminated through remnant and largely inaccessible mine waste on and under the surface before it enters the Sound. The groundwater is then pumped up to the mine water treatment facility.

A long-term program of environmental monitoring and risk assessment is underway at the mine to assess the current level of environmental improvement and to help plan any additional measures.

Future development at the site will include additions to the mining museum by way of a new $8-million interpretive centre and possibly a research centre focused on developing and implementing technologies for mine remediation work, as well as

Gerry O’hara, P.eng., has an M.Phil in engineering Geology and is a principal with Golder Associates Ltd. in burnaby, b.C.

barry Azevedo, MASc., P.eng, is a water and solid waste engineer with the City of Abbotsford, b.C. he is a former managing engineer in the britannia Mine

remediation Project with the Crown Land restoration branch of the b.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands.

Cred

it: Photos rep

roduced

courtesy of the BC

Museum

of Mining

In the 1930s, Britannia was an isolated company

town—anyone who lived there worked

in the mine.



WhaT’s neW in dIrt?a sampling of recent remediations across canada.

Gateway Hill ProjectLocation: 35 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, Alberta (Alberta Oil Sands)

Developer: Syncrude

Costs: The land has to be mined before the costs of conservation and reclamation can be determined, although a Syncrude spokesperson says the company spent $30.5 million on land reclamation projects in 2006.

Project: The Gateway Hill project consists of 104 hectares of land north of Fort McMurray. It’s just a portion of 4,500 hectares of reclaimed land that represents the largest share of Oil Sands land in the industry. The first reclaimed land to be certified by the government of Alberta, Gateway Hills is borrowed from the province. A spokesperson

for Syncrude says the company is committed to returning the land, which mostly consists of forested area and wetlands, to a productive landscape for other industries like forestry. Greenpeace Canada has been protesting at Syncrude’s mine sites in Alberta and told the CBC, “Syncrude does not want a lantern hung on the world’s dirtiest oil project.” This remediation may or may not win the company points with environmentalists. Syncrude spokesman Alain Moore says, “As time progresses, the land will continue to grow and prosper.”

technology: Moore says, “It’s serious science, so we have to tap into a wealth of knowledge.” Remediation will occur using land contouring combined with soil and vegetation placement. The process will clean and preserve organic materials (seeds, brush, etc.) on the forest floor.

Details at syncrude.ca

West don lands ProjectLocation: North of Lake Ontario and south of King Street East, Toronto. The Don River is to the east and Cherry Street to the west.

Developer: Ontario Realty Corporation (ORC) in co-operation with Waterfront Toronto.

Costs: About $1 billion.

Project: At 80 acres, the West Don Lands project is one of the biggest brownfield projects in Canada. A large berm along the Don River will provide flood protection to 230 hectares. Several townhouses will be built, including 140 affordable housing units and 130 marketable units, with four blocks dedicated for sale to the private sector. Marsh lands will be used to create the large new Don River Park.



Urban Capital Property Group (Toronto) and Redquartz Development (Dublin) are leading the development of the first phase.

Plans include a district energy building (see renewcanada.net for articles on district energy) with a green roof that will double as a park. Two elementary schools, two children’s daycare facilities and a community centre will be situated within the project area. In an effort to be more pedestrian friendly, the City of Toronto will add a light-rail transit (LRT) line south on Cherry

Street from King Street East. The LRT line will make it easier for Torontonians to get to the planned 500,000 square-feet of employment and recreational areas.

Risk assessment and risk management were challenging, says Meg Davis, VP of Development for West Don Lands. Finding the most cost-effective means to tackle the project was the single most challenging aspect, but the city worked closely with the Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal to

determine the best approach for the removal of dirt from the site.

technology: Instead of using a large-scale dig-and-dump approach, developers are taking a more systematic approach because not all of the land is contaminated. Instead of digging out 1.5 metres of soil across the entire property, only contaminated land will be removed.

Details at waterfrontoronto.ca

Plans for Toronto’s West Don Lands include 23 acres of parks and public spaces.

Cred

it: WaterfrontToronto



See Denmark’s Exhibit at Canadian Brownfields October 22nd to 24th

Denmark asks

how can we fightglobal warming locally?

contact: Jack renteria, royal Danish consulate general

p: 416.962.5661 ext.332 e: [email protected] w: ambottawa.um.dk

saint-charles river revitalization ProjectLocation: Saint-Charles River, running through Quebec City’s old port

Developer: Headed by Teknika HBA (now part of Trow Global) in co-operation with Pluram Urbatique, BPR Groupe-conseil and the City of Quebec.

Cost: Around $21 million.

Project: The overall goal of the Saint-Charles River project was to restore the river to its natural condition, as well as its hydraulic condition. Developers rebuilt a diverse wildlife habitat along the banks of the river, creating recreational uses and better access for citizens, and improving bike and walking paths along the river.

The project involved the restoration of a 2,160 metre stretch of the river’s bank between the Lavigueur and Scott bridges. Developers demolished a large concrete wall along the stretch of the river to reshape the shore into a natural river bank. The approach means encroaching on the river and flood zone. In order to create the wildlife habitats and increase biodiversity, ponds, islets and large aquatic grass beds had to be developed. Some rapids can now

be seen in the river where none existed before.

technology: Some areas were covered; others were excavated and the contaminated soil treated off-site. Contaminated areas of the riverbanks were stabilized by plant bioengineering. Faunal habitats were recreated in the river by manipulating the hydraulic conditions of the water.

Challenges: Pierre Bertrand, VP of Sustainable Development at Teknika HBA, says: “One of the first goals was to restore the quality of the water, and then the river bank.” What was challenging about this? Everything, says Bertrand.

Details at teknika-hba.com

the sydney tar PondsLocation: In the centre of Sydney, Cape Breton

Developer: The Sydney Tar Ponds Agency

Cost: $400 million

Project: A Memorandum of Agreement was signed in 2004 by the federal government and province of Nova Scotia to clean up the former coke ovens site, contaminated from nearly a century of steelmaking.

The first steps to collect, control and treat groundwater at the site start this September. Hazco Environmental Services has been awarded the contract to build underground cut-off walls to keep water from reaching and leaving the property. “This project represents the start of remediation at the coke ovens site,” said Frank Potter, former president of the Sydney Tar Ponds Agency. Other cleanup activities beginning soon are the installation of a groundwater collection system and a water treatment facility.

technology: The Tar Cell contains about 25,000 tonnes of PAH-impacted soil that will be treated by solidification and stabilization. When this method of remediation was chosen, it created a stir over possible conspiracies (see ReNew Canada Sept./Oct. 2007).

Challenges: With nearly 1,000 public meetings discussing cleanup options, the project is now in the implementation stage. But regular public consultation continues. With a project this embedded in an urban centre, mistakes can be costly and good PR is necessary.

Live webcam shots of the project’s progress can be viewed at tarpondscleanup.ca

—Staff



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geoscientists have a long and established track record in the area of environmental site assessment and remediation. They’re obligated to meet the requirements imposed by their licensing bodies—Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) and the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario (APGO), respectively.

Governments and private-sector investors across Canada devote a lot of time and money to the

assessment and potential remediation of brownfields. But without a properly qualified professional, this money won’t be well spent.

Both professional engineers and

But while many qualified people may possess an environmental background, their lack of public accountability can be a problem. Previous brownfields regulations established by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) would leave the ministry ultimately liable and accountable for the actions of all unlicensed practitioners.

Over the last few years, the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE) has advised the MOE that the definition of qualified persons should be changed to include only professionals who are held publicly accountable for their actions by law. This would give the profession’s licensing body the power to carry out disciplinary measures for failing to meet obligations under the profession’s statutory act.

Changes are slowly being effected. The Ontario government recently amended O.Reg.153/04, setting out new requirements for Qualified Persons (QPs). This change affects professionals who supervise or conduct environmental site assessments associated with a Record of Site Condition (RSC) and who make certifications in an RSC filed to the Brownfields Environmental Site Registry.

As of April 1, 2008 those holding limited licenses with PEO and limited membership with the APGO are QPs. Until September 30, 2009 everyone currently recognized as a QP can continue to act in this capacity. As of October 1, 2009, QPs are defined as people licensed under the Professional Engineers Act or the Professional Geoscientists Act including limited licensees and members.

The new amendment also expanded the role of the Brownfields Environmental Site Registry to include facilitating public access to information respecting qualified persons. This allows the MOE to further develop the Registry, potentially giving the public more access to information about qualified persons, such as the development of a roster.

These changes mean more access to information and, more importantly, the assurance that only accountable professionals can complete site assessments.

By Michael Monette

hoW QualIfIed is Your BroWnfIelds exPert?

Michael Monette, MbA, eDP, P.eng., is president and chair of the Ontario Society of Professional engineers (OSPe).



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In northern Canada it is well known that melting permafrost is leading roads and air landing strips to buckle. Research and increased knowledge has led to a general acceptance

by scientists and environmental monitors that Arctic sea ice is shrinking, subjecting coastal communities to rising sea levels and battering storms, with the prospect of floods and dam overflows.

A parallel development is that concern for climate change’s harmful physical effects is increasingly preoccupying governments, which have the power to implement legislation to deal with it, and the courts, which have the power to apply and develop the common law in this context.

Climate change may be to blame for buckling roads and flooding, but failure to adapt to a changing climate could soon have its own set of consequences. A variety of legal actions charging different types of actors for alleged actions or omissions have occurred (or are now underway)—all related in some way to greenhouse gas emissions. Our law, therefore, is evolving as our knowledge of climate change and its effects evolve.

Very little attention has been paid to potential legal liability for failing to adapt infrastructure to climate change-related risk. Amendments to laws, building codes and standards that would take into account the potential impact of climate change on infrastructure assets are still some time away.

But there is a real risk to infrastructure stakeholders. The legal framework in Canada currently permits a court, in the right circumstances, to find certain infrastructure stakeholders legally liable for personal injury and property damage suffered by third parties as a result of climate change effects. There are three bases: nuisance, negligence (including occupier’s liability) and strict liability.

nuisanceThe law of nuisance is the basis of many American claims connected to climate change. In these cases, an owner or occupier of land uses the land in a way that causes damage to another person’s land or interferes with the use of another person’s land; or materially interferes with the rights of the public or a section of the public. The occupier may be liable to pay damages to the people whose rights were interfered with. An owner of the land who neither occupies nor controls the land could also be liable, as could an independent contractor who causes a nuisance.

In Canada, owners, occupiers and contractors could be liable where, for example, permafrost degradation causes a public bridge to collapse or where severe weather (such as a heavy rain storm) causes a dam to overflow resulting in flooding and damage.

infrastructure stakeholders may

soon find themselves liable for

the effects of climate change.

unexPected effecTs

By Sabrina Gherbaz and Patricia Koval

re: the Law


negligenceOn the basis of Canadian case law, it’s easy to imagine circumstances in which liability could be extended to owners, design professionals, contractors and governmental authorities who negligently failed to adapt infrastructure to climate change-related risk or to warn of such risk.

Liability might even arise where an infrastructure stakeholder complies with the minimum standards set out in laws, codes and standards, but these standards fall below the standards of “a reasonable person” (in the legal sense). For example, an owner, design professional, contractor and governmental authority might be liable if a third party was injured because a bridge or hospital constructed on permafrost collapsed. Even if the bridge or hospital was constructed according to applicable laws and building codes, the design and construction methods might not have been modified to take into account the degradation of the permafrost—especially if other owners, design professionals and contractors were making the necessary modifications in those circumstances.

strict liabilityStrict liability affects a land owner or occupier who uses his or her land for a non-natural,

unusual, exceptional or special purpose, causing something dangerous to escape from the land and injure either another person or their property. If these elements of strict liability exist, the land owner or occupier will be liable even if there was no negligence or intention to cause damage.

In the context of climate change, this means that lack of knowledge of, or any failure to take into account, a risk related to climate change is irrelevant. What is relevant is only that someone has suffered personal injury or property damage resulting from something escaping from neighbouring lands.

Strict liability is not commonly applied by Canadian courts and there is no comprehensive list of activities considered a non-natural use of land. However, recurring themes in the Canadian jurisprudence have shown that liability might arise where, for example, permafrost degradation causes toxic mine tailings to seep from a tailings pond into the land around the containment structure or causes a gas pipeline to shift and begin to leak, causing gas to seep into the land below and adjoining the pipeline. Here, the company that owns and operates the mine or facility may be liable.

Protecting Against Liability To minimize these risks, governmental entities, design professionals, contractors,

owners and occupiers should ask themselves whether climate change events will affect the project at any point in its life cycle. If the answer is yes, they should consider whether design and construction methods can be adapted to protect against extreme weather, and how other projects in similar conditions have been built.

While it may not be appropriate in all instances to adapt infrastructure to climate change risks—these risks will have to be balanced against other factors such as competitive bid pressures, project marketability and increased project costs—those who provide permits and conduct inspections should remember that, in certain circumstances, they have a duty to warn of climate change risk and adaptation methods.

Sabrina Gherbaz is a partner in torys’ Commercial real estate Group and a co-coordinator of the firm’s Infrastructure and energy Practice.

Patricia Koval is a partner in torys’ Corporate Group, a leading practitioner in corporate and M&A law and a co-coordinator of torys’ Climate Change Practice Group.

re: the Law


easT GWilliMBurY, onTario

Community Profile

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

Infrastats• The town’s motto is Thinking Green!. A sustainability program of the same name is in place. Policies and actions include: the LEED Silver policy, an energy initiatives strategy, the mercury switch bylaw, source separated organics program and enhanced blue box pickup.

• The town currently has an active RFP (closing September 30) for consulting services to implement PSAB 3150 accounting for tangible capital assets and asset management strategies.

• The town operates and maintains 183 kilometres of roads and 63 kilometres of sidewalks.

Council is currently reviewing East Gwillimbury’s Official Plan to ensure sustainability as the

community grows. The main purpose of the Official Plan review is to provide a set of clear goals, polices and implementation mechanisms to manage growth and guide land-use planning within the town to the year 2031, and to address longer-term issues of growth management beyond the approximate twenty-year planning horizon. The town intends to consolidate and update the policies of the various community plans for identified growth areas into a single comprehensive policy document.

“We’re looking for ways to do more with less, and we want to be able to utilize our infrastructure to its maximum potential,” says Mayor Young.

The Official Plan Review will emphasize sustainable development, environmental design, employment land allocation and

conform to the Greenbelt Plan and the Provincial Places to Grow Plan. So far, the council plans to review drafts for an urban structure map, finances, growth management, planning, sustainable development, a water and wastewater master plan, and a transportation master plan. The town is working with several consulting firms, including Bodgan Associates, Malone Given Parsons, Dillon Consulting, Genivar and MMM Group. It hopes to approve the consolidated Official Plan in April 2009.

“We’re trying to ensure that the community we build now puts in the proper foundation,” says Mayor Young. “We want to plan better and smarter. We want to put the foundation down and let somebody else cut the ribbon.” Details at eastgwillimbury.ca

—staff

Location: Part of the Greater Toronto Area of south-central Ontario. Located in York Region halfway between the Cities of Toronto and Barrie.

Founded: 1850

Population: 21,069, expected to rise to 150,000 over next 40-50 years.

Land Area: 245.06 kilometres

budget total: $22.4 million

Capital and Infrastructure: $4,991,090

Water and Sewer: $3,061,330

Municipal Services: $14,251,800

Awards: In 2007, the town won one of ten FCM-CH2M HILL Sustainable Community Awards for its residential development. East Gwillimbury was the first jurisdiction in Canada to require ENERGY STAR® standards for residential units, and has mandated that ENERGY STAR® standards be applied in all new housing developments in the town. The town estimates that its policy—the first of its kind in Canada—will prevent 97,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions between 2007 and 2016. “We hope it’s a foundation to build more good practices,” says Mayor James Young.

In 2008, the town won another Sustainable Community Award for its involvement in the Northern 6 Joint Waste Collection Contract and Green Bin (SSO) Launch Project. The new system offers real cost savings to local governments, includes a “green bin” organics collection program and expanded recycling for residents, and is anticipated to divert more than 65 per cent of waste from landfill by 2010. After two months of implementing the new waste collection system, the participating municipalities diverted almost twice as much waste from landfill, from an average of 34 per cent to an average of almost 70 per cent.

Mayor James Young says: “We want to make sure that all of our infrastructure planning is done now, and that we’re not trying to play catch up five to ten years down the road.”

• Thirty-one cents of every dollar spent by the Town goes towards roads, bridges, culverts and sidewalks. In 2008 a total of $1,212,200 will be spent on roads and transportation infrastructure in East Gwillimbury. It costs the average household $7.40 per week to maintain East Gwillimbury’s transportation infrastructure. .

• Greenlane Road, one of the town’s major roads, is undergoing initial studies to evaluate transit possibilities. As it is part of York Region, the town does have access to the VIVA transit system, but due to growth projections, Green Lane road may be the future site of rapid transit or light-rail transit.

The Sharon Temple—a national historic site built between 1825 and 1831.

The East Gwillimbury Civic Centre.

Cred

its: Town of E

ast Gw

illimb

ury.

easT GWilliMBurY, onTario

east Gwillimbury’s Town Plan


tHe leed® lIst sPonsored BY

5 neW leed® certIfIcatIons In canadaTotal leed® Projects: 107

7 Platinum, 43 Gold, 34 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

Humber college urban ecology centre

certified: June 20, 2008, leed® canada-nc Platinum

leed® consultant: Busby Perkins+Will

dockside Phase 1 – synergy

victoria, b.C.—highlights: achievement of all ten energy performance points and all three renewable energy points through biomass gasification District Energy System utilizing wood-waste; improved building insulation and high performance glazing; exhaust air energy recovery; and, reduced lighting power densities with energy-efficient fixtures and occupancy sensors; reduced indoor potable water use by over 65 per cent with dual flush toilets, low-flow fixtures, and use of grey water for sewage conveyance; 100 per cent of wastewater treated in a campus-wide plant; achievement of all credits in Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Indoor Environmental Quality and Innovation and Design with many of those achieved on a campus-wide basis; and a durable building for generations to come.

Cred

it: Vince K

lassen

1st choice savings & credit union – fairmont Branch certified: June 12, 2008, leed® canada-nc silver

Lethbridge, Alta.—highlights: optimized energy cost performance of 47 per cent better than the Model National Energy Code for Buildings, with an energy consumption savings of 37 per cent by condensing the boiler with 90 per cent thermal efficiency; significantly increased thermal performance of the building, lowered lighting power density; occupancy sensors for lighting control, reduced indoor potable water use by over 28 per cent with dual-flush toilets, waterless urinals, and low-flow faucets; a strategy to follow the requirements of LEED for Existing Buildings’ credit on Green Site and Building Exterior Management; and, through use of a green roof reducing stormwater runoff and reducing heat island effect.

certified: July 31, 2008, leed® canada- nc Gold

leed® consultant: enermodal engineering ltd.

cambridge city Hall

Cambridge, Ont.—highlights: optimized energy cost performance of 42 per cent better than the Model National Energy Code for Buildings, with an energy consumption savings of 41 per cent through high efficiency modulating gas boiler; radiant heating panels; energy efficient double-glazed windows with low-e coatings, argon filled space, and thermally broken aluminum frames; and, daylighting and occupancy sensors; reduced indoor potable water use by over 59 per cent with dual-flush toilets, waterless urinals, low-flow lavatories, and reuse of the university’s aquatics facility’s water; a multi-storey atrium including a living wall; and, a vegetated green roof.

Cred

it: Russ H

einl

uBc aquatic ecosystems research laboratory

certified: June 26, 2008, leed®-Bc Gold

leed® consultant: cobalt engineering & recollective consulting

Cred

it: Patkau A

rchitects Inc.

vancouver, b.C.—highlights: optimized energy consumption savings of 26 per cent better than the Model National Energy Code for Buildings, and with a greenhouse gas reduction emission of 40 per cent as allowed under LEED-BC, through improved building insulation; lighting efficiency; and, daylighting controls; reduced indoor potable water use by 41 per cent with waterless urinals, dual flush toilets, and low-flow lavatories; and, exemplary performance in using green power.

Cred

it: Enerm

odal E

ngineering Ltd.

certified: July 23, 3008, leed® canada-nc Gold

leed® consultant: BuildGreen consulting

victoria, b.C.—highlights: optimized energy cost performance of 37 per cent better than the Model National Energy Code for Buildings, with an energy consumption savings of 38 per cent through: heat pump system served by a grey water source; high performance windows; lowered lighting power density; demand controlled ventilation via CO2 sensors; and, variable speed control on main air handing unit fans; reduced indoor potable water use by over 85 per cent with dual-flush toilets, waterless urinals, low-flow lavatories, and reuse of the university’s aquatics facility’s water; a green educational program to students and visitors that is adaptive and updated over time; and, implementation of a green housekeeping program.

engineering/computer sciences Building at university of victoria


StormWatch

RFP/RFQ using the three renewal processes: visioning, culturing and partnering (see previous StormWatch columns at renewcanada.net for details on renewal rules).

Here’s how I learned why RFPs/RFQs are the key to revitalizing the world. From 1996 to 2002, I was director of strategic initiatives at the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI). CSI is a 50-year-old technical society of about 17,000 architects, engineers and construction product manufacturers based in Alexandria, Virginia.

As the token tree-hugger on staff, I was constantly looking for opportunities to “green” the commercial construction industry. As CSI’s official staff liaison to the United States Green Building Council

Most community revitalization plans fail (often miserably). Most redevelopment projects don’t

deliver anywhere near their revitalizing potential to the community, even though they might pay off nicely for the private redeveloper. Why?

There’s an endless diversity of reasons, but one is depressingly common. Most public clients are primarily interested in protecting their job. Confronted with failure or lacklustre results, it’s essential that they be able to say “we used a well-established firm, using well-established techniques.”

The solution is to base RFPs/RFQs on the three renewal rules: rewealth, integration and engagement. Design and implement that

(USGBC) during the days when the LEED rating system was being invented, I became intimately familiar with which industry-greening efforts worked, and which failed.

Trying to green the industry from the design side was frustrating. Architects worried that if they tried to proselytize about green they would turn off the client and not be cost-competitive. A few architects and consultants took a proactive approach. But the majority relied on the owners to ask for green. If owners didn’t specify a healthy, energy efficient building, they wouldn’t get one.

The major problem was that green was neither easy to specify, nor easy to deliver. LEED’s “simple” point-based system changed

how to write an rfP or rfQ that delivers more revitalization for the money.

reQuesT for revItalIZatIon

By Storm Cunningham


that. For the first time, green could be specified in a single phrase: LEED Silver, LEED Gold, or LEED Platinum. Designers and builders could reliably deliver on those specifications. This deliverability was thanks to the flexibility of the point system, which provided plenty of design and material alternatives.

As I recently documented in reWealth!, LEED currently has some very serious deficiencies. The good news is that Rick Fedrizzi, the head of USGBC, recently told me that many of these problems will be addressed in LEED 2009.

What does all this have to do with writing an RFP/RFQ for a redevelopment, remediation, restoration or revitalization project? The moral of the “green building” story is that better renewal practices come about primarily because owners ask for them, not because planners or designers force enlightenment down their throats.

Sure, I know some planning/design firms that proactively educate their clients and encourage better practices. But many still rely on the old business development model: a client generates an RFP that’s 80 per cent boilerplate and, in response, the planning firm generates a strategy that’s 80 per cent boilerplate.

Our usual advice at Resolution Fund, LLC is for clients to first form a renewal engine—a permanent, non-profit, public-private organization based on the renewal rules and renewal processes. Only then should they start writing RFPs.

But most communities already have projects in the pipeline, and they want to enhance their bang for the buck now. Embedding the renewal rules/processes into an RFPs is a shortcut to rapid, resilient renewal, because it can be done before a renewal engine—which can take a year or more to coalesce—has been created.

StormWatch

Our best advice, though, is to create a team or steering committee to oversee the writing of that RFP and recruit its members with the formation of a renewal engine in mind. That way, the RFP-writing process does triple duty, creating a better stakeholder engagement; a higher-quality RFP; and making the RFP team/committee the seed of the renewal engine.

The community will end up with a successfully renewed waterfront, or brownfield, or historic district, and at the same time a greatly enhanced renewal capacity. This creates a “flywheel effect”—capturing and building on the project’s momentum to attract an increasing flow of revitalizing investments. Communities thus have the ability to leap to the leading edge of revitalization, if they use RFPs to their full potential.

Storm Cunningham is the author of reWealth! (now available from McGraw-hill), and The Restoration Economy (2002). he is the founder of the revitalization Institute (toronto), and CeO of resolution Fund, LLC (Washington, DC). [email protected]

Trying to green the industry from the design side was frustrating.

a few architects and consultants took a proactive approach.

But the majority relied on the owners to ask for green.


www.opwa.ca

This is a reminder that the

submission deadline for

2008 Ontario Public Works

Association Awards is

November 1, 2008.

Details and criteria for

the various OPWA Awards

are available through

the OPWA web site.

The OPWA Awards program

was established to recognize

outstanding individuals,

groups and organizations

representing the best in the

public works profession.

Mississauga Grand Convention Centre

oPWa annual General meeting and awards Luncheon

January 29, 2009

HOlD THE DATE!

The AGM will include presentations on Metrolinx and the Toronto Waterfront

and much more

“Recognize your peers for

excellence in Public Works!

reevents

Dave harper of Kilmer brownfield equity Fund (right) and tom Williams of XCG environmental Consultants rev up their ONeIA golf cart.

Cred

it: Todd

Latham

oneIa Golf tournaMentJuly 23 – MIlton, onThe annual Ontario Environment Industry Association (ONEIA) golf outing was held at Granite Ridge near Milton, Ontario, in support of the Earth Rangers and high-handicapping environmental professionals. Over 110 golfers teed it up and enjoyed the scramble golf, socializing and dinner. Details and more pictures at oneia.ca

oPWa GIves BacK at aPWa conGress auGust 15-20 – neW orleans, laFor the Ontario Public Works Association (OPWA), the trip to the American Public Works Association (APWA) Congress & Exposition in the Big Easy wasn’t just a conference and trade show schmooze-fest. Led by OPWA president Linda Petelka, the

Canadian team recognized the need for help to rebuild homes left damaged by Hurricane Katrina. With a theme of “renewal” (that word seems to be getting around), 210 volunteers were organized to participate in a two day project to help eight homeowners rebuild their homes. Over thirty of these volunteers were from the OPWA. The association thanks the organizing force behind this relief effort and the APWA—specifically brian van Norman and brian Sullivan—for their efforts to get volunteers. The APWA rebuilds approximately 100 homes per year by relying on volunteers and donations of building supplies. There’s still work to be done—over 5,800 homes remain damaged or destroyed in the St. Bernard Parish area alone. To contribute or volunteer, visit habitat-nola.org. Details at opwa.ca

assocIatIon of MunIcIPalItIes of ontarIo (aMo) conferenceauGust 24–27 – ottaWaPerhaps the biggest news from the conference came from Premier Dalton McGuinty’s $1.1-billion announcement for municipal infrastructure. The funding will be used improve roads and bridges, expand public transit and build other municipal projects. The Communities Component of the Building Canada Fund was also signed, allowing more than $724 million to flow to rural and small urban municipalities across Ontario. The federal and provincial governments will each provide $362 million over seven years to support infrastructure in Ontario municipalities that have less than 100,000 residents. Receiving municipalities will match the funds. Details at amo.on.ca

cnaM 2009: call for aBstractsMay 3-6 – calGaryThe Canadian Network of Asset Managers 2009 Workshop committee is seeking presenters and topics in various areas of municipal asset management to build a stimulating and informative technical program. As part of their mandate to become the leading association for municipal asset management in Canada, CNAM is looking to expand the technical offerings in 2009. Preliminary agenda, sponsorship information and other details at cnam.ca

OPWA President Linda Petelka (left, in yellow) and past president ric robertshaw (centre, with the cool Canada shirt) in New Orleans.

Cred

it: OP

WA


The 2007 findings of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicate that in parts of North America over the next century, average annual temperatures will increase more than the global average and total annual precipitation will also increase.

Based on this, it’s reasonable to assume that stormwater pipe diameters and storage volumes will need to increase. In a presentation at WaterTech 2008 this past April, Mike Hulley of XCG Consultants said, “It remains a challenge to encourage all Canadian provinces and municipalities to use the existing historical rainfall database in their design guidelines, let alone accommodate potential shifts in climate. Implications of climate change should be addressed in system configuration and type, design of new infrastructure, retrofit of existing systems and maintenance.”

Municipalities that have built infrastructure to withstand 100-year storms are still being surprised by severe weather—a single event can wipe out a municipal budget. Insurance companies are taking the hits (Katrina cost US$40 billion of insured damage) and charging them back to policyholders with increased premiums, more specific coverage exclusions and new definitions for what constitutes an “act of God.”

As stated in the article on page 50, “Very little attention has been paid to potential legal liability for failing to adapt infrastructure to climate change-related risk.” That will have to change.

There is no doubt that the uncertainty about weather impacts on infrastructure is increasing risk and driving up costs, further widening the infrastructure gap. CSA and Engineers Canada (see article on page 32) are considering updated standards for infrastructure as a result. The Confederation Bridge between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island was built a metre higher than currently required to accommodate sea level rise over its hundred-year lifespan. Adaptation strategies like this are now essential.

Climate change adaptation is not just a term for scientists and tree huggers—it’s a mainstream issue (witness the gentleman in the facing ad). It’s what you and I are going to be doing in the future as we hunker down for many, many more 100-year storms in our lifetime.

Closing Shot

Cred

it: Storm

Cunningham

todd Latham is the publisher of this magazine. he has a back-flow prevention device in the basement of his home, which saves him money on insurance.

Three years after Hurricane Katrina crashed through New Orleans’ inadequate levee system, thousands of displaced residents are still living in trailers.

Statistically, a 100-year storm is an event that has a one per cent chance of occurring in any one given year. In

the last five years, North America has had a handful of these storms. There could be several more in the next year or none for hundreds of years. In theory.

Climate change is skewing the odds—devastating storms affecting hundreds of thousands of people and causing billions of dollars in damage are becoming commonplace. Record-breaking rainfall in Ontario, flooding on the coasts, bizarre temperatures and erratic weather are wreaking havoc on infrastructure—especially wastewater and stormwater systems.

The 100-Year

storMBy Todd Latham


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