Evidence of meeting #7 for Special Committee on Cooperatives in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was credit.
A video is available from Parliament.
Executive Director, Manitoba Cooperative Association
Yes. We've been running a cooperative youth leadership program since 1985. Historically, most of the youth who attend our program are from rural Manitoba. It's basically a leadership program, promoting leadership skills. We also teach, of course, about the cooperative model. But we're working in groups, and things of that nature. We recognize, and have recognized for years, the importance of having leaders within our communities who are able to take on the governance of our cooperative organizations. Our cooperative organizations will remain long after we are gone—that is the nature of the cooperative model—as long as there are new members able to fulfill the roles and the governance roles within that organization.
So youth leadership has been a very important thing. We've strengthened our youth leadership activities, as I said, with launching the all for each program in high schools, and also by having a relationship with the University of Winnipeg in their Faculty of Business and Economics.
NDP
Ruth Ellen Brosseau NDP Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
The Province of Manitoba has clearly shown its appreciation of and support for cooperatives with the co-op development tax credit fund. What would you like to see from the federal government to show its commitment to the International Year of Cooperatives?
Executive Director, Manitoba Cooperative Association
This committee is a good start, in terms of it opening up the dialogue. It's important that our federal government hears from the cooperative sector and understands the needs of emerging co-ops. From my perspective, I mentioned a few things in my comments about ongoing support for start-ups, and the special needs they have in terms of group development, bringing awareness to the cooperative model, and making sure that co-ops can access all programs. I think capitalization is another big issue that needs to be addressed.
NDP
Ruth Ellen Brosseau NDP Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
Bill Dobson, I was wondering if you could add to what you have recommended as key steps. I know you have them listed. I think you have about six bullets here. But what would be your top three most important steps for the federal government to play in supporting cooperatives?
Director, United Farmers of Alberta
Well, it's the dialogue that we discussed. It's about having a dialogue about what's the best business atmosphere—not just for our cooperative but for beginning cooperatives as well—that there's not a disadvantage to being a cooperative, and the understanding of that. Certainly, that dialogue is quite important.
The taxation issue is quite important to us. I'm not saying that we have all of those answers, but taxation is always of interest to every business. We just want to make sure that the taxation is right, fair. We need to pay our portion.
The capitalization needs are certainly important as well.
So it's probably just about examining those to make sure those these are in our best interests as a cooperative, and to be fair to other corporations and the government as well.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Blake Richards
Thank you very much.
Now we'll move to Mr. Preston. The floor is yours for five minutes.
Conservative
Joe Preston Conservative Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON
Thank you.
And thank you all for coming. It's great to have you here today, too.
As I've said to other panels, I'm learning something from each panel. So thank you again for helping an old guy like me still learn.
Ms. Goussaert, you mentioned teaching high school teachers and teaching about co-ops from a knowledge point of view even at that level, preparing kits and so on. You said it was the Ontario cooperative group that brought that together. I would love to see one of these kits. If you have one, I honestly would love to see it.
And I'm not going to hand it out to high school teachers. I think we'll go and hand it out to banks. We keep saying that the knowledge of what a cooperative is or why the structure is the way it is what's maybe getting in the way of some of this working.
I might also suggest—in your case, the western economic development that the federal government offers to business, from microloans to help for start-ups—that you were right about it not always being there in the vernacular in the programs. We need to make sure that cooperatives are included and recognize that this is available to them, too. That would be a huge part. So it's some of that education, whether it's the federal development agency in Ontario, FedDev, or Western Economic Diversification, or any of those.
There are programs out there for business start-ups. We don't have to put a new head on this horse. We already have this. We need to make sure people know where it is and where to go to get it. Would you agree with that?
Executive Director, Manitoba Cooperative Association
I would agree with that, but I'd also comment that in addition to having the business element of a co-op, there is the whole other piece around the governance.
Conservative
Executive Director, Manitoba Cooperative Association
But business development, absolutely.
Conservative
Joe Preston Conservative Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON
You've hit on another great one having to do with cooperatives, with the youth leadership model. I recognize that it's probably happening in each of the other groups too, and the other groups we've talked about, but you've hit on it today.
Certainly in the other world, if you will—and I hate comparing cooperatives to everything else, but it seems to be happening today—we have things like Junior Achievement. In the summertime, we have youth mentorship programs for the entrepreneurial side, funded by our government and other governments. Those programs are out there.
You've hit on something that's directly about cooperatives and the building of those. That's a fantastic piece that should be added to groups like Junior Achievement, because it isn't only about individual entrepreneurship. That's the right answer.
I sure would like to see it. I'm coming to visit, I guess. That's going to be the easiest way.
Mr. Dobson, your cooperative group is very big, right? You weren't always big—and it's good to see you again, by the way.
But is it different? Does a big established co-op need to be treated differently than...? Obviously, start-up businesses need to be treated a lot differently than big businesses that are well established. We're talking about a wide range and a wide scale of things here, are we not?
Director, United Farmers of Alberta
That was the reason that we had the two points in there, the business environment for the existing cooperatives and then the new ones. We recognize that there are new emerging cooperatives.
This is personal, but I think you have an obligation when you've reached success—whether it's as a business person or an MP, or whatever you are—to mentor someone and to try to assist them. It's certain that we need to look after our own business—there's no doubt about that—and we do. We want the proper environment for that, and we have that stewardship.
I also think there's an obligation on the other two points that I brought up. As far as new emerging cooperatives are concerned, they have special needs, and we are willing to do our part. We're willing to do our part on international development, but we certainly think there's a public good in that too, which we need to partner with. To me, that would seem suitable.
But there's no doubt that there's a difference. We started very small. I brought up the history of the UFA on purpose. You learn so much from your history. We were a struggling small cooperative at one time. But over the evolution, we've learned that the cooperative model was really going to bring the most benefit to our members.
It's different, but we all start somewhere.
Conservative
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Blake Richards
Well, you know you can right now. You still have about 30 seconds.
Conservative
Joe Preston Conservative Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON
Fantastic. There's at least one question in there.
Vera, I think you talked about a research chair at the University of Manitoba. We heard from the Saskatchewan group earlier today, where's that's happening.
Is anybody approaching the business schools? There are some well-known business schools across Canada. Are we approaching Ivey, those types of places, to make sure they're understanding and throwing their expertise behind helping this model?
Executive Director, Manitoba Cooperative Association
Certainly there are a number of educational institutions that do offer cooperative education. The relationship we've forged with the University of Winnipeg is with their faculty of business and economics. So it is within the business school.
We've also established relations with the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba, where they've introduced some cases in their MBA program on cooperatives. There is some of that happening, certainly.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Blake Richards
Thank you very much.
Next we have Mr. Bélanger for five minutes.
The floor is yours.
Liberal
Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Merci, monsieur le président.
Since this is likely my last chance to speak in the public session, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the witnesses we've seen this week and on July 10, and those I've had a change to meet privately with, and also my colleagues from the House for having supported the motion that led to the creation of this committee. I hope we will continue some level of cooperation and come out with a report that will prove to be useful, just as the hearings have themselves been on their own part.
Mr. Chair, could I ask our analysts to look into three of the items mentioned: the interdepartmental committee and its makeup in Manitoba; the changes to the cooperatives act in Manitoba, on which I think it would be useful to have a bit more information on; and the co-op development tax credit? I think that might be useful in our deliberations.
Last Tuesday, we were told unequivocally that the cooperative movement and cooperatives were even more important in official language minority communities—an important community in Manitoba—than in majority communities.
I would like to know whether you agree with that statement and, if so, whether you can provide us with an example or two.
Executive Director, Manitoba Cooperative Association
I don't work a lot with the francophone municipalities in Manitoba. Our partner, CDEM, does the work in the francophone communities. That being said, certainly some of the francophone co-ops do come to MCA for some of the grants that we administer in partnership with CDEM, and one of the examples that I gave, the Compo-Stages Manitoba Services Co-op, works in the francophone community.
Liberal
Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
I'll follow up then. I can get a sense from them.
Ms. Corcoran, you were awarded the Ordre du mérite coopératif et mutualiste canadien in June. Congratulations. I believe that it is a well-deserved honour.
Executive Director, Canadian Worker Co-operative Federation
Thank you very much.
Liberal
Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
I've taken very good note, and I think most of my colleagues have, of the first three points: large versus small, the capital, and the RSP 10% issue, which has come up a few times and I hope we'll look at.
The item that you brought up, which perhaps has not been delved into at any great length, and which I suspect is an important one, is the ability to use the worker co-op model to transfer the ownership and not lose the ownership of small businesses in the next few years. I'm not going to ask you to elaborate in great detail, but if you could send us material, from either Canada or abroad.... Because I believe in Italy, for instance, when a company is looking to be sold, one of the rights that its workers have is to, perhaps, consider acquiring it through such a co-op model. I'm not sure if it's Italy or another country.
If you have some literature that would help us ascertain the importance of that and how it's done elsewhere, it would be quite useful.
Executive Director, Canadian Worker Co-operative Federation
Yes, we have a lot of literature. In fact, we've been involved in a research project that addresses your prior question because it was focused on official language minority communities and using business succession in those communities. But we also have access to other things going on in Europe through our international collaboration. So, yes, we will.