Updates on Debate in the Senate
How Infrastructure Funding Can Create Ladders to Opportunity
This articles describes how Community Benefit Agreements can offer a solution to the problem of growing income inequality.
Listen: Senator Omidvar on the Impact of Social Procurement
Senator Omidvar joins the Imagine Canada Podcast to speak about the potential that social procurement holds.
Moving Forward – Bill C-344, Community Benefits
Minister Carla Qualtrough has committed to injecting community benefits principles into federal procurement policy. Click here to read her letter outlining the steps being taken.
Senator Colin Deacon: Opportunities Abound for Atlantic Canada with Community Benefits
Watch Senator Deacon unpack the economic needs of his region and his vision for community benefits.
Senator Diane Bellemare: Four Reasons to Support Community Benefits in Canada
Watch Senator Diane Bellemare explain how Bill C-344 would help address labour shortages in Canada and have an impact in provinces like Quebec.
Senator Donna Dasko: Community benefits and the pursuit of sustainable development
Watch Senator Donna Dasko support Bill C-344 and make the connection between community benefits and Canada’s commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Senator Tony Dean: Think About What Community Benefits can do for Canadian Communities
Watch Senator Tony Dean unpack multi-partisan support for social enterprises in Canada and the benefits of having community benefits principles at the federal level.
Senator Brian Francis: Community Benefits for Minorities and Indigenous Communities
Watch Senator Brian Francis speak to the importance of community benefits and their ability to connect Indigenous youth with job training and mentorship.
Senator Lucie Moncion Speaks in Favour of Bill C-344 on Community Benefits
Watch Senator Lucie Moncion speak in support of Bill C-344 and reflect on the success of community benefit projects such as the Lower Mattagami Project in Northern Ontario.
WATCH: Champions Reflect on the Success of Community Benefits Day on Parliament Hill
In March, representatives of the Toronto Community Benefits Network, Canada’s Building Trade Unions and the United Way Greater Toronto met with Senators to discuss community benefits and Bill C-344. Read more.
Resources on Community Benefits
Are You Actively Considering Community Benefits in the Awarding of Government Procurement Programs?
Senator Omidvar asked Minister Jean-Yves Duclos about ensuring that public benefits are considered in the procurement process.
How Infrastructure Funding Can Create Ladders to Opportunity
This articles describes how Community Benefit Agreements can offer a solution to the problem of growing income inequality.
OPINION: B.C. Joins Jurisdictions Scross North America Embracing CBA model
“CBAs make bids more competitive by bringing complete transparency to the wages and benefits that are paid to workers, and they ensure workers doing the same job at the same level receive the same wage.”
Community Benefit Agreements, Mentorship and Inclusion
Jason Ottey explains the importance of mentorship in the construction trades.
How to get Community Benefits Agreements Right: Engage and Empower
“The success of a CBA depends on how well the community is defined, engaged and empowered throughout the planning and decision-making processes.”
Mentorship Program Sims to Boost Number of Black Youth in GTA Construction
According to the 2018 Ontario’s Apprenticeship Strategy, less than two per cent of people in apprenticeships in Ontario are visible minorities. This program hopes to change those numbers.
FAQs – Community Benefits
“For governments, community benefits help meet a range of other policy objectives, from poverty reduction to social inclusion and carbon reduction.”
Community Benefit Agreements
CBAs give a voice to people in infrastructure planning and land development processes – especially excluded and marginalized individuals.
Community Benefits Agreements – Empowering Communities to Maximize Returns on Public Infrastructure Investments
Bill C-344 can align several government objectives, reduce poverty and ensure infrastructure investments build up communities.
Community Benefits in Practice and in Policy: Lessons from the United States and the United Kingdom
Informative research from September 2016 on the experience jurisdictions in the United Kingdom and the United States have had with community benefits.