Infrastructure Ontario is responsible for delivering public infrastructure improvements for the province.
For some of the Province’s biggest projects, Infrastructure Ontario uses private financing to strategically rebuild vital infrastructure while maintaining public control. Infrastructure Ontario also provides Ontario municipalities and universities with access to affordable loans to build and renew local public infrastructure under the OSIFA brand.
“The OHA has long supported the use of innovative financing models to fund the construction and modernization of Ontario’s hospitals,” said Tom Closson, President and CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA). “They allow hospitals to harness private sector capital and expertise and move forward quickly with projects that will benefit patients and their communities and remain in public hands.”
Tom Closson, President and CEO
Ontario Hospital Association
For projects in the range of $50 million to $300 million, or more, the crown corporation is mandated to set project criteria, bring together public and private sector organizations, conduct a procurement process to select a private-sector consortia and ensure the public interest is upheld throughout the life of the project.
Infrastructure Ontario’s aim is to take better control over limited resources through accountability, transparency and investing wisely to bring projects online on time and on budget. Our mandate is about utilizing private-sector expertise, not about privatization, to ensure the expansion and revitalization of public assets.
Our made-in-Ontario model brings together private-sector expertise, ingenuity and rigour to the process of managing and renewing Ontario’s public infrastructure while shifting the risk associated with cost and schedule overruns away from taxpayers and onto the private sector where it can be better managed.
The old ways of financing and managing infrastructure projects were inefficient. A lot of things were done well, like setting priorities and allocating resources, but too often projects ended up over budget and over schedule. And taxpayers paid for these inefficiencies.
There is true commitment to adhering to expected and planned life-cycle costs throughout all phases, from design and construction to maintenance. For example, payments to the private sector contractor will be linked to a level of service based on specified performance standards.
The contractor has incentives to perform up to an agreed standard - substandard performance will bring monetary deductions. Many contracts have provisions, which allow the termination of a subcontractor for a particular service. If there are overall serious shortfalls, the whole contract can be terminated and put out to tender.
Investing in infrastructure is also creating jobs for Ontarians.
For example, the Durham Courthouse project in Oshawa is expected to employ about 350 staff and create an additional 550 jobs. It is seen as a major community revitalization project for that city.
Dozens and dozens of projects have been announced since ReNew Ontario 2005-2010 was unveiled in May, 2005. This $30 billion infrastructure investment is intended to improve the quality of life and economic growth across Ontario.
