News

B.C. Government Unveils Community Benefits Agreement

British Columbia will benefit from public infrastructure projects like bridges and highways in innumerable ways, thanks to the new construction model unveiled by the provincial government today.

The model prioritizes job and training opportunities for Indigenous workers, local residents, women in trades, apprentices and people with disabilities. And it closes the door on temporary foreign workers in cases where local, B.C. or Canadian workers could do the job first.

“With the provincial government’s Community Benefits Agreement in place, IBEW Local 213 will continue moving forward to the benefit of Indigenous workers, women in trades, and apprenticeship training,” said Local 213 Business Manager and BC Building Trades Vice President Adam Van Steinburg. “This is a good day for working families throughout our province.”

The new Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) model, used in jurisdictions throughout North America, can secure work and skills training for qualified local residents and populations who are traditionally underrepresented in the skilled trades sector.

“Certain sectors of our province have been ignored for far too long,” said Tom Sigurdson, executive director of the BC Building Trades. “Under a Community Benefits Agreement, these groups will have opportunities to contribute and invest in their communities while essentially building B.C.”

B.C.’s new CBA framework includes a target apprenticeship ratio of 25 per cent, variable on a trade by trade basis and in paramount consideration of workplace safety.

It also ensures continuous work through a no-strike clause.

Any contractor in the construction industry may bid on a project and perform the work.

Sigurdson calls B.C.’s new construction model a progressive and forward-thinking roadmap that will ensure B.C. remains prosperous.

“We have a skilled trades shortage coming our way, and this will secure full and fair opportunities for Indigenous workers and women, and training for apprentices.”

Read the provincial government's press release here.

IBEW Local 213 is an Affiliate of the BC Building Trades.