Quebec’s Plan Nord Are you ready to make your project a success? Teaming to realize your potential in Northern Quebec About Plan Nord Harnessing new resources to create new economic development for Quebec Plan Nord is a priority initiative of the Quebec government aimed at developing an immense land mass covering almost 1.2 million square km in the province’s north. It provides for an investment of $2.1 billion over the next five years, including nearly $1.2 billion in infrastructure development. Over the next 25 years, Plan Nord is expected to generate investments of over $80 billion. Plan Nord focuses on developing the economic potential of Northern Quebec, with an emphasis on the mining industry, infrastructure, energy, environmental protection and transportation. While exploration and mining companies and local businesses and communities are likely to benefit from Plan Nord’s success, stakeholders who develop a strategy to address issues such as infrastructure and transportation requirements, capital allocation and project management, income taxes, resource/skill needs, cost and supply chain review, and sustainability review could gain a competitive edge. Our Plan Nord team has outlined some of the areas to think about, critical success factors and areas where we can help.
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Quebec’s Plan Nord Are you ready to make
your project a success?Teaming to realize your potential
in Northern Quebec
About Plan Nord
Harnessing new resources to create new economic development for QuebecPlan Nord is a priority initiative of the Quebec government aimed at developing an immense land mass covering almost 1.2 million square km in the province’s north. It provides for an investment of $2.1 billion over the next five years, including nearly $1.2 billion in infrastructure development. Over the next 25 years, Plan Nord is expected to generate investments of over $80 billion.
Plan Nord focuses on developing the economic potential of Northern Quebec, with an emphasis on the mining industry, infrastructure, energy, environmental protection and transportation.
While exploration and mining companies and local businesses and communities are likely to benefit from Plan Nord’s success, stakeholders who develop a strategy to address issues such as infrastructure and transportation requirements, capital allocation and project management, income taxes, resource/skill needs, cost and supply chain review, and sustainability review could gain a competitive edge.
Our Plan Nord team has outlined some of the areas to think about, critical success factors and areas where we can help.
2e de couvertureFlap intérieur 3e de couverture
Zahid Fazal Quebec Mining Industry Leader and Plan Nord Team Leader
As a Quebecer, I applaud the political initiative to support economic development in Quebec north of the 49th parallel, where mineral deposits of all types are found. Plan Nord and the government’s investments will facilitate access to northern resources that are in ever-growing demand worldwide, particularly in emerging markets.
These efforts to promote Quebec’s underground riches and attract mining companies to the province are already seeing success. To date, a number of them have committed to investments of several billion dollars as quest for new deposits and mine exploration spending reached record levels in 2011.
Quebec now faces a major challenge — supporting investment projects with social services and infrastructures that fit both the environment and the population. In this, we see a world of opportunity, not only for Quebec’s future, but for an industry that will continue to see growing demand along with other sectors that revolve around it.
Are you ready to tap all that potential?
Sylvain Vincent Eastern Canada Managing Partner
Think back to the Quebec government’s announcement in the 1970s of its intention to build a huge hydroelectric power development project to meet expected increases in demand for electricity. The James Bay Project, at the time seen as the project of the century, has been the provider and the generator of immense wealth for all citizens of Quebec.
Today, Quebec is once again energized by a pivotal project — with Plan Nord, the province is preparing to undertake the economic development of its vast northern region. But beyond economic potential, social and environmental issues will drive each decision to ensure the sustainable development of our territory.
Finding the right blend of government, municipal, community and business interests will be the key for Plan Nord.
Developing Northern Quebec offers the potential to once again generate great wealth for all citizens of Quebec. Let us make Plan Nord the project of the 21st century!
A message from...
InsideAreas to think about .................1
• Access to Northern Quebec: new infrastructures for exploring uncharted terrain .....1
• Capital projects and engineering – teaming to bring your project to life .........1
• Tax implications .....................2
• Risk management: making informed decisions ......4
• Financial evaluation and modelling – your keys to return on investment ..............4
• Environmental sustainability: make it acceptable and profitable ........5
Launching a successful project: how we can help ...........6
Meet with our team ..................8
Quebec’s Plan Nord Are you ready to make your project a success? 1
Access to Northern Quebec:new infrastructures forexploring uncharted terrainAccess to Quebec’s vast northern reaches is a major challenge for companies that want to share in the economic development proposed by Plan Nord. The area is not only difficult to reach and roads must be built, but also access to electricity, rail transportation, ports, high‑speed internet and other telecommunications services must be established.
One of Plan Nord’s primary objectives is to make the region accessible. This will involve significant strategic infrastructure investment requiring complex planning and financing processes. The business model strongly favoured by the government is private‑sector participation in financing public infrastructures — mainly transportation and energy — and managing the related development risk.
Whether for investor reporting or for your negotiations with government, it is essential to prepare a robust and complete business case that fully explores the infrastructure options and their economic feasibility. The business case must include a bankable financial model that explores the range of partnership and financing options available.
Our team has extensive experience working with Quebec institutions and the Quebec Treasury Board and ministerial policies for the successful development of infrastructure.
We can help you build an effective working relationship and negotiate a winning partnership with authorities to make your project a success.
Capital projects andengineering – teaming tobring your project to lifeWhether you’re looking to launch a new construction or remodel an existing structure above the 49th parallel, your project involves significant capital. Achieving the desired performance goals of high‑quality, on‑time and on‑budget delivery can be challenging, especially in remote locations.
To successfully bring your project to life under Plan Nord, you’ll require professionals such as licensed architects, professional engineers, supply chain specialists, accountants and
construction professionals.
We can help you gain an edge in negotiations for contract terms and contract options. Our methodology, systems and control tools are carefully targeted to accelerate project development/
construction and reduce capital expenditures without sacrificing quality. Our ability to quickly identify root causes of issues can help you complete your next project on time so that your resources can move more quickly to the next one.
One of Plan Nord’s primary objectives is to make the region accessible.
Areas to think about
Quebec’s Plan Nord Are you ready to make your project a success?2
Tax implicationsTax is a significant cost in measuring a project’s return on investment. Scoping the tax implications can be difficult, especially for newcomers to this market.
Here are some of the areas where our team can help you.
• Working with Quebec’s new Mining Tax Act: Since 2011, businesses in the mining sector have been subject to the new Quebec Mining Tax Act. A tax rate increase from 12% to 16%, a new mine‑by‑mine method for computing duties, a reduction in the depreciation allowance rate, and replacement of the “additional exploration allowance for a northern mine” by the “additional exploration allowance for a mine situated in northern Quebec” are just a few of the changes mining companies face.
We can help you build your compliance and reporting bases, along with long‑term tax strategies for your company that will make it easier to carry out your Northern Quebec projects.
Since 2011, businesses in the mining sector have been subject to the new Quebec Mining Tax Act.
Quebec’s Plan Nord Are you ready to make your project a success? 3
• SR&ED capital asset and expenditure reviews: Projects that can be realized under Plan Nord include new construction and infrastructures, and new capital assets. Classifying capital assets for income tax purposes can have significant implications for your organization’s tax payable and related cash flows.
We can review your guidelines and practices relating to scientific research and experimental development (SR&ED), capitalization and the classification of capital expenditures for tax purposes, and index the credits that apply to your business.
• Tax rules surrounding new structures or new partnerships: Special considerations apply to projects under Plan Nord. Whether you need support with federal or provincial flow‑through shares for financing exploration or development, with the financial aspects for foreign investment under Plan Nord, or with evaluating the different modes of participation in a project from a tax point of view, we can help you meet the administrative requirements and improve your tax structure.
• Tax impact on transactions: Plan Nord deployment will involve many cross‑border transactions. Tax advisory will be key not only to managing compliance risk but also to making informed decisions and getting the upper hand in negotiations. With our extensive Canadian and global network and our local team’s knowledge of specific requirements, we can work with you through the entire lifecycle of a Northern Quebec transaction.
• International talent and skill: Executing on Plan Nord will stretch the specialized skills of mining companies more than ever. The competitive pressure to search for talent will increase dramatically, both locally and internationally. With its harsh northern climate and still largely undeveloped terrain, Quebec faces a challenge to attract, integrate and retain the immigrant talent and temporary workers — technicians, engineers or management — required to meet Plan Nord demand.
We can help you in all areas of human resources management, from compensation and compliance to tax and immigration obligations.
Accepting and actively managing risk can add significant value to your project
Quebec’s Plan Nord Are you ready to make your project a success?4
Risk management: makinginformed decisionsPlan Nord presents significant opportunities for businesses in Quebec and around the world. But doing business in a northern region where only minimal infrastructure is already in place can present significant risk. Additionally, getting your project accepted by local communities and finding the skilled workforce to effectively implement your project are examples of other important risks under Plan Nord that need to be managed.
History has shown that organizations that are most successful when presented by such opportunities are those that identify these risks and implement an effective risk management plan to manage them. The process of accepting and actively managing risk can add significant value to your project, even if the feared events never happen. With millions of dollars at stake, thousands of details to monitor and high stakeholder expectations, managing the many opportunities emerging from Plan Nord means negotiating a complex maze of responsibility and accountability.
Through our experience working through various risk scenarios and performing impact analysis, we have helped companies prepare themselves for existing and potential risks. We’ve helped organizations tighten processes and controls, and become more agile and able to seize strategic opportunities and operate more effectively, no matter what the market conditions.
We can help you achieve a highly functioning, integrated risk and control environment that can not only help you decrease complexity and cost, but also improve business performance and decision‑making and, ultimately, competitive advantage.
Financial evaluation andmodelling – your keys toreturn on investmentPlan Nord will generate a host of business opportunities, particularly in energy, mining, infrastructure, environmental protection and transportation. Many projects will take part in realizing its full potential. But because of the complexity of the projects Plan Nord involves, robust financial evaluations and modelling will be needed — even insisted on by stakeholders — for making strategic decisions or for tax purposes.
Quebec’s Plan Nord Are you ready to make your project a success? 5
Evaluations may also be required for compliance or to provide assurance that businesses are fulfilling their fiduciary duty to provide independent financial analyses for shareholders and boards of directors. In short, before taking major decisions such as asset acquisitions or sales, public market transactions or transactions that have tax or regulatory implications, make sure you assess all your options so you can improve your return on investment.
We can help you find approaches that are right for your business for projects north of the 49th.
Environmental sustainability:make it acceptable andprofitableWith industrial activity prohibited on 50% of the territory covered by Plan Nord, protection of the environment will be core to business decisions. The mining industry faces many environmental issues, including impacts on water quality, the preservation of biodiversity, tailings management, contamination of the soil and other issues. And the recent adoption in Quebec of a cap‑and‑trade system for greenhouse gas emission allowances adds further environmental constraints for businesses.
And that’s not all. To secure social acceptability, projects must create value for local communities, as well as for promoters and government. Here, as elsewhere in the world, it’s no longer enough to simply meet regulatory minimums. Development projects, like existing operations, must also factor in social restrictions and cumulative impact on local populations to create socio‑economic spinoffs for the region and ensure the social acceptability of their plans. Key to this is involving stakeholders, understanding their expectations and local context and choosing strategic actions that improve return on investment for all parties.
We can help you plan, assess and choose actions strategically to secure the social and environmental acceptability of your project. And with ISO 14065 certification, we can support you in modelling and auditing atmospheric emissions under the greenhouse gas cap‑and‑trade system.
We can help you find approaches that are right for your business for projects north of the 49th.
Quebec’s Plan Nord Are you ready to make your project a success?6
Launching a successful project: how we can help
Infrastructure andtransportation Negotiation of government partnerships
Project evaluation
Project finance
Capital projectsengineering Business process improvement and optimization
Supply chain and procurement advisory
Capital cost review
Project advisory
Shared services
Supply chain and logistics optimization
Finance transformation road map
Enterprise cost reduction
Working capital improvement
Cost management and profitability analysis
Capital allocation
Tax strategy and creditsMining tax
Tax return preparation and compliance
Tax structuring for domestic and international mining ventures
Tax controversy and dispute resolution
Mergers and acquisitions
•Operationalworkforceplanning
•Operationalreadiness,transition and change sustainability
Mining transaction tax
Capital asset review
SR&ED
Expatriate tax services
Transfer pricing
Tax ruling application
Indirect tax – sales taxes, customs, international trade, etc.
Tax risk strategy
Human resources,compensation andimmigration Immigration
Tax return preparation and compliance
Expatriate tax services
Social security
Talent management
Remuneration packages
International payroll
Our multidisciplinary Plan Nord team has the local perspective and the Canadian and global network support to help your business achieve its potential. The following are examples of areas where we can help.
Quebec’s Plan Nord Are you ready to make your project a success? 7
Governanceand risks Enterprise risk assessment
Risk and control framework assessment
Contract risk assessment
Remuneration packages
IT enterprise‑wide governance, risk and compliance
IT security
Corporate governance advisory
Internal audit advisory and outsourcing
Financing andtransaction advisory Mergers and acquisitions
Pre‑acquisition financial due diligence
Pre‑financing financial due diligence
Valuation and business modelling
Commercial due diligence services
Integration services
Pre‑transaction operational due diligence
Transaction effectiveness diagnostic
Transaction exit readiness services
Working capital and cash flow advisory
Capital raising
Finance function advisory
Assurance andfinancial accountingadvisory External and internal audit
Initial public offering
Accounting assistance (acquisition, initial public offering)
Canadian and foreign regulatory compliance
Accounting under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), private enterprise generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and US GAAP
Assistance with emerging IFRS developments
Translation services
Environment andsustainability Climate change ‑ modelling and auditing of greenhouse gas emissions
Sustainability strategy, implementation and reporting
Community investments planning and evaluation
How we can help
Infrastructure andtransportation
Capital projectsengineering
Tax strategy and credits
Human resources,
compensation and
immigration
Governanceand risks
Financing andtransaction
advisory
Assurance andfinancial
accountingadvisory
Environment andsustainability
Quebec’s Plan Nord Are you ready to make your project a success?8
Montreal
Zahid Fazal Leader, Quebec Plan Nord and Mining and Metals 514 879 3519 [email protected]
Ronny Aoun Human resources, compensation and global mobility 514 879 8248 [email protected]
Patrick Bossé Energy 514 874 4375 [email protected]
Vincent Cartier Montreal Advisory Leader and Quebec Government and Public Sector Leader 514 879 8132 [email protected]
Michel Gallant Business Development Executive 514 879 8129 [email protected]
Nathalie Ladouceur Financing and transaction advisory 514 879 8264 [email protected]
André Lortie Tax strategy and credits 514 879 6686 [email protected]
Thibaut Millet Environment and sustainability 514 879 2846 [email protected]
Philippe Rousseau Immigration 514 879 2619 [email protected]
Daniel Roth Infrastructures and transportation 514 879 2713 [email protected]
Robert Tousignant Capital projects/engineering 514 879 8020 [email protected]
Quebec City
Jacques Hébert Government and public sector 418 640 3012 [email protected]
André Vézina Tax strategy, tax credits and global mobility 418 640 5127
Meet with our team
To learn more about how we can help you achieve your potential with Quebec’s Plan Nord, contact one of our professionals today.
2e de couvertureFlap intérieur 3e de couverture
Zahid Fazal Quebec Mining Industry Leader and Plan Nord Team Leader
As a Quebecer, I applaud the political initiative to support economic development in Quebec north of the 49th parallel, where mineral deposits of all types are found. Plan Nord and the government’s investments will facilitate access to northern resources that are in ever-growing demand worldwide, particularly in emerging markets.
These efforts to promote Quebec’s underground riches and attract mining companies to the province are already seeing success. To date, a number of them have committed to investments of several billion dollars as quest for new deposits and mine exploration spending reached record levels in 2011.
Quebec now faces a major challenge — supporting investment projects with social services and infrastructures that fit both the environment and the population. In this, we see a world of opportunity, not only for Quebec’s future, but for an industry that will continue to see growing demand along with other sectors that revolve around it.
Are you ready to tap all that potential?
Sylvain Vincent Eastern Canada Managing Partner
Think back to the Quebec government’s announcement in the 1970s of its intention to build a huge hydroelectric power development project to meet expected increases in demand for electricity. The James Bay Project, at the time seen as the project of the century, has been the provider and the generator of immense wealth for all citizens of Quebec.
Today, Quebec is once again energized by a pivotal project — with Plan Nord, the province is preparing to undertake the economic development of its vast northern region. But beyond economic potential, social and environmental issues will drive each decision to ensure the sustainable development of our territory.
Finding the right blend of government, municipal, community and business interests will be the key for Plan Nord.
Developing Northern Quebec offers the potential to once again generate great wealth for all citizens of Quebec. Let us make Plan Nord the project of the 21st century!
A message from...
InsideAreas to think about .................1
• Access to Northern Quebec: new infrastructures for exploring uncharted terrain .....1
• Capital projects and engineering – teaming to bring your project to life .........1
• Tax implications .....................2
• Risk management: making informed decisions ......4
• Financial evaluation and modelling – your keys to return on investment ..............4
• Environmental sustainability: make it acceptable and profitable ........5
Launching a successful project: how we can help ...........6
Meet with our team ..................8
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