Item - 2026.EC27.5

The Economic and Community Development Committee:

1. Received the report (March 24, 2026) from the Executive Director, Social Development for information.

The Rexdale-Casino Woodbine Community Benefits Agreement demonstrates how large-scale infrastructure projects can be harnessed to deliver meaningful community benefits to local residents. The Agreement's public-private sector collaboration, workforce development targets, and community partnerships directly align with the guiding principles of Inclusive Economic Development. These guiding principles use City levers to support, alongside community partners, accessible pathways to employment, skills training and entrepreneurship for communities that have not benefitted from economic growth in the past.

This report provides a 2025 progress update on the agreement's targets and requirements. The majority of the targets and requirements of the Rexdale-Casino Woodbine Community Benefits Agreement are being met or are on track to being met. Actions to meet targets are further detailed in this report.

The Rexdale-Casino Woodbine Community Benefits Agreement was adopted by City Council in 2018 as a condition of expanded gaming at the Woodbine Racetrack site. The Agreement requires annual progress reports from One Toronto Gaming to the City of Toronto, with corresponding updates from City staff to City Council. One Toronto Gaming's 2025 annual report is included in this report as Attachment 2.

Highlights of One Toronto Gaming's progress as of December 31, 2025, includes:

Requirement: Local and Social Hiring (Operations)

- Target: 40 percent of new hiring through local or social hiring, with minimum of 20 percent local Hiring.

- Status: The social hiring target has been met. The local hiring target has not been fully met. Of the 3,428 new hires since 2018, 41 percent (1,402 individuals) self-identified as a social hire and nine percent (314 individuals) were local hires.

Requirement: Construction Hiring:

- Target: By 2022, a minimum of 10 percent of the overall hours worked by trades and craftspeople shall be worked by apprentices or journeypersons from the Woodbine local area or Equity-seeking Groups; and youth hiring initiatives will have prioritized and will continue to prioritize youth who are also members of other Equity-seeking Groups.

- Status: The combined construction hiring target has been met. Of the 2,827 people employed on the construction site since 2018, 29 percent (809 individuals) self-identified as a social hire and two percent (66 individuals) self-identified as a local hire.

Requirement: Full-time Employment:

- Target: 40 percent of total employees have full-time employment in the first two years of Expanded Gaming, rising to 50 percent after two years.

- Status: This target has been met. Of the 1,715 active employees, 63 percent (1,081 individuals) are employed on a full-time basis and 37 percent (634 individuals) are employed on a part-time basis.

Requirement: Responsible Gambling

- Target: Maintain all responsible gambling measures at Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto.

-  Status: This target has been met. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has established the Common Standards and Requirements; a set of responsible gambling controls with which Ontario Lottery and Gaming and all service providers must comply. In 2024, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation partnered with Toronto Public Health to develop a five-year workplan (organized around four workstreams) to guide responsible gambling efforts from 2025 to 2029. In 2025, as part of the Data Collection and Analysis workstream, Toronto Public Health reviewed the scope and availability of local gambling-related data.

Requirement: Supply-Chain Diversity

- Target: Develop Supply Chain Diversity Policy and Procedures for non-construction procurement. Starting in 2019, at least 10 percent of annual non-construction procurement will be sought through local or diverse suppliers (specialized gaming procurement exempt).

- Status: The combined supply chain diversity target has been met. In 2025, One Toronto Gaming spent $113.3 million across 18 local suppliers and $2.34 million across 7 diverse suppliers. Collectively, this represents 35.2% of One Toronto Gaming’s baseline spend.

Requirement: Child Care Centre

- Target: Contribute $5 million to create a child care centre that will benefit Casino employees and local residents.

- Status: This target has not been fully met. A letter of credit for $5 million has been received by the City from Ontario Gaming GTA LP. In addition to the letter of credit provided to the City, $5 million has been budgeted in the 2026-2035 Capital Budget & Plan by Children’s Services for the project. As of December 31, 2025, negotiations related to the project and funding agreement are ongoing. Once completed, Children’s Services and Toronto Community Housing Corporation will confirm construction development timelines for the child care centre.

Requirement: Community Access to Space

- Target: Develop Community Access to Space Policy and Procedures. Make Entertainment Venue space available to the local community at little or no cost for at least one large-scale event per month or 12 large-scale events per calendar year.

- Status: This target has not been fully met. In 2025, One Toronto Gaming hosted seven community events.