Fall 2005 - Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association

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In July 2004, the government released a document called “Building a Better Tomorrow - Infrastructure Planning, Financing and Procurement Framework for Ontario’s Public Sector”. This document was billed as the government’s 10-year framework on renewing Ontario’s infrastructure. The document said the reasons for this framework was to ensure “…that Ontario has the financial 14 • The Undergrounder /Fall 2005 capacity to deliver the infrastructure the province needs.” This document clearly hinted at the government’s intent to explore public-private partnerships. Under the principle of “Value for Money must be demonstrable”, the document says, “Where private financing is involved in the delivery of public infrastructure initiatives, there must be safeguards against financial returns that are not pro- www.anchorconcrete.com sales@anchorconcrete.com portional to the associated risk.” Under the principle of “Appropriate Public control/owner must be preserved” the government states that “…water, sewer, hospital and publicly-funded school assets will remain publicly owned and controlled”, leaving the reader to assume that all other infrastructure is open to private investment. Stakeholders in the sewer and watermain industry are well aware that the infrastructure spending lags well behind the requirements. A study done by TD Bank Financial Group in May 2004 estimated Canada’s infrastructure gap to be between $50 billion and $125 billion, which is 6-10 times the level of all current annual government infrastructure budgets combined. TD Bank’s Chief Economist, Donald Drummond, said the municipal infrastructure gap as a percentage of national GDP grew from 2.7% in 1984 to 5.0% in 2002. The Urban Development Institute said that industry is urging the government to act quickly and launch the corporation in order to unlock the required capital and begin construction of critical infrastructure. Wilson Lee, a spokesperson for Minister Caplan said the government is presently reviewing the staffing options and the other requirements to set up the agency. He said the government hopes to have the agency up and running in the next few months. “We are taking a bold step towards renewing our infrastructure,” Caplan said at a Toronto Board of Trade luncheon. “By supporting provincial government ministries, local municipalities and agencies in the broader public sector in their dealings with the private sector, while also directly overseeing new, large alternatively financed infrastructure projects, we are taking action now to secure our infrastructure for future generations.” ■
ORCGA Founded just two years ago, the Ontario Regional Common Ground Alliance has seen a rapid increase in its membership – particularly over the last few months. Jim Douglas, Executive Director of the ORCGA says, “In the past six months the ORCGA has grown in membership to 104, more than triple from this time last year. We have also added six new sponsors.” Douglas said that the key factor for this exceptional membership – A Success Story at Only Two Years Old By Cheryl Rego growth is that the ORCGA represents all the industry stakeholders. “When people are looking at value, they want to ensure not only their specific needs are met but that any blocks in dealing with other sectors of the industry are cleared,” he said. “ORCGA members can bring forward an exhaustive list of pros and cons of any particular issue since all sectors of the industry are represented. The group develops Best Practices and agreement is on consensus only. This means that everyone at the “In the past six months the ORCGA has grown in membership to 104, more than triple from this time last year. We have also added six new sponsors.” table has to agree on any change for any Best Practice before it moves forward. This is a key factor that encourages membership.” There are three levels of sponsorship at ORCGA – Bronze, Silver and Gold. Each level has its own value proposition which can be found on the organization’s website at www.orcga.com. The annual membership fee for Bronze sponsors is $5,000, Silver sponsors pay $10,000 and gold sponsors pay $20,000. Ontario 1 Call, Toronto Hydro Electric System and Super Sucker Vacuum Excavation are all new Bronze sponsors. Hydro One, Avertex and Badger Daylighting Inc. are new Gold level sponsors. Although the benefits of membership in the ORCGA are self-evident, the organization has also been engaging in various events from awareness sessions to trade show participation in order to boost membership. ORCGA hosted ten awareness sessions in cities and regions around the province including Niagara, Hamilton, Waterloo, London, Windsor, Sarnia, Toronto, North Bay, Ottawa, and Cornwall. Douglas said that at the awareness The Undergrounder / Fall 2005 • 15
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Page 4 and 5: Environmentally Conscious... Like y
Page 7 and 8: Message from Kathleen Grimes, Presi
Page 9 and 10: From Lloyd Ferguson’s bulldog app
Page 11 and 12: ANNOUNCEMENTS: WATERWORKS CORPORATI
Page 13: Minister Caplan making the OIPC ann
Page 17 and 18: “Struck-By” Accidents Superinte
Page 19 and 20: One Call Legislation Using legislat
Page 21 and 22: Personals. Tall, grey, and handsome
Page 23 and 24: aging the work. The course itself p
Page 25 and 26: municipal and environmental organiz
Page 27 and 28: MEMBER PROFILE: Kovacs Sand & Grave
Page 29 and 30: Easy to install, corrosion resistan
Page 31 and 32: CSA G401 BNQ 3311-100 ASTM A929 Gal

Fall 2005 - Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association

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