Companies bidding on North End sewage plant could have to show interest in hiring local, Indigenous workers
Critics say not enough to ask companies if they'll hire local, Indigenous — need to formalize process
Contractors might have to show an interest in hiring under-represented workers from Manitoba's construction industry if they want to get in on the $552 million upgrade to the North End sewage plant.
Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital) tabled a motion at the city's water and waste committee Wednesday that would require any companies bidding on the project's future tenders to give specific information on plans to hire and train Indigenous workers and people from other under-represented groups in Manitoba.
"I think we're trying to send a signal here to the bidding companies," said Mayes. "This is what we want you to have: a guaranteed supply of skilled labour, and it should come from diverse groups because that matters to us."
The facility on Main Street will see a new building to process biosolids — a sludgy byproduct of the initial treatment of solid human waste. It's the second phase of three to upgrade the facility originally completed in 1937. The plant provides 70 per cent of Winnipeg's wastewater treatment. All upgrades are expected to cost $1.8B in total.
The project hasn't even been put out for tender yet, but Mayes said he wants to get ahead of the process. He said critics argue the city never made an effort to employ local or diverse workers when the south end plant was constructed. He's hoping this motion is consolation for those mistakes.
Motion doesn't mandate
But the motion doesn't mandate hiring diverse local people, nor is the idea included in the RFP award process — leaving no way to hold companies accountable.
"It has about as little teeth as you can get while still getting the information," said Tanya Palson with Manitoba Building Trades, an umbrella organization for 13 trade unions in the province.
"There's transparency with the bidders coming in that you're asking the questions, like where their labour's coming from and what they're doing for Indigenous reconciliation and under-represented groups."
Palson said she'd like to see a formal framework where bidders would be awarded points based on their efforts to diversify and hire local. At a city council meeting in January, councillors gave city staff 180 days to come back with a plan that would do exactly that.
But those formalities won't be ready in time for the North End sewage treatment centre. Mayes said the city can't overstep the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, so this is the best they can do in the meantime.
Hold contractors accountable
The motion states this effort is in line with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's call to ensure Indigenous people have equal access and benefit from big projects. An entrepreneur who helps Canadian organizations hire and retain Indigenous employees says while this is true, there needs to be a way to track and measure if the companies will follow through on promises.
"There has to be a better strategy than just putting something down on paper," said E.J. Fontaine, a co-founder of Amik Inc. based in Manitoba.
"There has to be actual, tangible requirements for these companies to follow through. They'll say they'll do it, but in the end, some just put it on paper so that they have a better shot of getting a contract."
Fontaine also brought up the idea for a points scale during the RFP process, but also said the city needs to be able to check out how companies retain Indigenous employees — he said often, once hired, they'll experience racism at job sites.
Fontaine also said companies should have a mechanism to ensure their employees are actually Indigenous at the time of hiring — getting First Nations people to show proof of treaty, for example — to have real numbers of Indigenous representation.
Those specifics come from whoever is running the project, he said. And in this case, it's the city.
"It has to come from the top. There's no other way of doing it because the people in management areas don't think they're doing anything wrong."
The city's executive policy committee will discuss the idea in the next meeting two weeks from now.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
