The Ontario Line, Canada’s largest public infrastructure project in history, risks being built without any meaningful benefits for the community. In November 2022, Metrolinx awarded 50% of the project in contracts with private developers, valued at about $15 billion, without any mention of the promised Community Benefits Agreement as one of the conditions included in the May 2021 federal government project funding announcement.
Read the Joint Letter
We, the undersigned, call on Metrolinx and the Province of Ontario to fulfill its promise to build the Ontario Line with a mandatory Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) with each Project Contractor.
We expect that a major public infrastructure project like the Ontario Line includes well-defined, accountable, transparent and articulated commitments as part of a CBA, providing meaningful benefits to the local communities most impacted by this transit project.
A Community Benefits Agreement must include and is not limited to:
- Apprenticeship and Workforce Development Plans that include a minimum target of 10 percent of all trade or craft working hours to be performed by apprentices or journey persons who identify as Black, Indigenous and/or People of Colour and a 10 percent target for women
- Professional, administrative and technical (PAT) career opportunities for historically disadvantaged groups including Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour
- Social procurement opportunities prioritizing local businesses, minority owned businesses and social enterprises
- Meaningful engagement and ongoing involvement of local impacted communities
- Ensuring that the creation and delivery of community benefits is open, transparent, and accountable through a project level Community Benefits Working Group that includes the project contractor, Metrolinx, Infrastructure Ontario, provincial ministries, labour and community representatives, including Toronto Community Benefits Network, to monitor and oversee the implementation, tracking and reporting of outcomes
TCBN’s award winning model of CBAs - working with community, labour and social enterprise members- has seen over 2000 people from historically disadvantaged backgrounds enter into well-paying careers in the construction trades and professional, administrative and technical careers on local infrastructure projects.
Two of these ground-breaking CBAs were in partnership with Metrolinx and project consortiums building the Eglinton Crosstown LRT and Finch West LRT projects, which saw over 500 local community members from historically disadvantaged backgrounds get started on career paths that would have likely been unattainable without the inclusion of a CBA. Local businesses and social enterprises have also benefited through social procurement opportunities on these projects with contracts totalling over $20M in value.
A 2021 independent research study from the Eglinton Crosstown LRT CBA commissioned by the Toronto Community Benefits Network indicates the value of increased income earned by local residents (Crosstown communities) was $14.7M, and is projected to grow to $33.8M by the end of this year.
In an environment of fiscal challenges, implementing a CBA is a tried and proven approach to maximize public dollars that have already been earmarked for infrastructure and urban development to ensure good jobs and wealth building opportunities in local communities most impacted.
Sign the Joint Letter
As members of community groups, community-based organizations, union working groups and local service providers impacted by the new Ontario Line project, we are requesting a Community Benefits Agreement to be signed between Metrolinx, TCBN and the Project Contractors.
Call To Action
While Metrolinx has failed to meet both expectations and obligations for a CBA, there is still time to get these projects back on track.
We invite you to co-sign the joint letter calling on Metrolinx, the provincial ministries of Transportation, Infrastructure, Labour and Skills Development, and the federal ministries of Infrastructure and Communities and Intergovernmental Affairs to ensure this commitment is achieved.
If signing as a representative of a group or an organization, indicate the name of your group or organization and your title.
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