Justin Leroux, Ecofiscal Commissioner and professor at HEC Montréal, and Carl Yates, General Manager at Halifax Water, will host a 2-hour live and interactive webinar discussing practical options for designing and implementing user fees for water and wastewater. This module will explore specific case studies, illustrating the environmental, fiscal and asset management benefits of well-designed user fees. Following the webinar, participants will be asked to complete an online case study with questions.
Module 1 is a prerequisite and must be completed before taking Module 2-5. Students who participate in all webinars and complete all quizzes and case studies for Modules 1, 3 and 5 will receive a certificate.
Instructors
JUSTIN LEROUX
Associate Professor, Department of Applied Economics, HEC Montréal
Justin Leroux is an Associate Professor at the Department of Applied Economics of HEC Montréal. He is also a member of the Center for Interuniversity Research and Analysis of Organizations (CIRANO) and the Centre de Recherche en Éthique (CRÉ).
Prof. Leroux holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Economics from Rice University, as well as an M.A. in Mathematics applied to Economics from the Sorbonne University in Paris. He is also laureate of the Nationwide French competition for tenured professorship in Economics. Prof. Leroux also holds an engineering degree from the National Superior School for Advanced Technologies (ENSTA), Paris, France.
His research interests focus on fair division and cost sharing, specifically of public services and in environmental issues. Prof. Leroux is also involved in consulting for private firms and governments for which he made contributions regarding the optimal pricing of call center services, road networks and water services.
Prof. Leroux is also the recipient of several research grants from different organizations including Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Quebec Research Fund for Society and Culture (FQRSC) and the French National Research Agency (ANR).
CARL YATES
General Manager, Halifax Water
Carl Yates has extensive experience in the water utility profession having served as Project Engineer, Chief Engineer and General Manager of the Halifax Water Commission from 1988 to 1996. In 1996, he was appointed General Manager of the Halifax Regional Water Commission which assumed a regional mandate after the municipal amalgamation of the greater Halifax area in 1996.
In 2007, Mr. Yates oversaw the formation of the first regulated water, wastewater and stormwater utility in Canada with the transfer of wastewater and stormwater assets from Halifax Municipality. Halifax Water is a body corporate municipal utility, generating approximately 140 million dollars in annual revenue with assets of over $2 Billion.
Mr. Yates is Past Chair of the Focus Area Council of the Water Research Foundation, Vice Chair of the Canadian Water Network, and a member of the Board of Directors of Special Olympics Nova Scotia.
