PEOPLE

OUR IMPACT | LAND 

At Benjamin Bridge, we believe a more sustainable future starts with people. From fostering an inclusive, fair, and supportive workplace to strengthening our local community through meaningful partnerships and initiatives, we’re committed to creating lasting positive impact. We strive to keep learning, growing, and doing better together.

HUMAN RIGHTS AND FAIR WORK

Human rights and fair work are deeply embedded in Benjamin Bridge’s DNA. Founder Gerry McConnell’s early legal career focused on labour law in Nova Scotia, including supporting workers’ unions. He and his late wife, Dara Gordon, carried that commitment into their winery business, where safe working conditions, dignity, respect, and fairness have always applied to everyone, at every level.

Today, Benjamin Bridge is a collective of more than 100 people, both seasonal and year-round, and we’re proud that our team handbook spells out every policy over 80+ pages so everyone knows where they stand and what their rights are. The handbook is a living document: we share it with every new employee, review it seasonally, and update it based on the team’s feedback. 

Our fair work commitments include a wage transparency policy [link to PDF], inclusive hiring practices [link to PDF], and a clear process for raising grievances internally [link to PDF]. We also encourage team members to volunteer in their communities, pursue professional development, grow in their roles, and bring their values to work.

COMMUNITY

From the outset, giving back has been central to the Benjamin Bridge approach to business. We believe being deeply interconnected with the people and communities we serve strengthens our long-term sustainability and builds toward a prosperous, resilient region for us all.  

Our community efforts take many forms, including volunteer hours, product donations, sponsorship, research participation, educational activities, workplace opportunities, raising awareness, charitable fundraising, and collective action. We have a long-standing partnership with Dalhousie University’s agriculture department and Nova Scotia Community College’s hospitality and tourism programs who make annual educational visits to our vineyard to learn first hand about our farm and winery. We also look for ways to strengthen the local economy through our everyday choices, such as sourcing as much as possible from regional suppliers and neighbouring businesses because we know the impact of buying local. 

See our community connections

PLANS AND COMMITMENTS

  • COMPLAINT PROCESS

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     [Link to policy - required]

  • LOBBYING POLICY

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    [Link to Policy - required]

  • WORKPLACE CULTURE SURVEY

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    aggregate data with what has changed as a result, a mini report 

  • JEDI COMMITMENT

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    Statement Required

  • JEDI ACTION PLAN

    Year 0/3/5

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    [Link to plan with dated reporting - required]