Published plans and annual reports 2017-2018: Ministry of Infrastructure

Ministry overview

Mandate

The Ministry of Infrastructure (MOI) guides Ontario’s historic 13-year, $190 billion infrastructure plan through the development and application of a strategic approach to infrastructure planning and research that help deliver vital services, strengthen our communities and the economy, protect the environment, and improve the quality of life for Ontarians.

The Ministry is committed to providing modern and efficient infrastructure that will meet the province’s needs, as it deeply affects the lives of all Ontarians and the ways they live, work and travel. Through the development of strategic planning, policy and programs, legislation and regulations, and research and analytics, the Ministry ensures public infrastructure investments are leveraged to drive economic growth, promote sustainable prosperity and support community development across our province.

The Ministry also manages a large portion of Ontario’s public real estate portfolio; the second largest public sector real estate portfolio in Canada. This is done through the development of strategic realty policy to facilitate the delivery of world-class public services and programs, as well as through support for government initiatives and priorities including delivery of the Queen’s Park Reconstruction Project. To manage the government’s realty portfolio efficiently and effectively, the Ministry oversees services to optimize the portfolio’s value and to make the best use of property resources to support provincial programs and policies.

The Ministry delivers on the government’s commitment to establish a diverse sustainable community hub model by developing policies that encourage better use of public space, remove provincial barriers and enable community hubs to flourish. In addition, it develops and provides the tools and information to help communities innovate, become more vibrant and improve local service delivery, including expanding childcare and family services.

Ministry contribution to priority outcomes

The Ministry develops government policies and initiatives and effectively manages the Province’s real estate assets to create world-class infrastructure for all Ontarians. Infrastructure investments play an integral role in advancing our economy and economic competitiveness, strengthening our communities and protecting the environment.

Guiding the Province’s historic 13-year, $190-billion infrastructure plan

Ontario is making the largest infrastructure investment in the province’s history – about $190 billion over 13 years starting in 2014-15. Planned investments are supporting more than 125,000 jobs, on average, each year, through such projects as roads, bridges, transit systems, schools and hospitals. The Ministry is responsible for developing and implementing a strategic planning approach that helps prioritize and guide cross-sector infrastructure investment decisions and improve reporting standards that will better track and report infrastructure investments and asset conditions.

In addition, the Ministry provides guidance on asset management best practices across ministries and related sectors to help ensure better planning and decision making on infrastructure investments.

Leading negotiations with the Federal Government on new infrastructure agreements

Federal funding is an important component of the Province’s infrastructure plan. In collaborating with its federal counterparts, Ontario will ensure alignment between federal programs and the Province’s infrastructure plan and priorities.

In September 2016, Canada and Ontario announced more than $1.1 billion in combined funding available under the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund. This agreement was one of four bi-lateral agreements with Canada for Phase One of their Investing in Canada Plan supported by the Ministry. The other bi-lateral agreements supported by the Ministry include the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund, Housing Fund and Strategic Investment Fund.

Developing the Province’s long-term infrastructure plan

The Ministry plays an integral role in developing a strategic approach to capital planning, supported by evidence-based criteria and strong analytics that assess current and future needs. It will release the Province’s Long-Term Infrastructure Plan in 2017, which will lay out the Province’s infrastructure vision for the next decade.

The Plan will effectively ensure that public infrastructure meets the needs of Ontarians and will articulate how Ontario’s infrastructure investments are helping to grow the economy and supporting better services for Ontarians across the Province. It will also describe the Province’s existing infrastructure portfolio, outline anticipated needs of the portfolio and propose strategies to meet those needs.

The Plan will also emphasize the importance of strong asset management. Having asset management plans for the long-term maintenance, renewal and replacement of assets is critical to striking the right balance between caring for existing assets and investing in expansion opportunities.

Leading the transformation of the Government’s realty portfolio

The Ministry leads realty-related policy initiatives to support the delivery of public services and assist government and other ministries with achieving their mandates and priorities. This includes overseeing three key programs:

1. Safe and Sustainable Provincial Buildings – helping the people of Ontario receive the government programs and services they need by accommodating programs and services in government buildings that are safe and adequate.
2. Right-sizing the Provincial Real Estate Portfolio – assisting the government in reducing its footprint by using space more efficiently and ensuring realty holdings are aligned to government program needs to achieve value for money, reduce liabilities and maximize benefit to the public.
3. Effective and Efficient Service Delivery – optimizing the use of realty assets to generate revenue that offsets the cost of operating government buildings and properties and reinvesting net revenues back into the capital needs of the realty portfolio.

The Ministry is also reviewing opportunities to further reduce the footprint of government offices and strategically leverage provincial land assets as a way to build more affordable housing units across the Province.

Implementing the Community Hubs Strategic Framework and Action Plan

A community hub is a service delivery model that brings together service providers to offer a range of services that respond to demonstrated community needs and priorities.

The Premier’s Community Hubs Framework Advisory Group released a Strategic Framework and Action Plan (2015) to promote and eliminate barriers to local community hubs across Ontario. Amongst other outcomes, the Action Plan includes recommendations about coordinated service planning, client-focused service delivery, and the use of public property to meet community needs. It identified provincial policies and processes being complicated, fragmented and driven by ministry-specific requirements rather than being viewed through a lens of community needs and outcomes.

Consistent with the Action Plan, the Ministry of Infrastructure’s Community Hubs Division is working with ministry partners to foster a horizontal, "whole-of-government" approach to decision-making and implementation. The Ministry is also working with partners and communities to build capacity and strengthen local planning to encourage stronger, vibrant and more resilient communities through the creation of a Resource Network with useful data and tools to support community hub development and sustainability.

Managing the Queen’s Park Reconstruction Project

The Ministry is also responsible for the Queen’s Park Reconstruction Project (QPRP). The QPRP is a long-term initiative that includes the extensive reconstruction of Macdonald Block, a 45-year-old complex that has never undergone a major renovation. The complex includes the Macdonald Block Podium and the Hearst, Hepburn, Mowat and Ferguson towers. This initiative will reduce the cost of government operations and contribute to helping the province meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets.

Integrating the province’s commitments in the Climate Change Action Plan across the Province’s Infrastructure Plan

The Ministry is working with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change to ensure that infrastructure priorities for the Province align with Ontario’s landmark Climate Change Action Plan. As part of this important initiative, the Ministry will work across government to:

• Incorporate life cycle assessment into the infrastructure planning process;
• Demonstrate low carbon technologies using government assets;
• Incorporate climate change into existing and future municipal funding programs;
• Align with the actions identified in the Climate Change Action Plan; and
• Develop strategies to reduce emissions in government owned buildings.

Measuring outcomes – key performance indictors (KPI)

The following summarizes the Ministry’s overall goals as well as key performance indicators.

MOI goals

• Guide the Province’s 13-year, $190-billion infrastructure plan to support economic growth and other goals
• Lead negotiations with the federal government on new infrastructure agreements
• Develop the Province’s long-term infrastructure plan
• Manage government’s realty program to enable OPS workforce strategy and focus on market value of provincially owned properties
• Integrate climate change commitments across government’s Realty Plan
• Lead government-wide implementation of the Community Hubs Strategic Framework and Action Plan

Performance indicators

• KPI 1: # jobs supported in construction and related industries
• KPI 2: Improved condition of core public infrastructure
• KPI 3: Maximize benefit to the province from federal infrastructure funding for Ontario within the fiscal context
• KPI 4: Improved condition of key assets (as measured by Facility Condition Index)
• KPI 5: Progress towards 2020/2030 building-based Greenhouse Gas (GHG) commitments
• KPI 6: Progress on implementation of Community Hubs Strategic Framework and Action Plan

Ministry programs and activities

The following are the major programs, services and initiatives delivered by the Ministry of Infrastructure:

Infrastructure policy

The Ministry manages the implementation of the Infrastructure for Jobs & Prosperity Act, 2015. This includes developing Ontario’s long-term infrastructure plan, and prioritizing the government’s infrastructure investments to support its infrastructure priorities. The Act also enables the development of regulations for asset management planning by municipalities and other broader public sector entities.

As part of the Municipal Infrastructure Strategy, the Ministry develops and designs municipal infrastructure policy and programs, and oversees their delivery to ensure they are consistent with broader provincial infrastructure policy. Programs include:

• The Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund – provides small, rural and northern municipalities with stable, annual funding to build and repair critical infrastructure.
• The new Natural Gas Grant Program – expands natural gas to selected communities with support from the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

The Ministry also leads negotiations with the federal government on cost-shared infrastructure programs including Phase One and Two of the new $81 billion Investing in Canada Plan, the 2014 Building Canada Fund and other legacy federal infrastructure programs.

As well, the Ministry develops policy to refine the government’s Alternative Financing and Procurement (AFP) model, delivered by Infrastructure Ontario. The AFP model is an innovative way of delivering large, complex public infrastructure projects. It makes the best use of private-sector resources and expertise to provide on-time, on-budget, and on-specifications project delivery.

Infrastructure Research Program

The Ministry leverages evidence-based infrastructure planning to make informed decisions about the investments required to maintain service levels across the province. For example, the Ministry uses a simulation platform to review infrastructure renewal and expansion opportunities to meet demographic growth. This model draws on asset information from other ministries across government.

The Ministry’s analysis provides information on how to maintain the current level of infrastructure stock by sector, constant on a per capita basis, using both renewal and expansion for demographic growth. Results indicate infrastructure renewal and expansion needs by sector for the province as a whole. The Ministry is continuously refining the model to ensure evidence based decisions are made with respect to infrastructure investments.

Currently, the Ministry and Treasury Board Secretariat’s Centre of Excellence for Evidence-Based Decision Making are working with the Institute for Fiscal Studies and Democracy (IFSD) to recommend best practices on how data management and data analytics can be best used to support infrastructure decisions. This information will also help guide ministries in determining the desired condition at which to maintain their infrastructure assets.

Realty planning, development and management

The Ministry is mandated to set the government’s policy direction for the second largest public sector real estate portfolio in Canada:

• The Government Real Estate Portfolio contains 4,354 owned buildings and 130,389 acres of land as of March 31, 2016.
• The Forfeited Corporate Property portfolio is estimated to contain tens of thousands of potentially forfeited corporate properties. When a corporation in Ontario is dissolved, any real property it held at the time of dissolution becomes the property of government.

To transform the government’s approach to realty management, the Ministry has a policy-led, three-point plan that focuses on:

1. Ensuring safe and sustainable buildings.
2. Right-sizing the portfolio.
3. Providing for an efficient and effective delivery model.

As part of its responsibilities, the Ministry acquires, manages, and disposes of realty assets, and also oversees its realty delivery agent, the Ontario Infrastructure and Lands Corporation (Infrastructure Ontario) in the support of the government’s policy and program delivery.

In this role, the Ministry and Infrastructure Ontario provide expert real estate advice and services to all of Ontario’s ministries and some agencies. Today, the Ministry is achieving a number of Ontario’s environmental and policy objectives through asset optimization, effectively managing and deploying realty assets as well as reducing liabilities. The provision of accessible justice and social infrastructure and workspaces for Ontario public servants is a core function.

The Ministry’s realty is used to support delivery of government programs and policies. When it is no longer required for government purposes, its value can be recycled through reuse and redevelopment or can be sold to generate revenue, provide a social benefit, and put back into productive use by the private sector. The management, redeployment and sale or transfer of properties is part of a broader, long-term strategy set out by the government to manage its realty assets in the most efficient and effective manner. To implement the strategy, the Ministry, through the Realty Division, oversees asset plans, portfolio plans, sales plans and demolition plans for the wide variety of realty owned by government and follows streamlined and targeted processes for optimal results.

The Ministry oversees the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation. Its mandate is to carry out the tri-government Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Initiative to revitalize and transform Toronto’s waterfront into beautiful, sustainable new communities, parks and public spaces, and to foster economic growth in knowledge-based, creative industries.

The Ministry is also responsible for the Queen’s Park Reconstruction Project (QPRP). The QPRP is a long-term initiative that includes the extensive reconstruction of Macdonald Block, a 45-year-old complex that has never undergone a major renovation. The complex includes the Macdonald Block Podium and the Hearst, Hepburn, Mowat and Ferguson towers. This initiative will reduce the cost of government operations and contribute to helping the Province meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets.

Community Hubs Initiative

A community hub is a service delivery model that brings together service providers to offer a range of services that respond to demonstrated community needs and priorities.

In August 2015, Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Special Advisor, and Chair of the Community Hubs Advisory Group, Karen Pitre, released Community Hubs in Ontario: A Strategic Framework and Action Plan (2015) to support local development of community hubs in Ontario. The Action Plan includes 27 recommendations to the Ontario government on how to improve government policy and reduce barriers to support community hub development.

The Community Hubs Division works with government ministries, broader public sector organizations and other stakeholders to encourage local development of community hubs and to make the best possible use of public properties.

Highlights of 2016-17 achievements

Created as a stand-alone Ministry in June 2016, the Ministry of Infrastructure continues to create and deliver key initiatives to support the government’s top priorities including creating jobs, increasing economic growth and building Ontario up for everyone. The following successes highlight the achievements of the Ministry for the 2016-17 fiscal year:

Infrastructure policy

• On May 1, 2016, the Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act, 2015 was proclaimed.

Municipal infrastructure programs

• Launched the expanded and re-designed Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund on July 4, 2016 with funding increased from $100 million per year to $300 million per year by 2018-19.
  • 426 communities were allocated additional formula-based funding for roads, bridges, water systems and wastewater systems.
  • On April 10, 2017, $60 million in top up funding was announced for 55 projects.
• The Ministry consulted with over 330 individuals representing over 220 municipalities regarding the development of a municipal asset management planning regulation.
• Introduced the Natural Gas Grant Program and increased funding for the program from $30 million to $100 million.

Federal-Provincial infrastructure programs

• Negotiated two bi-lateral agreements for the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund and the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund under Phase One of the new Investing in Canada Plan.
• Following bi-lateral negotiations, programs were launched in late summer 2016. To date over 2,000 projects, including 660 transit projects submitted and administered by the Ministry of Transportation (MTO), have been submitted for federal approval with approximately 900 projects approved as of May 5, 2017.
• Federal approval for almost $2.8 billion in federal funding under the 2013 Building Canada Fund and over $500 million in federal funding under the 2007 Building Canada Fund.
  • This includes working with MTO to secure $1.9 billion in federal funding for critical components of GO Regional Express Rail along the Lakeshore East, Lakeshore West, Barrie, and Kitchener corridors.
• Discussions are underway with respect to Ontario’s share of the $81 billion in federal Phase Two infrastructure funding.

Infrastructure finance policy

• Successfully oversaw the Alternative Financing and Procurement (AFP) program, a public-private partnership approach implemented by Infrastructure Ontario. A third-party review of 51 AFP projects that had reached substantial completion by March 31, 2016, found that 49 (96%) AFP projects were completed on or below budget and 37 (73%) were completed on, ahead of, or within one month of schedule. This is considered above the industry standard.
• Successfully oversaw the implementation of the Infrastructure Ontario (IO) Loan Program, which offers affordable, longer-term, fixed-rate loans to borrowers from eligible public sector clients. The IO Loan Program has advanced over $8.3 billion in affordable long-term financing to public sector clients throughout Ontario representing 381 clients (94 clients in northern Ontario and 287 clients across all other regions) and over 2,350 local infrastructure projects with a total project value of more than $14.7 billion (as of March 31, 2017).

Long-term infrastructure plan

• MOI released the 2017 Infrastructure Update that demonstrated Ontario’s robust infrastructure plan and planning process that emphasized our overall commitment to excellence in infrastructure management and planning. This document sets the stage for the upcoming Long-Term Infrastructure Plan, which will lay out the Province’s infrastructure vision for the next decade.

Infrastructure research and finance

• As part of the Ministry’s work to enhance transparency and share information on the infrastructure projects underway across Ontario, the Ministry worked collaboratively with Cabinet Office to launch the BuildON website in December 2016. This launch followed the collection, tabulation and analysis of 720 infrastructure projects occurring throughout the province.
• In order to expand the range of projects displayed on the BuildON website, the Ministry engaged all ministries across government to collect additional data through winter and spring 2016-17. As a result, more than 2,500 infrastructure projects across Ontario are now featured on the website.
• Led the development of an integrated asset inventory to track the location, value, age and condition of provincial assets which will serve as evidence for identifying key trends and expected needs for public infrastructure over the next 10 years and developing strategies to meet those needs.
• The Ministry continues to collaborate with internal and external partners to recommend best practices on how data management and data analytics can be effectively used to support infrastructure decisions.

Realty planning, development and management

• Continued delivery of the Provincial Secondary Land Use Program (PSLUP) which allows public and private proponents to use government owned hydro corridor lands, to generate revenue and contribute towards retiring the stranded debt of the former Ontario Hydro.
• The Forfeited Corporate Property Act, 2015 and the Escheats Act, 2015 along with changes to a number of other Acts came into effect on December 10, 2016. The successful implementation of the Forfeited Corporate Property Act, 2015, was achieved through establishing a public-facing webpage with supporting materials to manage applications from the public.
• The Ministry continues to remediate contaminated sites under its responsibility and remains committed to returning contaminated land into productive use.
• As of March 31, 2017, approximately $27.1 million in net revenue from the sale of government properties no longer in use, easements and licenses was generated and a total of approximately $0.4 million in cost/liability reduction savings was realized from the sale of these assets for the 2016-17 fiscal year.
• Transactions with the City of Pickering involving almost 180 acres of land were completed to meet the Province’s commitments to provide community use and infrastructure development opportunities for the Seaton community.
• The accelerated demolition program resulted in the demolition of 47 vacant and unneeded buildings over fiscal years 2015-16 and 2016-17.
• As of March 31, 2016, government achieved a reduction of almost 830,000 square feet of office space towards its total targeted reduction of 1.3 million square feet by 2022.
• The Queen’s Park Reconstruction Project was successfully announced in July 2016. The project has established its oversight and governance model and is currently engaging in outreach to internal and external stakeholders.

Community Hubs

• In August 2016, the Province released a One-Year Progress Report on the Community Hubs Strategic Framework and Action Plan marking a year of collaboration and hard work both at the provincial and local level. Key highlights include:
  • The 2016 Provincial Budget announced the establishment of a Resource Network for community partners including an interactive and online resource centre to provide access to information, best practices and data for community organizations, including launching the first phase of the “one window” inventory of public property, which will include surplus properties.
  • Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act, 2015 was passed to lay the foundation for long-term infrastructure planning and the compilation of an inventory of public assets. In May 2016, the Ministry of Education announced an investment of nearly $90 million to support the use of schools as community hubs.
  • In May 2016, the Ministry of Education announced changes to Ontario Regulation 444/98 – Disposition of Surplus Real Property, which took effect September 1, 2016. The changes, which set out requirements for school boards, include:
    • Doubling the current surplus school circulation period from 90 to 180 days; and
    • Increasing access to surplus school circulation by expanding the list of entities that can place an offer to purchase before a surplus school property is placed on the open market.

Organizational structure

• Minister of Infrastructure - The Honourable Bob Chiarelli
• Deputy Minister - George Zegarac
  • ADM and CIO, Government Services Integration I&IT Cluster - Rob Devries
  • Director, Communications & Marketing - Paola Gemmiti (A)
  • Director, Legal Services - Cheryl Carson (A)
  • Associate Deputy Minister, Infrastructure Policy & Planning - Chris Giannekos
    • Assistant Deputy Minister, Infrastructure Policy - Adam Redish
      • Director, Intergovernmental Policy - Elizabeth Doherty
      • Director, Policy & Planning - Kelly Brown (A)
    • Assistant Deputy Minister, Infrastructure Research & Financing - Grant Osborn
      • Director, Capital Planning & Coordination - Trevor Fleck
      • Director, Infrastructure Research - Vijay Gill
    • Chief Administrative Officer, Corporate Services - Rob Burns
      • Director, Business Planning & Finance - Kate Johnstone (A)
      • Director, Strategic HR Business Unit - Christina Critelli
      • Director, Service Management & Facilities - Nelson Janicas
    • Assistant Deputy Minister, Community Hubs - Nancy Mudrinic
      • Director, Planning & Implementation Dawn - Palin Rokosh
      • Director, Quantitative Policy & Research - Chris Monahan
    • Associate Deputy Minister, Infrastructure Projects - David Hallett
      • Assistant Deputy Minister, Realty - Bruce Singbush
        • Director, Realty Management - Maggie Allan
        • Director, Realty Policy - Trevor Bingler
      • Director, Stakeholder, Engagement & Change Management - Nemone Smith (A)
      • Director, Office Transformation Oversight - David McIntosh (A)

Agencies, boards and commissions

Ontario Infrastructure and Lands Corporation

The Ontario Infrastructure and Lands Corporation (Infrastructure Ontario or IO) is a Crown agency established under the Ontario Infrastructure and Lands Corporation Act, 2011.

IO’s mandate is to provide a range of advice and services, as set out in the Ontario Infrastructure and Lands Corporation Act, 2011, to support the Ontario government’s initiatives to modernize and maximize the value of public infrastructure and realty. Infrastructure Ontario fulfills its mandate through the following roles and activities, subject to written direction from the Minister, as required:

Modern procurement and project manager

• Infrastructure Ontario is dedicated to the renewal of the Province’s hospitals, courthouses, and other essential public assets. Ensuring appropriate public control and ownership, IO uses Alternative Financing and Procurement to rebuild vital infrastructure, on time and on budget.

Infrastructure lender

• Infrastructure Ontario provides Ontario municipalities, universities and other public entities with access to affordable loans to build and renew public infrastructure.

Commercial project advisor

• Infrastructure Ontario leverages private sector partnerships and investments for revenue generation, liability/cost reduction and efficiency in government services and investments.

Real estate manager

• Infrastructure Ontario also provides management services for the provincially-owned and leased realty portfolio, the second largest public sector real estate portfolio in Canada. The portfolio includes a wide variety of properties, ranging from detention centres to office space, courthouses and heritage buildings, and land holdings across the province.
• Infrastructure Ontario administers the Ministry’s General Real Estate Portfolio (GREP) and the Transmission Corridor Program, which is a component under the Provincial Secondary Land Use program.

Government organizations

Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation

The Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation (Waterfront Toronto) was established by the federal government, the Province of Ontario and the City of Toronto to transform underutilized industrial lands along Toronto’s waterfront into sustainable new communities, promote economic growth in knowledge-based creative industries, create parks and open spaces, and provide continuous waterfront access to the public.

Waterfront Toronto develops and implements a coordinated and comprehensive waterfront vision and in ensuring that the public and private sectors are engaged in revitalization efforts.

The Ministry of Infrastructure has oversight of the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation (Waterfront Toronto) jointly with the federal government and the City of Toronto. One third of Waterfront Toronto’s finances are consolidated onto the ministry’s books.

Detailed Financial Information

For additional financial information, see:

• Ministry of Finance Expenditure Estimates
• Ministry of Finance Public Accounts of Ontario 2013-2014
• 2017 Ontario Budget
• Building Ontario: our infrastructure plan

Legislation

Legislation administered by the Minister of Infrastructure includes:

• Ministry of Infrastructure Act, 2011 (Except for clause 7 (1) (b) with respect to growth management and clause 7 (1) (c) and subsection 7 (4) with respect to growth management and growth plans which are administered by the Minister of Municipal Affairs
• Forfeited Corporate Property Act, 2015
• Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act, 2015
• Ontario Infrastructure and Lands Corporation Act, 2011
• Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation Act, 2002
• SkyDome Act (Bus Parking), 2002
• Electricity Act, 1998, Part IX.1 (Ownership and Use of Corridor Land)
• Green Energy Act, 2009, subsections 8(2) and section 10

The Ministry also administers selected provisions in the following statutes and regulations:

• Conservation Authorities Act, s. 32
• Education Act, Reg. 296, s. 18
• Environmental Assessment Act, Reg. 334, s. 7
• Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997, s. 81
• Ontario Water Resources Act, s. 26
• Public Lands Act, s. 46
• Registry Act, s. 114
• Surveys Act, s. 61

Appendix: 2016-17 annual report

Created as a stand-alone Ministry in June 2016-17, the Ministry of Infrastructure (MOI) made significant progress in meeting the government’s top priorities of creating jobs, increasing economic growth and building Ontario up for everyone. As a result, the Ministry is delivering real benefits and more inclusive growth that will strengthen our communities, advance the economy, protect the environment and help people in their everyday lives.

2016-17 achievements

Infrastructure policy

• Launched the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund (CWWF) program and partnered with the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) to support the launch of the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund (PTIF) in late summer 2016. As of March 5, 2017, over 2,000 projects have been submitted for federal approvals including:
  • 662 municipal transit projects were nominated by MTO for $1.48 billion in federal funding under the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund. As of May 5, 2017 over 600 projects have been approved.
  • 1,357 projects from municipalities, First Nations, and Local Services Boards were nominated for $570 million in federal and $270 million in provincial funding. As of May 5, 2017 over 230 projects have been approved.
• Federal approval for the majority of its submission under the Provincial-Territorial Infrastructure Component of the 2013 Building Canada Fund and over $500 million in federal funding under the 2007 Building Canada Fund including:
  • Approximately $1.9 billion in federal funding for the GO Regional Express Rail.
  • Approximately $130 million in federal funding for four provincial highway projects.
  • Approximately $90 million in federal funding for the Ottawa River Action Plan, Maley Drive and the Dixon Hall Youth Centre.
  • Approximately $272 million for 127 projects under the Small Communities Fund include the SWIFT broadband initiative in Southwestern Ontario.
• Federal approval for approximately $550 million in federal funding for six projects under the 2007 legacy Building Canada Fund including:
  • Approximately $221 million for five provincial highway projects.
• The Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF) is increasing from $100 million per year to $300 million per year by 2018-19.
  • Of this, $200 million will be formula-based funding distributed to eligible communities for roads, bridges, water systems and wastewater systems.
  • The top-up application component allows communities with critical projects to submit proposals to bring their total OCIF funding up to $2-million over two years.
  • Under the 2016 intake of the top-up application component, over 260 communities submitted project proposals. Applicants were notified of the results in February 2017.
  • 55 projects were awarded funding of approximately $60 million.
• On May 1, 2016, the Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act, 2015 was proclaimed.
  • During the summer of 2016, MOI hosted online and regional consultations throughout Ontario to gather input from the municipal sector on a proposed municipal asset management planning regulation.
  • MOI received feedback from more than 330 individuals representing over 220 municipalities and other organizations.
  • Feedback from these consultations are being used to continue refining the approach to the regulation.
• On January 30, 2017, the Province announced the Natural Gas Grant Program, increased funding for the program from $30 million to $100 million, and began accepting applications on April 21, 2017.
• A recent review of 51 Alternative Financing and Procurement (AFP) projects that had reached substantial completion by March 31, 2016, found that:
  • 49 (96%) were completed on or below budget
  • 37 (73%) were completed on, ahead of, or within one month of schedule
• The IO Loan Program offers affordable, longer-term, fixed-rate loans to borrowers from eligible public sector clients. IO has advanced over $8.3 billion in affordable long-term financing to public sector clients throughout Ontario representing 381 clients (94 clients in northern Ontario and 287 clients across all other regions) and over 2,350 local infrastructure projects with a total project value of more than $14 billion (as of March 31, 2017).
• MOI released the 2017 Infrastructure Update that demonstrated Ontario’s robust infrastructure plan and planning process, emphasized our overall commitment to excellence in infrastructure management and planning. This document sets the stage for the upcoming Long-Term Infrastructure Plan, which will lay out the Province’s infrastructure vision for the next decade.

Infrastructure research and finance

• As part of the Ministry’s work to enhance transparency and share information on the infrastructure projects underway across Ontario, the Ministry worked collaboratively with Cabinet Office to launch the BuildON website in December 2016. This launch followed the collection, tabulation and analysis of 720 infrastructure projects occurring throughout the province.
• In order to expand the range of projects displayed on the BuildON website, the Ministry engaged all ministries across government to collect additional data through winter and spring 2016-17. As a result, more than 2,500 infrastructure projects across Ontario are now featured on the website.
• As part of the work to support the release of Ontario’s next Long-Term Infrastructure Plan, the Ministry led the development of an integrated asset inventory to track the location, value, age and condition of provincial assets. This inventory is intended to serve as evidence for identifying key trends and expected needs for public infrastructure over the next 10 years and developing strategies to meet those needs.
• As part of the Ministry’s efforts to enhance infrastructure planning, MOI engaged the expertise of outside stakeholders to support internal policy and analytical work. For example, the Ministry and Treasury Board Secretariat’s Centre of Excellence for Evidence-Based Decision Making are working with the Institute for Fiscal Studies and Democracy (IFSD) to recommend best practices on how data management and data analytics can be best used to support infrastructure decisions.

Realty planning, development and management

Provincial Secondary Land Use Program

• Continued delivery of the Provincial Secondary Land Use Program which allows public and private proponents to use government owned hydro corridor lands for uses compatible with electricity transmission and distribution such as transportation (e.g. roads and transit); infrastructure (e.g. water, sewage mains); recreational (e.g. parks); agricultural (e.g. pastures); and parking lots. The program generated $20.3 million in revenue and contributed $4.5 million towards retiring the stranded debt of the former Ontario Hydro in 2016-17. The breakdown of the program revenue are as follows:

Forfeited Corporate Properties

• The Forfeited Corporate Property Act, 2015 and the Escheats Act, 2015 along with changes to a number of other Acts came into effect on December 10, 2016. This legislation sets out a framework to manage forfeited corporate property designed to:
  • Reduce the number of corporate properties that forfeit to the government of Ontario;
  • Return forfeited corporate properties to productive use in a timely and efficient manner;
  • Increase corporate accountability for costs associated with forfeited property; and
  • Provide greater transparency and certainty in the management and disposition of forfeited corporate property.
• The successful implementation of the Forfeited Corporate Property Act, 2015 was achieved by developing a strong and knowledgeable organizational structure within the Realty Management Branch.
• A public facing webpage on the ServiceOntario website was developed, two bilingual public application forms for relief from forfeiture and co-ownership interest were created and a fee regulation to allow the collection of fees for the applications was put in place, and approximately $200,000 in outstanding corporate taxes were collected prior to granting the vesting order.

Contaminated properties

• Significant progress has been made to reduce the environmental liability associated with properties under MOI’s responsibility in order to return contaminated land into productive use. Environmental work has progressed on a number of sites.

Surplus property sales

• As of March 31, 2017, approximately $27.1 million in net revenue has been achieved for the 2016-17 fiscal year. The net revenue was generated from approximately 175 transactions, of which 29 involved surplus properties, and the remainder were easements and licences. A total of approximately $0.4 million in cost/liability reduction savings has been realized from the sale of these assets.

Seaton

• In order to meet its contractual obligations in Seaton, the Province completed several key transactions in 2016-17 that will continue to unlock the value of the government’s real estate assets including:
• Transferred 15 acres of land as the Province’s contribution for its share of community uses.
• To meet the requirements of the Financial Impact Agreement, the Province exchanged 100 acres of land for municipal servicing with the City of Pickering for 50.2 acres.
• As required by the Community Lands Agreement, the Province transferred 64 acres of the required 72.25 acres to the Region.
• The sale of 1,200 acres of provincially owned land in Seaton started in 2016-17 and closings on several hundred acres are scheduled for 2017-18. Proceeds from these sales will fund the Trillium Trust, which is being used to support provincial infrastructure projects.

Demolitions

• The demolition program, executed over the 2015-16 and 2016-17 fiscal years, is one of the strategies used to reduce the real estate portfolio. The program achieved its goal of demolishing 47 buildings.

Footprint reduction

• As of March 31, 2016, the government achieved an office space reduction of almost 830,000 square feet towards its total targeted reduction of 1.3 million square feet by 2022 (base year 2012):
  • Reached 55% of its target reduction inside of Toronto (553,796 rentable square feet of the targeted one million square feet)
  • Reached 91% of its target reduction outside of Toronto (273,930 of the targeted 300,000 rentable square feet.)
• The office rentable square feet per person in the MOI portfolio is measured on an annual basis (in July) and is on track to meet the target of up to 180 rentable square feet per person by March 2026. The latest measure, dated July 2016, is an average of 288 square feet per person (base year 2012 was 411 square feet per person). Projects in 2016-17 achieved an average space usage of 166 rentable square feet per employee, below the set standard of up to 180 rentable square feet per person.

Queen’s Park Reconstruction Project (QPRP)

• The QPRP was announced on July 5, 2016. This initiative will reduce the cost of government operations and contribute to helping the Province meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets.
• The Queen’s Park Reconstruction Project Division provides governance and oversight of the project, while Infrastructure Ontario delivers the project.
• Stakeholder engagement has been a key focus, with more than 50 stakeholder groups both internal and external, being engaged and consulted to date.
• The reconstruction of the Macdonald Block Complex requires the existing tenants of the Complex to be relocated for the duration of the reconstruction. The existing tenants will be accommodated in three third-party leased spaces in downtown Toronto, successfully procured by Infrastructure Ontario.
• The reconstruction has been divided into three phases: preparation and moving out; reconstruction; and moving back in. QPRP is in the process of establishing key elements for moving out of the Complex as well as identifying key decisions for the reconstruction.

Community Hubs Initiative

• In August 2016, the Province released a One-Year Progress Report on the Community Hubs Strategic Framework and Action Plan marking a year of collaboration and hard work both at the provincial and local level. Key highlights include:
  • The 2016 Provincial Budget announced the establishment of a Resource Network for community partners including an interactive and online resource centre to provide access to information, best practices and data for community organizations, including launching the first phase of the “one window” inventory of public property, which will include surplus properties.
  • Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act, 2015 was passed to lay the foundation for long-term infrastructure planning and the compilation of an inventory of public assets.
  • In May 2016, the Ministry of Education announced an investment of nearly $90 million to support the use of schools as community hubs.
  • In May 2016, the Ministry of Education announced changes to Ontario Regulation 444/98 – Disposition of Surplus Real Property, which took effect September 1, 2016. The changes, which set out requirements for school boards, include:
    • Doubling the current surplus school circulation period from 90 to 180 days; and
    • Increasing access to surplus school circulation by expanding the list of entities that can place an offer to purchase before a surplus school property is placed on the open market.