About Community Benefits Agreements
Community Benefits Agreements put Alberta workers, families, and local communities first.
The members of the Building Trades of Alberta live right here in Alberta. We raise our families here. We pay taxes here. And we want to build infrastructure projects the right way; they become part of our province, and we want them to last. That’s why we support Community Benefits Agreements.
Reasons to Support Community Benefits Agreements
Alberta faces a shortfall of skilled building trades workers. Building Trades of Alberta supports Community Benefits Agreements for major infrastructure projects because they
- level the playing field (no lockouts of union contractors)
- create new opportunities for union contractors and building trades workers
- provide a means to train the next generation of skilled building trades workers
- promote the hiring of under-represented populations, including Indigenous, women, and new Canadian workers.
Community Benefits Agreements are already being used in many jurisdictions in North America. Best practices are known. There is a record of success.
Community Benefits Agreements Work
Labour relations pro Mark Johnson weighs in on the advantages of #CBAs https://t.co/cFZgfFJMrH
— Community Benefits Coalition of BC (@BenefitsForBC) January 7, 2019
Community Benefits Agreements are creating opportunitites for the next generation of builders. See stories from the frontline! #readytobuild #communitybenefits #nextgenbuilders
— communitybenefits.ca (@TCBN_TO) January 8, 2019
Trades students, apprentices & journey-level workers show their support for @clairetrevena’s work on the Community Benefits file. CBAs = investment in communities & good jobs for B.C. families. Learn more: https://t.co/xbe4kS5mJq pic.twitter.com/Au8efZbTdY
— BC Building Trades (@WeBuildBC) October 17, 2018
Our founding partners have been progressing towards a Community Building Standard through past projects. An example: @RioTintoCanada ’s modernized aluminum smelter in #Kitimat. It’s a part of our proud history. https://t.co/b7QGyLojqm
— Community Building Standard (@builditrightcan) May 30, 2018
B.C. joins jurisdictions across North America embracing #CBA model @VancouverSun https://t.co/Hhx9UDnvqg #communitybenefits #SenCA #cdnpoli #C344 @TCBN_TO
— Sen. Ratna Omidvar (@ratnaomi) February 11, 2019
Community benefit programs have our local communities' best interest at heart. Here's what we've accomplished so far. #Rexdalerising | #socent | #toronto | #socialjustice pic.twitter.com/ewcrIptumC
— communitybenefits.ca (@TCBN_TO) October 29, 2018
Community Benefits Agreements
Time for Action
Albertans and Canadians are all too familiar with recent problems plaguing major infrastructure projects like the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion. We don’t need to rinse and repeat the errors and failed solutions of the past. It’s time for new solutions. An Alberta Community Benefits Agreement framework can potentially reduce the time and cost for approvals, align major infrastructure projects with Alberta’s regional, economic, environmental, and social development initiatives, and help train the new generation of skilled trades workers that Alberta needs.
Let us know what you think
- Share this page on your favourite social media.
- Follow BTA on Facebook and Twitter.
- Check out our Community Benefits blogs further down this page.
- Contact Building Trades of Alberta to let us know you support a Community Benefits Agreement framework for Alberta.
- Contact your local MLA. Tell your MLA “I support the Alberta government establishing a Community Benefits Agreement framework for the province. ” Use your street address to find contact information for your MLA.
Check out these Twitter feeds to discover how Community Benefits Agreements are being used in other jurisdictions.
“Community Benefits Requirements” Tied to Procurement: A Welcome Opportunity
The February newsletter of the Canadian Construction Association includes an update on its ongoing campaign to remove “community benefits requirements as a condition of procurement”. According to the article, the CCA has been meeting with (lobbying) members of parliament and the [...]
Community Benefit Agreements Can Work for Alberta
In an October 9 Edmonton Journal opinion piece, Ken Kobly, President of the Alberta Chambers of Commerce, warns that "Community benefit agreements may not work for Albertans". On the one hand, Kobly raises alarmist cries about special interests, red tape, escalating [...]
Premier Rachel Notley Announces Alberta’s First Community Benefits Agreement at BTA Conference
During Premier Rachel Notley's address to the Building Trades of Alberta 2018 Conference on Wednesday evening, the Premier announced plans for Alberta's first Community Benefit Agreement. Premier Notley is introduced by BTA Executive Director Terry Parker. Premier Notley's Statement [...]
Part 3: Potential Hiring Practices Under an Alberta Community Benefits Agreement Framework
This blog is the third in our series on Community Benefits Agreements. Part 1: Community Benefits Agreements looked at the potential advantages a Community Benefits Agreement framework offers all stakeholders in major infrastructure projects in Alberta. Part 2: Community Benefits [...]
Part 2: Community Benefits Agreements & “The Skilled Trades Advantage”
In Part 1: Community Benefits Agreements, we looked at how Community Benefits Agreements for major infrastructure projects can be advantageous for all stakeholders in a province like Alberta. Developers, local communities, small businesses, labour unions, and the provincial government [...]