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Groundbreaking infrastructure law a boon for at-risk youth
Legislation includes requirement that companies hire local workers through apprenticeship programs and provide other neighbourhood improvements, a first in North America

thestar.com
June 7, 2015
By Laurie Monsebraaten

Ontario’s new infrastructure legislation, passed last week, is a ground-breaking opportunity to help at-risk youth and other disadvantaged groups get well-paying construction jobs, local community groups say.

The law, which will guide $130 billion in new provincial infrastructure construction over the next 10 years, includes a framework for so-called “community benefits agreements” that will require companies bidding on the projects to hire workers through local apprenticeship programs and provide other neighbourhood improvements.

Such agreements are common in large-scale public and private-sector developments in cities across the United States. But it is the first time in North America that a provincial or state government has passed legislation in the area.

“This is a huge step forward for community benefits in Ontario and in North America,” said Steve Shallhorn, chair of the Toronto Community Benefits Network, a group of labour and local social service agencies.

“It gives a very strong message to the construction sector that working with community is an expectation that can easily be met,” he added.

The legislation was inspired by a community benefits framework for the $5.3-billion Eglinton Crosstown light-rail transit line, hammered out over the past several years between Metrolinx and Shallhorn’s group.

Bidders on the second phase of the Crosstown project, which includes building the tracks, stations, signaling and other operating systems for the LRT, were required to include a plan for apprenticeship training, local hiring and the use of local suppliers for goods and services.

The winning construction consortium is expected to be announced this summer.

“What’s new about this bill is that it actually names specific groups that are often left out of opportunities like this - at-risk youth, low-income communities, aboriginal populations and people with disabilities,” said Pedro Barata, vice-president of communications for United Way Toronto.

“Linking infrastructure projects with community benefits signals a new era of collaboration, bringing the goals of government, labour, not-for-profits and business closer together,” he added.

United Way president Susan McIsaac says the legislation will help “build new lasting bonds across our divided city.”

“New infrastructure and community benefits should go hand in hand, because they link the future success of our region’s infrastructure with the future success of our people,” she said.

Weston-area NDP MP Mike Sullivan (York South-Weston) whose riding includes both the Crosstown and the Union-Pearson express rail lines, has been urging Metrolinx to hire apprentices from his economically depressed community for years.

“The proof will be in the pudding,” he said Friday. “Anything that gets us local jobs, for local youth in particular, is a great thing.”

Ontario's 10-year infrastructure plan, by the numbers