Community Benefits Agreements

When the governments make investments in infrastructure, or create tax incentives for private companies, Canadians expect that the government will do more than simply cut a cheque. 

Manitoba Building Trades is lobbying for governments of all levels to attach strong labour conditions and community benefits any time they are supporting major infrastructure projects, creating tax breaks, or providing subsidies to the private sector. 

Community Benefits Agreements ensure that when taxpayers are spending money, they are not only receiving more value, but supporting high-quality jobs, good wages, and accessible training opportunities for workers.

Prevailing Wage Requirements

A prevailing wage is the basic hourly rate of wages and benefits paid to a number of similarly employed workers in a given geography. In the United States, since the passage of the Davis–Bacon Act of 1931, the US federal government has required contractors on federal projects to pay the prevailing wage to all their workers.  

In 2024, Canada passed the strongest definition of prevailing wage in Canadian labour history – attaching a requirement to pay the prevailing wage in order to receive the maximum tax benefit.

Manitoba Building Trades is advocating for policies that would see this prevailing wage definition  be applied to all provincially procured construction projects – a move that would ensure workers are paid fair wages whenever the federal government invests in building civil infrastructure. 

Apprenticeship Requirements, Community, and Workforce Benefit Agreements  

Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs), also called Workforce Development Agreements (WDAs), are a way to leverage infrastructure dollars to not only build much-needed infrastructure in communities across Canada, but also achieve social benefits in the communities where a project takes place.

CBAs enable the value of a project to extend far beyond the building of infrastructure. They create pathways to apprenticeship for those in the communities where infrastructure is built, including opportunities for underrepresented groups, and building the skilled trades workforce. The federal government has the opportunity to mandate the inclusion of CBAs to ensure every public dollar spent sees the greatest return on investment for workers and communities.

CBAs often contain provisions that enable apprenticeships, establish grounds for workplace development initiatives, provide funding and economic support for impacted communities, and set forth goals for minorities, women, and local job hiring, leaving a legacy of experience, skills training and employability.

Manitoba Building Trades is a proud member of the We Want to Work coalition and strongly advocates for the inclusion of CBAs as a part of government infrastructure procurement process at all levels.