RC106 MayJune2023 - Magazine - Page 7
HIGH FREQUENCY RAIL PROJECT TO QUALIFY CANDIDATES
Ontario’s Legislative Building first opened its
doors in 1893 and has not undergone a major
renovation in more than 100 years.
HRH: GOVERNMENT OF CANADA, QUEENS’S PARK: LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO
RENOVATIONS COMING
TO QUEEN’S PARK
The Ontario government introduced the Queen’s
Park Restoration Act, 2023, which if passed,
will establish a ministry called the Queen’s Park
Restoration Secretariat to oversee the planning
and renovation of the Legislative Building at
Queen’s Park, including the temporary re-location
of operations.
The restoration project—which could top $1
billion—includes careful interior deconstruction
to preserve heritage elements while modernizing
building systems to address safety and
accessibility issues. In addition, the project will
include securing and preparing a temporary place
to conduct parliamentary business.
“Our government’s proposal strikes an
important balance between the need to leverage
the infrastructure expertise, fiscal transparency,
and accountability of the government with the
independence and oversight of our Legislative
Assembly,” said Paul Calandra, Minister of
Legislative Affairs. “While much work lies ahead, I
am confident the restoration of Queen’s Park will
make it a functional place of business for another
130 years.”
The federal government has begun the process to select a private developer partner to work in collaboration with VIA
HFR to design and develop the High Frequency Rail project.
THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA announced a
major step in the procurement process for the
High Frequency Rail project: the launch of the
Request for Qualifications (RFQ).
The purpose of the RFQ is to identify and
qualify up to three top candidates who will
be invited to participate in the Request for
Proposals (RFP) process, anticipated to begin
in summer 2023. The procurement process
will help select a private developer partner
to work in collaboration with VIA HFR, the
newly created subsidiary of VIA Rail, to
design and develop the High Frequency Rail
project.
“The Request for Qualifications represents an important step in the procurement
process for the High Frequency Rail project.
HFR will reduce pollution in the transport
sector, provide better and faster service to
travellers and create good jobs for the middle class,” said Minister of Transport, Omar
Alghabra.
The Request for Qualifications is the next
step following the Request for Expressions of
Interest that opened in March 2022. The Request for Qualifications launches the formal
procurement process and outlines:
The context and features of the High Frequency Rail project (e.g., current challenges
in the Corridor, purpose of the project, and
objectives).
The procurement process, including the
evaluation criteria regarding how proposals
will be evaluated, security requirements for
candidates, funding support for proposal
development during the RFP process, and
key principles of the commercial agreement
for the execution phase.
The key players in the project (e.g., VIA
HFR, private developer partner, VIA Rail,
Government of Canada) and how they will
work together.
Project outcomes that the private developer partner will be expected to meet or exceed
(e.g., shorter journey times, more frequent
departures, more reliable service, etc.).
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MAY/JUNE 2023 – RENEW CANADA 7
