Project Labour Agreements (PLA) are pre-hire contracts between a construction owner and the Building Trades unions that coordinate building activities across trades and establish the terms and conditions of employment for a specific project. They were first established in Ontario in 1998 with the goal to enhance the competitiveness of large manufacturers by creating project stability through access to skilled labour, the harmonization of scheduling across trades, expediting dispute resolution, and eliminating work stoppages.

Despite these inherent benefits, PLAs are often criticized as a restrictive tool that reduces bid competition and leads to higher costs. The enclosed discussion paper explores the economic benefits of Project Labour Agreements and focuses on dispelling many of the myths and misinformation associated with this unique tool. The analysis of current academic peer-reviewed literature points to three key conclusions:

1. PLAs do not have a statistically significant effect on construction costs
2. PLAs do not have a statistically significant effect on the number of bidders on a project
3. PLAs lead to timely completion of construction projects (16% to 19% faster than projects that did not use a PLA)