{"id":20285,"date":"2023-08-03T02:31:18","date_gmt":"2023-08-03T09:31:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/tcbn-looks-to-chow-for-help-implementing-cbas-on-large-scale-infrastructure-projects\/"},"modified":"2023-08-03T02:31:19","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T09:31:19","slug":"tcbn-looks-to-chow-for-help-implementing-cbas-on-large-scale-infrastructure-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/tcbn-looks-to-chow-for-help-implementing-cbas-on-large-scale-infrastructure-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"TCBN looks to Chow for help implementing CBAs on large-scale infrastructure projects"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The executive director of the Toronto Community Benefits Network (TCBN) is urging newly-elected Mayor Olivia Chow ensure opportunities are being created for underrepresented groups through the community benefits process on large infrastructure projects.<\/p>\n

Rosemarie Powell said Chow can be an ally who understands that community benefits agreements (CBAs) can open the doors to good jobs in construction.<\/p>\n

Last month, the TCBN held an emergency town hall meeting with Metrolinx to discuss the lack of community benefits agreements on the $19-billion Ontario Line project. So far, two contracts have been awarded without any commitment to community benefits in the signed agreement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to be optimistic that we have a new mayor in place that expressed commitment for community benefits right out of the gate during her campaign and she has experience implementing community benefits in Regent Park,\u201d Powell told the Daily Commercial News.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are looking to the three levels of government to collaborate, to co-operate with each other to sort this mess out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Powell said Chow has been an advocate of CBAs for years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re hoping Olivia Chow will be a champion and will be someone who will reach out to her counterparts at the provincial government and the federal government to co-ordinate so that we can retrofit this oversight that we have in front of us,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

The Daily Commercial News reached out to Chow\u2019s office for comment.<\/p>\n

\u201cMayor Olivia Chow supports including community benefits agreements to secure good jobs when there is a large infrastructure project, including new transit lines that are being built,\u201d said a spokesperson.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe will work with city staff, the Toronto Community Benefits Network, other orders of government and all stakeholders involved to accomplish this wherever possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Metrolinx has agreed to set up a working group, as has been done on previous projects. They are hoping to have the terms of reference finalized this month.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in the early stages now of establishing the terms of reference to bring community and the different stakeholders together,\u201d said Powell.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenge with that though is that there is no formal agreement in place with the general contractor that they are being required to participate and to operate in this way, to have a community benefits agreement in place\u2026We don\u2019t see a clear pathway forward for how Metrolinx is going to compel the general contractor to sit down with the community and to sit down with all the different stakeholders that are needed to address the issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the Ontario Line project, there is a commitment by the federal government that through its transfer payment with the province a CBA would need to be signed and in place with the general contractor, however, it was not reflected in the project agreement that Metrolinx signed.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what\u2019s the fix? How is this going to be remedied?\u201d asked Powell.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we were seeing is that community benefits are being unnecessarily politicized but what we\u2019re offering as community and labour organizations and groups is a practical solution to help fix a deep need in communities that have been otherwise excluded. We need practical policies that we know work to be implemented.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that it is a tried and proven approach that Metrolinx has had for over 10 years now.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked to respond to the need to implement CBAs on the Ontario Line, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development said, \u201cOver the next decade, Ontario is investing over $184 billion to support the construction, rehabilitation and modernization of crucial infrastructure projects across the province, including schools, hospitals, long-term care, transit and high-speed internet. These infrastructure projects are creating thousands of jobs for people across the province and helping to boost our economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The province has also invested over $700 million in the Skills Development Fund, which, through its first three funding rounds, has supported 596 projects and helped over half a million people across the province, the ministry highlighted.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of these programs prioritize helping people from underrepresented groups<\/a> including those with prior involvement in the criminal justice system, at-risk youth, people with disabilities, Indigenous people, Ukrainian newcomers, and others facing barriers to employment,\u201d indicates a statement from a ministry spokesperson.<\/p>\n

Follow the author on Twitter @DCN_Angela<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n