Halton Community Benefits Network
Our Story
Since our inception in July 2016, Halton Community Benefits Network (HCBN) has acted as a catalyst for change, to educate and advocate for a platform to gain more market experience with the launch of Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) in the Halton Region that lead to sustainable economic opportunity and social inclusion for everyone. We accomplished this in our first three years, producing a range of public and in-house education events, social media conversation, on line resources and a tool kit. In addition, we gained media exposure on Cogeco TV programs such as Oakville Matters and The Issue.
In 2018, HCBN outreached to the Ontario Office of the Attorney General advocating for the proposed Halton Consolidated Courthouse to become a Community Benefits Agreements project. In April 2019, the HCBN became part of the United Way Halton & Hamilton. After obtaining acceptance for this project, in September we began to engage our network in preparation of specific deliverables to meet the needs of the community. Unfortunately, ready as we were to act, in March 2020, the Ontario government canceled the Courthouse project.
Recalibrating our approach over the summer of 2020, we are now in the process of sketching a new model for how we can adapt and apply CBAs in Halton Region to a wider range of initiatives in a strategic effort to create a pool of smaller, scalable projects.