TORONTO — With Pride Month coming to an end, a number of construction unions, associations and companies are reflecting on the activities they took part in to support the 2SLGBTQ+ community over the past month.
The Carpenters’ Regional Council (CRC) took part in the 2023 Toronto Pride Parade on June 25.
About 200 members marched down the city streets, waving both the Pride and the Carpenters’ Union flags. It was the first time the union registered its own float.
“Our participation in this event not only showed that the CRC negotiates livable wages, pensions, benefits and trains our membership, it also showed that we foster a sense of equity, diversity and inclusion for all our members, that there is a sense of belonging and camaraderie among our diverse membership,” said Chris Campbell, director of equity, diversity and inclusion at the Carpenters’ District Council of Ontario. “The CRC’s leadership promotes a philosophy of connecting and building on the relationships between our local communities and all cultural groups.”
EllisDon representatives attended their first Pride Parade in an effort to represent a greater commitment from the construction industry for a more inclusive and safe environment, the company stated in an email to the Daily Commercial News.
EllisDon’s employee-led group, PEACE, is working with the company to promote better representation across the industry and is committed to establishing greater support for transitioning and gender diverse employees as well as promoting safer spaces for members of the LGBTQ2S+ community in the industry.
PCL Construction offices across North America have also been celebrating Pride Month throughout June.
Each PCL Toronto project site received a Pride flag to display. Employees throughout the project sites and district office also received Pride pins and hard hat stickers to wear and show their support.
Pretty much everyone I come across on job sites are against any sort of DEI. Seems like divide in values all the time between tradespeople and the communities they work in.