Fasken advised the Government of Canada – acting through the Department of Justice, Public Services and Procurement Canada (“PSPC”) and the Correctional Service of Canada (“CSC”), as Contracting Authority – on the procurement and contracting of the new Health Centre of Excellence (“HCoE”), a 155-bed stand-alone health care facility to be built beside Dorchester Penitentiary in Dorchester, New Brunswick.
The HCoE facility will replace the aging 53-bed Shepody Healing Centre and will provide a national, bilingual, multi-level security health facility offering physical and mental health care to federal inmates, including women, older individuals, Indigenous and ethnocultural persons, and those with mobility needs.
Following a competitive request for qualifications and request for proposals process involving three shortlisted proponents, the Government of Canada selected EllisDon Corporation as the successful proponent to design and build the HCoE under a progressive design-build delivery model. The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc announced the award in Dorchester on September 29, 2026, together with the Honourable Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Public Safety, and the Honourable Joël Lightbound, Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement.
Minister LeBlanc described the HCoE as set to become the largest federal investment in Atlantic Canada since the Confederation Bridge, which linked Prince Edward Island to New Brunswick and cost approximately $1 billion on its completion in 1997. The project is anticipated to represent a total investment of more than $1 billion, with the design and construction phases expected to create approximately 450 jobs in the region, and the completed facility expected to employ approximately 300 staff. Construction and related work are expected to span five to six years, with completion targeted for 2032. EllisDon Corporation is now working alongside CSC and PSPC to finalize the design and move toward construction.
Fasken was engaged by the Government of Canada as legal counsel to Contracting Authority in connection with the structuring, drafting and negotiation of the Development and Master Construction Agreement ("DMCA"), the comprehensive progressive design-build contract governing the development, design and construction of the HCoE facility. Fasken assisted Contracting Authority through every stage of the transaction, from structuring the commercial and risk framework through a competitive procurement process, to negotiating the full suite of project and ancillary documentation required to allocate risk, establish governance, and protect the parties' interests across the life of the project. Fasken continues to support Contracting Authority as the project advances through design, construction and commissioning toward completion.
The mandate was led by Sean Morley, Tom Barlow, Edward Lynde and Shazad Omarali, who advised the Department of Justice, PSPC and CSC through to execution of the DMCA on September 28, 2026. The DMCA will govern the parties' relationship through design, construction and commissioning of the facility toward its targeted 2032 completion.
Jurisdictions
- Ontario
- Canada
