June 1, 2020 - Newsletter

CBN Newsletter: June 2020

By: CBN

Welcome

Hello Fellow CBNers,

By now many of us have become accustomed to a new reality and we are participating and connecting in an ever more so virtual world. Our local community has become more important and the places where we live more so than ever affect our well being. The restrictions imposed on us have been in the spirit of protecting our loved ones, given the severe implications that the COVID-19 sickness can have. We hope you are all doing well. At CBN we adjusted by having our annual meeting virtually and we have postponed our annual conference. We need your input on what you would like us to provide in this different time as an association. Do not hesitate to reach out to our board members to share your ideas and suggestions? We are your CBN virtual community.

This newsletter highlights some of the great achievements by our community, the 2019 Brownie Award winners, leading to build great communities, whilst making our cities more liveable. The 2020 Brownies are still on schedule and we are looking forward to this year's nominations. This goes hand in hand with the research highlighted by Chris's note as the President of CBN. Brownfield projects have become a driver in economic revitalization in Canada, which was one of the founding goals of CBN in the early 2000's.

This newsletter also announces our newly minted Development Committee. This committee includes the former Finance and Insurance Committee members, in addition to new members. This is to position the role of CBN in the development market and stems from a membership desire that was formulated during our past 3 conferences. Welcome to the new board of CBN and details are within the newsletter.

Keep well and safe.

Warm regards,

Berend Jan Velderman, Communications and Membership Committee Chair

 

Membership Renewal Reminder

CBN's 2020-21 membership renewals went out in March. If you have already renewed your membership, you have our thanks - we know this is an unprecedented time. If you have yet to renew, you can do so online or by contacting the CBN office. Thank you for keeping CBN strong and for supporting the network! 

 

Join CBN - Be Part of the Future!

Do you share CBN's enthusiasm to promote brownfield property reuse as the preferred solution for developers, but aren't yet a CBN member? Join us today! Our large and committed membership offers more opportunities for networking, increasing your chances to learn about best practices, gain business, hear about new projects and be exposed to the latest processes and techniques in remediation.

For information on how you can benefit from CBN membership, or to join CBN, please see our Membership Info page or contact the office by e-mail at davidp@canadianbrownfieldsnetwork.ca. More details are also available in this newsletter - click on Join CBN. Thank you for being part of the future!

 

Contents in this issue:

• Welcome
• CBN Conference 2021 - Plan Ahead!
• CBN Updates
• 2020 Brownie Awards Nominations Open
• Committee Updates
• 2019 Brownie Winners
• Membership Renewal Reminder
• Join CBN
• CBN LinkedIn
• CBN Twitter
• CBN Facebook
• Interested in Volunteering for CBN?
• Send Us Your Comments
• Corporate Members

 

CBN 2021 Conference - Save the Date!

As you may know, we have postponed our 2020 Conference due to COVID-19 out of concern for the safety of our attendees and presenters. The new date is June 16, 2021.

There's been a lot of talk about the three-legged stool of brownfield contamination, but little about the three-legged stool that underpins a successful brownfield project: planning, development and finance. In 2021, we'll explore that concept through case studies, a panel discussion and presentations. We'll also feature information you can use about the latest technologies and tools you can adopt for your brownfield toolkit, including a session on brownfield information management. Of course, we'll also have old favourites, such as the Cross-Country Check-up and Legal Update. Plan to attend and be engaged, informed and inspired.

 

CBN Updates

President's Message

Advancing Brownfields and the Next Generation of Brownfielders

CBN's core mission is to make reusing brownfields the preferred choice for developers. In order to do this, we typically focus on educating developers, along with the politicians and policy-makers who regulate development, about the approaches to and value of a 'brownfields-first' perspective. While CBN June Newsletter Page 3 of 13 CBN's relationship with Ryerson's School of Urban and Regional Planning (SURP) has helped support our efforts to educate and inform stakeholders, it also gives us a way to foster the next generation of brownfielders.

This past school year, CBN and SURP have been busy conducting two 'client-based' studios, as well as the supervision of CBN's first undergraduate placement student. Every year at SURP, all senior undergraduate and graduate students work in groups of 6 to 12 on studio projects with public, private, and nonprofit clients. Last fall, a group of seven graduate students worked with CBN members (CBN client reps Meggen Janes, Waterfront Toronto, and Melissa Walker, Kilmer Group, as well as mentor Jim Tischler, Michigan Land Bank) to examine the viability of a parcelbased Tax Increment Financing (TIF) approach, like the one used in Michigan, to support brownfield redevelopment in Ontario. To gather information for their report and summary TIF Toolkit, the student team conducted over 20 interviews with provincial staff and practitioners in Ontario and other parts of Canada, and also analyzed the academic literature, policy and regulatory frameworks, and case studies of TIF. While their interviews revealed a low level of understanding of market-based TIF and uncertainty regarding its usefulness among developers and municipalities, their research on other jurisdictions and a Pro Forma analysis of a prospective redevelopment scenario suggests that TIF could be a valuable tool for Ontario. To move things forward, the group recommends that CBN take a phased-approach that starts by increasing education and awareness of how TIF works, then moves to support the development of a pilot project in an Ontario municipality, and concludes by working with the province to develop regulations to support the Tax Increment Financing Act passed by Ontario back in 2006.

In the winter 2020 semester, a group of twelve undergraduate students worked with CBN members (Client reps Grant Walsom, XCG Consulting, and John Georgakopoulos, Willms & Shier Environmental Lawyers) to study brownfield projects that have had a catalytic impact beyond their site boundaries in order to better understand how they were identified, overcame barriers to reuse, and influenced the local market. The students produced posters for six Catalytic Case Studies to be presented at CBN's 2020 conference (unfortunately deferred to 2021), including the Orillia Recreation Facility (Orillia, Ontario), Pleasant Hill Village (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan), North Bay Rail Lands (North Bay, Ontario), East Village (Calgary, Alberta), Cascade Hotel and Casino (Langley, British Columbia), and the Avenir Centre (Moncton, New Brunswick). Their final report examines these case studies in greater detail and also includes a GIS database and interactive online map with over 30 catalytic projects across Canada. Common factors that contributed to these projects being catalytic are discussed (i.e., downtown location, proximity to water, public partnership, etc.), along with recommendations for both municipalities and CBN on how to support catalytic brownfield projects in the future. Speaking of future projects, CBN members might also want to check out the Masters Research Paper written by Zack Bradley examining opportunities for the GM lands in Oshawa, which was featured in Novae Res Urbis on April 29, 2020 (Vol 23. No 18, GTA edition).

CBN was also pleased to host its first placement student, Charles Steele, in winter 2020 thanks to CBN member Meggen Janes of Waterfront Toronto. During his four-month placement, Charlie exhibited skill and expertise in managing an array of complex research and communication tasks for various members of CBN's Board of Directors. Some of the key tasks included: assisting with the establishment of a new Development Committee; evaluating industry standard communication tools; providing recommendations on CBN tools and conducting research on performance dashboards; updating presentation materials for the Government Relations Committee; preparing technical profiles of award-winning brownfield projects; and updating CBN's Stakeholders directory.

While there are no client-based studios set for 2020-21, CBN will be working with SURP to host placement students in both fall and winter semesters and to help with a new elective course on Brownfields & Sustainable Redevelopment being offered in winter 2021 to both undergraduate and graduate students. Please contact me if you would like to learn more, get involved, guest lecture, propose an opportunity, host an urban planning placement student, or hire a graduate.

Chris De Sousa - President, CBN

 

CBN Development Committee

On April 20, 2020, CBN held its first Development Committee (DC) meeting; a new committee proposed in our Five-Year Strategy (2020-2025). The DC shall be responsible for raising the profile of developing brownfields as a first market choice for the real estate industry by advancing strategies and policies for overcoming barriers and unlocking opportunities associated with brownfield redevelopment in Canada. The former Finance and Insurance Committee has been folded into the new DC whose inaugural members include:

• Joanna Vince (Chair), Willms & Shier Environmental Lawyers
• James Cullen (Co-Chair), Golder • Taryn Glancy, Zibi Development
• Melissa Walker, Kilmer Group
• George Boire, Marsh
• Carl Spensieri, Berkley Canada
• Chris De Sousa, Ryerson University
• James Tischler, Michigan Land Bank

At the first meeting, members discussed the mission, responsibilities, duties, and procedures, along with other potential members to enhance both geographic and industry representation. We look forward to keeping the membership informed of our efforts and encourage members to contact us with questions and ideas.

 

CBN Annual General Meeting

CBN Is Pleased To Announce Our 2020-21 Board of Directors

At the CBN Annual General Meeting, held Wednesday, June 10, the following members were elected to the 2020-21 Board of Directors:

• Chris De Sousa, President
• John Georgakopoulos, Vice-President
• Meggen Janes, Vice President
• Krista Barfoot
• Evelyn Bostwick
• Rob Hoffman
• Carol LeNoury
• Andrew Macklin
• Monisha Nandi
• Carl Spensieri
• Peter Sutton
• Reanne Ridsdale
• Berend Jan Velderman
• Grant Walsom

In addition, Richard Giles (Treasurer), Eric Pringle and Angus Ross continue to serve as advisors to the Board.

On behalf of the membership, we would like to express our sincere thanks to George Boire, Dave Harper, and Kevin Miyauchi for their many contributions to CBN and the brownfield community. We greatly appreciate their ongoing support during their combined 25+ years on the CBN Board. They have helped make CBN a successful and thriving network of brownfield practitioners. We look forward to their continued contributions as Advisors and CBN members.

 

2020 Brownie Nominations Open

CBN and Actual Media are pleased to announce that nominations for the 2020 Brownie Awards are now open. This year, we are following a two-stage nomination process - preliminary submissions are due September 18, following which the judges will meet to identify short-listed nominations; this group will be invited to make a more detailed submission, due October 14. There is no charge for nominations. For more information on the process, check out our FAQ.

If you know a great project, program or person who has made an outstanding contribution to advancing the cause of brownfields in Canada, this is your chance to have them recognized. Brownie Awards are given in seven categories:

• REPROGRAM: Legislation, Policy & Procurement
• REMEDIATE: Sustainable Remediation & Technological Innovation
• REINVEST: Financing, Risk Management & Partnerships
• REBUILD: Redevelopment at the Local, Site Scale
• RENEW: Redevelopment at the Community Scale
• REACH OUT: Communications, Marketing & Public Engagement
• Brownfielder of the Year

To submit a project, program or person, please download the appropriate form from our main Brownies page. The Awards will be presented at the Brownies Gala, November 24, 2020 at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Toronto. For information on what makes a winner, please read about the 2019 winners.

What does a winner look like? Review our 2019 Brownie Award Winners page for some inspiration.

 

CBN Committee Updates

CBN Government Relations Committee Report:

In 2019, the Government Relations Committee (GRC) promoted CBN's guiding principles in support of Brownfield redevelopment in outreach to federal and provincial governments. In May the committee developed a CBN submission for Environment and Climate Change Canada's 2019-2022 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy, and pointed to how smart brownfield redevelopment can be a part of the broader FSDS to green Canada's operations and work with partners to conserve Canada's lands, waters and ecosystems.

A highlight of 2019 for GRC was the addition of several new members to our group. Welcome Andrew Macklin from Actual Media and Ian Collins from GHD!

Our current GRC membership:

• Ian Collins
• Chris De Sousa
• Ellen Greenwood
• John Georgakopoulos
• Andrew Macklin
• Rob Hoffman

For 2020 the committee had plans to continuing our valuable work, meeting with government and strategic stakeholder partners to further develop solutions that promote brownfield redevelopment across Canada. The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted all of our lives, and the work of the GRC is no exception, we will continue our work virtually as best we can. And our goal is still to strengthen our representation in all regions of the country. We would welcome interested CBN members who can contribute to our efforts, connections and representation!

Rob Hoffman - Chair, CBN Government Relations Committee

 

CBN Finance & Insurance Committee Report:

The finance and insurance committee has been focused on identifying new issues of concern for Lenders and Insurers, and changes to insurance and lending that impact brownfield proponents. The committee identifies and tracks new issues or developments.

The committee was considering conducting a survey of insurers to determine how insurers have been responding to changes from the 2004 to 2009 Standards in Ontario, and what impacts insurers anticipate arising from the new excess soil regime in Ontario.

However, over the winter, the committee was informed that CBN would be merging the existing finance and insurance committee into a new Development Committee. The committee is excited for this new development, and we have taken steps to move forward merging the prior committee with the new Development Committee.

With the change in focus to developers, we will canvas the new committee for issues moving forward.

2019-2020 Membership of the Finance and Insurance Committee

• George Boire (Marsh Canada)
• James Evans (RBC)
• Joanna Vince, Current Chair (Willms & Shier)
• Carl Spensieri (Berkley Canada)
• Angus Ross (L and A Concepts)
• James Cullen (Golder)

Joanna Vince - Chair, Finance & Insurance Committee

 

CBN Technical Advisory Committee Report:

The CBN Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) represents a national network of individuals actively engaged in brownfield site assessment and remediation related activities. The group looks primarily at the regulatory environments within all jurisdictions including provincial, federal and municipal to identify and communicate changes and trends that are occurring and evolving over time. The members of the group represent and participate with information regarding the changes occurring in their geographic region and within their own discipline. The current member disciplines are wide ranging from environmental consultants, industry, government, and legal and are based in Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.

Within the context of CBN's Guiding Principles, the TAC reviews proposed regulatory changes to identify and assess the implications on Brownfield Redevelopment. The group has been meeting on a routine basis during the year to discuss the changes and when the opportunity arises, provide comments to government when requested. This year, TAC members were active in several regions.

Atlantic: TAC prepared a submission in response to the Atlantic PIRI public consultation in support of Atlantic PIRI's inclusion of chlorinated solvents in the RBCA User Guide, consistent with other Canadian provinces.

Quebec: TAC continues to monitor Quebec's implementation of new requirements for soil tracking and soil management.

Ontario: This year marked the implementation of new regulation O. Reg. 406/19 On-site and Excess Soil Management, intended to provide clarity around management and reuse of excess soils, and places responsibility for planning excess soil management on the source site. The new regulation will phased-in with the first phase, reuse rules and standards, being applicable as of July 1, 2020. Ontario also implemented its amendments to the Record of Site Condition Regulation O. Reg. 153/04, intended to address well-known practical issues with the regulation such as salt contamination and non-standard delineation options. The TAC has been actively involved for the past several years in working with the regulator on improving the clarity and usability of these regulations.

TAC also responded to a consultation in January 2020 on a further amendment to O. Reg. 153/04 intended to clarify assessment requirements under "no soil" conditions, and working with a local municipality in considerations for amendments to its policy regarding accepting land conveyances on brownfield sites.

Prairies: TAC continues to monitor prospective regulatory changes in the Prairie provinces, and the implementation of Alberta's recent Remediation Regulation which came into effect January 1, 2019.

British Columbia: BC issued its final policy direction on soil relocation, as well as revisions to its protocol for establishing background concentrations in soils. BC also issued proposed amendments to its site identification process, intended to streamline regulatory process and coordinate with municipal approvals processes.

Federal: TAC prepared a response to CCME's consultation on draft Canadian Groundwater Quality Guidelines.

The TAC is always interested membership from engaged individuals representing various regions.

The TAC is currently made up of the following individuals:

• Monisha Nandi (ON) - Chair
• Chris Brown (AB) - Vice Chair and Secretary
• Members at large: Alan McCammon (BC), Vijay Kallur (BC), Ada Wang (AB), Jason Hudson (ON), Rene DeVries (ON), Mike Grinnell (ON), Monique Punt (ON), John Georgakopoulos (ON), Edwin Safari (ON), Warren Croft (ON), Roopnarine Mungal (ON), Martin Beaudoin (QC), and Blanchard Harnum (NS).

Monisha Nandi - Chair, CBN Technical Advisory Committee

 

Do You Have Industry News to Share?

Has your organization been involved in a notable project? Do you have a new product or service offering that might be of interest to our members? If so, our Industry News section, Twitter feed and LinkedIn Group are good places to share. Our semi-annual newsletter publishing schedule is:

• mid-July
• mid-December

If you have news for us, please submit it to davidp@canadianbrownfieldsnetwork.ca. Thanks for your support of CBN!

 

Be a part of the future!

Be part of CBN's success in promoting brownfield property reuse as the preferred solution for developers - join us today! Our large and committed membership offers more opportunities for networking, increasing your chances to learn about best practices, gain business, hear about new projects and be exposed to the latest processes and techniques in remediation.

As a CBN member, you get access to our Members Only website, an opportunity to be heard by contributing to our submissions to various governments on issues of concern to the industry, and reduced rates at CBN and many partner events. You may also be selected to participate as a CBN speaker in brownfield streams/sessions we organize at partner events or at our Annual Brownfields Conference.

If you're interested in being part of the future, download the membership application from our Membership Info page or contact Meggen Janes, Chair of our Membership Task Force by e-mail at mjanes@waterfrontoronto.ca. Help shape tomorrow - join CBN today!

Already a member? Please forward this newsletter to someone you know who may be interested in the content or could benefit from CBN membership. Thank you!

 

CBN's LinkedIn Group - Your Invitation to Join

The Canadian Brownfields Network has started a LinkedIn group, and you're invited to join and contribute. Our group will focus on all things brownfields:

• New trends in the brownfield industry
• Brownfields-related events and resources
• Brownfields news
• Municipalities active in brownfield redevelopment

The group will have something for all brownfields stakeholders. It's only open to CBN members, and we encourage you to join, participate in discussions, and contribute postings. To join, please click here.

 

CBN's Twitter Feed - Please Follow Us!

Always looking for ways of connecting with the brownfields community, CBN is now on Twitter. We post current news, trends and timely items. We also live-tweet from our events and those in which we participate. Be sure to stay current - sign up follow us @CdnBrownfields!

 

CBN's Facebook Page - Please Follow or Friend Us!

We couldn't say we were active in social media without having a Facebook presence. Facebook is an additional way for us to get the latest CBN news and views out to members and brownfield stakeholders. You'll find us at https://www.facebook.com/Canadianbrownfieldsnetwork/.

 

Interested in Volunteering for CBN?

Did you know that CBN has 4 Committees which, along with the Board of Directors, help us accomplish our goals? They are:

• Communications and Membership
• Finance and Insurance
• Government Relations
• Technical Advisory

If you would like to be a part of any of these Committees, please contact David Petrie, our Operations Manager, by e-mail at davidp@canadianbrownfieldsnetwork.ca

We appreciate your interest and support!

 

Send Us Your Comments!

Do you have any ideas on what can be included in future newsletters, or comments on the content of this one? Please send them to us by e-mailing David Petrie. If you'd like to start a discussion on any of the items in this newsletter, we encourage you to use our LinkedIn group

 

CBN Corporate Members

• Actual Media
• ALS Laboratories
• Arcadis Canada Inc.
• BC Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy
• Canadian Fuels Association
• EnGlobe Corp
• ERIS
• Federation of Canadian Municipalities
• Geosyntec Consultants International Inc.
• Jacobs
• Kilmer Brownfield Equity Fund
• Milestone Environmental Contracting
• Priestly Demolition Inc.
• Stantec Consulting Ltd.
• Terrapex Environmental Ltd.
• Vertex Environmental
• Walker Environmental
• Willms & Shier Environmental Lawyers LLP
• Golder Associates
• Imperial Oil
• WSP Canada Inc.
• XCG Consulting Ltd

 

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