In December, 2018, the Community Benefits and Apprenticeship Declaration was signed, making West Park Healthcare Centre the first Ontario hospital to include a community benefits agreement in its capital project. This required EllisDon to aim to provide 10 per cent of all trade and craft working hours, on a trade-by-trade basis, to be performed by qualified apprentices or journeypersons from historically disadvantaged communities or equity-seeking groups.
The declaration was signed by West Park, EllisDon Infrastructure Healthcare, Central Ontario Building Trades (COBT), Infrastructure Ontario, Toronto Community Benefits Network, and the United Way Greater Toronto.
The COBT’s Hammer Heads Program has been an integral part of this vision.