Welcome to the International Year of Co-operatives. The United Nations designated 2012 as such. All year we will have an opportunity to learn about the role co-operatives play in our lives and in the world economy.
There are over 9,000 co-ops in Canada with more than 18 million members. Thirty-two of them are in Guelph. Most local co-op activity is in three key areas: housing, banking and agriculture.
We have six housing co-ops with a combined capacity of about 375 homes. In addition to this, the Guelph Campus Co-operative provides housing through 40 apartments and seven houses with a total of 47 rooms.
Credit unions are financial co-operatives, and Guelph has several. Meridian, the largest credit union in Ontario, has four branches in town. Your Neighbourhood Credit Union, DUCA Financial Services and St. Stanislaus – St. Casimir’s each have one. Guelph’s co-operative community includes the headquarters of one of Canada’s largest full-service insurance companies.
There are six co-ops in town providing child care services. The three Planet Bean outlets are owned by the Sumac Community Worker Co-operative.
In addition to these, there are agricultural co-ops such as Gay-Lea Foods, Ag Energy, Genex, Ontario Lamb Producers, Organic Meadow and UPI Energy. We have a car co-op, a natural burial co-op, an energy co-op, a solar power co-op, and a technology and design cluster co-op.
The story of co-ops in Guelph goes back as far as 1904 when the Guelph Bakery Co-op was formed. The owner of the Royal Knitting Mill and a former mayor of Guelph, Samuel Carter developed other co-ops in the early 20th century. In 1909 he was elected the first president of the Co-operative Union of Canada.
The theme adopted by the UN for 2012 is “Co-operative Enterprises Build a Better World.” It’s true. They do. In the financial meltdowns of 2008 and 2011, when many privately owned banks went under, no credit unions failed. Quite the opposite. Lloyds, the giant British bank that received a government bailout in 2009, is now owned by The Co-operative Group.
Co-operatives are businesses, and, like any other, they exist to turn a profit. The difference is in where the profit goes. Not to distant shareholders. Not to speculators and market manipulators. All surplus is returned to the members. The people who own and control the business.
The International Co-operative Alliance provides some statistics to show the strength of the sector. It has over a billion members around the world. The 300 largest co-ops have a combined revenue of just over a trillion dollars. Co-ops employ 100 million people worldwide, 20 per cent more than multi-national corporations. Thirteen per cent of the world’s population belong to financial co-operatives that have combined assets of $1.35 trillion.
Considering the scope of the international co-operative movement, it is surprising that so little is known about it in North America. If the United Nations gets its way – and it usually does – that will change this year. The change starts a week from today, on Thursday Jan. 12. That’s when the Canadian launch of the IYC takes place in 14 cities across the country.
The official Ontario kick-off is at Guelph City Hall at 11:30 a.m. The event starts with a speech from our mayor and includes the distribution of small, hand-held flags and raising the official IYC flag. At noon, an invitation-only event moves over to the Co-operators building on Macdonell Street to watch the live ceremonies from Ottawa and have lunch.
Come out and celebrate the co-op spirit. You probably either belong to, or do business with, one of them. More than 18 million of us do.
