Buy Social Canada is proud to announce that we have been selected by PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc. as their independent Third Party Monitor contractor, to support them in meeting the City of Vancouver Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) rezoning condition requirements for the construction of the New St. Paul’s Hospital Phase 1a. The new hospital is being built a few blocks away from the Downtown Eastside, sometimes referred to as one of Canada’s poorest postal codes.

The $2.174 billion construction project is committed to work toward goals of 10% hiring of local individuals from equity-seeking groups and 10% local and 10% social purchasing. Following the construction, the hospital’s owner, Providence Health Care, will be required by the CBA policy to fulfill the same employment and purchasing criteria for the life span of the building.

Buy Social Canada will facilitate relationships and connections between the construction industry and local social enterprises, community employment resources, and local businesses, as well as support the gathering of data, and reporting on outcomes.

“It will be our role to support all the stakeholders for a collaborative and successful process, including the City, the owners, community stakeholders, and PCL and their sub-contractors” said Elizabeth Chick-Blount, Executive Director of Buy Social Canada.

For more information, here are the links for City of Vancouver CBA Policy [vancouver.ca], The new St. Paul’s Hospital [thenewstpauls.ca] and Buy Social Canada [buysocialcanada.com]