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Working Together to Build Opportunities: Canadian Immigrants and Co-operatives

Explore the benefits, challenges, and solutions for immigrant co-operatives in Canada. Learn how co-operatives enhance economic, cultural, and participatory aspects, and delve into the Co-operative Development Initiative's goals, components, and impact. Discover valuable insights on innovation, research projects, and the imperative role of immigrant inclusion in co-operative development.

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Working Together to Build Opportunities: Canadian Immigrants and Co-operatives

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  1. Working Together to Build Opportunities: Canadian Immigrants and Co-operatives Fiona Duguid Co-operatives Secretariat, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada March 2009

  2. Co-operatives • A co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise • International Co-operative Alliance

  3. Immigrant Co-ops in Canada • ~7,000 non-financial co-operatives in Canada • ~ 77 immigrant co-operatives in Canada Why so few? • Lack of relationships between immigrant and co-op communities • Immigrant communities are unfamiliar with co-operatives • Insufficient number of trained immigrant co-op practitioners • Lack of funding for community development targeting towards immigrant communities

  4. Why co-operatives are important Economic: salaries, community and individual wealth Cultural: interaction within and between cultures Functional: decision-making, self-esteem building, hands-on learning Participatory: democratically governed Physical: visible enterprises Political: vehicle in community, voice Relational: membership in a group Structural: access to other programs

  5. Co-operative Development Initiative (CDI) • 2003 – 2008 (+2009) • $15 million dollars • Objective: to improve the quality of life in Canada through enhancing co-operative sector capacity to develop new co-operatives, and to identify and test new applications of the co-operative model in priority areas. • Goals: • Support the development of new co-ops • Strengthen co-ops at early stages of development • Components: • Advisory Services • Innovation and Research Projects

  6. Priority Areas for Innovation and Research Projects Economic Development in Rural, Remote and Northern Communities Health and Home Care Adding Value to Agriculture Integration of Immigrants into Canadian Communities Community Solutions to Environmental Challenges Development in Aboriginal Communities

  7. CDI Program • Advisory Services • Technical and professional services for co-op businesses • Organizational development to strengthen linkages and coordination between co-ops and within sector. • Innovation and Research Projects • Innovation: development in a new area or sector, niche product or service, development in a region or implementation of the co-operative model in new ways • Research: analysis into new and innovative uses of co-operatives

  8. Research Methodology and CDI Program • Innovation and Research Projects N=186 • Method • Secondary document analysis: Final report, Schedule A, Quarterly Reports, websites, articles and publications • Sample of Immigrant Projects N= 17

  9. Analysis: Goods and Services • Goods: car leasing, African-inspired clothes production, housing, art, specialty food products, farmer’s market • Services: education, home custodial work, settlement (finding employment), translation, funerals, co-operative development

  10. Analysis: Challenges • Language barriers • Lack of knowledge of co-op model • Community support workers lack of knowledge • Self-esteem • Attracting clients • Connection to Canadian mainstream programming and opportunities • Projects took longer than expected • General public pessimism

  11. Analysis: Solutions • Ensure strong ties to immigrant community • Learn strengths of each member • Train members, staff, board • Diversify funding sources • Maintain long- and short-term goals • Flexibility • Persistence and hard work

  12. Analysis: Lessons Learned • Need realistic timeframes: all projects were successful, wanted to do more, but need to make sure doable within time available • Need more financial resources • Need more human resources • Expertise in co-op development imperative • Patience

  13. Summary • Tremendous amount of opportunities • Need better awareness within co-operative development and immigrant communities • Need to share experiences, success stories, solutions to challenges • Need to work with settlement agencies, levels of government, community organizations, general public to advance awareness of co-operatives

  14. For more information Fiona Duguid Co-operatives Secretariat fiona.duguid@agr.gc.ca www.coops.gc.ca http://www.agr.gc.ca/index_e.php (select “Co-operatives” under “The Department” on the left side of the AAFC web site)

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