On October 28, 2016, Canada’s Minister of Health, the Honourable Jane Philpott MP, along with Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (“HSFC”) and MaRS Centre for Impact Investing, announced Canada’s first ever federally-funded social impact bond (“SIB”).
An SIB is an investment vehicle that uses traditional finance models to fund social projects. Through the purchase of bonds, investors finance projects that are aimed at addressing a particular social issue – in this instance helping older Canadians lower their blood pressure through exercise and healthy eating – and the supporting government will pay the investors back if the project is a success.
Miller Thomson advised HSFC on structuring the SIB, including structuring the unique relationships between HSFC and the SIB’s other major players – the investors and the Public Health Agency of Canada. The Miller Thomson team included Robert Stewart (corporate); Susan Manwaring, Andrew Valentine and Natasha Smith (social impact); and Nora Osbaldeston (financial services).
