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“Top” is Relative

After ReNew Canada’s annual Top 100 report came out in January 2012, our research team asked a few industry insiders for some feedback. Our Top 100 is ranked purely by project cost (they stay on the list until completion). We asked our insiders whether they think the top 10 for 2012 represent the best or [...]

Feed-In Tariff Forum – Day 1

The third annual Feed-In Tariff (FIT) Forum began April 3rd and featured speakers from government, industry associations, financial institutions, and developers. All technologies featured in the FIT program were represented at the Forum, which focused largely on the recent review and recommendations of the FIT program in Ontario. I attended the event, on behalf of [...]

Toronto Council Votes for LRT on Sheppard

On March 22, Toronto’s city council voted 24-19 to build light rail transit (LRT) on Sheppard Avenue East. The two options council was presented with were: use the available $1 billion to build two new subway stops at the existing Sheppard subway line, or build a 13 kilometre LRT from the end of the existing [...]

Expert Panel Recommends Toronto Adopt LRT Over Subway

A panel created by Toronto’s city council recommends that the city develop light rail transit along the Sheppard corridor. The panel was created on February 8th and was charged with developing a report that identifies the most appropriate method of transit development along Sheppard Avenue. The panel considered three options including: light rail transit, a [...]

The Drummond Report: Electricity

Electricity infrastructure and generation is possibly the most singularly complex system in the province. It is also an incredibly expensive system to, not only maintain, but, expand and upgrade. The recommendations proposed by the Drummond report provide the province with the opportunity to increase efficiency and reduce the administrative burden on the province. Among the [...]

The Drummond Report: Water and Wastewater Infrastructure

According to the newly released Drummond report, the government of Ontario should immediately take a number of steps to ensure that infrastructure services are efficiently delivered to the public. Water and wastewater infrastructure assets were explicitly referenced in his report along with several recommendations. A full cost recovery model for water usage, similar to how [...]

The Drummond Report: Recommendations for Transit and Transportation

As much as the Drummond report explicitly outlines the transportation and transit challenges facing the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, it offers few actionable recommendations for improving the financial situation of these sectors. Yet, there are a number of useful comments, many of which infrastructure watchers are already well aware of. Importantly, Drummond highlights the [...]

Social Infrastructure

Calculating the economic value of a museum or sports venue is harder than a bridge or power plant. Does that make these projects any less important? At $195 million, the Vancouver City Centre Transmission Project wasn’t big enough to make this year’s Top 100. The project, which includes a new Vancouver substation and new underground [...]

Canada’s Top 100 for 2012

This year’s list has the biggest-ever total: $114.2 billion in infrastructure projects. This isn’t all new investment—it includes 71 projects that were on last year’s Top 100. A project remains on this list until it is completed, which means some will continue to rank for a few years, maybe even a decade. Even so, the [...]

Radiation Alarm Triggers Evacuation at Point Lepreau Nuclear Plant

A spill of deuterium laced heavy water triggered radiation detection equipment at the Point Lepreau Nuclear facility in New Brunswick. The alarm prompted an evacuation of the reactor building where the spill occurred. The facility is in the last stages of a $1.4 billion refurbishment, which has so far gone $1 billion over budget, and [...]