She said the provincial agencies “expect to have an announcement very soon” and the agency is committed to the community benefits project. Work on the second phase of the Crosstown, which includes the LRT line’s tracks, stations, signalling and other operating systems, has already begun. (Full disclosure: the Star’s charitable Atkinson Foundation is a sponsor of the Toronto Community Benefits Network.) The debate over the Crosstown hiring is a major test for the community benefits framework, which took years for Metrolinx and the TCBN to negotiate. It was modelled after similar agreements in the United States, and was initially considered so successful that it inspired provincial community benefits legislation.

Source: thestar September 26, 2016 09:56 UTC