From subtle systemic racism in awarding contracts to outright hate-motivated incidents at job sites, a new Black builders’ association wants to lay the foundation for a fairer construction industry.

Sephton Spence of Kubbie Construction Inc. says seeing racist graffiti on construction hoarding and nooses left at the construction site at Michael Garron Hospital sped up the group’s plans.

“It’s disturbing, but … it’s not uncommon,” said Spence. “It is a very painful time to watch. So, you know, this is a continuation, but we’ll continue the fight.”

The group was formed in the fall, but the Afro Canadian Contractors Association (ACCA) is marking the start of Black History Month with its official launch on Monday.

The group hopes to help break down barriers that Black contractors face trying to get started in the business and if they are established, help land more lucrative contracts for larger projects.

Spence, who is ACCA vice-president, says he’s noticed there are not a lot of Black developers and he recalled being reminded of that when he was bidding on a bigger contract.

“The CEO comes out and he says to the secretary, ‘Is Spence here?’  And I’ve been sitting there for half an hour already. But they don’t know that it’s me,” he recalled.

“So there’s a premise or an understanding that at this level, you should be a white gentleman making all these decisions building all these fabulous places.”

But he says there may be more opportunities for Black contractors as large corporations, institutions and municipalities are using social procurement — an organization’s process of purchasing goods and services to achieve strategic social, economic and workforce development goals. 

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