How can we bring together the private, public and community sectors to reduce gaps in economic prosperity? There is an initiative for that.

BY PAUL JUNOR

There has been attention in the news recently regarding the lack of skilled trade individuals in Ontario. This has prompted the Ontario government to invest millions of dollars to attract high-school graduates to enter the skills trades. The Inclusive Local Economic Opportunity (ILEO) led by the United Way Greater Toronto has facilitated one of the avenues that will provide entry to the building trades. According to the website: www.unitedwaygt.org, the ILEO Initiative brings together the private, public and community sectors to find innovative ways to reduce gaps in economic prosperity at the neighbourhood level.

ILEO is in partnership with the United Way Greater Toronto and the Bank of Montreal (BMO). It was in 2018, that a made-in-the GTA initiative was launched in response to the rise in inequality in certain neighbourhoods in Toronto. BMO has invested since 2015 in these neighbourhoods, and by partnering with the United Way’s resident-led work initiative; there will be an expansion of these opportunities. The ILEO galvanizes the strengths and levers of all sectors and industries to drive economic opportunity at the neighbourhood level. It is a deliberate place-based approach to catalyse specific opportunities and enable the community, corporate and public sectors to work together for a common goal.

One of the first neighbourhoods that was involved in this initiative is Scarborough’s Greater Golden Mile. The formation of this pilot project along with others involves the collaboration of leaders from diverse sectors and local residents. These pilots are tailor-made to respond to the strengths, needs and desires of residents in the Greater Golden Mile. What has emerged from this collaboration is a multi-sector approach focusing on reducing gaps in economic prosperity in the Toronto region and creating lasting inclusive economic vitality at the neighbourhood level.

The Greater Golden Mile was selected as the first neighbourhood due to the following three characteristics:

• Opportunity to leverage public and private investments that would be a part of its upcoming revitalization
• Timing of investments coinciding with the timeline of the initiative
• Need in the community. Greater Golden Mile residents had also identified economic opportunity as a key priority and were keen to catalyse ILEO in their neighbourhood.

Participants who live in the Greater Toronto Mile based on postal codes: M4A, M1J, M1K, M1L, M3C (Golden Mile, Victoria Village, Flemingdon Park, Ionview, Kennedy Park) will be given priority. The Labour Education Centre (LEC) is one of 10 community partners with the Centre for Inclusive Economic Opportunity (CIEO) that has joined up with Aecon Group to start Aecon Golden Mile (AGM). AGM is a construction and maintenance company that will recruit local residents to fill office-related jobs as well as in the construction trades.