Bondfield Construction Co. Ltd. was a Canadian construction company that specialized in public-sector projects in Ontario. The company entered creditor protection in 2019 amid severe financial distress and a procurement scandal at its largest project. In 2025, its former president, John Aquino, and a senior hospital executive, Vas (Vasos) Georgiou, were convicted of fraud related to the procurement of the St. Michael's Hospital redevelopment in Toronto.[1][2]
History
Bondfield was founded in the 1970s by Ralph Aquino in the Toronto area, focusing on schools and public-infrastructure projects.[3] Ralph's sons, John and Steve Aquino, later became senior executives; John Aquino served as president and CEO until October 2018, when he was replaced by Steve Aquino as the firm's finances deteriorated.[4]
On April 4, 2019, Bondfield and affiliates obtained protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, with EY appointed as court-supervised monitor.[5] By this time, Bondfield was significantly behind on its two largest projects and was being sued by subcontractors for unpaid invoices. The company was granted creditor protection in April 2019 after failing to renegotiate a lending facility with high-yield lender Bridging Finance Inc..[6]
Criminal charges and conflict of interest
In March 2023, Ontario's Serious Fraud Office and Ontario Provincial Police charged John Aquino and Vas Georgiou with fraud over $5,000 and related offences concerning the hospital's C$300 million redevelopment project.[7][8]
In October 2025, Justice Peter Bawden of the Superior Court of Justice (Ontario) found both men guilty of two counts each of fraud over $5,000.[1][2] Bawden's 135-page decision concluded that Georgiou secretly provided Aquino with “confidential, highly material and obviously intended to assist Bondfield” during the bid evaluation process, using a Bondfield-supplied email address and a BlackBerry phone.[1] The ruling noted that although Bondfield's C$299 million bid was the lowest among three finalists and its technical design scored lower than a competing C$538 million proposal from
St. Michael's Hospital redevelopment
Bondfield's “SMH 3.0” redevelopment contract was awarded in March 2015 for approximately C$299 million.[2] Construction began the same year. In December 2018, the project's special-purpose subsidiary (“Project Co”) was placed in receivership, and on April 4, 2019, Bondfield obtained CCAA protection.[6]
Following the receivership, surety provider Zurich Insurance Co. Ltd. assumed liability under performance bonds and retained EllisDon to complete the work.[2][13][14]
Zurich subsequently commenced a civil action against Bondfield, Aquino, Georgiou, and
Creditor protection and recovery
The monitor alleged that more than C$80 million in false invoices were issued to Bondfield and its affiliate Forma-Con by entities controlled by Aquino, and that C$33 million of those payments were subject to statutory recovery.[17] The Supreme Court of Canada affirmed those findings in Aquino v. Bondfield Construction Co. (2024 SCC 31), holding that a corporation can be deemed to act with its directing mind's fraudulent intent for purposes of Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act s. 96.[18][19] Aquino was adjudged personally bankrupt in June 2025, with reported debts exceeding C$37 million.[1]
Infrastructure Ontario procurement and oversight
Bondfield was one of the most active mid-sized contractors participating in Infrastructure Ontario's Alternative Finance and Procurement (AFP) model during the 2010s. Between 2013 and 2015, Infrastructure Ontario awarded the company at least five major projects worth a combined C$840 million, including redevelopments at St. Michael's Hospital, Joseph Brant Hospital, Milton District Hospital, the ErinoakKids children's treatment centres, and Cambridge Memorial Hospital.[12] Critics later described Infrastructure Ontario's decision to entrust so many concurrent projects to a single contractor as a major governance failure.
Procurement controversy
The 2015 St. Michael's Hospital procurement became Infrastructure Ontario's most controversial AFP project after The Globe and Mail revealed that the hospital's chief administrative officer, Vasos Georgiou, had undisclosed business ties with Bondfield president John Aquino.[9] Infrastructure Ontario initially informed the Ontario Provincial Police but then opted to conduct its own inquiry rather than a criminal referral.[12] The agency's then-general counsel, Marni Dicker, established a special board committee that commissioned an internal investigation by external counsel.
Projects impacted by insolvency
Bondfield's insolvency affected multiple public-sector construction projects across Ontario, including hospital redevelopments and transit projects procured under Infrastructure Ontario's AFP model.
- Cambridge Memorial Hospital — Bondfield's delay-plagued hospital expansion was in default at the time of the 2019 bankruptcy filing. Lenders and the hospital called the Zurich performance bond after the project fell more than two years behind schedule.[24] Under a 2020 settlement agreement, Zurich retained EllisDon to complete the remaining Phase 3 work at a cost of approximately C$187 million.[25]
- Union Station — Bondfield was the general contractor for Phase 2 of Toronto's major station revitalization, responsible for concourse and retail reconstruction. The project experienced significant delays and cost overruns, and by 2019 was more than five years behind schedule.[26][27] After Bondfield's insolvency, the City of Toronto worked with Zurich, its surety provider, to manage completion of Stages 2 and 3 under the existing contract. A 2022 City Council report recorded a confidential settlement among the city, Bondfield, and Zurich following substantial completion of the project.
Earlier completed projects
- ErinoakKids Centre for Treatment and Development — Bondfield led construction of three new children's treatment centres in Brampton, Oakville, and Mississauga under a C$163.3-million Infrastructure Ontario design-build-finance contract signed in 2014.[31][32] Following completion, staff and ministry officials reported persistent water leaks, cracked structural elements, and elevator malfunctions. Freedom-of-information records later cited by The Globe and Mail showed that the Ministry of Children and Youth Services raised concerns about IO's handling of the project, with internal e-mails describing it as “a failure of process on so many levels.”[12] Subsequent remediation was overseen by IO and replacement contractors after Bondfield's 2019 insolvency.
- Joseph Brant Hospital (Burlington) — The redevelopment project experienced delays and cost disputes prior to completion in 2018, shortly before Bondfield's creditor protection filing.[21]
- Milton District Hospital
External links
References
- Zach Dubinsky. Former Ontario hospital exec and construction company president guilty of fraud tied to $300M project CBC News, 7 October 2025, retrieved 10 October 2025^
- Tu Thanh Ha. What to know about the hospital redevelopment at the centre of the Bondfield fraud case The Globe and Mail, 7 October 2025, retrieved 13 October 2025^
- Peter Kenter. Bondfield: as good as its word