The Government of Ontario has announced it will conduct a Market Sounding Initiative in an effort to ensure that infrastructure built in the province meets the highest possible standards.
Minister of Infrastructure Monte McNaughton was at the 26th annual Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships conference in Toronto where he spoke about the new initiative during a fireside chat on infrastructure priorities alongside Newfoundland and Labrador Minister of Transportation and Works Steve Crocker.
The exercise is designed to seek expert advice on improvements to the delivery of infrastructure projects in Ontario. McNaughton stressed that he wants to hear from global industry leaders on what can be done not just to improve infrastructure delivery, but also to increase competition, attract more players and global players, and how to optimize risk allocation. The government recognizes that there are lessons that can be learned from international projects, and that these lessons can help make the quality of Ontario’s infrastructure assets better.
Anyone with a public track record of commercial expertise in any of the following seven categories are eligible to participate:
- Financial Sponsors;
- Financing Parties, Rating Agencies, and Capital Market Participants;
- Transaction Advisors (including technical, financial, and insurance advisors);
- Law Firms;
- Construction Contractors;
- Managers, Operators, and Maintenance Contractors; or
- Property Developers
The initiative will begin in late November and last until March of 2019. Questions for consideration will be circulated to participants, and submissions will be treated as commercially confidential.
Interested parties are asked to contact the Minister’s office by email at [email protected]. Submissions close November 30, 2018.
