RC120 SeptOct 2025 - Magazine - Page 22
HEALTHCARE
“I think at a high level the challenge to helping facilitate investor
participation in these projects is aligning and defining what public
policy goals are with respect to long-term care facilities.”
Canada demand this type “social infrastructure” form part of their investment pro昀椀le.
SEAN MORLEY: I’d suggest that there’s already
a track record in the healthcare sector of
public-private partnerships working well.
One only has to look at the number of hospital projects that have been delivered in the
province of Ontario over the last 15 years,
many of them done on a design build 昀椀nance
maintain model, making the participation of
lenders from the private sector has been an
important part of that delivery. So there are
some obvious di昀昀erences between a publicly-owned hospital and a long-term care facility that is going to have private interests at
play, but some of the same framework I think
can be used and I’d look at the performance
metric systems, the requirements to achieve
certain standards of care which has worked
reasonably well in the hospital sector. So
setting out clear performance standards that
operators are required to meet with either
incentives for achieving those metrics, or in
certain circumstances, deductions for failing
to achieve the desired outcome.
MELISSA DI MARCO: I would use the example
from south of the border, where they view
long-term care as part of a broader social infrastructure portfolio. And so, they
assess it not just on the short-term return
on investment but also on some of those
ESG alignment criteria. There’s a long-term
demographic demand, a stable yield, and I
think Canadian institutions can really learn
from that kind of holistic lens. There are also
examples in countries like the Netherlands
and France, who have managed to normalize these blended models, where in some
cases the state remains the funder and the
regulator, while the private sector builds
and operates the long-term care homes,
under very strict KPIs. And so Canada could
adopt a similar framework that focuses on
a performance-based contract as previously mentioned, that allows for there to be a
much more stable perception for investors
in the long term, eliminating the risk and
return expectations, but using it as more of a
holistic portfolio of a di昀昀erent asset class of
social infrastructure.
While it’s important to ensure safety and
quality through government oversight, too
much interference can stifle innovation and
efficiency. How can we achieve the right balance—reducing unnecessary delays without
compromising the standards and oversight
that guarantee quality care?
DRIVEN
BY INNOVATION
FOCUSED ON
IMPACT
ACCIONA delivers sustainable
infrastructure that puts people,
climate and legacy first
Jack Oliveira
Business Manager
22—RENEW CANADA – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2025
Luis Camara
Secretary Treasurer
Nelson Melo
President
Bernardino Ferreira
Vice-President
Marcello Di Giovanni
Recording Secretary
Jaime Cortez
E-Board Member
Pat Sheridan
E-Board Member
RENEWCANADA.NET
