Human Resources committee  It's not so much that the child care is cheaper through a co-operative model, but it's the governance structure, because the parents and the staff who work in the child care co-op are also involved. It's not a for-profit model, which does not involve the parents as much. That's the exciting part of it: the multi-stakeholder element, which involves the staff and the parents.

Human Resources committee  First of all, on FedNor, it was almost signed. The contract had been written, and the Ontario Co-operative Association and the credit union system in Ontario and the francophone group in Ontario had mobilized and had invested considerable effort to get to the contract stage. So I should make that point.

Human Resources committee  Yes. It was about $28 million.

Human Resources committee  We've had a longstanding partnership with CIDA for the partnership program, which was mentioned, which is a very important program for us. We built cooperatives and credit unions in over 20 countries with the support that we got from CIDA. That actually demonstrates our long track record of social enterprise development and poverty alleviation working through the cooperative model in other countries, but we argue that in Canada we also have poverty, and we also have a need to address the needs in our communities in Canada as well, not just offshore in other countries, in developing countries.

Human Resources committee  I'll just highlight one particular sector, then, in terms of agriculture and farmer-owned businesses. I think there's a need for some long-term investments in that particular sector. There's increased consolidation and concentration in that industry, and farmers really need to have some impetus to invest in their businesses.

Human Resources committee  The point was made--I just don't recall who made it--that the social economy is essentially an entrepreneurial movement. But a key part of that is job creation, whether it's through a co-operative or another kind of social enterprise. What we know best, of course, are co-operatives--the Canadian Co-operative Association.

Human Resources committee  The social economy initiative rolled out in Quebec more quickly because they had a network they could more quickly mobilize through the leadership of Le Chantier. Across the rest of the country the groups were not as well organized, so they were not as far along in signing the contract and getting it signed.

Human Resources committee  I'd be pleased to go first. Personally, I would argue that the author, Alan Painter, is portraying support for the social economy as an expenditure, not as an investment. On the investment side, with the government supporting.... In terms of the government devolving many of the services to community groups, community groups are actually helping the government achieve its policy agendas, so it is an investment rather than an expenditure.

Human Resources committee  Thank you. I think that's a very good question. And I do appreciate that the Conservative government needs to look at its own programs. I would like to applaud the government for rolling out the initiative in Quebec and to the research components. I also appreciate that the social economy has not been a concept well understood outside of Quebec and that the government and the different departments—Johanne Mennie's shop—need to understand what that means.

Human Resources committee  Thank you. My name is Carol Hunter and I am the executive director of the Canadian Co-operative Association. CCA is the umbrella organization representing co-operatives across Canada. Our organization includes provincial associations, credit unions and financial co-ops, agricultural, consumer, as well as service sector co-operatives.

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  First of all, I would agree on the concept of social economy. We've spent a lot of time on it. The phrase that we prefer to use is “community enterprises”. I think that is something that resonates and is better understood. One example could be a home care worker co-op in a community where there are disabled people or seniors in a community who need access to some home care services.

Finance committee  I would like to make the point that with cooperatives, that's precisely the value. Money cannot move out of the country. An enormous amount of money gets returned to the economy, so the money recirculates in the local economies. In Manitoba alone, through the federated co-op system, $200 million is returned to those local communities.

Finance committee  That's correct. In the last budget, $132 million was committed. In some provinces, like Ontario, it was just the waiting for the ink to dry on the contract with FedNor.

Finance committee  I think I would just say that we need a broad-based approach to our economy. We need a mixed economy with investors and with taxpayers and with individual citizens also contributing to how they build their businesses. And I would argue that competitiveness also requires an inclusive approach that engages citizens, including marginalized citizens, from many different areas to really develop the skills through cooperatives.