3.1 Concurrently with the submission of the Technical Component of its Proposal, the Invited Respondent will provide the Security Deposit to the Minister in the amount of $3,000,000, valid for a period of twelve (12) months following the Technical Component Submission Date, by way of one or more irrevocable letters of credit which shall comply with the requirements of Section 5.2 of Volume 1 of the
Request for Proposals and be fully consistent with the model contained in Schedule 1-8 of Volume 1 of the Request for Proposals.
3.2 If the Invited Respondent fails to provide the Security Deposit to the Minister as required by Section 3.1, then the Minister may, by written notice, terminate the Invited Respondent’s involvement in the Consultation and Selection Process and reject the Proposal submitted by the Invited Respondent without review or any further consideration, in which case the Invited Respondent shall not be entitled to receive the Final Compensation, the Allowance or any other payment or compensation of any kind for any reason whatsoever.
3.3 Subject to the Minister’s right to retain and apply the Security Deposit as Liquidated Damages, as provided herein and subject to Section 3.7, the Security Deposit shall be returned to the Invited Respondent, if it is not selected as the Selected Proponent, within ten (10) Business Days following the earlier of : (i) Financial Closing, (ii) notice from the Minister or the Minister’s Representative that the Invited Respondent’s Proposal is not a Compliant Proposal, (iii) thirty (30) days after cancellation or termination of the Consultation and Selection Process by the Minister, or (iv) [June 19, 2009].
3.4 If the Invited Respondent is selected as the Selected Proponent, it shall provide the Additional Security Deposit for an additional sum of $15,000,000 (for a cumulative total of $18,000,000) to the Minister within five (5) business days of receiving the Notice of Selection of the Selected Proponent, which must be valid until the expiry date of the Security Deposit, by way of one or more irrevocable letter(s) of credit which must satisfy the requirements of Section 4.1.12 of Volume 1 of the Request for Proposals and be fully consistent with the model contained in Schedule 1-9 of Volume 1 of the Request for Proposals.
3.5 If the Invited Respondent is selected as the Selected Proponent and it fails to deliver the Additional Security Deposit to the Minister in accordance with Section 3.4, then the Minister may, by written notice, terminate the Invited Respondent’s involvement in the Consultation and Selection Process, reject its Proposal, even if it is a Compliant Proposal, cease all negotiations or other contact with the Invited Respondent and terminate all the Minister’s obligations to the Invited Respondent hereunder, in which case, the Invited Respondent shall not be entitled to the Final Compensation, the Allowance or any other payment or compensation of any kind for any reason whatsoever.
3.6 Subject to the Minister’s right to retain and apply the Additional Security Deposit as Liquidated Damages, as provided herein and subject to Section 3.7, the Additional Security Deposit shall be returned to the Invited Respondent, if it is selected as the Selected Proponent, within ten (10) business days following the earlier of : (i) Financial Closing; (ii) thirty (30) days after cancellation or termination of the Consultation and Selection Process by the Minister, or (iii) [June 19, 2009]
3.7 The Minister may call on the letter(s) of credit held as the Security Deposit or Additional Security Deposit and retain and apply the proceeds thereof to his own use, as Liquidated Damages, if :
3.7.1 the Invited Respondent withdraws its Proposal for any reason whatsoever after the Technical Component Submission Date as regards the Technical Component or after the Financial Component Submission Date as regards the Financial Component;
3.7.2 the Invited Respondent or one of its Collaborators is in default under this Agreement or fails to comply with the terms and conditions of the Request for Proposals, including those set out in Section 8 of Volume 1 of the Request for Proposals. The Minister shall give written notice to the Invited Respondent in respect of any such default, and where the default can be remedied, will grant at least five (5) Business Days to the Invited Respondent to remedy same;
3.7.3 an event contemplated in Section 4.3 hereof occurs;
3.7.4 after submitting a Compliant Proposal and receiving notice from the Minister to the effect that the Invited Respondent has been selected as the Selected Proponent, and the Invited Respondent does not deliver, within five (5) business days of notice of its selection, one or more irrevocable letters of credit in accordance with the requirements of Section 3.4, for a total additional amount of $15,000,000;
3.7.5 after submitting a Compliant Proposal and receiving notice from the Minister to the effect that the Invited Respondent has been selected as the Selected Proponent, the Invited Respondent does not execute the Partnership Agreement, or the Financial Closing does not take place at the latest on the date which is ninety (90) days after the Invited Respondent receives notice that it has been selected as the Selected Proponent (or such later date as the Minister may in his discretion specify in writing for this purpose).
3.8 Where the Minister is entitled to call on the Security Deposit or the Additional Security Deposit from the Invited Respondent pursuant to Sections 3.5, 3.7.4 or 3.7.5, the Minister, in his absolute discretion, may then designate another Invited Respondent who has submitted a Compliant Proposal as the Selected Proponent, by starting discussions with the Invited Respondent who has submitted a Compliant Proposal with the second lowest price, as determined pursuant to Section 6.7 of Volume 1 of the Request for Proposals, in which case the provisions of Sections 3.4 to 3.7 of this Agreement shall apply to said new Selected Proponent, with the appropriate adjustments being made.
3.9 Where the Minister is entitled to retain and apply the proceeds of the letter(s) of credit held as the Security Deposit or Additional Security Deposit for his own use
as Liquidated Damages, it is expressly agreed and understood that such retention and application represents and shall be construed as Liquidated Damages for the Invited Respondent’s failure to perform one or more of its obligations hereunder.
3.10 Subject to Section 3.7.2, the Minister shall not be required to give prior written notice to the Invited Respondent of his intention to call on the letter(s) of credit held as the Security Deposit or Additional Security Deposit. If the Invited Respondent gives the Minister written notice pursuant to this Agreement that it disputes the Minister’s right to call on the letter(s) of credit and to retain the Security Deposit or Additional Security Deposit as Liquidated Damages, then the Minister will nonetheless be entitled to call on the letter(s) of credit, but shall remain liable to repay all or a portion of the amount of the letter(s) of credit if the dispute is resolved in favour of the Invited Respondent pursuant to a final decision of a court of competent jurisdiction, together with interest charged at the legal rate prescribed under the Québec Code of Civil Procedure.
3.11 If, despite a request from the Minister to that effect, the Invited Respondent fails to renew or extend the term of the letter(s) of credit representing the Security Deposit or Additional Security Deposit at least thirty (30) days before the expiry date, the Minister may, at any time without notice to the Invited Respondent, call on the letter(s) of credit and retain the proceeds therefrom in the same manner as the Security Deposit or Additional Security Deposit.
ARTICLE 4 TERMINATION
4.1 This Agreement will terminate automatically on the earlier to occur of :
4.1.1 the Minister terminating this Agreement pursuant to the provisions of Sections 4.2 or 4.3; and
4.1.2 the Financial Closing.
4.2 The Minister may, by way of an Addendum, in his discretion and for any reason whatsoever and without liability to the Invited Respondent or any other party (except as expressly set forth in this Section), amend or otherwise extend any schedule or time period (including the Technical Component Submission Date, the Financial Component Submission Date and the schedule for implementing the A-30 PPP Completion) stipulated in the Request for Proposals or in this Agreement and suspend, postpone, cancel or terminate this Agreement or all or any part of the Consultation and Selection Process. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Minister may not, without consultation with and the consent of the Selected Proponent, which consent may not be arbitrarily withheld, amend or extend any schedule or time period regarding the deadline for the Financial Closing or the execution of the Partnership Agreement after the Selected Proponent has provided the Minister with the Security Deposit set out in Section 3.4. Subject to the
provisions hereof, it is understood that this Agreement (except Schedule C) may not be amended without the mutual consent of the contracting parties.
4.3 In addition to any other right that the Minister may have to terminate this Agreement, the Minister may, in his discretion, terminate this Agreement whereupon the Invited Respondent will no longer be permitted to participate in the Consultation and Selection Process, if the Invited Respondent, a Member, Participant or any other Person who has agreed to guarantee the obligations of the Invited Respondent or of a Member or Participant in respect of the A-30 PPP Completion, institutes proceedings or if proceedings are commenced against it in respect of bankruptcy, insolvency, winding-up or dissolution of the Invited Respondent, of a Member or of any other Person who has agreed to guarantee the obligations of the Invited Respondent or of a Member in respect of the A-30 PPP Completion. If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to this Section 4.3, the Invited Respondent will not be entitled to receive the Final Compensation or the Allowance.
4.4 Unless otherwise provided for herein, the Invited Respondent’s obligations under Articles 2, 3, 6, 9 and 11 and Sections 4.4 and 7.3 of this Agreement and all waivers, disclaimers, limitations of liability and indemnities in favour of the Minister and the other Releasees under this Agreement and the Request for Proposals shall survive the termination of this Agreement for a period of ten (10) years.
ARTICLE 5
INFORMATION SESSIONS AND DISCUSSION WORKSHOPS
5.1 The Invited Respondent and its Members and Participants accept and agree to comply with the Consultation and Selection Process. Moreover, the Invited Respondent and its Members and Participants undertake to abide by and comply with all terms and conditions of the Request for Proposals, including those set forth in Section 8 of Volume 1 of the Request for Proposals. The Invited Respondent undertakes to ensure that each of its Collaborators complies with each and every one of the terms and conditions of the Consultation and Selection Process and the Request for Proposals.
5.2 During the Consultation and Selection Process, the Minister intends to hold a General Information Session, Topical Information Sessions and Discussion Workshops, as described and set forth in Schedules C and D.
5.3 The Invited Respondent agrees to (i) attend the General Information Session, each Topical Information Session and each Discussion Workshop described in Schedule C, (ii) fully abide by the rules and terms and conditions set forth in Schedule C and (iii) ensure that each of its Collaborators and each Person attending the General Information Session, the Topical Information Sessions or the Discussion Workshops on behalf of the Invited Respondent or on behalf of any of its Collaborators, is familiar with the terms and conditions of this Article 5 and of Schedule C and complies therewith.
5.4 The Invited Respondent will ensure that at a minimum the Invited Respondent’s Contact Person or one of its Key Individuals attends the General Information Session, each of the Topical Information Sessions and each of the Discussion Workshops.
5.5 Each Person attending the General Information Session, each Topical Information Session and each Discussion Workshop, shall execute and deliver the waiver and discharge set out in Schedule B to the Minister. The Invited Respondent shall indemnify each of the Releasees in respect of any Claim arising directly or indirectly from the failure by a Person attending the General Information Session, a Topical Information Session or a Discussion Workshop on behalf of the Invited Respondent to sign and deliver the waiver and discharge and abide by the terms and conditions described therein.
5.6 Any cost or expense incurred by the Invited Respondent or its Collaborators in connection with the General Information Session, the Topical Information Sessions and the Discussion Workshops shall be borne by the Invited Respondent.
ARTICLE 6
NON-BINDING NATURE OF INFORMATION SESSIONS