building our cities · the sydney harbour foreshore authority, which manages the lands under long...

July/August 2006

www.renewcanada.net $900

pg. 41

Salt Spring Island Trust

Building Our CitiesPlanning Urban Growth in Canada

Infrastructure InvestmentHealthcare, Water and Road Projects

Public Buildings Renewal

ALSO: Michael Fortier, John Lorinc and The LEED List

July/August 2006 ReNew Canada �www.renewcanada.net

uRbAN plANNiNg 12 Environmental Assesments Do EAs have to mean red tape? There must be a way to

break free of bureaucracy to get projects moving while still protecting our environment. By Phillipa Campsie

16 bill 51 Ontario creates more legislation that recognizes

sustainable development as the mainstream, forcing planners to do the same. By Glenn Miller

20 Highway Funding: Maintenance or New projects? Ontario isn’t the only province getting more money than

ever for roads, bridges and highways as Canada finally starts investing in its deteriorating roadways. By Mira Shenker

publiC builDiNg RENEWAl 24 Sustainable, Affordable Hospitals

PFI schemes are already the norm in Britain. Ontario is forging ahead with many new AFP projects. Is Canada going P3 with healthcare infrastructure? By Carla Straessle

28 Jackman Elementary School Forget the three Rs, a Toronto public school is teaching

its students the three Ss: stewardship, sustainability and serving your community. By Laura Ruddock

29 Asbestos Removal From wonder material to health risk. Renovators

should know what they’re dealing with before tackling this hazard. By Chris Nielsen and David Wytrykush

FEAtuRES �2 Mission: Australia ReNew Canada’s publisher was invited on a Canadian business

mission to the land of well-planned harbourfronts. The trip demonstrated how Australia and Canada have similar interests in urban development – Part 1: Sydney. By Todd Latham

�6 Water infrastructure Inconsistent water treatment standards and lagging commitment

to necessary infrastructure investments, especially on First Nations reserves, is cause for concern. By Dr. Hans Peterson

41 the islands trust Salt Spring Island is one of many Canadian sweet spots in danger of

losing its small-town charm to over-development. Does fuelling the economy mean harming the environment? By Margery Moore

DEpARtMENtS 4 Editor’s Note P3s. What Debate? By David Dehaas

5 letters Michael Fortier, John Lorinc and Dave Evans.

7 Rethink Reshaping our cities. By Todd Hirsch

9 Opening Shots

2� ReMediate Brownfields are nothing to be afraid of. In fact, they can be quite a good business. By Glenn Miller

�0 Rebuild Integrated Design. By Rodney McDonald

�5 the lEED list

�8 ReEvents PM speaks at FCM Conference in Montreal, Stephen Lewis inspires at The Natural City and David Alexander is awarded Eco Councillor at WUF3 in Vancouver.

42 Closing Shot Nice Pipes. Photography by Richard Lautens

Contents

16 �6

20

12

the Sydney Monorail leaves Harbourside station to cross Cockle bay. the monorail has eight stops on a circular route around Darling Harbour, Chinatown and the central Sydney shopping and business districts. Opened in July 1988, and moving more than four million passengers per year, the Australian monorail is one of only a few elevated transport systems in the world that operates through the heart of a major city. Photo: Todd Latham

AbOut tHE COvER

��

JULY/AUGUST 2006

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July/August 2006 volume 2 Number 4

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EDitOR David Dehaas

MANAgiNg EDitOR Pamela Gramiak

ASSOCiAtE EDitORS Mira ShenkerLaura Ruddock

publiSHER Todd Latham

vp publiSHiNg Ray Blumenfeld

CiRCulAtiON Allison [email protected]

ADvERtiSiNg Todd [email protected]. 416.444.5842

Ray [email protected]. 204.985.9516

CONtRibutORS Todd HirschPhillipa CampsieGlenn MillerCarla StraessleHans Peterson

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Editor’s Note

Letters to the EditorTo express your point of view or to comment on the content of this magazine, please send letters to [email protected] or by mail to: ReNew Canada, 9 Prince Andrew Place, Toronto, ON M3C 2H2. All letters must include name and full contact info and are subject to editing.

By David Dehaas

P3s.What Debate?

In the debate over P3s (public-private partnerships) projects, the opponents of the concept look at the word “private” and lengthen it to “privatization” and start to make all manner of dire predictions about the imminent end of western civilization based on this alarming trend. That is entirely to be expected.

But the word “private” in P3 developments actually has two key components that are both very good for the public realm: private money and private risk. Add this to the P of public ownership and, well, it gets pretty hard to argue with.

The heart of the matter, if we can greatly oversimplify things, is that a private dollar is an investment, while a public dollar is an expense.

First let’s look at the money. Private money comes from people who have earned it. They have capital to invest or the wherewithal to borrow it. Basically, that money is available, it’s in the hands of people who want to spend it and it’s just waiting to go to work. It’s there. Spend it and you create jobs, economic activity, spin-offs and all the rest of the downstream effects of infrastructure building.

Public money comes from taxes. Governments talk about taxing everyone equally, but the truth is that the more successful a person or business is, the more he or she will be taxed. There is a certain practicality and even fairness – given the general unfairness of taxes – to progressive taxation, but a secondary effect is to punish the thing that is being taxed, to dampen down that activity, to discourage it. That’s why there are high taxes on cigarettes and liquor – partly to raise cash but partly also to discourage their consumption.

So the choice between public funding and P3 funding becomes a choice between spending private money whose owners want to spend it, and public money whose owners – the taxpayers – do not want to spend it.

Do we spend Dollar A, which was earned by a successful business and whose owner wants to spend it? Or do we spend Dollar B, whose owner may or may not have earned it yet, who may or may not want to spend it, but who is forced to ante up regardless?

It’s a choice between growing the economy by pouring new private capital into it, and dampening down the economy – by taxing it – to pay for new projects.

On top of that, there is also the factor of private risk. The private partner who enters into a P3 arrangement with government offers the public partner a number of very reassuring benefits.

First of all, the person contemplating spending his or her own money can generally be relied upon to have done the math. There is something about the prospect of losing your shirt that sharpens the mind remarkably. The private cost estimates are likely to be more reliable as a result.

Second, the private investor will have looked at any project in terms of its feasibility and is not likely to rush into some ill-conceived mega-project. Private investment is all about taking risk, but there is a limit. A privately-funded project just has to make sense, or it won’t happen.

Finally, there is that matter of risk. While private partners entering into P3s with government will manage their risk very carefully, it should be reassuring to the public to know that some or all of the risk is on the private side.

“It’s a choice between growing the economy by pouring new private capital into it, and dampening down the economy – by taxing it – to pay for new projects.”

4 ReNew Canada July/August 2006

www.renewcanada.net

CONtRibutORS

letters

Phillipa Campsie Philippa is principal of Hammersmith Communications and deputy editor of the Ontario Planning Journal. pg. 12

Glenn MillerGlenn is vice-president, education and research with the Canadian Urban Institute and an editor with the Ontario Professional Planners Institute. pg. 16

Carla StraessleCarla is a freelance writer and editor. She writes on a variety of urban and health issues. pg. 24

Hans PetersonDr. Peterson is the executive director and principal research scientist of the Safe Drinking Water Foundation, based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. pg. �6

Thank you for supporting ReNew Canada. Call 1.800.344.7055 ext.1 to be part of

the September/October issue. The deadline is September 1st, 2006.

The Government of Canada has an extensive network of infrastructure and real estate across the country. This presence contributes to the economic and environmental health of communities.

Public Works and Government Services Canada manages infrastructure like the Esquimalt Graving Dock in Vancouver, the Alaska Highway, the Burlington lift bridge, and inter-provincial bridges in the National Capital Area. As the common service provider for real property and office accommodation for the federal government, my department also manages the largest office real estate portfolio in Canada: a total of 6.8 million metres of space in 1800 locations.

Taking care of these assets gives us the opportunity to make positive contributions to the quality of life of our communities and demonstrate leadership in priority areas, such as the environment. My department houses the Office of Greening Government Operations, which provides guidance to departments on issues like green property management, remediation of contaminated sites and green procurement.

We’ve adopted industry-developed and approved environmental assessment tools to design, construct and manage our buildings. For instance, all new government office buildings constructed for the Crown must now meet the Canada Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold level. Recently completed projects in Yellowknife and Montreal will meet LEED Gold requirements.

A project currently under construction in Charlottetown is designed to achieve LEED Gold status. (See March/April 2006, A New Benchmark for Public Buildings,

page 30). We also ensure that new constructions are at least 25 per cent more energy efficient than the Model National Energy Code for Buildings.

As a contributor to your last issue noted, “the greening industry isn’t just for new buildings” (May/June, page 26). This is a perspective strongly shared by my department because, let’s face it, we own and lease more office buildings than we construct.

One of the key elements in our efforts to reduce energy and water consumption and recapitalize our current building inventory is the Federal Buildings Initiative (FBI). Projects we’ve completed under this initiative are saving Canadian taxpayers more than $6 million annually and are reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of our buildings by more than 50,000 tonnes per year.

Other important greening commitments we’ve made include:• Implementing the BOMA Go

Green Plus program for operating and maintaining Crown-owned office buildings.

• Planning building renovations to be 15 per cent more energy efficient than the Model National Energy Code for Buildings.

• Ensuring new long-term office building leases meet LEED-Canada Gold requirements.

PWGSC is actively involved in remediating federal contaminated sites. For instance we’re the federal lead in cleaning up the Sydney Tar Ponds in Nova Scotia. Under the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan, we also work closely with other federal departments to help them design effective clean-up plans for their contaminated sites. We are also looking for ways to re-integrate federal brown sites into communities to revitalize underdeveloped areas.

My department is committed to managing infrastructure and real estate in the most cost-effective and environmentally responsible manner possible, while delivering the efficient government that Canadians expect and deserve.

Michael M. Fortier

Minister, public Works and government Services Canadawww.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca

July/August 2006 ReNew Canada 5

Todd HirschTodd is the chief economist ofthe Canada West Foundationpg. 7

ADvERtiSER iNDEx

2 MillerThomsonLLP

7 TSH 7 Sonic

EnvironmentalSolutions

8 JacquesWhitford 8 RivaOnline 10 Turtle

IslandRecycling 11 Gowlings 13 XCG 13 TEDCO 14 CorrugatedSteel

PipeInstitute 15 Goodmans 15 Lafarge 17 CorporateFinance

InternationalLtd. 18 EarthTech 18 Infraguide 19 McAsphalt

Industries 20 SustainableDevelopment

TechnologyCanada

20 ECOCanada 21 ASI 22 MarshallMacklin

Monaghan 22 HighwayConstruction

Inspection 25 Macquarie 26 HOKCanada 27 Blake,Cassels

&GraydonLLP 28 Canadian

Brownfields2006 31 WalkerCorp. 35 PlenaryGroup 35 SenecaCollege 37 Revitalization

Magazine 39 GreenBuildingFestival 39 Infrastructure2006 40 LeadingEdge2006 43 CanadianPrecast/

PrestressedConcreteInstitute

44 FederationofCanadianMunicipalities

“We are also looking for ways to re-integrate federal brown sites into

communities to revitalize underdeveloped areas.”

Dear Editor –

RE: Infrastructure - May 2006 Financial Post Business Supplement to ReNew Canada

This is a very timely article by ReNew Canada and gets down to the issues around public infrastructure needs for new parts and pieces, and the maintenance and rebuilding of the old parts and pieces. The deterioration of infrastructure and transportation systems in North America has reached epic proportions and new investment is needed.

But we take some issue with the public-private partnerships (P3s) discussion because the on time/on budget record is not nearly as good as reported. The scope for things to go wrong is the same as projects that are completed with either public money or private interests funding. One only has to look at the European experience (The ‘Chunnel,’ for example) to see how bad things can get. It is reported that the Chunnel will never repay itself and the capital repayment is now carried as stranded debt … similar to the circumstances around Ontario Hydro’s stranded debt.

My point is: P3 infrastructure projects are not the panacea that is so often advertised. I would go so far as to say that these projects carry more project risk than would normally accompany the projects. For P3s to be successful, there is big need for strong oversight, superior project controls and detailed project risk management plans and executions to ensure taxpayers and stakeholders do not have to bear the brunt of untested assumptions, poor policies, strategic and execution failures and bad decision-making.

Best Regards,

Dave Evans, PhD PGeol, Sr. Partner, CSC Project Management Services, Calgary, AB, [email protected]

CSC Project Management Services is a Canadian partnership that specializes in independent quantitative risk and decision analysis. The CSC process addresses all the uncertainties confronting today’s marketplace to include technologies, methodologies, labour and professional shortages, materials quantities and costs, equipment deliveries, productivities and delays and interferences that impact estimates, schedules and plans; and, includes the application of ‘conditioning variables’ to include regulatory, environmental and social climates and the respective impacts on projects.

6 ReNew Canada July/August 2006 www.renewcanada.net

letters

Anyone who follows the machinations of Canada’s largest urban regions is more than familiar with the debate over the size of this country’s infrastructure deficit , and the

magnitude of the investments required. In Alberta, an estimated $270 million is required to update the province’s major recreational facilities. The Ontario government is spending half a billion to repair and widen the section of Highway 401 through Toronto. Transit agencies across the country are scrambling to find funds, either from public agencies or through P3 arrangements, to finance long-overdue expansion initiatives as a way of combatting sprawl-related gridlock.

But in our consideration of the need to re-invest in urban hardware, it’s critically important to remember the need to

address the problems with our social and cultural infrastructure. In my book, “The New City,” I made the argument that we need to take a much more expansive view of what constitutes o u r u r b a n infrastructure if Canada’s cities are to thrive in a 21st Century global

economy dominated by powerhouse urban regions.

It encompasses flexible big city public school systems, networks of local agencies geared to helping immigrants connect with decent jobs, and social services geared to Canada’s rapidly growing urban aboriginal communities.

Social infrastructure includes a mature housing market that is able to create a supply of affordable rental accommodation for low- and modest-income urban families, as well as high-end condos and single-family homes. We need to think about the cultural and intellectual life of cities and ask whether our urban regions have the sort of infrastructure that produces creative, vibrant communities. Lastly, any debate about infrastructure – both physical and social – cannot avoid looking forward at the needs of aging cities increasingly populated by elderly baby boomers.

There are encouraging examples of ‘soft’ infrastructure investment in cities across Canada. Aboriginal leaders in Winnipeg and Saskatoon have worked with governments, business groups and the not-for-profit sector to invest in infrastructure initiatives that serve to bolster the quality of life of urban natives. In Montreal, low income families have driven local campaigns to improve the infrastructure of child care services and local food production. We don’t necessarily think of municipally-sanctioned garden-plots as ‘infrastructure,’ but in cities facing a growing divide between rich and poor, such grass-roots campaigns serve to shore up the social health of neighbourhoods.

In Toronto, Waterloo, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, academic institutions have banded together with business organizations, senior levels of government and one another to invest in incubators geared towards growth industries such as information technology, biotech, alternative energy and environmental planning and architecture. One of the best examples is the MaRS Centre in Toronto, established with $450 million from the three levels of government. In this century, such investments have come to represent a new type of urban infrastructure, and these will become every bit as important to regional economies as the millions spent on major highways or rapid transit.

The point is that urban infrastructure has become much more than bricks and mortar, and that is a reality our most important global trading partners already recognize. If Stephen Harper’s Conservatives hope to have a long stay in government, they must begin to think about cities in these terms or face the prospect of seeing the country lose its status as a global economic powerhouse.

John lorinc

John is a toronto-based journalist who writes about urban affairs, politics and business for Toronto Life, The Globe and Mail and other publications.

“We need to take a much more expansive view of what constitutes our urban infrastructure if Canada’s cities are to thrive in a 21st Century global economy.”

July/August 2006 ReNew Canada 7www.renewcanada.net

Rethink

We saw it coming, and then it hit. The car tire slammed into the gaping rut in the freeway with a

nasty bang. Nothing damaged, but my friend could feel the wear and tear mounting on his poor car’s wheel alignment.

“If this province is doing so well, why can’t we get these potholes fixed?” he grumbled, poking fun at me in the process. I was in Saskatoon last February to give a presentation to a bunch of business leaders, and one of my main themes was how well Saskatchewan’s economy was doing.

Saskatchewan is doing well, I insisted. Its GDP is expanding at the third-fastest pace in the country, right on the tails of rip-roaring Alberta and British Columbia. Resource royalties have poured into the provincial coffers, leading to total revenues exceeding initial budgetary expectations by nearly $1 billion in 2005/06.

But my friend’s question about the potholes was a good one, and it haunted me. I launched

a feeble attempt to explain the difference between municipal government finance and provincial revenues from resources. I pointed out that the issue of provincial transfers to municipalities is a bit messy. My friend faked some interest in this, but ultimately my defense failed. A pothole was still a pothole.

The point of this story is not to beat up Saskatoon, a lovely city by any measure. Nor is it to draw attention to Saskatoon’s potholes. There is no city in Canada devoid of potholes. Potholes and the spring thaw go together like Timbits and an extra-large double-double.

The point is that we derive a strong sense of how “wealthy” we are as a society from the condition of our immediate surroundings. And for most of us in western Canada, that is the visual image we have of our cities. Potholes, run-down infrastructure, crumbling concrete on bridges, weeded-over abandoned lots, half-painted light standards – all can be a very discouraging sight.

It is really hard to feel like a citizen of a wealthy province when all we see around

our cities is infrastructure badly in need of repair. It

is even harder to sell your city to visitors as a place to do business if it doesn’t show well. The city of Calgary, in fact, had to heavily Photoshop the cover image on one of its recent p r o m o t i o n a l brochures. Just

like magic, ugly gray abandoned industrial

wasteland turned into bright green park space on the eastern edge of Calgary’s downtown! Wonderful thing, that Photoshop.

Why infrastructure matters so much

to the well-being of our cities.

By Todd Hirsch

APPeArAnCeS Are not

everythIng

Municipal governments across the country are struggling with their infrastructure and appearance problems. They know that we are facing a massive infrastructure deficit – that is, we are far behind where we should be in terms of replacing and repairing existing infrastructure that is quickly reaching the end of its usefulness. By most estimates, this infrastructure deficit reaches into the billions of dollars.

And of course, the mayors of the largest Canadian cities have discovered some new-found clout when they work as a team. If the provinces won’t (or can’t) provide us with sufficient funds to address our infrastructure and transportation needs, they reasoned, maybe Ottawa will.

Ottawa has been an easy target lately. In the dying days of the Liberal government, then-Prime Minister Martin tried to placate the gang of mayors with warm embraces and promises of cash in the form of a portion of the GST. The mayors went away smiling.

It looks like the current Prime Minister will be just as conciliatory. After all, Mr. Harper’s party holds only a minority in the House of Commons,

the federal books are well in the black, and he desperately needs some seats in the large urban centres of Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto in the next election (which could come soon).

Aside from going cap-in-hand to Ottawa, the cities are grappling and experimenting with other innovative ways to raise revenue. This is an evolutionary process, and some cities are gaining ground. The Canada West Foundation, as part of its own Western Cities project, has put forth a broad range of policy ideas and new ways of thinking about municipal finance, particularly with regards to funding our infrastructure requirements.

But in the meantime, city halls across the country are dealing with potholes and decaying roadways as best they can. For the most part the cities “get it” – either you have 21st Century infrastructure, or you fall off the map. Not only does well-kept infrastructure facilitate economic growth and productivity, it helps us feel better about the cities in which we live. Clean, attractive and well-maintained urban infrastructure with plenty of attention to our natural capital and green spaces – now, there’s something Canadian cities can sell to the world. And maybe we won’t even need Photoshop!

www.renewcanada.net8 ReNew Canada July/August 2006

todd Hirsch has a bA Honours in Economics from the university of Alberta and an MA Economics from the university of Calgary. Since 2004, todd has worked as chief economist for the Canada West Foundation.

Rethink

“Not only does well-kept infrastructure

facilitate economic growth and

productivity, it helps us feel better

about the cities in which we live.”

www.renewcanada.net July/August 2006 ReNew Canada 9

Opening Shots

CANADA IS INTELLIGENT

The Intelligence Community Forum (ICF) has presented their 2006 awards in four categories: Intelligent Community, Intelligent Community Visionary, Intelligent Community Technology and Intelligent Building of the Year. According to the ICF, the seven international cities listed as finalists for Intelligent Community are role models for success in broadband communications. Quebec’s Sherbrooke University (pictured above), was a finalist for Intelligent Building of the Year, and Toronto’s MaRS Discovery District won the award. In addition, one-on- one sessions with leaders of the Top Seven Intelligent Communities of 2007 provided insight into how these communities became economic development models for fostering innovation in broadband and IT programs. The conference ended with presentation of the Intelligent Community Awards, with Taipei named as Intelligent Community of the Year. Details at www.intelligentcommunity.org

CPP COMMITS $350 M US to CHILE’S INFRASTRUCTURE

A consortium led by Brookfield, which includes Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Investment Board and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (bcIMC) has acquired 92 per cent of the shares of HQI Transelec in Chile, SA, from Hydro-Quebec International Inc. for $1.5 billion US and is attempting to acquire the final eight per cent. Transelec is the largest electricity transmission company in Chile. The CPP Investment Board has committed up to $350 million US to the project, their largest international infrastructure investment to date. Details at www.transelec.com.

FIRST U.K. WASTE PFI SINCE 2004

The Nottinghamshire County Council has announced that Onyx Environmental Group is now the preferred bidder for the county’s 26-year waste private-finance contract. According to the Council, the residents of Nottinghamshire generate 430,000 tonnes of domestic waste each year. Of that, 35,000 tonnes is recycled and 25,000 tonnes is composted. Corporate sponsor Onyx is

Opening shots is a regular section with infrastructure news items from across Canada. If you have relevant and current news you’d like included, please contact [email protected].

negotiating a £800 million contract with the Nottinghamshire County Council which includes recycling, composting and energy from waste. Onyx will deliver recycling and composting rates of 52 per cent by 2020 through the curbside collection of mixed dry recyclables, green waste and glass. It will also ensure that there is virtually no direct delivery of waste to landfill from 2011, helping the authority to meet its landfill diversion requirements. Details at www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk.

INDIANA’S I96 NOW PRIVATE PROPERTY

The Financial Times reports that Indiana is now the first U.S. state to privatize a toll road. A consortium of Australia’s Macquarie Infrastructure Group and Spain’s Cintra has bought the 157-mile toll road that connects Chicago to the eastern seaboard for $3.8 billion US (total equity $748 million US). Macquarie and Cintra, two of the world’s biggest transport infrastructure investors, will own and run the road for 75 years.

PRIVATE FUNDING FOR NEW SAULT HOSPITAL

The trend towards private initiatives (see Prescription for Renewal page 24) continues with three teams being considered to build, finance and maintain the new Sault St. Marie-area hospital. The request for qualification (RFQ) came from Hospital Infrastructure Partners Inc. (Carillion Canada Inc., EllisDon Corporation, Labourers’ Pension Fund of Central and Eastern Canada, CIT financial); Plenary Health (Plenary Group Canada Ltd., Deutsche Bank AG, PCL Constructors Canada Inc., Johnson Controls, Aramark Canada Ltd.; and SNC-Lavalin Invstment (SNC-Lavalin Capital Inc., Bondfield Construction Company). They are now being allowed to bid on the project. A request for proposals (RFQ) is expected this fall. The large public infrastructure project is part of the province’s new Alternate Financing and Procurement (AFP) strategy. The hospital will be privately funded, but publicly owned. Details at www.pir.gov.on.ca.

are proud to present a joint venture supplement

on infrastructure in Canada.

P ublished in the November

2006 edition of Financial Post

Business (release date November 7)

and in the November/December

issue of ReNew Canada (release

date November 20), this special publication builds on the success of the first supplement which appeared in both publications this past May.

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QUARTIER DES SPECTACLES LIGHTING PLAN

A $500,000 project this summer has architects using light in innovative ways as part of the architectural design of five performance spaces in downtown Montreal. The design is based on sustainable lighting techniques and distinct concepts for each venue from a variety of electrical engineers, industrial designers and planners. Details at www.quartierdesspectacles.com.

3TIER EXPANDS

3TIER Environment Forecast Group (3TIER) has announced a substantial investment from Good Energies, Inc. CEO Ken Westrick says that Good Energies’ support will allow 3TIER to grow internationally. They have signed on to provide wind forecasting services for Manitoba Hydro, one of the largest energy and natural gas utilities in Canada. The forecast will be used to help Manitoba Hydro more efficiently

$3B SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN MARKHAM

The Remington Group has signed on for a major development project in Markham. The $3 billion community combines residential, retail and commercial properties, all built to high environmental standards. Building design (pictured above) follows sustainable guidelines, including energy-efficient power sources and LEED-certified homes. This will be the largest mixed-use development in Canada – 9,500 residents living in 3,900 new condominiums and townhouses built on 243 acres. The development will try to accommodate urban growth while minimizing sprawl by having greater density in an environmentally-friendly urban area. Details at www.downtownmarkham.ca.

Opening Shots

integrate electricity generated at the new St. Leon Wind Energy Project into its power distribution grid. Westrick says that Canada can be very aggressive in terms of renewable energy. 3TIER is working on more and more contracts in Canada, not just with wind, but with hydro and solar energy.

NEW BUILDING CODE FOR ONTARIO

Starting immediately, Ontario is implementing broad changes to the Building Code. (See Planning for Change, page 16). “The highlight of these changes is increased energy efficiency,” said David Brezer at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. The changes will come in four phases because “it takes time for builders, designers and manufacturers to make these changes safely and economically.” Through higher insulation levels, solar panels, grey water reuse and gas and propane burners, the ministry estimates that homes built in 2012 will have a 35 per cent increase in energy efficiency over today’s Building Code. Ontario now becomes the fist province to mandate Energuide 80 levels. Details at www.obc.mah.gov.on.ca.

CANADA-AUSTRALIA RELATIONS

June 12th kicked off the GTA Chapter of the Canada-Australia Chamber of Commerce (CACC). Membership in the Network is free. The first event will be held some time in September, coordinated around a visit from VIP dignitaries from Australia, and/or an appropriate event involving Canada-Australia relations. Canadian Australian Chamber of Commerce representative Bob Onyschuk says that the recent meeting in Ottawa between Stephen Harper and John Howard was productive. “Our two Prime Ministers got on very famously. They have a similar approach to government and have promised much closer business and cultural ties between Australia and Canada” in the coming years. Details at www.canausham.org.au.

NEW TRANSIT POLICY FOR QUEBEC

In June, the Quebec government announced plans to invest $130 million annually to the operating costs of transit infrastructure, and another $4.6 billion to $8 billion for new metro cars and buses. Municipalities and transit systems will be asked to match the amount they receive. The plan, intended to boost transit use by eight per cent and reduce greenhouse emissions, involves making towns with less than 20,000 inhabitants eligible for the provincial transit funding program. The investment comes out of the Charest government’s $200 million green fund, raised through carbon tax on oil and gas companies. Details at www.mtq.gouv.qc.ca.


There’s a well-worn joke about a modern-day Noah trying to build an ark. He finds himself subject to regulations ranging from building permits to restrictions on transporting

wildlife. What defeats him in the end is the requirement to complete an environmental assessment on the forthcoming flood.

The joke exemplifies a common attitude towards environmental assessments (EAs) as a barrier to the creation of much-needed infrastructure – if an ark can be considered infrastructure. This is unfortunate, since EAs should be more than an exercise in red tape.

So, what would a meaningful EA process look like?According to Beth Savan, director of Environmental Programs at

Innis College, University of Toronto, there are two ways of looking at EAs. The conventional approach, and the foundation of federal and most provincial legislation, is that of damage mitigation. A public or private body decides to undertake a project, such as a building a wastewater plant or a road, and after making decisions about the location, the size, the technology and the design, undertakes an EA to determine how to reduce any harmful effects of the project. The assumption is that there will be harmful effects and the question to be answered is how best to deal with them. In other words, environmental degradation continues, but more slowly than it might otherwise.

The alternative approach, which is used occasionally, but is not yet required by law, is to begin with a different question: what are we trying to do and how can we do it in a way that makes a positive

contribution to the environment? That is, even if there are some harmful effects, they must be offset with environmental benefits, so that the result is a net gain for environmental and human health.

This EA process starts when a need is identified, not when a solution is proposed. Professionals (planners, engineers, scientists, lawyers and others), decision makers, and the public together consider alternatives, including the option to do nothing, or even to re-evaluate whether the need actually exists, before making a decision about whether and how to proceed. This approach is sometimes called sustainability assessment, although definitions of this term vary.

Many of the problems with EAs arise from confusion between the two approaches. Those who are interested only in damage mitigation are disconcerted when government officials or members of the public reopen fundamental questions about the need for a project. Project proponents (or opponents) who prefer the second approach look in vain for public policy and clear procedures to back up their efforts.

At the international level, the trend is increasingly towards sustainability assessments. Canada, which was once in the forefront of environmental assessment practices, has been slow to adopt the practice, but those responsible for infrastructure management and renewal would be well advised to become familiar with the idea, and to start considering how this approach could be used in their own work.

urban planning

environmentAl ASSeSSmentS:

BetWeen

the DevIl And

the Deep Blue S.e.A.By Philippa Campsie

July/August 2006 ReNew Canada 1�www.renewcanada.net

INCONSISTENT PROCESSES,INCONSISTENT OUTCOMES

At present, many Canadian jurisdictions appear to be trying to fix the existing approach to environmental assessment. British Columbia updated its EA legislation in 2003; Nova Scotia and Ontario are currently considering amendments to theirs. Most reforms are aimed at reducing inconsistencies and uncertainty. Even though the damage mitigation approach may seem straightforward, the rules and the way they are applied allow for considerable variation and potential inequities.

Take scoping, which refers to the practice of tailoring the terms of reference for an independent EA to ensure that they focus only on what is most important. Scoping was introduced in most provinces in the late 1990s. When applied appropriately, it can save time and money, and eliminate meaningless paperwork. However, planners, engineers and lawyers who have been involved in EAs can cite minor projects (road widenings, small-scale developments) that have triggered detailed reviews, while huge undertakings (highways, mines or forestry projects) have been subject to perfunctory reviews because of scoping inconsistencies.

One of the best known examples was the attempt in 2003 by the Province of Ontario to “hyperscope” the EA for a proposed major highway through the Niagara Peninsula with a drastically reduced terms of reference (the process later collapsed, and has recently been relaunched with a new terms of reference).

Problems also arise with Class EAs, a procedure used in some jurisdictions to ensure that routine infrastructure projects are handled in a consistent way. If the proponent meets the requirements and follows the rules, the project can proceed, unless unforeseen environmental impacts are identified; if any are, the project would have to undergo a full, independent assessment. Yet government officials who review Class EAs may rubber-stamp them, call for changes, or impose new conditions, leading to inconsistent outcomes.

urban planning

Push or pull?

Unclear eA

guidelines

lead to

confusion

and

inconsistent

results.

“EAs should be more than an exercise in red tape.”


Frustration with these problems usually leads to demands for clearer, tighter regulations for all concerned. At the moment, most government environment ministries provide only guidelines or “codes of practice” rather than regulations, and many elements of the process remain negotiable. Where the option for negotiation exists, so does the likelihood of inconsistency.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: CAN WE TALK?

With an inclusive process, skilled facilitation, clear expectations and well-presented information, public consultation processes can contribute to better decision making. Perhaps the most famous example is Justice Thomas Berger’s review of the Mackenzie Valley pipeline in the 1970s;

he listened carefully to the First Nations peoples and all those involved and made a decision that still stands as an example of foresight and fair-mindedness.

However, it takes money and expertise to mount top-notch public participation exercises, resources that are not available everywhere. And the process is now so taken for granted that it is subject to abuse. Members of the public may drag out EA consultations with unsubstantiated objections, irrelevant digressions and simple NIMBYism. For example, a single individual stalled much-needed upgrades to a wastewater plant in a small town by demanding that the entire plant (which had been in place for years) be moved farther away from her property. In a rapidly developing area, hundreds of residents opposed the introduction of a hydro transmission line, even though the area faces the prospect of energy shortages.

These stories are so common that some planners and engineers automatically roll their eyes at the mention of “public participation.” They do not view the process from the point of view of members of the public. Imagine receiving a public notice of a proposed project written in technical jargon and bureaucratese. This is the first time you’ve heard about it. You arrive at a meeting or open house, expecting to have the problem explained to you. But the project proponents have moved well beyond problem definition and are presenting solutions. Although you have no technical expertise, you are expected to get up to speed instantly on a project that technical experts have been studying for months. No wonder communications break down.

In a sustainability assessment, members of the public would enter the process earlier, and help define the problem and the

urban planning

“Members of the public may drag out

EA consultations with unsubstantiated objections, irrelevant

digressions and simple NIMBYism.”

alternatives. Rather than being presented with a technical proposal and being asked to agree or disagree, participants in the public meetings would have a hand in determining the response to a problem. Differences of opinion would still occur, of course, and NIMBYism will not disappear, but at least the approach does not immediately create a confrontational situation.

At the same time, Leo DeLoyde, general manager of Corporate Services for the City of Burlington, Ontario, points out that public participation has its limits. Environmental assessment legislation, he notes, focuses on getting answers to questions about the effects of new infrastructure. However, “we’re Canadians; we want to see consensus.” Consensus is certainly desirable, but when irreconcilable interests collide, attempting to achieve consensus may be unrealistic. At some point, somebody has to make a decision. The question is: does that decision represent net gain or further losses for the environment? The current framework does not require an answer to that question, but in future, it may.

THE NEXT FRONTIERInstitutional and legislative change is slow,

but change will come. Beyond sustainability assessments, which apply to individual projects, lie strategic environmental assessments (SEAs), established in the European Union in 2001, which are applied very early in the planning stages to entire systems and programs (if you want to keep abreast of the jargon, this is known as “upstreaming”).

As the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe website puts it: “SEA allows the identification and prevention of possible environmental impact right from the start in decision-making – developing a more sustainable transport policy rather than just minimizing the environmental impact of building a road, for example – and it enables environmental objectives to be considered on a par with socio-economic ones, bringing sustainable development closer.”

Of all people, perhaps Noah would most have appreciated the prospect of a SEA change.

philippa Campsie is principal of Hammersmith Communications. She is also deputy editor of the Ontario Planning Journal and teaches in the planning program at the university of toronto.


urban planning

www.renewcanada.net16 ReNew Canada July/August 2006 www.renewcanada.net

urban planning urban planning

Any time that the Planning Act is revised, practitioners in both the public and the private sectors get a little nervous because this means that it is no longer business as usual.

With the imminent adoption of Bill 51 in Ontario, the level of anticipation is heightened by the increased scope of the proposed legislation. Not only are there many substantive additions to the tool-box available to planners but the basic premise of a stand-alone planning act will soon be gone forever, to be replaced by legislation that is inter-connected with half a dozen other key acts, relating to topics that range from environment and brownfield redevelopment to energy planning, water source protection and even the building code. This factor alone positions Bill 51 as a potential turning point in terms of defining the standard of “good planning” for professional planners.

The boldness of Ontario’s approach doesn’t stop there. The bill proposes to amend Section 2 of the Act, identifying “sustainability” as a matter of provincial interest. This gives the province the right to intervene if a project emerges that is seriously out of line with provincial policy (as established in the provincial policy statement

or complementary legislation affecting the Greenbelt, Oak Ridges Moraine or the designated area covered by the newly adopted Growth Plan). In combination with revisions to Ontario Municipal Board procedures (Bill 51 builds on changes already made to the OMB in the Strong Communities Act of 1994), this emphasizes the “hands on” nature of the current government with respect to growth management and other planning matters. But by identifying “sustainable design” as a defined term in the act, the province cleverly positions the responsibility for meeting the test of sustainability with those responsible for implementation.

This is important, because too many practitioners and elected representatives have been content to repeat the mantra of sustainability without rising to the challenge of putting the principles into practice. Here’s how that is about to change:

First, the proposed legislation provides planners with an opportunity to transform the way subdivisions are designed and laid out by making energy conservation a priority. This includes providing for essential services such as public transit, promoting conservation through the preservation of vegetation and landscape

plAnnIng forChAngeontario’s Bill 51

is being called a

turning point for

professional planners.

By Glenn Miller


urban planning urban planning

designs that deal efficiently with run-off, and ensuring that new neighbourhoods are well integrated into the urban fabric by providing pedestrian walkways, bicycle paths and other linkages. The proposed act also provides increased license to municipal planners to insist on appropriate building orientation. Considering that this fundamental concept has been around since 360 B.C. when Socrates authored the first sun shade ordinance, this change is long overdue.

Another new tool proposed by Bill 51 is conditional zoning (zoning with conditions), which would allow municipalities to promote environmental sustainability by detailing conditions that promote energy efficiency and the redevelopment of brownfields. This theme is picked up with proposed amendments to Section 28, which would allow costs associated with environmental remediation, co-generation, district energy and other items designed to encourage energy efficient development to be included in Community Improvement Plans.

Further, by making “sustainable design” a defined term, the government is also showing that it is in step with changes spreading through the industry like wildfire. Building sustainability rating systems such

as LEED and Green Globes are quickly moving to expand these concepts to the wider community, and there is every indication that these ideas will enjoy rapid acceptance in the marketplace. In response to practitioner demand, for example, the Canada Green Building Council is committed to accelerating development of a Canadian version of LEED Neighbourhood. The expectation is that the Canadian version will be significantly “greener” than the pilots currently out for comment and review in the U.S. Meanwhile, in anticipation of increased provincial support for energy efficiency and the environment, East Gwillimbury Council has passed a resolution adopting Energy Star standards for new residential development.

The astonishing breadth and depth of the current provincial agenda is unprecedented. For the first time, planners will have to pay attention to the Building Code, a relatively new area of interest for planners linked to the need to understand

“For the first time, planners

will have to pay attention

to the Building Code.”

LEED specifications focused on building performance. Requirements of the new code are closely tied to the potential to set aggressive new design standards at the scale of the subdivision. Proposed changes to the Conservation Land Act outlined in Bill 51 also give new powers concerning conservation easements to conservation authorities, which in turn relate to recent moves regarding safe drinking water and watershed protection. And later this year, the Ministry of Natural Resources will be unveiling new programs intended to change how natural spaces are valued in Ontario.

For planners in both the public and private sectors specializing in one or two well-defined areas of practice, Bill 51 heralds a challenging new era, suggesting that continuous professional learning will need to be more than an academic exercise.

glenn R. Miller, FCip, Rpp, is the director of education and research with the Canadian urban institute in toronto. He is also the founding editor of the Ontario planning Journal. He can be reached at [email protected].

The following is an abstract of a paper presented at the Sustainable City 2006 conference held July 17 - 19 in Tallin, Estonia by Roy Paluoja & Sally Moore - Seneca Sustainability Partnership, Seneca College.

Sustainable cities rely on architects, engineers, urban planners and professionals in the first tier of practitioners in the built environment. Few, if any, urban and building systems designed by them, however, are “fit-and-forget.” They rely on a “fit-and-manage” strategy. Potentially more significant for the long-term performance of these urban systems and individual buildings is the second tier of professionals including technologists, technicians and trades people. This latter group contributes ideas to the design professions, is employed in the construction or retrofit of these designs, and then operates and manages them over many generations.

These second tier practitioners are often neglected or given little significance in the broader urban conversation about the future of our cities. They are an essential grouping, however, not only because of their crucial role in ensuring the life cycle success of sustainable designs but as an important, homegrown employment resource for any community or country. The Seneca Sustainability Partnership, at one of Canada’s premier post-secondary institutions, is an advocate for this second tier of professions in ensuring that they are educated in the principles of applied urban sustainability. New training materials, consulting opportunities for technologists, research outreach and public participation are attuned to the role of this second tier.

For a copy of the paper and links to the Seneca Sustainability partnership visit www.renewcanada.net.


urban planning

teChnologiStS, teChniCiAnS And trAdeS: eSSentiAl forSUStAinABility

20 ReNew Canada July/August 2006 www.renewcanada.net www.renewcanada.net

In Canada, highways are “the forgotten infrastructure,” says Jeff Morrison, executive director of The Road and Infrastructure Program of Canada (TRIP) and director of environment for

the Canadian Construction Association (CCA). As anyone who has tried to navigate the Dorval interchange in Montreal can attest to, Canada’s roads are in dire condition. Morrison says that while Ontario is no better or worse off than any other province, it does have “some stretches of highway that are almost embarrassing.”

the ontario government is spending

$5.2 billion dollars over the next

five years on roads and bridges.

it reflects a nationwide effort.

urban planning

highWAy fUnding:MAIntenAnCe or neW proJeCtS?

By Mira Shenker

www.renewcanada.net July/August 2006 ReNew Canada 21www.renewcanada.net

Conditions might improve on some of those stretches, thanks to a $7 billion infusion into the ReNew Ontario program. The Ministry of Transport (MTO) has allotted $1.8 billion to Northern Ontario, while Southern Ontario is getting $3.4 billion. With that money, the MTO has developed the Southern Ontario Highway Improvement Program (SOHP). The program’s five-year plan includes building 130 kilometres of new highway and 64 new bridges, plus repairing 1,600 kilometres of highway and 200 bridges.

This is the biggest investment Ontario’s highway infrastructure has seen in at least a decade and reflects a nationwide effort to improve roads and bridges.

Alain Robert, president of the Quebec Road Builders Association (ACRGTQ), says that the Charest government’s recent investment in Quebec’s highways is the highest in 10 years.

Officials at the MTO say highways are “the backbone of the economy.” According to the MTO, Ontario’s highways carry $1.2 trillion worth of goods every year and traffic is stopping them from getting to market on time.

Congestion is also “hurting our environment and our quality of life,” says the MTO. To encourage carpooling, HOV lanes (high occupancy vehicle) are being built along the Queen Elizabeth Way between Oakville and Burlington. But there are no plans for an HOV lane along the 401. Minister of Transport Donna Cansfield says that the area between Trafalgar and Oshawa on the 401 has been under construction for eight years. “They are about halfway through their plans for the highway. At this point a redesign or retooling of those plans would be difficult.” She says that with a 16-lane highway like the 401, analysis is needed to see if an HOV lane is even feasible.

Some are asking why the province doesn’t address the cause of congestion on highways like the 401, rather than making plans to better accommodate it. While it’s important to maintain healthy economic development, controlling sprawl should also be a priority. The Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal (PIR) has devoted funds to Places to Grow, a program that addresses issues like urban sprawl and increased traffic. It’s hard to see how that program jibes with SOHP, a project that seeks not to reduce traffic, but to manage it.

Could the MTO put more funding into developing more self-sustaining communities, rather than into roads to and from the city centres? There has been some argument in favour of a two-tier tax or land tax to encourage community development. While property taxes normally increase as improvements are made causing a building’s market value to rise, a land tax would place value on location. This would create the incentive to develop an area in order to recoup those taxes, says Enid Slack, municipal finance consultant and University of Toronto professor. “The problem with that scheme,” says Slack, “is that the land on the urban fringe would get developed very quickly substituting one problem for another.”

“As long as Canada remains an autocentric culture, we will

need a good road network.”

urban planning

Like it or not, Ontario is growing. The MTO estimates that over the next 25 years, Ontario will see a 400 per cent traffic increase from an extra two million vehicles. “As long as Canada remains an autocentric culture,” says Joe Tiernay at the Ontario Good Roads Association (OGRA), “we will need a good road network.”

Even so, the MTO says that the province is not abandoning municipalities in order to develop provincial highways. Far from it. The Move Ontario initiative has allotted $400 million to 428 municipalities, mostly outside of the GTA, for road and bridge work. While that money is needed, some would like the unconditional financing to be

directed towards specific projects. Without strings attached, municipalities “can build an arena if they want to,” says Rob Braford, executive director of the Ontario Road Builders’ Association (ORBA). Tiernay says that municipalities have shown “leadership and responsibility” in the past when funds were allocated to roads and highways and is confident, as is the MTO, that they will again.

One group with no complaints about the province’s plans are private-sector firms specializing in engineering or construction. Matt Kennedy of McAsphalt Industries says this is “great for the construction industry.” Unfortunately, rising asphalt prices might mean less work for construction companies than they are expecting. “As of this time last year,” says Kennedy, “the price [of asphalt] has doubled.” Work is being cancelled nationwide because some cities and municipalities can’t afford the amount of asphalt they need. Saskatchewan’s budget, initially seen as impressive, may not

be enough to finish road work planned for Regina. Morrison says the problem with any material price is that it’s hard to predict where it’s going. But, he says that even if prices do continue to rise, “the industry has shown the ability to innovate. There’s no need to put off or cancel plans for construction.” And like contractors in the current 407 toll-road expansion know, there is always concrete.

According to Cansfield, it’s wait-and-see over at the MTO. “It’s not for us to predetermine construction costs,” she says. Morrison says cities like Regina should consider taking a similar stance, and wait for the promised federal funding for both the municipal roads sector and the highway sector.

The significant additional funding coming from the federal government to Regina is yet another sign that governments at all levels are focusing more attention on roads and bridges.

Unfortunately, decades of inaction have left current governments playing catch-up. In Quebec, the Charest government is making “an impressive effort,” says Robert, but “at this stage, it’s not enough.” Regardless of whether or not new highway lanes, roads and bridges are needed, it is clear that money is needed to maintain what has already been built. Tiernay says that while it’s preferable to build new structures, from a cost standpoint, it’s more important to “maintain what you have before it completely falls apart.”


urban planning

“Some are asking why the province doesn’t address the cause of congestion on

highways like the 401, rather than making plans to better accommodate it.”

Mira Shenker, bA is a freelance writer and associate editor at ReNew Canada. She has a degree in Creative Writing from Concordia university.

that influenced the decision to invite top ranked speakers from Holland, Sweden and the U.K. – countries from which we can learn valuable lessons and take confidence. According to Steven Rowe, an environmental planner who has been responsible for the conference program design for the past four years, the common denominator among the international case studies is the emphasis on achieving the best results possible. “Because brownfield sites tend to have the most attractive locational characteristics, the European approach is to treat brownfield sites as a series of opportunities to be exploited.”

This is certainly the case in the U.K.’s thinking behind the massive investments targeted for the future sites for London’s Olympic bid. Ralph Luck has the personal responsibility for delivering the infrastructure and development sites in 2012. “I’ll be focusing my presentation on some of the tricks of my trade that I’ve learned over a decade or so devoted to regeneration projects,” he said. Luck’s commitment to working collaboratively has already led to the creation of international partnerships as far away as Australia. As chair of the British Urban Regeneration Association, Luck believes that the massive scale of the Olympics project helps keep brownfield issues in perspective. “You can be sure that the British government wouldn’t be risking the billions it has committed to making the 2012 Olympics an economic and societal success if redeveloping brownfields was seen as a potential barrier.”

An october conference will highlight what developers overseas already know – there’s money in remediation.

July/August 2006 ReNew Canada 2�www.renewcanada.net

I was listening to an interview with a well-known jazz performer the other day and found myself smiling when the interviewer asked the artist, “What was it like to suddenly be thrust into the

limelight?” The musician demurely replied that it had taken 10 years of slogging to earn the right to be recognized as an overnight success, so the experience was appreciated but not unexpected.

Not unlike the experience of those working to put brownfields redevelopment on the agenda of business leaders the “sudden” acknowledgement among bankers, developers, real estate brokers and others whose decisions collectively direct investment in our cities is both welcome and a challenge. The 2006 Canadian Brownfields Network (CBN) conference to be held in Toronto this October will give voice to this new level of enquiry, but as in previous years, will strive to meet the needs of a broad coalition of interests from across the country, and to be relevant to delegates representing different markets.

The decision to partner with the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), and to invite a mainstream developer to chair the event – Bronwyn Krog, vice-president, Land Development and Planning with Wittington Properties Limited – reflects a growing confidence within the CBN that brownfields are beginning to register on the corporate radar. As Krog explains, “many people in the development business, and certainly within our company, recognize that brownfields are one of the best ways to create exceptional real estate value in the current market – particularly in the Toronto metropolitan area with the advent of Greenbelt and intensification policies.” She goes on to explain that the land supply is now a lot more constrained, and with the economics of high-rises, developers are looking at the large sites with environmental complexities, finding the right consultants to help address those issues, and beginning to accumulate experience in addressing and managing environmental risks. “Once a developer has one or two successful remediation/use conversion projects under her or his belt, lenders are also getting much more comfortable with these properties. The days of the ‘tough sell’ to the bankers may not be completely over, but as a group they are definitely making significant progress in understanding there is nothing to be afraid of – it’s all manageable – and in fact can be quite a good business,” said Krog.

This “can do” attitude is reflected in the nature of the numerous case studies to be presented at this year’s conference, a factor

don’t feAr the BroWnfIelDS

By Glenn Miller

ReMediate

The same willingness to share knowledge underpins the involvement of experts from Sweden and the Netherlands. In the case of Sweden, where brownfield sites are seen as places to focus innovative energy from waste, district energy and green building projects, the enthusiasm for setting new standards is firmly established not only among government policy makers but also within the financial community. One of the key messages from Erik Freudenthal, representing the City of Stockholm, will be that senior level political support and leadership from the financial community go hand in hand.

Dr. Huub Rijnaarts, who leads the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research team of researchers and scientists, is also a realist, who acknowledges that, like the jazz musician whose career suddenly blossoms after many years of effort, the key to long-term success is the quality of partnerships. The impetus behind the development of the Netherlands model is that ways had to be found to make remediation costs more acceptable. The resulting commitment to research and development not only brought costs into line but also helped to create a rigorous and highly effective approach to project management, a set of skills that Rijnaarts sees as the basis for establishing long-term working partnerships with other jurisdictions.

glenn R. Miller, FCip, Rpp, is the director of education and research with the Canadian urban institute in toronto. Conference details available at www.canurb.com.

“there is nothing to be afraid of – it’s all manageable – and in fact can be quite a good business.”—Bronwyn Krog


Let’s face it. Relative to many places, Canada’s not doing badly as far as health care goes. Age, though, is

increasingly a problem. Both our hospitals and our population are showing their age. Add in chronic underfunding, constantly changing technology and increased competition for community fundraising dollars, and you have a prescription for a new approach to renewal and expansion for Canada’s 952 hospitals.

That is precisely why governments and facilities are looking beyond traditional funding models and exploring alternatives. According to a report titled From Debate to Action, written by the Canadian Medical Association in 2003, Canada’s hospital infrastructure has been “severely eroded as a result of chronic underfunding.” Authors of the report recommended exploring public-private partnerships as a means of supporting investment in capital infrastructure.

“Alternative methods of procuring such infrastructure are taking more and more hold,” agrees architect Ain Allas, a founding director of Toronto- and Ottawa-based Parkin Architects Ltd., which does much health care facility work. Public-private partnerships “are a way of splitting the cost load over a longer period of time and reducing some of the perceived risks that governments were bearing,” he says.

And, while they’re revamping their infrastructure, growing numbers of health care facilities are taking steps to reduce future operating costs, while improving the well-being of patients and staff. They are designing their facilities – or retrofitting them – for greater sustainability with more efficient heating, ventilation, lighting,

plumbing, insulation and windows, along with better systems monitoring, waste management and use of natural light. They are also using more non-toxic materials, including flooring, carpeting and paint.

The LEED Canada-registered McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) construction project is a case in point. The centre merges five teaching hospitals affiliated with McGill’s Faculty of Medicine: the Montreal Children’s, Montreal General, Royal Victoria, Montreal Neurological hospitals and the Montreal Chest Institute. Its new facility will house adult and pediatric acute care, teaching, research and technology assessment.

When the Quebec government gave the green light on the operational phase of the MUHC’s two-campus redevelopment project on April 7, 2006, Health and Social Services Minister Philippe Couillard and Treasury Board President Monique Jérôme-Forget also opened the door for pursuing partnerships with the private sector for later phases of the project. In fact, the Agence des partenariats public-privé du Québec is currently preparing a business case with the MUHC on the potential of a public-private partnership for

A PreSCriPtion for reneWAl

By Carla Straessle

public buildings

innovation in design and financing tools are

helping revamp Canada’s healthcare facilities.

“Public-private partnerships

are all about transferring

risks to the private sector to

get the most benefits from

project innovation.”

various views of the Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre under construction in b.C.

Photos courtesy of A

ccess Health A

bb

otsford.


project components identified on April 7. The initial business case and recommendations will be submitted to the government in the fall of 2006.

MUHC Director General and CEO Dr. Arthur T. Porter, strongly supports this direction. “The government’s announcement gives us the tools to take advantage of private capital and expertise in a way that respects our collective agreements and enhances our capacity to provide outstanding care for our patients,” he said. Porter added that he was reassured by the minister’s confirmation that the MUHC will at all times have control of the project.

In Ontario, meanwhile, the province acknowledges it does not have the resources to finance and build large public infrastructure such as hospitals as quickly as needed. It supports the use of alternative financing and procurement (AFP), which will allow Ontario to finance and implement many large infrastructure projects better and sooner. At the same time, it has made it clear that public hospitals will remain under public ownership and control. The ReNew Ontario infrastructure investment plan commits the government and its partners to investing approximately $5 billion in health care projects, including 105 hospital projects, by 2010.

At the May 24, 2006 announcement of one such project – a major redevelopment of Windsor Regional Hospital – Hilary Short, president and CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association, said: “The ReNew Ontario plan will make it possible for many hospitals to undertake much-needed capital improvements to facilities that, across Ontario, average 43 years old.”

William Osler Health Centre is using a public-private partnership model for Brampton Civic Hospital, its third public hospital, scheduled to open in mid-2007. The Healthcare Infrastructure Company of Canada (Borealis Infrastructure Management Inc., Carillion Canada Inc. and EllisDon Corp.) is designing, building and financing the project and will provide select support services. The new one-million-square-foot facility will operate as an open, accessible public hospital, with William Osler Health Centre providing all health care services. Altaf Stationwala, VP Patient Services and site executive of the new hospital, said the facility is also being built to LEED Silver standards.

On the west coast, province-owned Partnerships British Columbia won two awards at the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships (CCPPP) 2005 National Awards for Innovation and Excellence in November, reaffirming British Columbia’s position as a national leader in implementing successful public-private partnerships. “Public-private partnerships are all about transferring risks such as construction, budget and schedule to the private sector to get the most benefits from project innovation. B.C. is demonstrating that we can build and maintain infrastructure in record time and deliver value for money,” said president and CEO Larry Blain.

One of the awards was for the province’s first hospital partnership project, the Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre, also honoured in March 2005 as Project Finance magazine’s North American Partnership of the Year. “The Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre project brings cost-savings of about $39 million over the life of the contract, and those savings will go directly to patient care,” said B.C. Health Minister George Abbott.

The state-of-the-art facility scheduled to open in 2008 will replace Abbotsford’s aging MSA Hospital, whose last major renovation was in 1980. It will serve a population of more than 150,000 in the greater Abbotsford area, and 330,000 people in the Fraser Valley. In addition, the project is LEED Canada-registered and will integrate a new cancer treatment centre that will provide diagnostic and treatment services.

In neighbouring Alberta, the province announced $662 million in additional funding for investment in health care facilities in October 2005. This will allow several major projects to move ahead, including a major redevelopment of Calgary’s Peter Lougheed Centre. The 506-bed facility provides medical and surgical services to Calgary and southern Alberta. A new six-storey wing is scheduled to open in 2008 and project plans also allow future development to occur on

the site. Designed to support sustainability, the facility is expected to receive a LEED Silver rating. The Government of Alberta provided $222 million for this project, while the Calgary Health Region is contributing $11 million for a new parkade.

Health care facility renewal is taking place on the east coast as well. In New Brunswick, for instance, the Healthy Futures plan is designed to meet the changing needs of health care and make it more community-based, accessible to patients and sustainable to taxpayers. Part of that plan is the construction of a new 70-bed hospital in Waterville. The 190,000-square-foot Upper Valley Hospital, scheduled to open in July 2007, will serve numerous communities from the region and – like most of these new structures – is being designed to meet the requirements of a LEED Silver rating. The eco-friendly project is expected to cost around $78.3 million.


public buildings

“The government’s announcement

gives us the tools to take advantage of

private capital and expertise in a way

that respects our collective agreements

and enhances our capacity to provide

outstanding care for our patients.”

MuHC Director general and CEO

Dr. Arthur t. porter

As for the real costs of sustainable design, Hagen Materne, lead architect for the Peter Lougheed Centre project, says a direct connection has to be made between capital costs and operating costs. “Typically,” he says, “the payback time is from five- to 10- years, depending on the kind and amount of green products and efficient equipment used.” Hagen, practice leader and VP of HOK Architects, adds that in a sector where staff retention is an issue, sustainable design can also help attract and keep staff.

Clearly, Canada’s health care infrastructure must be expanded to meet the needs of a growing and aging population, and modernized so that it becomes sustainable. Although funding is at a premium, the key players are working together in innovative ways to make the much-needed changes happen. As a result, a solid foundation of state-of-the-art facilities is being laid today for a healthy future.

Carla Straessle is a freelance writer and editor. She writes on a variety of urban and health issues.


public buildings

hoSPitAl pfIs in the u.K.While Canadians have been

deliberating about P3s, Britain has been busy providing a useful case study. Since 1987, 85 per cent of the funds for major National Health Service (NHS) projects in the U.K. have come from the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) model. By 2001, almost all of the recent major hospital projects in the U.K. used the PFI program and the DBFO model (design-build-finance-operate) that’s being proposed for some Canadian sites.

• In Dec 2005, the government’s new ‘payment by results’ system meant that hospitals would get paid only for the work they did and the patients who chose to go to them, not through block contracts, making forecasting the value for money (VFM) of 25-40 year PFI deals much riskier.

• In March 2006, a £1 billion project was okayed for London’s St. Bartholomew’s – the largest hospital in the world – and the

Royal London hospital, to be carried out by a consortium of Skanska, Innisfree and Equion. The architect is HOK. This is the largest PFI scheme ever approved.

• In April 2006, a £1 billion redevelopment of NHS hospitals in Birmingham and St. Helens was announced. This is the largest hospital PFI scheme outside of London to date.

• In May 2006, a £67 million PFI scheme for a new oncology centre in Hull was announced, as well as a £300 million deal for the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust. The 38-year contract has private-sector company Equion designing, building and maintaining two of the city’s major hospitals.

• PFIs are so hot in Britain that pension funds are now bidding for infrastructure assets as a way to increase returns and diversify risk. According to the Financial Times, Hermes, manager of the U.K.’s biggest pension fund, has started investing in infrastructure, commodities, property and hedge funds to counteract the volatility of bonds.

—Staff

www.renewcanada.net28 ReNew Canada July/August 2006 www.renewcanada.net

rAISIng the roof

By Laura Ruddock

Jackman Avenue elementary becomes the latest public building to embrace green roof technology.

Toronto public school Jackman Elementary celebrated the grand opening of its new green roof this

June. A lush garden with geraniums, asters, coneflowers and sedums now blankets the school’s lower roof, overlooked by an observation deck where students are painting an eco-mural. Beneath the greenery, two kindergarten classrooms are enjoying the efficient, cooling effects of their new roof.

The idea originated as a solution to the fluctuating and often uncomfortable classroom temperatures. The school considered installing an air conditioning system, but the high price tag and environmental repercussions motivated them to explore more eco-friendly options.

Jackman has a history of environmental leadership. In 1999, a group of parents, teachers and community members helped turn 175 square feet of asphalt into the Millennium Garden: a space with trees, flower gardens, a stone amphitheatre and compost bins. Since 2001, Jackman’s students have developed student-run school recycling and compost programs, litter-less lunch programs, energy conservation drives and community clean-ups. So it was only natural for Jackman to look for an environmentally-sound solution to the school’s heating and cooling problems. The school experimented with several passive cooling systems—UV film window coverings, ceiling fans, and adding trees around the building for shade—before finally deciding to invest in a green roof.

With the help of EcoAction, the Toronto Atmospheric Fund, TD Friends of the Environment, Toyota Evergreen, the Toronto School Board, the Jackman School Council and several private donors, the school began construction on the new roof last fall.

Gardens in the Sky, a green roof and green garden design and construction company, spearheaded the project and installed a Soprema Roofing System on Jackman’s lower roof. The system consists of several layers, beginning with a waterproof membrane, a water retention layer and a drainage panel.

In the spring, a root barrier and 15 centimetres of planting medium were added to the roof before grass and flowers were planted.

Since then, students have had the opportunity to explore their urban “sky” garden.

“The green roof is a geat way to clean the air, it cools down the classrooms situated under it and it looks fabulous,” said fifth-grade student Alex.

Toronto’s skyline is looking greener all the time. Prominent city buildings such as the Eastview Neighbourhood Community Centre, the York University Computer Science Building and City Hall are opting for landscaped roofs. According to Gardens in the Sky, this is just the beginning. Green roofs are already a multi-million-dollar market in Europe, especially in Germany where the industry generates hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

The technology was developed in Germany during the 1970s and is appealing to Canadians as more than just creative architecture. According to Gardens in the Sky, a green roof can protect a building from weathering and sound transmission, provide building insulation and regulate internal temperatures, offer storm water management and wind shear resistance, improve air quality through the natural process of photosynthesis, and raise property values.

Green roofs can be built on garages as well as residential, commercial, industrial and office buildings. The expense varies depending on the scope of the project, the size of the installation, the depth of the growth medium, the plants selected, and the use of optional structures, such as fountains and rock gardens.

Jackman’s green roof is only phase one of a much larger project; the school plans to cover all of its roofing with greenery. There is no word yet on when construction will begin on phase two, but in the meantime, students are busy enjoying their flourishing garden.

“I’m proud to be a part of this school because of its amazing environmental leadership,” said grade six student Alexandria. “I hope other schools will follow in our green footsteps.”

laura is an associate editor at ReNew Canada. She has a diploma in Creative Communications from Red River College in Winnipeg, Manitoba. For more information visit www.greenroofonline.com

public buildings


During much of the 20th century, asbestos was considered a “wonder material.” Fire-resistant,

it was flexible both physically and in its applications. As a result, asbestos wound up in a wide range of building materials, from floor tiles to roof drainage pipe.

With a growing understanding of the health risks of asbestos, however, usage plummeted in the 1970s and 1980s to almost zero in Canada today. However, anyone involved in building management or renovation is reaping the unpleasant results of previous builders’ enthusiasm for this highly troublesome material.

Almost any building constructed in Canada before about 1985, including public-sector facilities, will contain at least some asbestos. This means that renewal and renovation projects will need to contend with the extensive requirements of environmental and worker safety legislation whenever and wherever this asbestos is disturbed.

To understand why, it is important to understand what asbestos is, and its health effects. Asbestos is not a single material, but rather a group of fibrous silicates. Having gone from wonder child to problem child, asbestos is now associated with asbestosis – a chronic condition – and mesothelioma, an almost always fatal form of cancer.

Many of them have long latency periods of 20 to even 40 years, so the full effects are only now appearing. As a result, mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposures in the 1960s through the 1980s is now becoming an epidemic in the idustrialized world.

renovators must know rules

Better understanding of the threat posed by asbestos means that provinces have put in place new regulations on asbestos handling that have big implications for infrastructure renewal projects. Most of these regulations change the definition of “asbestos-containing material” and raise requirements on how it is handled.

ASBeStoS tAkeS A BIte out of renovAtion ProJeCtSBy Chris Nielsen and David Wytrykush

Most provinces have expanded the range of materials that must now be considered suspect regarding asbestos. In many cases, the percentage of asbestos in material which triggers the need for special handling is lower.

For members of the renovation/renewal sector, this is likely to result in more need to invest in training and personal protective equipment (PPE), and greater reliance on asbestos-remediation consultants and specialist contractors.

Those who fail to change with the new environment may find work at their sites slowed or stopped by inspectors, union leaders and employees who discover suspected asbestos-containing materials that have not been identified in building assessments. Such situations may have significant negative impacts for forepersons, supervisors, management and company owners and directors who are shown to have failed in their obligation to provide a safe work environment.

Renovation is particularly challenging in public-sector buildings. In part, this is because of their size. While it is relatively simple to find and remove the asbestos in a single-family dwelling, asbestos remediation in a school, hospital or government building must often be done in stages because the work must go on and the building cannot be evacuated completely. This means a painstaking process of relocating the building’s users out of an area to be purged of asbestos and sealing it off to avoid contaminating other parts of the building. In a heavily-unionized environment such as the public sector, this work must be done in a way that is verifiable to labour organizers. Fortunately, there are software tools available to help manage the process.

no “magic bullet”

The solution to asbestos is a multi-pronged approach, with all elements working in concert.

Providing the right skills is one of the first lines of defence when it comes to asbestos-contaminated worksites. Even seasoned construction industry members are surprised at the sheer range of products that contain asbestos. As well as ceiling tiles and asbestos cement, asbestos is routinely found in

more than 3000 products and construction materials which can range from drywall filler to floor-levelling compound.

In many cases, training needs to focus on knowing what materials might contain asbestos, recognizing the material when it is encountered, and calling in the right expertise in the form of consultants and asbestos-remediation specialists.

All individuals working with asbestos need to be supplied with appropriate PPE, the nature of which depends on the level of exposure, as well as training in asbestos handling. Many supervisors and management team members are unaware that cutting asbestos with power tools creates a much greater hazard than does using hand tools.

In some cases, the appropriate asbestos remediation procedure may involve wetting down the work area and the use of the PPE, including respiratory protection. In others, it may additionally require more elaborate respiratory protection and even negative-pressure contained work areas.

For many smaller public-sector entities such as rural school boards, the costs of asbestos compliance can become a major burden. It may be best for several smaller entities to join together to pool funds for health and safety programs, which may also be useful regarding asbestos. While some minor “tweaking” of the plan for each entity may be needed, the bulk of the plan can stay the same.

Complying with the new asbestos regulations is, in general, best done through becoming informed about the issues, due diligence regarding training and procedures, and commissioning the appropriate expert assistance.

Christopher Nielsen is senior environmental health and safety Specialist in the Mississauga office of golder Associates ltd.

David Wytrykush is a project manager for

Environmental Health and Safety in the

Calgary office of golder Associates ltd.

public buildings

Friable asbestos – that which can be crumbled by hand – is particularly hazardous.

Photo cred

it Gold

er Associates Ltd

.

engaging comparison of two of its early green building projects – one that used an integrated design process and one that used a conventional design process. In one of the more memorable moments, members of the design team tell how the integrated design process provided the opportunity to specify more energy efficient windows for the building without an increase in the project’s total capital cost.

Similarly, in Portland, Oregon, a design team was able to design a high-performance green building on a conventional budget. The $145 million, 16-storey, 400,000-square-foot building for Oregon Health and Science University will house physician practices, research labs and educational space. The design team expects to apply for LEED Platinum certification which only a few buildings in the U.S. have achieved. If certified, it will be the largest LEED Platinum building in the world.

In Canada, there are a number of high-performance green buildings built within or close to conventional budgets because of the use of integrated design. These projects are not at the scale of the Portland example, but they do demonstrate that design professionals across Canada are learning and applying this process.

What is integrated design?

Integrated design is a building design process that is more inclusive, collaborative and comprehensive than a conventional building design process.

It brings together everyone, design professionals (planner, architect, engineers), specialty consultants (energy modeller, commissioning agent), and the builder (if contractually possible), along with the building owner, the project manager, the occupant(s), and other direct stakeholders (building manager, building inspector), to design the building as a team. The integrated design process includes some professionals who are not normally part of the building design process (building manager), and brings other professionals to the table earlier than is customary (engineers, building inspector).

The design team gathers as early as possible to initiate and work jointly on the design of the building. Integrated design is not a series of meetings during which responsibilities, tasks and timelines are assigned in order for team members to work independently on their aspects of the building, but instead a process whereby people work together around the same table to design the building. Typically, an integrated design process begins with a series of intensive design meetings of which team formation and goal setting are critical components.

�0 ReNew Canada July/August 2006 www.renewcanada.net

Rebuild Rebuild

The Province of Manitoba announced a new Green Building Policy this spring requiring LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver certification for all new

commercial and institutional buildings, and buildings undergoing major renovation, that receive provincial funding. The policy is one of the farthest-reaching government green building policies in North America; it applies to provincial departments, provincial Crown corporations, agencies, health authorities, school boards and private- sector building projects that receive funding from the province.

The committee that developed the new Manitoba policy is aware that one key to cost-effective green building is the use of integrated design. For this reason, in addition to requiring LEED certification from the Canada Green Building Council, the new Green Building Policy also requires the use of an integrated design process on every building project to which the policy applies.

Why integrated design?

There is a widely held perception that green building adds five per cent to 25 per cent to the capital cost of conventional construction. These perceptions become reality when the green features of a project (energy efficiency, water efficiency, use of recyclable materials) are add-ons to a conventional building design during a conventional building design process.

When taking the add-on approach, the additional cost occurs because of current capital cost premiums for features such as energy efficient heating systems or water efficient toilets, and a piecemeal approach to adding each of these features. In some cases, this total capital-cost premium is manageable from a lifecycle cost perspective, or is low enough that the payback from operating costs savings is short (five to seven years). In other cases, where the total premium is high, the green features are abandoned or the project goes ahead, confirming the perception.

Building design teams, and their clients, are learning that to significantly reduce or eliminate the capital cost premium for green building it is necessary to change the design process. The key is a well-executed integrated design process. Unlike the add-on approach described above, this type of building design process allows for a type of team interaction and group decision-making whereby design synergies can result in a healthy, high-quality, high-performance green building that is capital cost effective

The State of Pennsylvania, for example, was one of the first to establish green building requirements for government buildings. In a video available on the Governor’s Green Government Council website (www.gggc.state.pa.us), Pennsylvania has captured an

IntegrAteD

deSign

By Rodney C. McDonald

to reduce or eliminate

capital-cost premiums for

green buildings it’s necessary

to change the design process.

Integrated Design / Integrated Decision-Making

For building design professionals, integrated design is either the name they can finally attached to a process they have practised for many years, or a significant deviation from the conventional design process to which they are accustomed. In these early days of green building, the latter is the case for most design professionals.

For sustainability professionals, integrated design is simply one form of integrated decision-making – the form used by the building design community. The integration of disciplines, thoughts, perspectives and processes is necessary for sustainable development (whether that is the development of a company, a building or a community) and is integral to organizational sustainability, community sustainability and global sustainability.

The next time you are responsible for, or involved in, the early stages of a new building project, first consider a green building and then make sure the design team uses an integrated design process. The key is to have everyone at the table, as early as possible, to discuss every issue.

July/August 2006 ReNew Canada �1www.renewcanada.net

Rebuild Rebuild

The design team discusses every issue. All options and issues should find their way to the table in such a way that everyone has an opportunity to understand the options and issues from their professional perspectives. If facilitated well, this should result in a better building design and a smoother construction process – one with far fewer change orders and callbacks.

OwnerArchitect

MechanicalEngineer

StructuralEngineer

ElectricalEngineer

InteriorDesigner

BuildingManager

EnergyModeller

LandscapeArchitect

BuildingInspector

Planner

Builder

ProjectManager

Occupant(s)

Sample Integrated

Design team

Rodney McDonald, bA, MA, lEED Ap is the Sustainability & Standards Specialist for Manitoba Hydro; president of McDonald & Hardess Sustainability group inc.; president of the Manitoba Chapter, Canada green building Council; and a member of the province of Manitoba’s green building policy Committee.


Sydney’s East Darling Harbour is 22 hectares of potential. It is the city’s last major parcel of undeveloped waterfront and the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, which manages

the lands under long term leaseholds, sees it as an opportunity to attract new development investment and building ideas. The Darling Harbour entertainment district is one of the busiest areas of the Sydney waterfront, drawing 26 million visitors each year. It seems we can learn a few things from the Aussies.

This past May, I, along with a group of municipal and private sector leaders from across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), was invited on a business mission to Australia. We were sent, in part, to bridge the “investment gap” between the two countries. According to the Canadian Australian Chamber of Commerce, Australia has 70 firms in Canada with $3 billion invested, while Canada has more than 170 firms in Australia with $8 billion invested (Australia is the second largest area for Canadian investment in the Pacific region after Japan). It’s not for lack of interest. Mission leader Robert MacIsaac had the opportunity to pitch the GTA at a dozen different meetings with Australian business leaders and found them to be very receptive.

Hosted by the Canadian Consulate General in Sydney and the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance (GTMA), the trip was officially

By Todd Latham and Mira Shenker

A CAnAdiAn delegAtion goeS DoWn unDer for urBAn DevelopMent And InfrAStruCture pArtnerShIpS

called an “Investment Attraction Mission to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.” But it was also a chance for Canadian leaders in the development community to compare Canada’s development projects and infrastructure to Australia’s; to learn from their challenges and successes, and by comparison, better appreciate and capitalize on the opportunities here at home. GTMA President Karen Campbell says their goal “is to learn from these dynamic Australian cities – especially their accomplishments in waterfront infrastructure revitalization and urban development.”

Councillor Gloria Lindsay Luby says it’s hard to make a direct comparison between the two cities. For one thing, she says, “they have year-round good weather.” It’s true that every city is unique, with its own set of possibilities and limitations. Toronto can’t walk in Sydney’s footprints (the climate isn’t transferable, unfortunately), but it can adopt some of Australia’s attitude and approach to infrastructure development and design.

Even if our climate could support it, the design esthetics that many on the trip admired shouldn’t be cut and pasted into Canadian developments; it’s important that the design match the area. A lot of the colour in Australia’s design is “a reflection of their tropical climate,” says Bronwyn Krog. What Toronto can emulate is the artistic approach Sydney’s designers take. New structures should be more than “just developers with one-offs,” says John Campbell.

miSSion: AuStrAlIA

PArt 1: SyDney

Circular Quay viewed from the steps of the Sydney Opera House. the condo buildings in foreground, dubbed “the toaster,” were a very controversial addition to the waterfront that required developer compromises on elevations and property use. Photo by Todd Latham

"If Canada is open to strategies involving private funding, Australia is interested in investing."

© The S

ydney H

arbour Foreshore A

uthority ww

w.shfa.nsw

.gov.au

July/August 2006 ReNew Canada ��www.renewcanada.net

“There should be variety and an integration of public art.” Campbell says he appreciated that Australian planners “avoid the stigma of all the same by limiting each architect to two buildings” within a development area.

According to Bob Onyschuk, a key Canada-Australia relations facilitator, Sydney and Melbourne’s excellence in design, architecture, and construction, along with creative development methods, makes them “alpha cities.” He says that Toronto should “learn from Sydney’s best practice in how to redevelop a major harbourfront.” Melbourne, for instance, developed 500 acres of harbourfront in 10 years with only $100 million AUD in federal and state funding. (More on Melbourne in part two of this article in the Sept./Oct. issue). “There’s keen competition today among cities internationally,” says Onyschuk. “To be a winner in a global economy, a city has to have a good looking front door.”

That’s one thing Australia’s biggest cities have clearly done well. The way Sydney Harbour has seamlessly integrated working, playing and living was a real eye-opener in terms of what can be accomplished on the Toronto waterfront. In terms of design esthetic, Australian architecture “seems younger, even though it’s not,” says Lindsay Luby. “It has more colour and freedom to it,” she says, “and a sense of whimsy.”

That sense of fun is missing in some GTA waterfronts, partly because of Toronto’s attitude towards these areas. Oshawa Mayor John Gray says that our waterfronts “have been seen as dirty ports for shipping.” Communities in the GTA need their eyes opened to what could exist in those spaces. “We’re relatively new to waterfront development,” says Gray, and, like the Australians, we need to understand what waterfront development can do for us – economically and socially.

Besides attitude, the Australians also have a smart approach to development. Gray says a key element to success is “ground floor animation. It helps to create enjoyment of the waterfront before it becomes concrete.” Australian developers build the amenities upfront and develop the housing stock last. John Campbell says one of the main lessons there is creating “visual retail strategies,” not allowing the market to force retail space on the ground floor. These upfront actions are important because “once you get residents, they don’t want change,” says Gray.

But the danger there is cutting the people out of the process – infrastructure should serve the members of a community and be built according to who those people are. Ted Tyndorf says “Toronto’s process is “much more consultative” than Sydney’s. Australians seem to create a plan, finance it and implement

it very quickly without much community involvement. “They just do it,” says Tyndorf, “which is not necessarily a good thing.”

Like Tyndorf, Krog doesn’t want Toronto to lose its egalitarian approach to development. Australia shows “less thought about subsidized housing,” says Krog. Her company is developing 2.5 million square feet of the Fort York waterfront with a more equitable plan. Krog says the plans include school communities and affordable housing “so it doesn’t become a waterfront for the wealthy” like it has in Australia.

Still, Gray says the Australian approach to development is worth emulating. What he finds refreshing is the underlying corporate philosophy: companies like Lend Lease, Walker Corporation and Longreach Capital ask, “what’s the vision?” Then they set goals based on that, work out the numbers and go ahead and develop the project. “In Canada,” says Gray, “we tend to set a number, then a goal, then a vision.”

We also tend to have trouble getting projects started. Talk of developing the area under the Gardiner expressway is just talk until city council decides whether the

"The man with the James Bond cell phone ring tone lets nothing stop his projects from moving forward – not brownfields or the elevated costs to build green."

Simon basheer (far right) and

David Rolls of lend lease describe the living wall

within the bond – a green Star certified building.

Photo b

y John Jung


Written by todd latham, publisher and Mira Shenker, associate editor. links to organizations mentioned as well as further commentary and documents related to this mission have been posted at www.renewcanada.net

ReNew Canada wishes to thank the gtMA and the Canadian Consul general of Australia (particularly Jeff blackstock)for organizing and hosting this mission. part 2 of this series will focus on Melbourne, home of the St. Kilda Saints, and Eureka!, the world’s tallest residential building.

Robert blazevski, VP, Urban Development & Planning –Mintourban Communities Inc. (MINTO)

John Campbell, President and CEO, Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation (TWRC)

Karen Campbell, President and CEO, Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance (GTMA)

luc Corneli, President, High Peak Leasehold Ltd.

lena Demarco, Public Relations Manager, Bell Canada

tim Dobbie, City Manager, Burlington

John gray, Mayor, City of Oshawa

Matt Jaecklein, President, Mayrose Tycon

John Jung, VP, GTMA

bronwyn Krog, VP, Wittington Properties

Michael la brier, President, Canderel Stoneridge Equity Group Inc.

todd latham, President, We Communications Inc./ReNew Canada

gloria lindsay luby, Councillor, City of Toronto

Robert Macisaac, Mission leader & Mayor, City of Burlington

Robert Mcbride, President, BA Group

Michael Moxam, Senior Principal, Stantec Architecture Inc.

bob Onyschuk, Senior Partner, Gowlings

gerry pisarzowski, VP, GTMA

Rudy Reimer, President, Reimer Construction Ltd.

Dr. bernadette Schell, Dean, University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT)

Christopher Sherriff, Scott Sr. – VP, MINTO

ted tyndorf, Chief Planner, City of Toronto

Alan vihant, VP Development, Concord Adex Developments Corp.

greg Warren, President, Warren Communications

structure is staying up or coming down, and what will become of Lakeshore Boulevard. “Until then,” says Tyndorf, “that area is in limbo.” On our first day in Sydney, we visited Circular Quay where the Cahill Expressway passes over a busy waterfront. Tyndorf says that, like the Gardiner, “Circular Quay has this imposing structure looming overhead, but because of how close it is to the water’s edge and how high up it is, it’s still less of a barrier than the Gardiner.”

Another major barrier to any project is funding. Sydney’s Canadian Consul General, Rick Kohler, says “it’s time for the private sector, not the government, to create business.” Because the GTA contains thousands of acres of public land, Krog says “there has to be a partnership where both public and private bodies are investing. But it doesn’t have to be a situation where the public has ownership in a private development.”

If Canada is open to strategies involving private funding, Australia is interested in investing. Kohler says there is $500 billion AUD in floating capital in Australia waiting to be invested, possibly for waterfronts in the GTA. The GTMA have developed relationships with Australian financing companies, land development companies, and even a bank wanting to acquire entire businesses in Canada. Australian-based finance firms already in Canada (Macquarie and Plenary Group) could give Canada’s economy a real boost and help narrow the infrastructure gap. Tyndorf cites private-sector developer Walker Corporation’s recent Kodak plant bid in Toronto as proof of Australian companies’ serious interest in Canada.

Lang Walker, president of Walker Corporation, would certainly move Canadian projects forward quickly. With more than 65 projects currently under development, and a $12 billion AUD pipeline, Walker has that Australian drive that Tyndorf admires. The Australian magnate and I talked in a small restaurant on Woollomooloo Wharf (which Walker Corp. developed from an abandoned industrial wharf into one of the most sought after condo and commercial properties in Sydney). His family has a harbour-view residence there – prime property now. In fact, their home is right above actor Russell Crowe’s.

Walker says he’s all about “transforming a vision into reality” and you can see the determination in his eyes. The man with the James Bond theme as his cell phone ring-tone lets nothing stop his projects from moving forward – not brownfields or even elevated costs for building green. In a city that already has what Walker calls “an affordability issue,” his company has managed to develop and market Green Star validated buildings. One of his newer commercial buildings, The Rhodes, will have 4.5-5.0 stars.

Green Star ratings are given out by the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), launched in 2002 to drive the transition of the Australian property industry towards sustainability. It’s roughly equivalent to the LEED rating system. In spite of incremental costs, Suzie Guthridge of the GBCA estimates that within the next year, all new building projects will have a Green Star rating. In fact, in 2005 the South Australian government announced that all new offices built or leased by the government must achieve 5 Star rating – the equivalent of LEED Gold.

On our last day in Sydney, the group took a tour of The Bond, Australia’s first Green Star building. Lend Lease built and now occupies 75 per cent of the building that has spectacularly smart – and green – workspaces. The building’s features include passive chilled beam cooling, a roof garden and living rock wall interior facade.

Projects like this one may be developed in Toronto thanks in part to the contacts made on this business mission. Gray, MacIsaac and Krog say they are setting up meetings for this summer with Australian investors for everything from brownfields to school campuses and, of course, waterfronts. John Campbell says he brought back new inspiration and acquired valuable contacts to help with TWRC’s waterfront development projects.

Australians “seem to have the ability to be a lot more nimble in terms of financial arrangements to move infrastructure projects forward,” says Tyndorf, who praises the Australian government’s “willingness to enter into innovative financing” in order to get work done. Tyndorf says that we should remember that Australia “still has the same issues as us.” According to a May 2005 Infrastructure Canada report, “Canada and Australia are confronted with common infrastructure issues, and as the experiences of both countries indicate, strategies to modernize public infrastructure need to focus not only on funding mechanisms but also on ways to encourage and facilitate research and collaboration.” From a waterfront standpoint, Australia is way ahead of us. But as John Gray said, and readers of this magazine know, “you’re always playing catch-up with infrastructure.”

Many of the delegation took a walking tour of Sydney Harbour. From left, Matt Jaecklein, bronwyn Krog, bob Onyschuk, Michael la brier, Alan vihant, tim Dobbie, luc Corneli, Robert Mcbride, Rudy Reimer, Robert blazevski, ted tyndorf, Jacqui goddard (National trust of Australia), Robert Macisaac, Christopher Sherriff, Michael Moxam, John Campbell, todd latham, Kishani Nava (Canadian Consulate), John gray.

miSSionDelegAtIonmemBerS

John Campbell and lang Walker at Woolloomoolo Wharf

Photo b

y John JungP

hoto by John Jung


theleeDlISt

Metro lABel prIntIng fACIlItytoronto, ontario • leeD Canada-nC Certified

A leading manufacturer of pressure-sensitive labels for the food industry. This project achieved enhanced environmental performance beyond aspects that could realize certification credits, such as the use of rapidly renewable materials.

green is the new BlackSomeone read the memo. it’s hip to be green.

“I have yet to meet an ex-environmentalist.”

—Jim “Eco Jim” Hartzfield, Interface Flooring.

As the need for infrastructure renewal in Canada continues to reach crisis levels,

public initiatives nationwide are starting to take responsibility for the environmental consequence of the buildings required to run the country.

The Federal Buildings Initiative (FBI), launched in 1991 and implemented in 1993, is an all-inclusive, bottom up program that provides an opportunity for government staff and management to work together to find ways of improving the energy efficiency of the federal buildings they work in. The program has resulted in energy cost-savings of $38 million in more than 80 projects across the country.

Three recommended strategies for the success of the program are: an action plan must be fully integrated into the corporate planning framework; the plan must have the full and visible support of senior management; and senior management must identify and support an “energy champion” for the department.

The FBI also includes private-sector investment: a private firm provides the funding for energy-

improvement initiatives and does the work, then the money is paid back through cost savings.

John Brennan, chief of the Federal Buildings Initiative, Buildings Division, said private firms “must demonstrate financial, technical and project management ability and provide previous examples of successful projects.” One marker of success is the required 20 per cent reduction in energy use. If the results are less than stated in the proposal, the contractor pays the difference. “But that (falling short on reduction targets) hasn’t happened,” Brennan said. “Most see much more (than the 20 per cent).”

Similar programs are appearing throughout Canada. Both British Columbia and New Brunswick have green building retrofit programs, and Nova Scotia is considering one. The City of Toronto’s Energy Efficiency Office is working, through programs such as the Better Buildings Partnership, E3@Work, The Better Transportation Partnership and Better Buildings New Construction Program, to reduce its energy consumption by 20 per cent of 1988 levels.

The most recent developments are in Alberta and Manitoba. All new publicly-funded buildings in Alberta will have to meet LEED-Silver requirements. Manitoba is requiring all publicly-funded construction and renovation to meet LEED-Silver. Nancy Grenier, manager

of marketing and communications at the Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC), said Manitoba’s policy “is the standard we’ll seek for all construction funded by taxpayers. Which is great … that’s walking the talk.”

Clearly, the building fashion catwalk has a new colour this year and it’s definitely green. This is just an overview of green building in public and private sectors nationally. For information about projects in your community, visit your local provincial website or the Government of Canada website at www.gov.gc.ca, or the CaGBC website at www.cagbc.org.

If you have a LEED-related story idea e-mail [email protected].

there is one new certification since our last issue was published (period ending July 6, 2006):


WAter, WAter everyWhere…By Dr. Hans Peterson, SDWF

Seeking effective water treatment infrastructure.

With increasing attention on the production of safe drinking water, large utilities around the world are trying to position themselves to meet the challenges. While the

perception that Canada has some of the cleanest and largest water reserves in the world is, in some ways, true, Canadians need to keep an eye to the future. The presence of disease-causing microbes, pesticides and other contaminants that were unknown 100 years ago must be addressed. But large utilities are still relying on conventional, outdated technologies because of the high cost of building new facilities.

That was apparent when, this past May, I participated in an international conference in Europe. We visited two large water treatment plants in Germany and Holland, both of which continue to use technologies that have been in effect for more than 100 years, such as slow sand filters.

To complement the slow sand filters, modifications had been carried out to use more recent developments in drinking water treatment, such as coagulation using metal salts and organic polymers; ozonation; rapid sand filtration; and UV irradiation. Newer and more effective filtration material, such as expanded clay, was rare, with the exception of activated carbon designed to adsorb organic contaminants. Activated carbon was introduced to lower the level of trace contaminants, such as pesticides, in raw water sources.

While these levels were above strict European regulations, Canada is still not concerned with pesticides – we allow up to 1,000 times higher levels in our drinking water. Canadian cities are not yet facing strict government regulations, as most European cities have to contend with. Guidelines, not regulations, for Canada’s water treatment standards are put in place by government engineers who don’t understand the new threats and the technologies to address them.

Because Canadian Guidelines are as much political as technical documents, meeting them not only fails to ensure safe drinking water, it also fails to protect utilities from legal action. Meeting stringent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations was not enough in Milwaukee in 1993. Having engineers and scientists

on staff did not prevent the distribution of water containing the protozoan parasite Cryptosporidium that resulted in 400,000 people becoming infected and around 100 deaths. The costs of this one outbreak eventually amounted to $29 billion US.

Canadian utilities are nervous about those potential costs, but not enough to avoid a 2001 outbreak in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. The treatment facility there met all the Canadian Drinking Water Quality Guidelines, yet 7,000 people were infected by Cryptosporidium. This generated millions of dollars in law suits which the Saskatchewan Government settled out of court.

These outbreaks occur because problem compounds are innocent until proven guilty. The burden of proof process is mixed in with water treatment plants’ abilities to meet guidelines and individual provinces’ desire to have more stringent guidelines. The problems with taking a political stance on drinking water quality contaminants are profound: it allows engineers to design ineffective water treatment processes, and government agencies too much wiggle room. This limits the development of tools that can make drinking water truly safe.

For instance, when Health Canada wanted to lower trihalomethane guidelines from 350 to 50 micrograms per litre, the provinces protested and today, Canada's trihalomethane guideline remains higher than most other developed countries at 100 micrograms per litre.

The provinces protested again when Health Canada wanted to lower arsenic levels to five micrograms per litre and, again, the level remains at 10 micrograms per litre. This despite a statement in 1992 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that arsenic

“Private investment could potentially take some

pressure off Indian and Northern Affairs Canada …

but taking ownership of these plants away from

the communities may not be the best solution.”

Photo courtesy of W

indsp

eaker New

spap

er


levels should be less than two micrograms per litre. A worldwide evaluation, “Human Health Effects of Chronic Arsenic Poisoning – A Review,” by Simon Kapaj M.D and co-authors also concluded that exposure to levels above five micrograms per litre may cause arsenic poisoning.

When an outbreak occurs, rather than overhauling a treatment facility, the “brushfire” approach is favoured. After both Milwaukee and North Battleford, Cryptosporidium has become the target for surface water treatment plants, to the exclusion of other problem organisms and chemicals.

In order to deal with these large organisms, and other threats, properly, new infrastructure must be built incorporating micro and ultrafiltration membranes. But major cities like Toronto have so much infrastructure in place that to move to a drastically new technology is extremely costly. Big cities in Canada have incorporated UV and ozone technologies as add-ons, but have yet to go to ultrafiltration because it would mean an entirely new facility. While funding has started to come from private-sector investors, it often seems like the technicians at these companies are focused on financial, rather than technical, solutions. Designing water treatment facilities built to last 20 years or more and deal strictly with Cryptosporidium, 14 years after Milwaukee, is foolhardy.

Public-private partnerships (P3s) are also developing in Canada’s rural communities. Private investment could potentially take some pressure off of, for instance, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), who are putting huge capital into the reservations. But taking ownership of these plants away from the communities, where producing their own clean water is a source of pride, may not be the best solution. A P3 model like the one currently being initiated at Saddle Lake might work, as the community retains ownership of the facility.

Even if ultrafiltration is implemented, the technology is limited in its ability to remove viruses from drinking water. Even Winnipeg and Edmonton’s plans for new ultrafiltration plants will need to include add-ons, such as UV and lots of chemistry, to deal with all contaminants.

Canada’s big cities, especially Vancouver and Calgary, are currently treating some excellent water. But there is also some challenging water in the small communities. When given the chance to build new facilities at any of these locations, Canadian engineers should ask themselves, “how do we make safe drinking water?” Not, “how do we meet government regulations?” Now is the time to think through already well-documented challenges in drinking water treatment and position any new major infrastructure investment so that it is “fireproof” for at least 10, but preferably 20, years. Anything less could be costly for everybody.

Dr. Hans peterson is the executive director and principal research scientist of the Safe Drinking Water Foundation, based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

“large utilities

are still relying

on conventional

technologies that

are not, and will

not be, effective.”

Stephen Lewis was animated and engaging during his lecture at the University of Toronto’s Natural City Conference on May 31.


ReEvents

DUTCH TRANSPORTATION – TORONTO, ON, MAY 2006

The one-day session was called “Going down the road: Dutch and Canadian Perspectives on Moving Goods and People” and was presented by The Consulate General of The Netherlands with support from Transport Canada’s Urban Transportation Showcase Program and the Toronto Board of Trade’s Infrastructure Committee. The full program featured Cristobal Miller, a senior economist with Transport Canada, who presented findings from the study titled “The Cost of Urban Congestion in Canada.” Lucy Butts, the Transport Canada regional director responsible for the federal role in the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority, introduced the session.

THE NATURAL CITY 2006 – UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO, ON, MAY 2006

A conference with Glenn Murray, Stephen Lewis and Storm Cunningham all on the same agenda means a conference with substance. The collegiate environment and broad variety of subject matter offered something for everyone. Ingrid Stefanovic, director for environment and chair of the conference, and her team (Donna Workman especially must be recognized for her tireless efforts!) organized an event based on success stories and the need to see cities as systems integrated into our environment. Pickering, Ontario

Bas Groothedde of the Dutch Institute for Applied Science discussed new strategies to cope with challenges of severe traffic congestion.

Lawrence Cannon, federal minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities addressed more than 1,600 delegates that attended FCM's annual conference in Montreal from June 2 to 5, 2006.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper addressed delegates with remarks that included seven references to infrastructure. At left is FCM President Gloria Kovach.

FCM CONFERENCE AND EXPO – MONTREAL, QC, JUNE 2006

The 69th Federation of Canadian Municipalities annual conference and municipal expo is a must-attend event for anyone reading this magazine. ReNew Canada was there, along with officials from over 1375 municipal governments across Canada, including members of the Big City Mayors’ Caucus (BCMC). The presentations and remarks from Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Minister of Transport Lawrence Cannon focused on a united Canada. “No single level of government alone can solve all the problems of our cities and communities,” said Minister Cannon. Prime Minister Harper acknowledged the BCMC’s call for a national public transit program, and pointed to the up to $1.3 billion federal investment in urban public transit, and an estimated $1.1 billion over five years on the new tax credit for those who use the bus, subway and LRT. “This will mean fewer cars on our roads, reduced exhaust emissions and cleaner air,” said Harper. “Canada’s cities are already considered among the cleanest and healthiest in the world. We are determined that they will not only stay that way, but that they’ll get even better.” Details at www.fcm.ca.

Imran H

asan, University of Toronto

was cited in one presentation by Joseph Bogdan and Associates as a town that has embraced sustainable neighbourhood design. Other notable sessions included Green Building (the Canadian War Museum and Jean Canfield Building were reviewed), Private and Public Partnerships (“is private sector money really that bad?”), Sustainable Campuses, Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Change and Architecture in the Natural City. The highlight was Stephen Lewis, UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa who gave a rousing, poignant lecture on globalization, poverty, the AIDS crisis, urbanization and the exploding population of major cities around the world. Details at www.naturalcity.ca

Photo b

y Cornelia T. N

eal. Office of Transp

ortation, Royal N

etherlands E

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assy

Photo courtesy of Joanne M

acDonald

, FCM

Photo courtesy of Joanne M

acDonald

, FCM


City of Welland Councillor David Alexander (centre) is presented with the second annual Gallon Environment Letter EcoCouncillor Award by the Hon. Diane Finley, Minister for Human Resources and Social Development and Colin Isaacs, editor of the Gallon Environment Letter at a special reception during the World Urban Forum in Vancouver.

ONEIA CANSFIELD RECEPTION – TORONTO, ON, JULY 2006

ReNew Canada was at the cocktail reception for Minister of Transportation Donna Cansfield, to mingle with business contacts and meet the Minister. The varied crowd included representatives from environmental firms and government agencies, including the TTC, plus

technology and service firms who work across the environment and transportation fields. Minister Cansfield spoke briefly then answered questions on road construction, transit and how the Ministry can foster environmentally sustainable practices. Details at www.oneia.ca/news.

Minister of Transport, The Hon. Donna Cansfield.

WORLD URBAN FORUM (WUF3) – VANCOUVER, BC, JUNE 2006

What makes a good city? WUF Commissioner General Charles Kelly said “one mark is the degree to which its citizens engage in decision making on matters affecting their well being.” David Alexander, a delegate to this United Nations conference, was rewarded for making his city of Welland, Ontario (pop. 47,000) a good city. He received the EcoCouncillor Award for community engagement. Alexander was first elected to the council in 2003 on a green community platform. In his three years on council he has focused on a conservation-based program to convert 12,000 homes to metered water from a flat rate system, a successful anti-idling motion for city vehicles, a citizen engagement concept for development of the municipal budget, and a municipal policy whereby every current and future development in his city will be required to have LEED certification. Details at www.gallonletter.ca and www.wuf3-fum3.ca.

ARCHETYPE SUSTAINABLE HOUSE – VAUGHAN, ON, JUNE 2006

Winners of the Archetype Sustainable House Competition were announced at a special summer solstice gala hosted by the Design Exchange (DX) in Toronto. The chosen design, called “Building Blocks,” will be built later this year as a full-scale demonstration model for sustainable development at the Kortright Centre for Conservation in Vaughan. Supported by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), the recipient of the award was a Toronto design team comprised of architects Anne Stevens (Fort Architect Inc), Clelia Iori (Iori Architects) and Christina Cardys, Interior Designer Terrell Wong (Stone’s Throw Design), Mechanical Engineer Al Davies (Ecologix), Industrial Design student Sunmee Kim, and real estate advisors McKellar Associates Inc. “Green housing is now a reality,” said Brian Denney, CAO, TRCA. Details at www.thelivingcity.org.

Photo courtesy of C

olin Isaacs.


Located in the Straits of Georgia of British Columbia (BC) between Vancouver Island and the BC mainland, Salt Spring is the largest of the thirteen main Gulf Islands. At

about 45,798 acres, it has a population hovering around 10,000. Its long, dry summers and mild winters—many call it the Hawaii or Caribbean of Canada—along with its natural beauty draws visitors and settlers in large numbers. The high volume of part- and full-time residents in and around Salt Spring has led to conflicting views on the appropriate rate of growth on the island.

Small towns across BC are struggling to balance the need to preserve and protect the natural environment and to provide enough economic growth to sustain healthy resident communities with a high quality of life.

The thirteen main Gulf Islands and the 450 smaller islands that surround them form what is called the Islands Trust Area. The Islands Trust was created by the province more than 30 years ago to “preserve and protect the trust area and its unique amenities and environment for the benefit of the residents of the trust area and of the province” (www.islandstrust.bc.ca). This unique governance body only has jurisdiction over land-use; it coordinates with regional agencies like the Capital Regional District (CRD), other municipalities and the Government of British Columbia. This has created a somewhat fragmented form of governance. Salt Spring, for example, has limited control over road improvements, like bike paths or installing pedestrian crossing signals to improve safety.

Every three years, residents of the 13 main islands elect a total of 26 Island Trustees to form the Islands Trust Council. But these islands, with the exception of Bowen Island, are not municipalities. Some argue that municipalization would provide greater control over all public resources, like roads and water. Others say it would dilute the Trust’s “preserve and protect” mandate, allowing a slow erosion of the rural lifestyle.

In many ways, Salt Spring has become the bell weather for these islands. With the most facilities, people and tourists, issues are more readily amplified. This summer the newest Trustees on Salt Spring, George Ehring and Peter Lamb, who both ran on slow growth principles, have begun an initiative to update the Official Community Plan (OCP). Each island has an OCP that provides guidelines—in line with the Islands Trust Council—that mandate how the island is to be managed, including all by-laws. Salt Spring Island’s OCP has not been reviewed for almost 10 years. Growing pressures on the island by surrounding communities, and locally by individuals, small developments and resorts, have pushed Trustees to reevaluate some decade-old values and principles.

Over the next 18 months, the Trustees will help Salt Spring residents delve into issues of concern such as water, tourism, affordable housing, enforcement and managing development.

Public meetings will be held and advisory committees formed to help refine or change the language in the OCP. Will that be enough? Salt Spring sits in the midst of three of the most desirable, and therefore fastest-growing, cities in North America: Seattle, Vancouver and Victoria. Wealthy aging boomers are seeking real estate in clean and healthy settings and, as the Olympics approach, tourism will increase.

Many residents and the Trustees say that the OCP is currently the best tool available to retain a specific quality of life. The rural and artistic character found on the islands is what makes them desirable destinations. But those charms will be erased if the islands are overdeveloped.

Another available tool is the Salt Spring Institute for Sustainability Education & Action (I-SEA, www.i-sea.org), created to help find a balance between development and preservation in small communities with a focus on “sustainability.” Residents often say they want to attain sustainability, but questions remain as to what that means and how to achieve it. I-SEA is trying to be both a catalyst and point of contact for sustainability activities and programs across all the 200+ non-profits, societies, groups and associations on Salt Spring Island.

It comes down to the next 18 months. How Salt Spring residents react to the data brought forth on key social, economic and environmental indicators will directly influence the OCP and its associated by-laws and enforcement policies. Perhaps a vision of sustainability will finally be clearly articulated, planned for, managed, and continually improved upon over the next century.

By Margery Moore

“Each island has an OCP that provides

guidelines—in line with the Islands Trust

Council—that mandate how the island is

to be managed, including all by-laws.”

finding BAlAnCe in the ISlAnDSSalt Spring island: A Case Study

Margery Moore is president of the institute for Sustainability Education & Action (i-SEA) on Salt Spring island. She is the third generation to settle on Salt Spring and recently moved back to the island to start the institute and give back some of what the island has given her. Contact [email protected]


Closing Shot

When Premier Bill Davis cancelled the Spadina Expressway in 1971, he said: "If we are

building a transportation system to serve the automobile, the Spadina Expressway would be a good place to start. But if we are building a transportation system to serve people, the Spadina Expressway is a good place to stop."

That’s precisely the trick with infrastructure – deciding where to start and where to stop. Infrastructure Canada (INFC) says that public infrastructure “is anything that benefits society as a whole.” It exists to serve a community, whether that’s a city or a country.

But it’s not always clear whether a structure is being built to benefit a people or despite them. In the case of the railway being built from Beijing to Lhasa, there has been some debate as to whether it benefits Tibetan society. Part of our responsibility when developing infrastructure is to ensure that it improves a society’s ability

to function; to avoid laying tracks where they might be disruptive. The pipes that enter our homes, transporting water, sewage and gas, perform a necessary function – providing clean water and sanitation, and aiding our local health – but if those same pipes allow development on an environmentally sensitive area, or groundwater recharge area, they can result in an environment that is worse off.

So while roadways keep a city functioning – like the pipelines of a house – the protest against the Spadina expressway in Toronto was because it would have been more disruptive than beneficial.

This is a topic that we at ReNew Canada believe is important and should be understood and discussed. Our upcoming issue will include the first annual overview of Canadian infrastructure. We’ll look at how much we have, where it is and what it cost. Plus, we’ll try to define what exactly it is.

—Staff

pIpelIneS

Photo b

y Richard

Lautens

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