Senator Statement
Co-op Week
October 17, 2017
The Honorable Senator Lucie Moncion:
Honourable senators, a major event is happening at the local, provincial, national and international levels. Co-op Week, which is from October 15 to 22, is an opportunity for cooperatives and credit unions to invite the general public to learn more about the cooperative business model and the actual work cooperatives do for the economy.
This year’s Co-op Week, which is based on the theme “Build a Better World Together,” is a chance for us to celebrate cooperative values. This 35th annual Co-op Week seems like the right time to reflect on the cooperative movement in Canada and highlight its contribution to the economy and to social justice.
Cooperatives are an integral part of the Canadian landscape, as they have played a crucial role in the promotion of community health and prosperity. They help improve living standards and seek to cultivate the best possible relationships with their members and employees. Cooperatives have a much more personal, more human way of doing business that enhances their relationships and demonstrates their genuine concern for the financial well-being of every individual. What cooperatives prize above all is collective wealth, not the wealth of a few individuals.
Cooperatives also help create jobs, improve local living standards, and boost the social economy. Each year, cooperatives put over a half a billion dollars back into the community in the form of donations, sponsorships, dividends, start-up loans, and support for the elimination of poverty, improvements to green space, and countless social causes.
The year 2017 brought growing recognition of the impact of cooperatives and mutuals. On April 5, our House of Commons colleagues unanimously passed a motion to recognize, support, and promote the cooperative movement in Canada. That gesture was the first step toward greater recognition of the cooperative movement.
Among other things, the motion called on the federal government to consult with the provinces and territories, indigenous leaders, and other important groups about how best to promote and support the cooperative model. That consultation was meant to help the government renew its commitment to developing cooperatives.
The cooperative movement recently announced a new $25-million investment fund to help cooperatives expand. Financed by 14 Canadian cooperative investors, this strategic fund will fill a gap and support social finance initiatives. We hope that this initiative will be of interest to the government, which is currently investing in innovative new social finance tools through the social innovation and social finance strategy co-creation steering group. Participants in any social finance strategy would be wise to look to the cooperative movement, where they might find partners already engaged in having a positive social impact on the lives of Canadians.
Cooperatives have so many reasons to be proud of what they do, and Co-op Week is an opportunity for them to put their presence and their contributions front and centre. They are vital to healthy economies in Canada and around the world, and that is worth recognizing and celebrating.
Please give a warm welcome to the financial cooperative members who visit your offices today for their day on the Hill. Thank you.