On Wednesday, the Toronto Community Benefits Network and partners deputed at the City of Toronto Executive Committee to make recommendations on improving the City’s Community Benefits Framework which was established in 2019.

While TCBN is encouraged by the details of the staff report, which outlines key actions steps for advancing the municipal Community Benefits framework, we are disappointed that the City Executive Committee failed to address our key recommendations to require bolder steps in the implementation of its Community Benefits Framework in response to the immediacy of the economic crisis facing Black, Indgenous and other racialized people in our City. 

With significant public funding expected towards new infrastructure like affordable housing, transit, healthcare and building retrofits, that will be expected to jump start our recovery,  bold steps are needed NOW from the City, to make sure these groups will benefit from the immediate economic opportunities in construction that governments are relying on to stimulate the economy. 

To accomplish this vision, we need Toronto City Council to adopt the following recommendations at next week’s City Council meeting on Feb 2nd and 3rd: 

• adopt a 10% minimum hard target for equity hiring on all large scale capital projects
• work with TCBN as a key strategic partner to support the negotiations, implementation, monitoring and evaluation functions of the City’s Community Benefits Framework

We need your support over the next week to engage your City Councillors and Mayor to ask them to support these recommendations to ensure that this framework includes measurable commitments to equity and inclusion and falls in line with the best practices achieved not only in other jurisdictions, but more importantly right here in Toronto within the past four years through the achievements of TCBN and its network members and partners. 

Executive Committee Meeting Update

Although TCBNs key recommendations were not adopted, the committee passed four motions. To review the Executive Committee motions passed at the meeting, you can visit here

• Motion #1 (staff recommendation) - Progress update on Community Benefits Framework in Q3 2022
• Motion #2 (amendment) - Aspire to increase City of Toronto diverse supplier list by 10% (focus on Black and Indigenous businesses) 
• Motion #3  (amendment)  - Five year review of social procurement policy (2017-2021) and report back in Q3 2022 
• Motion #4  (amendment) - City of Toronto explore working with TDSB Step to Construction program on Toronto’s publicly funded infrastructure project and consider a minimum hard target for equity seeking groups for hiring in construction across all large scale infrastructure projects. 

Missed the deputations on Wednesday? You can view all the deputations here: 

• Gillian Mason, Gillian Mason Consultancy
• Ana Teresa Portillo , Parkdale Community Economic Development
• Yan Chen, Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic
• Dexter King, York University
• Elvy Moro, STEP Coordinator, Toronto District School Board
• Mike Yorke, Carpenters’ District Council of Ontario
• Chris Campbell, Carpenters’ District Council of Ontario and TCBN Board Co-Chair 
• Estair Van Wagner, Osgoode Hall Law School
• Marc Arsenault, Ontario Ironworkers District Council
• Fadumo Duale, Scarborough resident and community leader in Golden Mile
• Rosemarie Powell, Executive Director, Toronto Community Benefits Network
• Ismail Afrah, Regent Park Community Benefits Coalition
• Rokhaya Gueye, Toronto Community Benefits Network
• Nigel Barriffe , President, Urban Alliance on Race Relations and TCBN Board Member
• Dane Williams, Black Urbanism TO

You can also view written submissions from some of network members and partners including: 

• ACORN Canada 
• Toronto Environmental Alliance 
• Working for Change 
• The Roots Collaborative
• Toronto & York Region Labour Council 
• Black Business and Professional Association
• TAIBU Community Health Centre  
• Urban Alliance on Race Relations 
• Jamaicen Canadian Association
• YWCA Toronto 
• VPI Working Solutions
• Direct Your Life
• Afghan Women’s Organization Refugee & Immigrant Services
• Buy Social Canada 
• Atkinson Foundation
• United Way Greater Toronto 
• York University 
• Ontario Construction Secretariat 
• Canada Green Building Council

Thank you to all the TCBN network members, partners and supporters for taking action and making your voice heard. It is with the strength of our voice that we will continue to demand and win for equity, inclusion and justice.