Anna M. Tosto

Anna Tosto’s practice focuses on corporate financing for the technology and transportation sectors. She regularly assists clients on asset-based finance as well as mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations and large contract negotiations.

A leader in the international transportation community, Anna serves as Canadian counsel on financing transactions to many of North America's Class 1 railways. She is also a frequent speaker at international rail finance conferences. Anna has been called upon in cross-border rail securitization transactions, acting either for lenders, lessors or lessees. In the rail sector, Anna has worked on regulatory mandates including negotiation of shipper/carrier contracts under the Canada Transportation Act.

She has also worked on privatization files relating to ports and airports. When the Government of Canada began its privatization of airports in the mid 1990’s, Anna was lead counsel for a number of Canadian airports in that exercise and most notably was lead negotiator for the MacDonald Cartier International Airport Authority.

Acting as an advisor to technology companies, Anna is involved financings, acquisitions, divestitures and negotiations of strategic partnership agreements, and corporate governance exercises. She provides advice to the Ottawa technology community as well as the international technology community, whether in major initiatives or start-up operations.

Anna also advises clients in the life sciences, infrastructure and agriculture industries. Her work in the agricultural sector compliments Anna’s transportation expertise. Similarly, her experience in the area of large contract negotiation has resulted in ongoing work in the pharma/life sciences sector and in procurement/IT.As a former Special Policy Advisor to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (formerly Industry Canada) and a participant in the Government of Canada Executive Exchange Program, Anna has also been fortunate to have seen the insides of senior government first-hand. She was instrumental in the preparation of proposals for corporate (profit and non-profit) and securities law reform.

As a past delegate for the Government of Canada to the Unidroit negotiations leading to the ratification of the Cape Town Convention (on International Interests in Mobile Equipment), Anna has experience in the area of diplomatic negotiation. Core to some of the work Anna has done as a past Canadian delegate and continues to do as a member of the Unidroit Rail Working Group, are deliberations relating to the creation of central “Authority” and associated Registrar under the Rail Protocol to the Convention to regulate and control the creation of international security interests.

Beyond her professional life, Anna has made volunteering a priority. She is an ardent and passionate advocate for children’s issues. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Ottawa Children’s Aid Society (and chairs the Finance, Audit and Human Resources Committee), the Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre (OCTC) Foundation and the CHEO Foundation (including the Executive Committee). She was an active member of UNICEF Canada's board of directors for more than 10 years and served as Vice-President, Administration. She was also an active volunteer in child advocacy issues and international children's rights including with respect to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and Canada’s ratification of that Convention. In her roles with UNICEF and relating to the Convention, she was privileged to be able to travel throughout Canada to speak with organizations for which children’s rights are important.Anna is a member of the Canadian Bar Association, the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Transportation Lawyers Association and the Transportation Lawyers Association (US).

Anna is also a member of the UNIDROIT at Rail Working Group with respect to the 2001 Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment.