Condominium developer Tridel and general contractor EllisDon, alongside various associations and labour groups, launched the Built for Respect campaign on November 4 with the aim of eliminating racism within the construction industry.

Andrea DelZotto, director & executive vice-president of community development with Tridel Group of Companies was joined by Toronto Mayor John Tory; Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development, Monte McNaughton; Jason Ottey, Director of Government Relations and Communications, LiUNA Local 183; Richard Lyall, President, RESCON; David Wilkes, President & CEO, BILD; and Geoff Smith, President and CEO, EllisDon at The Well construction site in downtown Toronto for the group’s first diversity, equity and inclusion focused safety talk at the construction site.

"I want to thank Tridel and all of the partners for bringing this campaign to fruition,” said Tory. “Built for Respect is not only necessary right now but also an impactful way for the sector to come together and address an ongoing issue. We have seen over the past few months an increase in racist and discriminatory threats against members of this community, and the only way in which we can fight this is by coming together and taking a stand against anti-Black racism within our city. This campaign will do just that and I look forward to supporting it.”

The Built for Respect initiative provides clarity on what is expected and what will not be tolerated on Tridel sites to ensure every workplace remains equitable and inclusive. The campaign will also provide anti-racism training and education in an effort to demonstrate that racist acts are not typically in isolation, and that systemic racism exists within the field of construction.

“Any and all forms of racism, hate or bigotry have no place in our organization, our industry or in our communities,” says Ottey. “That is why LiUNA has adopted a zero-tolerance policy for any member who is found to have participated in a racially motivated act on a jobsite or workplace risks permanent expulsion from our union.

RESCON, which recently launched its own Construction Against Racism Everywhere (CARE) campaign, is also focused on creating a culture shift within the construction workforce.

"We have to address racism in the construction industry immediately and develop a strategy on what we need to do going forward to try and change behaviours and thinking,” says Lyall. “We are working with a number of developers, like Tridel, that allow us to increase our ability to influence widespread change; it showcases how we are stronger together."

For its part, EllisDon has made a commitment to create an inclusive environment where all of its employees are valued and respected. In 2020, EllisDon founded the Alliance of Black Employee Experience and Leadership with the goal to educate and raise awareness on how we can all be part of the change to stop anti-Black racism within EllisDon and our communities.

"In order for the construction industry to reflect Canada's values, we must look like Canada at every level, tradesperson, site leadership and executive level up and down the supply chain,” said Smith. “That access does not currently exist, and will require training, mentorship and capital all targeted directly at the BIPOC community. And we need specific time-based goals so that we can measure our progress. EllisDon is determined to participate as much as we can in these initiatives, because any other outcome is simply immoral."