Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, and members, for inviting me to be part of this important study of the opportunities and challenges facing the cooperative sector in Canada. My name is Robert Marshall, and I am the president and chief executive officer of Mountain View Credit Union. As suc

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  On a provincial basis, we're very involved in supporting the other co-op models that you've been exposed to or have heard about, particularly the lumber, grocery, and fuel retail distribution co-ops, and certainly the gas co-ops and rural electrification associations. I'm speakin

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  Yes, we do, especially if there's a way that we can complement each other. There certainly are examples of that occurring. Sometimes it's not as easy in smaller rural centres. Some will have to go into a large urban centre such as Calgary or Edmonton to get that type of expertise

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  Yes, and through Farm Credit Canada—those places as well, you bet.

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  To the contrary....

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  No, we'd certainly consider that and, as you say, run with it, but it comes down to whether they have a viable plan in place, especially on a start-up. Once they've been in business for 5 or 10 years, there's historical evidence to support where they're going. It's the start-up.

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  They exist. I certainly wouldn't deny that. They're not as profound or as substantial as what I might suggest our counterparts in the chartered banks may be privileged to receive, but they do exist. It's based, typically, on the performance of the credit union and how well it has

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  Again, with 34 credit unions in Alberta, there are 34 different plans. There may not be 34 variable plans or bonus structures. I do know that my colleagues, my peers in similar-sized credit unions, participate in a bonus program, or a variable compensation program. In size, it wo

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  I would have to suggest that the chartered bank system has a piece of that pie as well—probably the bulk of that, probably 40%, and then there might be private lenders as well.

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  Just to note, the credit union system holds 5%, Farm Credit Canada 25% , and the other two provincial crown corporations 20%.

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  I think our experience with Farm Credit Canada is more that they are out there actively seeking new business and they're approaching our members. They're offering some incredible deals, 10-year terms, at fixed rates, below market rates, with 100% financing. We just cannot with th

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  Very much so. From the perspective of education, and then if there are grant programs available to assist some start-up co-ops, I think those are really two fundamental purposes that the federal government could review or look at.

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  I do, and to the degree, I'm not quite sure. I'm probably not the right person to ask that question of, but I could certainly table that and bring back a better response for you.

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  Initially, start-up co-ops' understanding of proper governance would be the first place they could certainly improve and benefit from in that regard. Then, just as a case, by way an example, if you look at a housing co-op, they're typically looking for some type of funding to ass

Special Committee on Cooperatives committee  The one area that I'd suggest we're different from banks is that we are locally owned by members in our communities. We're locally governed by several of those members; in our case it's nine directors on our board. We turn around and invest every dollar that we make right back in