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Professional Services: Finance, Bonding, Insurance, Construction Law, Business Practices

July 2, 2009

Financing a go for Bank of America tower in New York

Developers of one of the city’s tallest new skyscrapers says they have lined up a nearly US$1.3 billion loan, sealing what experts called one of the biggest real estate financing deals since the economic crisis began last fall.

June 11, 2009

Ontario hospital unions warn of rising P3 financing costs

The cost penalty paid by governments for financing hospitals and other public infrastructure projects through public private partnerships (P3s) has jumped substantially since the onset of the financial crisis, warns a report released by the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU/CUPE).

May 11, 2009

Hillier brings spark to Ontario PC leadership race

In Randy Hillier’s Ontario, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board would have private-sector competition, union card-based certification would end and all apprenticeship ratios would be one-to-one.

May 6, 2009

Alberta plans savings bonds to fund infrastructure projects

Details on a savings bond program for Albertans to fund infrastructure projects will be coming in the next few weeks, Premier Ed Stelmach says.

April 23, 2009

Ecojustice sues Ottawa over plans to amend environmental assessment regulations

Environmentalists are suing the federal government over what they say are regulations that sidestep the Environmental Assessment Act.

April 22, 2009

Halifax sewage plant faces year of downtime after spill

Mayor Peter Kelly is confident the city’s damaged sewage treatment plant will be back online better than ever next year.

April 21, 2009

Port Authority of New York proposes postponing construction of two towers

The owners of Ground Zero, locked in a new round of heated talks with a private developer about how and when to build office towers at the World Trade Center site, have proposed indefinitely putting off two of three planned skyscrapers until the real estate market recovers, officials familiar with the negotiations said.

April 16, 2009

EDC strikes deal with Canadian sureties to add construction bond market capacity

Export Development Canada’s (EDC) announcement last week that it will facilitate up to $1 billion in domestic surety credit in 2009 through an agreement with Canada’s surety industry adds “extra capacity” to the construction bonding market, industry sources say.

April 13, 2009

Canada loses 61,000 jobs in March 2009, many in construction

Employment in Canada declined by 61,000 jobs in March 2009, all in full-time work. This decrease pushed the unemployment rate up 0.3 percentage points to 8.0%, its highest rate in seven years. Employment declines were concentrated not only in the construction sector, but also in manufacturing and natural resources.

April 7, 2009

Ex-NFLer Michael Vick plans to work construction

A lawyer for suspended NFL star Michael Vick told a bankruptcy court last Thursday the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback has lined up a US$10-an-hour construction job for when he gets out of prison.

January 19, 2007

Simple steps to maximizing your surety credit

Surety is a form of credit, much like banking. Having spent the past 20 years in both the surety and banking industries, I have developed an appreciation of the characteristics demonstrated by the most successful contractors. Many of these traits happen to be the key areas surety underwriters focus on, and if put into practice, should result in greater credit being made available.

January 19, 2007

Accountability Act casts wide net around work

Depending on how meetings are arranged and their purpose, under changes to Canada’s Federal Accountability Act engineers, construction company employees and members of other professional organizations may find they’re now considered lobbyists — with heavy penalties for failing to identify themselves and their interactions with government.

January 19, 2007

Non-compliance a sticking point in legal battles

In 1981, the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Ontario v. Ron Engineering changed the legal landscape of invitations to tender.

January 19, 2007

Digital documents raise legitimacy, storage concerns

In some construction industry contracts, a letter is not deemed to be an official communication if it is sent via email.

January 19, 2007

Study raises questions about actual costs

Public-private partnerships in British Columbia have sparked $4.7 billion in construction projects since 2002, but critics say taxpayers may end up paying more than they bargained for in the long run.

January 19, 2007

Keep those old liability policies

Ever dispose of something one day only to find out the very next day that you could have used it? The construction project has been over for a few years or your annual general liability policy has been renewed several times so there is no need to keep the old policy, right? Wrong!

January 19, 2007

University research takes aim at efficiency

In the overheated Calgary construction market, the last thing one would expect from competing companies is collaboration. In a bid to improve industry efficiency, several construction powerhouses are collaborating for a unique research project.

January 19, 2007

Interior environment requires careful consideration

As the link between adverse health effects and mould exposure grows, liability for insurance and other industry groups – including those in the building sector – are likely to increase.