Sunday, February 28, 2021

Social Procurement

The City of Winnipeg appears to be moving forward with plans to include social and sustainable procurement requirements on city tenders. We do not know yet what framework will be put in place by the city to ensure that underrepresented groups benefit from city construction projects.

CLAC is advocating for a model of social procurement that allows for fair and open tendering for all construction projects and would not be in favour of any model of social procurement that favors any particular labour model. In BC, provincial work is subject to social procurement rules that favour certain unions and exclude others. In MB, the Burntwood Nelson Agreement functions in a similar way, favouring certain unions while excluding others.

CLAC believes that competition is generally good for workers, employers, and tax-paying citizens while monopolistic approaches to construction project awards are unnecessary, unhelpful, and unfair. CLAC supports initiatives that encourage underrepresented groups from entering the construction trades and will continue to advocate on behalf of our members that future Winnipeg construction projects be subject to fair and open tendering requirements that do not discriminate on the basis of union affiliation.

Social Procurement

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