Via eyes private funds for track
The CEO of Via Rail, Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, is optimistic the Crown corporation will be able to find private financing for a $3 billion dedicated passenger Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto line that he believes could eliminate the company’s deficit.
Desjardins-Siciliano, 59, said Via will discuss funding options with potential investors over the summer and will bring proposals to its sole shareholder — the federal government — by the end of this year or early 2016.
“I’m cautiously optimistic that the time has come,” said Desjardins-Siciliano after delivering a speech in Montreal on Tuesday to the Institut pour le partenariat public-privé, an organization that promotes public-private partnerships.
He said Via will meet with the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, which he describes as “the usual suspects who invest in passenger rail across the world,” to gauge interest in providing funds to build the line.
“In Canada it just so happens that in the past 30 years we have developed worldclass expertise in public private partnerships that have made some of our largest pension funds invest in passenger rail services in England, in Europe and across Canada,” said Desjardins-Siciliano.
The Caisse de dépôt said it can’t commit to investing in any project until it determines the returns for its depositors.
“The Caisse has shown its interest in good infrastructure projects,” said Maxime Chagnon, senior director of media relations at the Caisse de dépôt.
“We always analyze business opportunities that are submitted to us and each one is different, so we will never close the door to a good opportunity, that’s for sure.”
Chagnon said that although the pension fund invests in projects around the world, it is especially familiar with the Canadian business environment.
“We know that market better of course because it’s our home turf, but we have to analyze every project on its own merit,” he said.
The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System declined to comment and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan could not be reached.
Desjardins-Siciliano said potential investors could come from outside Canada, though the company would not disclose the names of any foreign organizations it might work with.