The founder of EMBERS has slammed Vancouver city council’s decision to scrap its local-procurement policy for real estate development projects.

In a surprise move, councillors scrapped all community benefit agreements (CBAs) tied to the policy after initially considering a motion only to pause the ones required on major projects. Council approved an amendment by ABC Coun. Brian Montague that indefinitely set aside CBA requirements on all development projects, Postmedia reported.

The policy was designed to boost the local economy and promote equity by encouraging major-project developers to source 10% of materials, goods and services from companies based in the city, region and other parts of B.C. It also set targets for supporting social enterprises and equity-owned businesses while establishing employment and training goals for local hires, apprenticeships and marginalized groups. As a result, non-profit groups and social enterprises such as EMBERS were able to provide employment for disadvantaged groups, including Indigenous workers, and people dealing with addictions and mental and physical-health issues, among other problems.

EMBERS, short for the Eastside Movement for Business & Economic Renewal Society, has capitalized on CBAs by launching a highly successful staffing-solutions company that has created thousands of hours of employment and millions of dollars in revenue.

In a LinkedIn post, EMBERS Founder Marcia Nozick said the move will have “real consequences” for workers, local businesses, and the inclusive economy that Vancouver has been striving to build.

“[The] decision moves us backward,” wrote Nozick, who spoke during the decisive council meeting but did not sway councillors.

City administrators had recommended that council make CBAs optional for a temporary period.

“Voluntary models simply do not produce the scale, accountability, or community benefit that mandatory CBAs have delivered,” wrote Nozick.

She noted that EMBERS Staffing Solutions provided 121,000 hours of employment, the equivalent of 76 full-time jobs, and paid about $2.5 million in wages and benefits between 2021 and 2025 as a result of its role in the new St. Paul’s Hospital project. EMBERS also generated 79,000 employment hours (50 full-time-equivalent jobs) and $1.47 million in wages and benefits while working on the Parq Casino project between 2017 and 2018.

The staffing company has turned major construction projects into “engines of opportunity,” said Nozick in her LinkedIn post. The CBA policy has strengthened EMBERS as a social enterprise, while the revenues enabled the organization to build a sustainable business model that does not rely on government funding.

“Instead, we reinvest directly into our workers through free daily lunches, safety gear, transportation, skills training, benefits, counselling, and more,” she wrote. “These wraparound supports turn a temporary job into a long-term career pathway.”

EMBERS is among many non-profit groups and employment agencies critical of the move. They had gone to the meeting and urged council to keep CBAs in place, Postmedia reported.

Montague said after the council meeting that the policy needed to be scrapped because it created new problems while trying to solve old ones, according to Postmedia.

Pictured: EMBERS Temporary Staffing Solutions employees at work.

Photo: EMBERS