ABOUT:

Why we are embarking on this journey

Canada's housing & labour shortage

Canada is facing a sizeable housing shortage: many young families struggle to find places to live, let alone afford, specially in provinces like British Columbia and Ontario. Municipal regulatory hurdles, high interest rates, and shorages of skilled construction labour have slowed construction. This is why the federal government has emphasized the need to expand the supply of construction workers, from both domestic and international sources.

Prupose-built rental or non-profit housing projects suffer the most from labour shortages, as they are unable to compete for workers with developers of big houses or luxury condos who have big profit margins and offer higher paying contracts.

Workers' rights under threat

This shortage in construction labour has created a black market for labour in cities like Vancouver. Independent contractors hire undocumented workers, and act as a middle man to sell such labour to construction companies. Given these workers are at risk of deportation and fear the authorities, profiteers take advantage of this and often subject them to unsafe and undignified working conditions.

These practices put downwards pressure on local wages and working conditions for domestic workers. There is a need for an avenue that increases the supply of skilled construction labour, puts the black market for labour out of business, and does so without threatening the working conditions and wages of domestic workers.

What is Coamati?

Coamati Construction is a benefit corporation that curates teams of Canadians wanting to start a career in construction and matches them with public benefit projects in Canada such as indigenous-led developments, purpose-built rental projects, or non-profit housing initiatives.

We will prioritize marginalized groups, such as indigenous Canadians and newly landed immigrants, in our domestic hiring practices, helping build a fairer and more inclusive economy.

Coamati means "to host a friend in your home" in Nahuatl, Mexico's most spoken indigenous tongue. It represents our mission to build homes and friendships.

Delivering on housing & workers' rights

By focusing on public benefit construction initiatives, we are able to supply workers to those projects most affected by the labour shortage, helping grow the supply of rental housing and non profit housing, specially focusing on indigenous-led development projects. This will directly help Canada meet its targets to grow the supply of new affordable homes and rental units.

We will also look for opportunities to help undocumented workers get legal status in Canada, putting an end to black market profiteers who exert downwards pressure on domestic wages and working conditions, and exploit undocumented workers.

Putting people & planet first

We are a forward-thinking company that believes business should be a force of good, our values guide our work and the way we do business.

We are commtitted to not only building more affordable homes, but also building a supportive and dignified working environment, empowering workers and implementing better practices in the construction sector to put people and planet first.

We commit to setting aside 5% of net profits and directing them charitable causes. Some potential projects include funding the construction of community services or amentities in rural indigenous Mexican communities.

Building bridges

We believe that indigenous-led housing projects offer a great opportunity to economically empower indigenous communities and further reconciliation efforts. Given the indigenous heritage of Mexico as a nation, we believe these projects are an ideal way to nurture a bond between these two communities.

Moreover, we also plan to use part of the 5% of net profits we direct to charity to fund two scholarships at UBC that promote cross-border learning between Mexico and Canada. The first scholarship would be for Mexican students conducting graduate research on topics relating to urban design, migration, labour or indigeneity. The second would be for domestic students identifying as indigenous who are planning to study abroad for a term at a Mexican university.

Coamati means “to host a friend in your home” in Nahuatl, the most spoken indigenous language in Mexico. It represents our commitment to buildig homes and intercultural friendships.

Our Identity

Our identity is rooted in the indigenous ancestry and heritage that most Mexicans have, our commitment to build more affordable and livable communities, and our desire to create a freer, more connected world.

The bricks represent the long history of Mexicans as diligent and visionary workers, building great stuructures, including 35 UNESCO World Heritage sites.

The house represents our commitment to building homes for people, and our understanding of housing not as a privilege but a human right.

The arrows flowing in a cycle around the house represent trade and migration, the movement of workers, goods and ideas between communities.

We chose orange because it is the colour of the monarch butterfly, a beautiful migratory animal of great importance to Mexico and Canada.