Fall 2005 - Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association

Minister Caplan
making the OIPC
announcement
at the Toronto
Board of Trade.
The Ontario
Infrastructure
Projects
Corporation
By Cheryl Rego
The Ontario government
has announced it will
create a new provincial
agency to manage
major public infrastructure
projects. Public Infrastructure
Renewal Minister David Caplan
announced the formation of the
Ontario Infrastructure Projects Corporation
(OIPC) on May 9, 2005.
The government said OIPC will
be an independent agency reporting
to the Minister of Public Infrastructure
Renewal. It will have a
focus on Alternative Financing and
Procurement Projects (AFP), and will
also have a mandate to provide
expertise and best business practices
for all areas of infrastructure planning.
“To truly tackle Ontario’s infrastructure
deficit, we need more
capital on the table. Our government
will be pursuing AFP projects
vigorously,” Caplan said, adding that
the OIPC will play a key role in making
that happen.
The Urban Development Institute
of Ontario says OIPC is the
government’s investment tool to
address the public infrastructure
deficit. “Lack of government facilitation
and investment has stymied
the construction of critical infrastructure
for too long and if the
Provincial government does not
take decisive action today, Ontario
runs the risk of squandering the
opportunity to enhance the Province’s
economic competitiveness,”
said Neil Rodgers, the Institute’s
president, in a press release. The
Urban Development Institute of
Ontario supports the Province
leveraging private sector monies to
help deliver infrastructure projects
in an accelerated fashion within a
fair, transparent and efficient
process.
The government’s decision to
use alternate sources of funding for
public infrastructure is no surprise.
The Undergrounder / Fall 2005 • 13