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Simultaneous Interpretation in All Sessions!
Most PowerPoint Presentations will be Available on our Website
after the conference!
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Gold
Sponsors |
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Media Sponsor |
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7:15
a.m. |
Registration
and continental Breakfast
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8:00
a.m. |
OPENING
PRESENTATION |
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An Overview of the
Montreal Leasing Market: Key Trends and Transactions in Office, Retail and
Industrial Real Estate
 An overview discussion on office, retail and industrial leasing
activity in the Montreal market over the past twelve months as well as looking
forward. What are the major trends from the perspective of each panelist? What
were some of the most significant transactions? How would you describe deal
flow, velocity, and pace in today’s market? How is the downturn in the economy
affecting occupancy rates, rental rates, leasing inducements etc? What are the
anticipated absorption rates? How large is the sub-lease market? What are the profiles of the tenants that are
looking for space? What are the resulting implications for leasing activity in
2009 and beyond? How much of an emphasis is there now on greener and more
environmentally enhanced buildings?
Moderator:
 Andrew Cross, Publisher, Espace
Industrial Market:
Paul-Éric Poitras, Managing Partner, Montreal
Office, NAI Commercial
Office Market:
Bruce Cowper, Partner & Senior Vice
President, Avison Young Quebec Inc.
Retail
Market:
Yves Maurais, Senior Partner and Founder,
Intercom Services Immobiliers
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9:15
a.m. |
MORNING REFRESHMENTS |
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9:40
a.m. |
CONCURRENT SESSIONS (Select
AA1 or
AA2)
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Session AA1
Major Office Leasing Market Trends and Issues in a Softening Market
 With office vacancy rates
starting to increase, there is a sense that we may soon no longer be in a
landlord’s market. How much unoccupied space is there currently on the market
in the downtown and suburban areas? How is the sub-lease space affecting
owners? What is happening to net rents in light of
prevailing economic conditions? What are projected long term rent trends? What
will likely happen in the remainder of 2009? How successful have landlords
been as well as brokers on their behalf in rebranding or repositioning B and C
class older office buildings vs. A space? How can landlords and tenants find
cost certainty and flexibility under the current market conditions? To what
extent are tenants still pushing the demand for greener building environments?
Are landlords still marketing their buildings the same way for the past twenty
years or are they finally differentiating their products and creating brand
awareness? Does any of this matter to the tenants?
Moderator:
Sandy McNair, President, Altus InSite
Panel:
Tom Grainger, President,
Strategique Real Estate Solutions Inc.
Georges Renaud, Vice President
&
Affiliated Real Estate Agent,
The Montreal Real Estate Group Inc.
Michael Stones, Director, Real Estate Management,
Oxford Properties Group Inc.
Session AA2
The Continuing Evolution of Operating Cost Issues: Are Landlords Using CAM
Effectively to Reduce Operation Costs and Make Buildings More Efficient?
Most users of office space are searching for
effective ways to reduce their real estate operating costs. With expenses
continuing to increase, energy can become one of the key issues going forward
as it represents the largest portion of a building’s operating costs next to
taxes. How can landlords and tenants work together to eliminate waste and
conserve energy? How are tenants responding to the idea of capital
expenditures that can enhance the efficiency of their building? What are the
top five issues in continuing debates over operating costs inclusions? What’s
fair for landlords and what’s fair for tenants? How are debates over
controllable vs. uncontrollable costs influencing landlord capital planning
and maintenance decisions? Will a fear of excessive spending to “green” a
building lead to more negotiations on limiting this type of capital
expenditures? How are landlords managing tenant audit risk? What is the
comparable experience with fixed operating costs vs. floating op costs? What
are the strengths and weaknesses of each approach? If CAM costs are reduced,
how are these savings passed on to tenants? If a tenant asks for full audit
rights, can they exercise such a right? What is the language of a good and a
bad audit clause, including how to settle audits, the timing and the process?
Panel:
Richard Burgos, Partner, Lavery de Billy LLP
Etta Comeau,
Senior Leasing Manager, Arcturus Realty
Corporation
Christian Guay, Real Estate Broker, Immobilière Nationale Inc.
Linda Plante, Director, Real Estate, SITQ
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10:45
a.m. |
CONCURRENT SESSIONS (Select
BB1 or
BB2) |
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Session BB1
Understanding Landlord’s and Tenant’s Rights in Today’s Market
 This panel will discuss the
latest practices in (and offer an explanation of key differences in) rights of
expansion, rights of contraction, early termination, rights of first refusal,
rights of first offer and other real estate leasing tools in today’s market
conditions. What are tenants asking for now and why? How are landlords
responding to special rights involving downsizing of premises? Learn how these
points should be addressed from the perspective of a landlord, a tenant, and a
litigator resulting in a more ideal lease. What are some sources of common
conflict between a landlord and a tenant over special rights and how can they
be avoided through the drafting process? How do you ensure that a ROFO and
ROFR are easy to administer? What are the issues to concern yourself with when
you are drafting them? Both landlords and tenants are trying to build
flexibility, and control, into their leasing arrangements. How can competing
interests co-exist?
What management tools are available to help landlords to keep track, and how
effective are they? When should these tools be used, and when refused?
Moderator:
Laurent Roy, Partner,
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
Panel:
Michèle Boutet, Senior Vice President, CB Richard Ellis (Quebec) Limited
Voula Neofotistos, Associate, McMillan LLP
Caroline Redler, Vice President & General Counsel,
The Westcliff Group of Companies
Session BB2
Industrial Real Estate Leasing Trends in Montreal in Current Economic
Conditions
An examination the most common trends in leasing industrial property in
greater Montreal market. What are your biggest challenges with tenants today
in the current economic conditions? To what extent has industrial space and
demand been affected by the current prevailing economic turbulence? What are
the major differences in leasing space for warehousing and logistics vs. for
manufacturing and other processing purposes? Have the standards for industrial
leases of environmental compliance increased along with the need for exit
reports? To what extent have the costs of construction and the price of
industrial land affected build-to-suit activity? What impact have these trends
had on lease rates? Have industrial leases changed to any major extent over
the past few years?
Moderator:
Arnold Fox,
Senior Vice President,
Colliers International (Quebec)
inc.
Panel:
Robert Giglio,
Director, Leasing, Bentall LP
Joe Iadeluca, Regional Director, Quebec, GE Canada Real Estate Equity
Carol Massoud, Director, Leasing & Property Management,
ING Real Estate Canada
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11:50
p.m. |
Informal Luncheon |
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12:50
p.m. |
CONCURRENT SESSIONS (Select
CC1 or
CC2) |
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Session CC1
The Growing Challenges in Retail Leasing
Change is a constant in retail development. The
panel will examine the implications of some of the latest trends in retail
real estate on leases and the relationships between landlords and the tenants.
At the same time, the discussion will take place within the context of the
current economic conditions. What impact is the economy having on retailers
and retail leasing in particular? What issues are arising or increasing? Do
you expect many retailers to fail in 2009? What impact is consolidation in
both the landlord as well as the tenant sector having on retail leasing? Why
are there so many issues pertaining to exclusive use clauses? Are they poorly
drafted or is it a function of market trends as retailers change their product
offerings and reposition themselves? What impact do clauses in the master
lease have re: subleasing? What are the rights of the head tenant vs. the
subtenants? How are mass transfers affecting the retail sector and what is and
what isn’t a mass transfer?
Moderator:
Denis Paquin, Partner, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
Panel:
Guy Charron, Executive Vice President & COO, Homburg Real Estate Trust
Robert Emblem,
Senior Vice President & Chartered Real Estate Agent,
Colliers International (Quebec) RE Inc.
Julie Martineau,
Vice
President,
Leasing, Quebec, SmartCentres
Session CC2
Risk Management in Today’s Leasing Environment
How is
leasing being executed differently in a slowing economy? How is covenant risk
being assessed? What is the current thinking on assessing tenant credit
worthiness and obtaining additional security for tenant promises? What are the
latest rules on guarantee, indemnities, and letters of credit? What other
steps can landlords take to minimize their risk? Why are some landlords
reviewing their standard lease at this time? With the growing number of LLPs,
LPs and other corporate entities, do landlords clearly know who their tenant
is? What are some other techniques and tactics that should be considered with
respect to understanding the quality of the tenant? Does the tenant know who
their landlord really is? To what extent are tenants taking a closer look at
who the landlord really is and their financial strength? How much due
diligence are lenders and investors in a building doing on leases in today’s
market? What is the role of the broker vs. the role of the lawyer in the
leasing process? Should a lease be effectively negotiated and executed without
one or the other?
Speaker and Moderator:
Louis-Martin Dubé, Partner,
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
Panel:
Robert Cressaty, Vice President, Leasing, Landmark Properties Inc.
Paul Fischlin, Senior Vice-President
& Affiliated Real Estate Agent,
Strategique Real Estate Solutions Inc.
Renée Vezina, Vice President,
Legal, Oxford Properties Group |
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2:00
p.m. |
CONCURRENT SESSIONS (Select
DD1 or
DD2) |
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Session DD1
Strategies for Bankruptcy, Insolvency and Managing Tenants in Distress
 The discussion will open by
exploring ways to manage potential tenant bankruptcy and insolvency in the
lease, dealing with a receiver, and the latest case law in Quebec on these
points. What are the latest issues in tenant default remedies?
Are morable hypothecs worth the hassle? Does the Landlord have the right to
cancel the lease? Does the Tenant? Does the Trustee? What happens to the letters
of credit, deposits and guarantees when the tenant goes bankrupt or seeks the
protection of insolvency laws? What options
could landlords use to manage defaulting or downsizing tenants? How can lease provisions manage
sublease activity without unduly penalizing the tenant? When can the landlord’s
consent be reasonably withheld?
Moderator:
Raymond Massi, Senior Partner,
RSM Richter Chamberland LLP
Panel:
Sandra Abitan, Partner, Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
Denis Bélanger, Chief Financial Officer, Redcliff Métivier
Session DD2
Mastering Lease Negotiation in Today’s Market: The Landlord vs. the Tenant
Perspective
 A panel of experts will participate in an engaging discussion on
lease negotiations in today’s market. What are some of the typical discussion
points that are easily resolvable in lease negotiation and what are the
arguments used to reach the middle ground? How do landlords perceive themselves?
How do tenants perceive themselves? What value could lawyers and brokers bring
to the landlord, to the tenant and to the overall process in a softening market?
How long should it take to finalize a deal in today’s market in Montreal? How do
you plan for step-downs on the landlords’ side while making your case for
changes on the tenants’ side? Are landlords taking a more aggressive approach to
attracting new tenants and keeping existing ones in their buildings? To what
extent are landlords and tenants in favour of short term renewals vs. incentives
vs. leasehold improvement allowances?
Moderator:
Christian Charbonneau, Senior Vice President, CB Richard Ellis
Limited
Panel:
Laurent Benarrous,
Senior Vice President, Jones Lang LaSalle
Valérie Mac-Seing,
Partner, Stikeman Elliott LLP
Peter J. Macpherson, Senior Director, Leasing, SITQ
Michelle Tremblay, Director, Transaction Management, Allied
Properties REIT
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3:00 p.m. |
Closing Roundtable Discussion |
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RAPID FIRE LEGAL ROUNDTABLE: TEN COMMON ISSUES IN 60 MINUTES
 A
fast paced session that will cover an assortment of “odds and sods” that people
often experience in the leasing process and do not always fully understand. Each
issue will be addressed by a legal expert in six minutes or less. Among the questions
that will be covered:
What is the purpose of the "fictitious outside
date" in a Commencement Date formula?
What are "gross-ups"?
Why do some leases allow landlords to terminate
in lieu of consenting to a sublease while others do not?
What is the covenant of Quiet Enjoyment?
What is Non-disturbance? Subordination?
Attornment? Who needs them? And Why?
Why or when does a default cause three months
rent to accelerate?
What is the fuss about damage and destruction
clauses?
What are the issues and responsibilities with
restoration and demolition clauses?
When can a clause stipulate a penalty for
non-performance?
What is the difference between a
morable, a
fixture and an improvement?
Speakers:
Stéphanie Beauregard, Partner, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
René Gauthier, Partner, Gascon & Associates LLP
Steven Chaimberg,
Partner, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP |
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4:00
p.m. |
ADJOURNMENT |
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Simultaneous Interpretation in All Sessions!
Most PowerPoint Presentations will be Available! |
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