A new report defends a program designed to improve training, retention and and diversity in the construction industry. 

Community Benefits Agreements supplying construction workers to major public infrastructure projects have received criticism from parts of the political opposition and the construction industry for raising costs and excluding non-union members since their creation in 2018.

The agreements currently apply to 10 major public infrastructure projects, including the Broadway Subway Project, the Cowichan District Hospital Replacement Project and several projects along Highway 1 in B.C.'s Interior.

They prioritize local hiring as well as apprenticeships for and recruitment of Indigenous workers, women, racialized workers and people with disabilities. The B.C. Infrastructure Benefits Crown Corporation handles all hiring and manages other labour relations such as payrolls.

The report titled Building Better and written by John Calvert of Simon Fraser University said BCIB is the only example of a government-created public employer to train, employ and supply the trades鈥� workforce on major construction projects.

Calvert said results so far show that the program has "largely succeeded" in meeting government goals. 

鈥淭he tools the BCIB are using to provide better local jobs in the construction industry are working,鈥� Calvert said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 helping to counteract a toxic worksite culture that can be hostile to new workers who are women, Indigenous or racialized. It鈥檚 helping construction workers land better paying, unionized jobs. And that鈥檚 helping local economies.鈥�

According to the study, BCIB hired 4,946 workers, who logged over 7.5 million paid hours between 2019 to 2024. More than nine out of 10 hires are B.C. residents, with 76 per cent of those coming from the communities where they work. BCIB has also reached a 20 per cent hiring rate for trainees or apprentices with 21 per cent of BCIB employees rehired for new jobs. BCIB has also reached a 14 per cent hiring rate for Indigenous workers, more than double the provincial construction average.

Other benefits include addressing the frequently toxic environments of worksites and improved payment. Calvert's report notes that these agreements eliminate the common problem of non-payment through guarantees. They also provide consistent pay across worker categories because of their union requirements on BCIB worksites regardless of contractor. 

But these agreements have not been without controversy. Former B.C. United Leader Kevin Falcon frequently referred to them as "community rip-off agreements" in arguing that they increase costs, a point also heard from parts of the construction industry.

Calvert said in his report that "considerable evidence from national and international studies" shows that CBAs "are not significantly more costly than traditional infrastructure procurement largely because of the higher productivity of well-trained workers."

He added that governments increasingly include social, employment and training requirements in their contract tenders to leverage additional benefits from construction purchases. 

"Underlying business claims that the CBA raises costs is the assumption that unionized workers are overpaid and that much of the training associated with the apprenticeship system is not needed," Calvert said in his report. "This ignores the increased productivity of a skilled workforce. While critics are circumspect about arguing that workers should get less, low wages are how many contractors keep bid costs down."

B.C. Indigenous contractor Jon Coleman, who at one stage ran for B.C. United, also criticized the agreements in having argued for their repeal. He said the agreements prevented him and other Indigenous contractors from working on the Cowichan District Hospital Replacement Project because companies and workers are not members of unions accepted by BCIB. He also argued that the union requirements violated government鈥檚 commitment to reconciliation, a charge government has rejected. 

Calvert said arguments the union membership requirement denies choice ignores much of B.C.鈥檚 current labour relations practice.

"Such agreements are normal throughout B.C.鈥檚 public sector, including at other Crown corporations, such as B.C. Hydro and the Insurance Corporation of B.C. as well as teachers, nurses, health professionals, care aides, government employees and municipal workers."

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