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is marking the 10th anniversary of the launch of its community benefits program by highlighting successes such as its diversity hiring record and also reflecting on how the program has become a sophisticated tool to engage the communities where they build.

The organization released its first annual Community Benefits and Supports (CBS) last month for 2023-2024. It calculated there were 148 public improvements incorporated into projects, including $173.2 million in active transportation projects such as bike storage rooms and multi-use pathways and $127.7 million in local access and accessibility improvements such as new bridges and streetscape enhancements.

On its LRT projects, 29.1 per cent (169) of new hires by project contractors came from BIPOC communities and 21.9 per cent (164) identified as women. On subway projects, 62.5 per cent (90) of new hires by contractors came from BIPOC communities and 35.7 per cent (55) were women.

Metrolinx chief planning officer says the CBS program has grown in scale and effectiveness since it was launched with the Eglinton Crosstown LRT.

“We had some agreements with the contractors there, but we’ve grown over time and learned a lot from what we’ve done there,” she said, noting the CBS program is now a part of all major Metrolinx transit projects.

“We’ve grown in a lot of ways, not only in the learnings of how to deal with the contractors, but also, we’ve learned a lot in how we are working with community partners.

“Internally, we’ve built a more robust tracking program, really embedded it into how we think about things, really understanding, at the heart of all the construction that we’re doing, that the community is really a part of that.”

The CBS program has four pillars: employment opportunities, local business supports, public realm improvements and community improvements.

The report found since 2016 there have been over 1,800 skilled workers hired from historically underrepresented groups and communities, which surpasses hiring targets by 10 per cent. Avis-Birch said the benefits accruing from those results range from economic and community gains to improving many hundreds of individual lives.

“We’re talking to a lot of people. We’re listening to a lot of people. We’re hearing a lot of stories, and in the report, there’s a couple sections where we have what we’re calling ‘Transforming Lives,’” she said. “Those ones really are a testament to how we’re making an impact and how we’re driving those changes, and how it actually means something to the people.”

The report quotes Lovleen Sarah, a third-term carpenter’s apprentice with Local 27 who worked on the Hazel McCallion LRT project and is now progressing towards her Red Seal certification: “Growing up in Brampton as a first-generation Punjabi, we didn’t have connections to the industry; I was the only girl in my co-op class and I’m often the only young woman of colour on site…This is why apprenticeship opportunities and diversity are important for our field.”

There was combined spending of $35.7 million on local businesses and social enterprises across the region last year, with direct supports to local business improvement areas that often bear the brunt of construction disruption. Metrolinx held 115 community liaison meetings as part of regular community outreach.

“We continue to learn…to make sure that we’re reaching the communities in the right way, and that we’re listening and we’re really impacting and giving those meaningful inputs along the way,” said Avis-Birch.

In the end, the CBS program has gone from a fledgling program with modest community-building goals to an important tool beyond mere transit expansion that implements government policy and serves multiple purposes including broader economic and community growth targets, she added.

“We’re delivering on a $80-million capital program across the region to bring more transit to customers, to add more connections and integration, things like one fare and other…initiatives,” said Avis-Birch. “At the end of the day, it’s all about really serving customers and community.”

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