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Detailed Conference Agenda

DAY ONE:
Tuesday September 30th, 2008

7:30 AM

Registration & Sponsor Exhibits Open – Continental Breakfast

8:15 AM

Opening Address From The Chair

8:30 AM

Case Study: City of Regina And Communities Of Tomorrow

Fostering Local And Provincial Collaboration For True Innovation In Municipal Infrastructure

True local infrastructure sustainability requires a sustainable business plan for communities. Innovation between the municipality and industry can create mutually beneficial partnerships for long-term success.

• Hear about the City of Regina’s partnerships as well as other municipalities with local industry and researchers
• Develop better models to result in quicker turnaround of successful projects
• Create a culture of change and innovation

Hear how Regina and other municipalities are working in partnerships for the development and commercialization of products, strategies and technologies for sustainable infrastructure.

John Lee, President and CEO,Communities of Tomorrow
Kim Sare, Director of Sustainable Development, City of Regina

9:15 AM

Case Study: City of Seattle

Best Practices In Green Building And Infrastructure For A Sustainable Future

Green practices are becoming essential for liveable communities in today’s environment. From natural drainage to distributed grid strategies, sustainable design is changing the nature of infrastructure worldwide. Hear about the City of Seattle’s approaches to green design and policy development, including:

• Green Capital Projects and their real performance
• Seattle’s Green Factor Landscape Code
• Green Incentive Zoning to reduce grid impacts
• Environmental review for greenhouse gases

Come away with a better understanding of how green initiatives and applications will impact your infrastructure planning.

Lucia Athens, Former Manager, Green Building Program, Department of Planning and Development, City of Seattle

10:00 AM

Sponsor Exhibit Area – Networking Break

10:30 AM

Power Panel

Implementing Power Projects Into Your Infrastructure Plans For Long-term Success

Creativity and foresight are key in planning new infrastructure projects if long-term sustainability is the ultimate goal. Many projects can be enhanced with alternative energy and forward thinking attachments, such as incorporating a power project, which can improve self-sufficiency, increase efficiency and increase ROI.

• What programs exist now?
• What will be offered in the future?
• What are the options for bundling projects?

This panel looks at the benefits – and challenges – of incorporating a power project in your infrastructure plan.

Krista Hill, Partner, Co-Head, Infrastructure and Energy Practice, Torys LLP
Amir Shalaby, Vice President, Power Systems Planning, Ontario Power Authority
Art Stokman, President, Guelph Hydro Electric Systems Inc.

11:15 AM

Balancing Asset Management And New Development For Long-term Sustainability

Canadian municipalities face a difficult task in managing their public assets while planning for smart growth. Hear about an integrated approach with complementary strategies to manage this delicate balance.

• Manage demand with policy approaches and techniques to change demand on our infrastructure
• Optimize asset life cycle to maximize the life of current infrastructure
• Free up money to dedicate to other infrastructure projects

Optimize your strategy to balance infrastructure management and growth.

Mark Damm, CEO, Fuseforward, Partner, The Trilogics Group

12:00 PM

Exhibition Area – Networking Luncheon

Join the conference speakers and your peers for a relaxing luncheon. Take the opportunity to make new contacts and discuss the ideas presented in the morning session.

1:30 PM

Councillors’ Panel

Getting The Job Done: Enhancing Communication With Councillors, The Public And Other Stakeholders

One of the stiffest challenges to infrastructure programs is effective and clear communication between engineers, council and the public.

• Understand the expectations of all stakeholders
• Connect with residents, associations, the business community, and elected officials
• Develop stronger relationships and ensure positive perception

Take the right steps to ensure your project gets the attention it needs!

Gordon Landon, Regional Councillor, Town of Markham
More to come…

2:15 PM

Pros And Cons Of Including Ongoing Services In PPP Procurement: Understanding The Impact On Total Cost And Quality Of Your Project

Historically, PPP’s have been overwhelmingly concerned with the construction of physical assets, and, in many cases, procurement officials have not actively pursued innovation and flexibility in the service design.

• Balance cost-effective construction and full-life cost of assets, and the ability to deliver the service for which it was built
• Minimize conflict between procurer, constructor, maintainer, and user of the asset

Hear case studies on how service-led PPP’s are driving improvements in the total cost and quality of the final product of a PPP investment.

Paul Dalglish, Managing Director, Serco Group Canada

3:00 PM

Sponsor Exhibit Area – Networking Break

Continue the debate and discussion with your peers while enjoying a refreshing break.

3:30 PM

Ensuring The Quality And Accuracy Of Capital Planning Data For Improved Life Cycle Costing Decision Making

This session will explore strategies to rapidly build adaptable life cycle costing models from acquisition to support and inventory models based on existing platforms, and how best to execute strategic decision-making analysis.

• Determine the probability of failure, failure models and the consequences
• Implement strategies to deal with risk
• Design a dollar valuation system that includes social and environmental consequences
• Develop a solution for connecting PSAB to both Asset Managers and Fiscal Authorities

Get the information you need to make the best use of the best data in your decision-making processes.

Karl Scharnitzky, Director of Strategic Development, Capital Planning Solutions Inc.

4:15 PM

Interactive Peer-to-Peer Exchange Forum

Mitigating Knowledge Transfer Loss In The Face Of Skills Shortages

Imbalances of staffing, retirements, skill shortages – all pose serious challenges to long term infrastructure management. Join a group of your peers to discuss this issue. One person from each table will be nominated to share the findings with the rest of the delegates at the end of the session. Peer-to-peer sharing of experiences and brainstorming from different backgrounds can result in increased collective awareness of how to face loss of knowledge and expertise.

5:00 PM

Cocktail Reception

Unwind and mingle with the delegates and speakers at our “exclusive” end-of-day cocktail reception. Bring your business cards!

Day Two:
Wednesday October 1st, 2008

7:30 AM

Registration & Sponsor Exhibits Open – Continental Breakfast

8:15 AM

Recap Of Day One From The Chair

8:30 AM

Assessing The State And Performance Of Canada’s Infrastructure And Its Vulnerability To Climate Change

With the real and projected increases in severe weather events across Canada, infrastructure has become vulnerable to climate change. With funding from Natural Resources Canada, Engineers Canada established the Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee which has developed a protocol to assess the vulnerability of infrastructure to climate change. Furthermore, the National Round Table on Sustainable Infrastructure, with funding from Infrastructure Canada, is working toward developing a framework for assessing the state and performance of Canada’s Core Public Infrastructure. In this session you will:

• Hear about the protocol to assess the vulnerability of infrastructure to climate change
• Review case studies on assessments of water and wastewater systems, buildings, and roads

Learn about the work of the National Round Table on Sustainable Infrastructure.

Chantal Guay, ing., P.Eng., M.Env.., Chief Executive Officer, Engineers Canada

9:15 AM

Determining The Economic Impact Of Carbon Emissions On Your Civil Infrastructure Planning And Design

The design of sustainable infrastructure is inextricably tied into economic realities. The design and pricing of civil infrastructure can tackle the effects of urban sprawl, carbon emissions and air and water pollution. Professor Kennedy will address:

• The need for new and integrated infrastructure systems
• The steps toward reducing the ecological footprint of infrastructure programs
• Ways to optimize economic returns in the face of deteriorating infrastructure

Hear how research on the economic implications of a new generation of sustainable civil infrastructure will help to support your future planning.

Christopher Kennedy, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Toronto

10:00 AM

Sponsor Exhibit Area – Networking Break

Interact with conference speakers and fellow attendees.

10:30 AM

Case Study: Whistler

Building Sustainable Communities And Infrastructure Through Collaboration And Innovation

Numerous municipal governments are integrating sustainability into their governance and decision making frameworks, day to day actions and long term planning. Come and hear the unique ways communities including Whistler, Halifax, District of North Vancouver, and City of Airdrie are advancing sustainability and supporting each other. Hear about:

• The scalable back-casting approach to sustainability planning
• The partnerships involved to create and implement the sustainability plan
• The different methods and tools developed to integrate sustainability into decision making (from antifreeze to pipelines)

Hear how Canadian communities are taking their sustainable future into their own hands, and apply the tips to your own!

John Purkis, Director of Advisory Services, The Natural Step Canada

11:15 AM

Getting The Best Financing Solution By Attracting Investors With A Sound Project Structure

Secure and stable funding for public infrastructure is a constant challenge. Attracting investors requires a carefully structured project.

• Hear lessons learned from real life projects
• Understand the varied approaches to financing infrastructure
• Get tips on bundling infrastructure projects to attract investors

Come away with a better understanding of how to attract investors and ensure that you meet your long-term goals.

12:00 PM

Exhibition Area – Networking Luncheon

1:30 PM

Case Study: City of Ottawa

Alternative Energy: Enhancing Local Sustainability Through Converting Waste To Energy

Growing areas face growing energy and waste management challenges, both of which affect infrastructure management. Conversion of waste to energy can alleviate the burden.

• Extend the life of aging landfill sites and protect the environment
• Meet the energy needs of a growing population
• Encourage sustainable growth

Hear about the potential for alternative solutions from the partnership between the City of Ottawa and the Plasco Energy Group!

Rod Bryden, CEO, Plasco Energy Group

2:15 PM

Water/Wastewater Benchmark

Designing Performance Measures To Support Competing Aspects Of Infrastructure Management

Performance measures are becoming widely used to report on a growing number of important strategic initiatives including Sustainability, Asset Management, and Regulatory Compliance to name only a few. But how can today’s infrastructure manager allocate effort and resources amongst competing demands if performance measures do not roll up to the executive planning level?

• How do you determine allocation of budgets amongst competing requirements for continuous improvement?
• How can performance measures roll up to report on overall system works – and what are some potential pitfalls?
• Hear case studies from the National Water and Wastewater Benchmarking Initiative which illustrate some interesting results

Come away with a better idea of how to conduct performance measurement for all aspects of infrastructure management.

David Main, Project Manager, National Water and Wastewater Benchmarking Initiative, Earth Tech

3:00 PM

Sponsor Exhibit Area – Networking Break

Continue the debate and discussion with your peers while enjoying a refreshing break.

3:30 PM

Legal Liability for Failing to Adapt Infrastructure to Climate Change Risks

There is an evolved and rapidly developing state of knowledge about climate change. Acceptance of climate change has now become widespread, and there is now a significant understanding of the effects of climate change across Canada. This session will identify potential legal liability for:

• Governmental and quasi-governmental authorities, developers, owners, contractors, and design professionals
• Failing to take into account the impact of climate change risks when planning, designing, constructing, and operating infrastructure projects

Sabrina A. Gherbaz, Partner, Co-Head, Infrastructure and Energy Practice, Torys LLP

4:15 PM

Climate Change: A Global Challenge With Local Implications For Infrastructure

Climate change means that historical climate patterns and weather trends are no longer reliable predictors of future events, and is having a significant impact on Canada’s urban and rural infrastructure. While it is a global phenomenon, responses must be developed at a local level. There is no single ‘correct and universal’ adaptation response that is practical for every infrastructure system. Urban and rural municipalities need practical diagnostics and tools to help identify and prioritize infrastructure vulnerabilities. This session will:

• Outline some of the challenges faced by municipalities
• Identify recent work on developing the necessary diagnostics
• Explore what to expect in the years ahead
• Discuss what some jurisdictions are doing in the meantime

Michael Mortimer, Program Manager, Construction Standards, Canadian Standards Association

5:00 PM

Conference adjourns