199 Bay St, Suite 4000, Commerce Court West, Toronto, ON
Year called to bar: 2006 (ON)
Catherine practises in the areas of debt financing, project finance, infrastructure, public-private partnerships and construction law. Catherine regularly advises on major projects, including in the transportation, social infrastructure, alternative energy, power and healthcare sectors. She has represented a wide variety of market participants in the financing of infrastructure assets, including private equity investors, bond underwriters, other institutional investors and banks. She also has extensive experience in operating and term credit facilities, asset-based financings, lease financings and structured financial products, and in structuring, negotiating and documenting domestic and cross-border financing transactions in the bank, private placement and public markets. Catherine’s closed projects include the following: Highway 104 Sutherlands River to Antigonish Twinning Project, Gordie Howe International Bridge, Halifax Organics Management Project; MacDonald Block Reconstruction Project, Royal Inland Hospital Project, New Toronto Courthouse Project, Gander and Grand Falls-Windsor Care Homes Project, Nouvelle Autoroute 30, New Toronto Courthouse Project, Enterprise Data Centre Borden Expansion Project, John Hart Generating Station Replacement Project and Bow Lake Wind Farm.
Governments are still prepared to invest in infrastructure to keep the economy moving, but increased costs in the COVID era mean the private sector is seeking relief from the public sector
On September 28, 2018, Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, a Crown corporation of the Government of Canada, reached financial close with Bridging North America General Partnership (a partnership indirectly held by ACS Infrastructure Canada Inc., Fluor Canada Ltd. and Aecon Concessions, a division of Aecon Construction Group Inc.) for the design, construction, financing, operations, maintenance and rehabilitation of the Gordie Howe International Bridge Project, a new publicly-owned international bridge crossing between Windsor, Ont., and Detroit, Michigan.
On June 14, 2018, Nouvelle Autoroute 30, s.e.n.c.(NA30) successfully closed the $1.2 billion bond refinancing for Montreal highway Autoroute 30 (A-30) concession project (the A-30 Project). The bonds included approximately $828 million in long-term bonds, due 2042, priced at roughly 4.11% and approximately $390 million in medium-term bonds, due 2033, carrying a coupon of approximately 3.75%.
On February 22, 2018, Infrastructure Ontario, reached financial close with EllisDon Infrastructure NTC General Partnership to design, build, finance and maintain the New Toronto Courthouse Project.
On May 20, 2016, the Government of Canada, as represented by Defence Construction (1951) Ltd. (Defence Construction Canada) reached financial close with Uptime Infrastructure Partners (UIP) to design, build, finance, operate and maintain Shared Services Canada’s Enterprise Data Centre Borden, located at Canadian Forces Base Borden, Ontario, for the next 25 years.
The Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford Project reached financial close on August 27, 2015, when Access Prairies Partnership (APP) entered into a Project Agreement with the Province of Saskatchewan (Province) for an integrated mental health hospital and correctional facility.
Two Saskatchewan Joint-Use Schools Projects reached financial close on August 20, 2015, when Joint Use Mutual Partnership #1 and Joint Use Mutual Partnership #2 entered into Project Agreements with the Province of Saskatchewan (Province) for 18 elementary schools and 9 joint-use facilities. The projects, presently valued at $635 million, are design, build, finance and maintain public-private partnerships, each with an operations period of 30 years from service commencement.
