Canadian CED Network

The Canadian CED Network welcomes you to join a community of brave, innovative and determined leaders from across Canada to examine self-leadership, leading and understanding others, and leading within an organization through 6 sessions of supported and embodied learning.


This unique learning environment is intentionally designed to respond to your experience. You can expect to refine and build your leadership skills and apply what you’ve learned in new, meaningful and purposeful ways. You’ll gain tools to help strengthen your teams and encourage problem solving and creativity, so that you can collectively navigate and effectively respond to change, innovation and the current priorities of your work environment.


You’ll emerge from the course energized, aligned, and equipped to harness your leadership to best effect moving forward.

Learning Objectives:

Module 1 (14 hours): Leading and Understanding Myself
Becoming a more self-aware and confident leader, build on current skills and experience to gain greater clarity and insight into your leadership style and strengths so you can serve yourself, others and your organizations even better.
Module 2 (14 hours): Leading and Understanding Others
Enhance and build key senior leadership skills to engage and lead people so you can all contribute and thrive professionally, meet the challenge of navigating an organization and increase your impact.
Module 3 (14 hours): Leading within my Organization
Be more prepared for the opportunities and challenges that being a leader presents, build essential skills of a change leader, learn to develop teams and build team resilience, learn to lead through change and expertly communicate through courageous conversations.

  • For whom: The course is carefully designed to be impactful for leaders at all stages.
  • When: 9am – 4pm ET on Thursdays (biweekly) from October 6 – Dec 15, 2022 (6 days in total)
  • Limited Capacity: Please note that the course will be capped at 20 learners to ensure each participant has a high quality, engaging and impactful experience.
  • Accreditation: This program offers the opportunity to achieve the ILM Award in Leadership accreditation. A certificate will be awarded upon completion of the program.

Course Registration:

$1250 for CCEDNet members ($250 savings)
$1500 for Non-members

Accessibility: Closed Captioning will be available at the workshop. Additional accessibility accommodations are available by advanced request.

Impact

The impact of this program has been championed by the organizations that have gone through this Leadership Program every year since 2016!

Impact to date:

  • 94% of learners indicated the training was very effective in helping them to apply the learning in their day-to-day leadership role
  • 98% of learners would recommend the training to a friend or colleague
  • 100% of the learners who moved through the program said they used the learning in their roles (90% of whom felt they would use it often or every day!)
  • Time to reflect on your experience and potential is a precious thing. We encourage and invite you to invest in your leadership practice and experience this unique and intentional learning environment dedicated to supporting the exceptional people and unique demands leadership presents.

Your Facilitator: Suzanne Gibson

Suzanne Gibson

Our Leadership programs, facilitated by Suzanne Gibson, will offer anyone who leads a team the chance to take a well-supported deep dive into leadership practices, skills, and tools.

Suzanne Gibson “awakens the potential” of your organization to achieve its mandate and vision. Over the past 25 years, Suzanne has:

  • inspired new and established organizations to “dream big,” unite around an idea and turn those dreams into reality
  • uncovered creative solutions to complex social and organization problems
  • mobilized diverse groups into strong teams
  • facilitated and supported leaders, staff and volunteers to achieve their personal and collective potential
  • applied her entrepreneurial flair to start up innovative new ventures
  • equipped organizations to secure much-needed knowledge, skills and resources.

Suzanne will help you draw out the very best from your staff and stakeholders as you help create a better world.


Not a CCEDNet member? Join CCEDNet or contact Adriana at .

Register now!

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Learning to Change the World

Originally published June 25, 2014

This is Part 2 of a 2-part series. Click here to read the first in this series. 

Tackling the Fundamental Issue: Ownership 

My suggestion is that the ownership of capital itself needs to change. We need to democratize ownership.

We need to look outside the dichotomy we have seen so far of either:

  1. taxing income or wealth for redistribution via mechanisms like the welfare state; or
  2. nationalizing all wealth for state-run economies.

We need to look at a third approach, of democratic ownership by people and communities. There are many possibilities, which can certainly be combined:

  • Land needs to be considered a common good, for the benefit of humanity and future generations, and not just something to exploit. Speculation on land is nonsense.  By making land part of the commons, instead of it being privately owned, people could pay for the right to use the land for farming, housing (or other purposes) through long-term leases or annual dues.  Community Land Trusts are a good example of this approach.
  • Worker ownership of businesses, the most famous example of which is Mondragon, the world’s largest co-operative group with 80,000 worker owners.
  • Co-ownership of the means of production such as factories and technology. People in communities could be co-owners with private capital.
  • Multi-stakeholder organizations, on the model of social or solidarity co-operatives, could manage local stores, food distribution, and other activities. Consumers and producers, working together, can bridge the gap that has been put in place by capitalist production and distribution systems where large corporations control all aspects, both the prices paid to producers and the prices consumers pay. The Seikatsu Club Cooperative Union in Japan, with 350,000 members, buys food and other household items directly from producers, and with annual sales of $1 billion, it shows that a market can exist outside the capitalist system.
  • Capital needed for investment in alternatives already exists. Huge pension funds, many of which are currently invested in large private corporations or managed by private funds, could be invested in local and community economies. Another huge amount of capital exists in credit unions. Instead of lending to buy consumer goods, sold by corporations, part of this capital could be lent to co-operatives or other community-owned businesses.
  • We have to take inspiration from the notion of Mother Earth. In Canada, aboriginal peoples considered land as a common good, belonging to the people.  Human beings must respect the planet on which we live. An example of this is community forestry in Nepal. As stipulated in Nepal’s constitution, Community Forestry Groups (CFG) manage the forest. Altogether, about one third of total population (8 million people), are organised in about 13,500 CFGs.
  • Saving locally owned business from predatory buyouts by larger corporations or funds of all types prevents more concentration of capital and wealth. Any successful business is seen as prey by investors of all kinds.  Sometimes they close the local businesses or delocalise factories, or sometimes they will continue operating, if they can siphon away profits.  This is not a question of being bad or good, it is just the way our current system works. But there are alternatives.  A good example is the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) in the USA, an association of 30,000 small businesses that advocate for strong local economies. Another American example is referendums in some US cities to prevent Walmart from taking over local economies. The multinational corporation, one of the largest in the world, destroys locally-owned small businesses in cities where they operate. In some US cities, citizens have been able to prevent Walmart from invading.

Many other examples could be given of organizing the economy in a very different manner. The key idea is that the concentration of most wealth in the top 10% is not inevitable. 

If we organize differently, in a deliberate and conscious manner, we could turn things around surprisingly quickly.

Of course, to achieve this, people need to be conscious citizens instead of just consumers. Even if the 1% (and the 10%) are very strong with their control of the economy, media, and influence in politics, they are still in fact a very small minority. As long as citizens think there is no alternative, they will continue exercising control over our society. But, as the examples show, the possibilities are enormous when people become conscious. After all, it people stop buying at Walmart, or stop going to McDonald’s, those corporations will change or shrink and disappear.  People are not forced to buy from them. We have just been persuaded to do so.

At the same time, we need to work on all fronts. For example, Foundations were started as an inheritance tax evasion. I remember well a book I read in 1968 by Ferdinand Lundberg The Rich and the Super-Rich. A Study in the Power of Money Today (New York: Lyle Stuart, 1968). This book explained how foundations were invented in the US by the billionaires such as Carnegie, Mellon, Ford, Rockefeller and others in order to avoid inheritance tax.  They were able to get the US Congress to vote these laws, giving them control over the foundations and the power to name people to the Boards. In more recent times, we have Melinda and Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and the Walton (Walmart) family.

What would be an optimum situation?  We can easily imagine much more equal societies, where those with upper incomes and those who have accumulated wealth might have 5-10 times more income than average, instead or 250 or 500 times more. There is absolutely no justification for the appropriation of most wealth by a tiny minority. The super-rich have so much money that they cannot use it all, while at the same time people are undernourished and live in inhuman conditions. This is both indecent and immoral.

A Final Thought

Unquestionably, Piketty has rendered an important service to humanity. More or less like the scientific proof that the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has established for global warming.

In both cases, we have proof that the two problems – inequality and global warming – are results of human activity. They are not “acts of God,” a result of natural disasters, or even a question of human nature or a natural order or things. These justifications are pure ideology to defend inequality and the devastation of the planet, which are deeply linked since the increase in profits is very closely tied to the syndrome of increasing production that is destroying oceans, rainforests and using most natural resources in such a way that they will last for only a few generations.

The challenges are enormous. But at the same time, most people on our planet have access to education for the first time in history, and we have all the knowledge needed to make the changes. There are more scientists living today than in all previous generations.

We have the knowhow and the capacity. It is just of question of raising consciousness and organising. For people that embrace the CED approach, community or local ownership, is already within the set of goals.  Pursuing along this path is even more obvious if we want societies that are less unequal, including in revenue and wealth.

Yvon Poirier

Yvon Poirier is President of CCEDNet’s International Committee and Secretary of the Board. He has a long history of involvement in the labour and social movements in Québec and Canada and has been very active in the Intercontinental Network for the Promotion of the Social Solidarity Economy (RIPESS). He represents the CDÉC de Québec in CCEDNet.

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Originaly published June 25, 2014

This book by French economist Thomas Piketty, published in France last September, has become known worldwide, especially since its English publication by Harvard University Press in April. The book has been one of the top selling books in the USA since its publication and is the Harvard University Press most sold book in its 100-year history.

A Brief Description

Piketty shows that modern economic growth and the diffusion of knowledge have allowed us to avoid inequalities on the apocalyptic scale predicted by Karl Marx. But we have not modified the deep structures of capital and inequality as much as we thought in the optimistic decades following World War II. The main driver of inequality—the tendency of returns on capital to exceed the rate of economic growth—today threatens to generate extreme inequalities that stir discontent and undermine democratic values. But economic trends are not acts of God. Political action has curbed dangerous inequalities in the past, Piketty says, and may do so again.

~ Excerpt from the Harvard University Press.

Since its publication, the numerous articles which have appeared in influential outlets such as the New York Times, the Economist and the Wall Street Journal testify to its impact.  The book was rather unnoticed in French language media until it became a buzz in English speaking media. Now the French speaking media is also talking about it.

The explanation of why inequality is a product of the capitalist system is unequivocal. Four centuries of data about wealth in France and in the United Kingdom and about 100 years of data about GDP and wealth in key OECD countries speak for themselves.  The author explains quite well how income from capital is higher than income from work (wages).

In particular, the book clearly identifies how wealth has become so concentrated in the top 10% and even more in the top 1% over the last 40 years, bringing the concentration of wealth back to where is was in the 1880s and 1890s.  The total wealth in some countries (UK, France, Spain, Italy and others) is about 6-7 times annual GDP.  From 1914 to 1945, this went down to 2-3 times GDP because both World Wars caused massive destruction of wealth and the great depression also had devastating effects.  Wealth as a ratio of GDP stayed quite low for some time after the Second World War because of very progressive taxation on income during that period.  Since nobody expects (or wants) wars causing so much destruction and misery, and nobody wants economic crises like the 1930s, this period is more an exception that lasted for some time, but this era is now past.

Many other summaries of the book can be found online. Here are just two.

The Economist
New York Times

Pikkety’s “Solutions”

Pikkety proposes to reduce inequality with measures that are not new.

  • Reinvigorate fully progressive income taxes with much higher rates on very high incomes. He reminds us that rates were up to 90% in the USA after the Second World War.
  • A higher inheritance tax than exists now, especially since they have been lowered – and even abolished – in many countries.
  • His main proposal is a tax on wealth. This has been done before. He gives the example of France after the Second World War when a high tax on wealth (about 10%) was implemented to rebuild the country after the war. This was a one-time tax. Piketty proposes instead a yearly tax on all wealth held by individuals, with different rates. For example, 1% for wealth of 1 to 5 million Euros, 3% for 5 to 50 million, 5% for over 50 million, etc.

He explains in length that besides the resistance that can be expected from the wealthy to such proposals, there is a huge problem with international financial flows to tax havens. However, he notes that this is strictly a problem of international agreements. It would be easy to set up a system to track all transactions, since they are all electronic. (Maybe the NSA could be put to better use!)

The proposals, if applied, would certainly reduce inequality. This is much needed and would help a large part of the population in many countries. If the income generated by these measures were well spent, mainly for the 50% of population with lesser income, we would live in countries where all benefit from economic activity.  This “solidarity”, even if forced upon the wealthy, would certainly improve our societies.

Are These Solutions Sufficient?

Some people propose that another way of reducing inequality would be to increase income from work and reduce income from capital. Again, this would help, and as in the 1950s and 1960s, an increase in real wages (in constant dollars – above inflation) would greatly improve family income for most sectors of the population. This would mean that the wealthy would not increase their wealth as much. The most optimum situation, higher work income (and a very progressive tax system) could give us societies similar to Scandinavian countries in the 1960-1975 era. Unfortunately, few people believe that we can go back to this, or even less extend it to the whole planet.

The fundamental problem is that none of Piketty’s proposed solutions tackle the fundamental question, which is the the ownership and concentration of wealth.

Some people propose a State model of ownership, like the Soviet Union where everything was owned by the State.  This involves nationalizing by force all private property.  This is not the place to explain in detail why this is not a solution, except to say that the Soviet experience was an utter failure.  One reason is certainly the fact that in reality, this produced another type of elite 1%, Communist Party leadership, which concentrated power and control for itself.

Another reason for tackling the issue of ownership and concentration wealth is linked to our democratic societies.  Citizens do not need a degree in Political Science to see that the wealthy also influence, or even control, political power in modern societies. The billions spent by the wealthy to influence elections (the case of the USA is exemplary), and the fact that they also own most media, means much more than the number of ballots that they can cast.

Read Part II

Yvon Poirier

Yvon Poirier is President of CCEDNet’s International Committee and Secretary of the Board. He has a long history of involvement in the labour and social movements in Québec and Canada and has been very active in the Intercontinental Network for the Promotion of the Social Solidarity Economy (RIPESS). He represents the CDÉC de Québec in CCEDNet.

*The opinions expressed in blog posts are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of CCEDNet

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This Thursday, July 21, the We Want to Work coalition including CCEDNet members and social enterprises in Winnipeg are celebrating long-awaited public policy success!

After many months of deliberation, conversation, and discussion, the coalition and CCEDNet are thrilled to see the Sustainable Procurement Action Plan (SPAP) unanimously approved for implementation by Winnipeg’s City Council. This means the City of Winnipeg will now work to integrate social, economic, and environmental value for the community while achieving its purchasing needs.

Members involved can recall many steps along this journey, with a briefing note explaining the concept of social procurement going to Mayor Brian Bowman’s office in 2015. And, even before that, CCEDNet staff and members were meeting with staff at the city’s Materials Management office, where they started to learn about the procurement process. The public service has been a helpful partner, working together with the community to understand our recommendations and move forward.

A lot of different people have contributed energy and organizing during the nearly 10 years of advocacy and sector building leading up to this action plan – demonstrating both the persistence needed for policy change and how certain the Network has been that this is the right choice.

Most recently, the We Want to Work coalition of social enterprises supported by CCEDNet-Manitoba, found a wonderful partner and ally in Manitoba Building Trades. Together they’ve worked hard to engage with City Council and the public service, industry stakeholders, and others to make sure this was on the right track. Along the way, Buy Social Canada has also been an instrumental advisor and contractor to the city, bringing expertise and examples from other jurisdictions to strengthen the plan.

We Want to Work has noted they appreciate the phased-in and iterative nature of the SPAP, which they believe will allow for innovation, partnership development, and refinement of policy over the next three years. In particular, they support the inclusion of a dedicated staff person to serve as a Sustainable Procurement liaison and the integrated thinking across all four pillars of Sustainable Procurement: environmental, ethical, social, and Indigenous.

With this important policy change, it is exciting to watch as the City of Winnipeg becomes a stronger partner in CCEDNet’s collective vision of a world where sustainable and inclusive communities are directing their own futures!

Find media coverage on this initiative leading up to the council vote at CBC, the Winnipeg Free Press, and the Winnipeg Sun.

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News releaseMinister Karina Gould stands with Investment Readiness Program partners, all smiling at the launch of the program.

July 18, 2022 

Toronto, Ontario             

Employment and Social Development Canada

Social purpose organizations (SPOs), such as social enterprises, non-profits, charities and co‑operatives, are at the forefront of tackling Canada’s persistent social challenges and climate crisis. They are key contributors to the Canadian economy. However, many SPOs need support to expand their capacity and secure new funding. That is why the Government of Canada is investing in them—to overcome these barriers, so that they can have a greater impact in communities across Canada.

Today, the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Honourable Karina Gould, announced 26 partner organizations who will collectively deliver the $50 million renewed Investment Readiness Program, building on the successes accomplished during its pilot phase. These partners will work together to build the skills and capacity of SPOs to innovate and access flexible financing opportunities, strengthening the social innovation and social finance ecosystem and amplifying the reach of these organizations.

The Government selected these 26 organizations from two rounds of selection processes that took place in 2021–2022. The selected organizations have met all parameters set for their respective streams.

Four of the twenty-six organizations are readiness support partners. These organizations will select proposals and distribute funding to eligible SPOs across Canada. This enables SPOs to build capacity and get ready to access social finance opportunities. SPOs can use the funding to conduct market analyses, build business plans, develop new services and products and acquire technical expertise, thereby strengthening their operational capabilities.

Twenty-two organizations are ecosystem builders. Funding from this stream will be invested in projects that grow and strengthen Canada’s social innovation and social finance ecosystem and ensure its inclusivity of all Canadians. By growing the ecosystem, we are building stronger communities and the economy of tomorrow, founded on principles of social responsibility.

Through the selected organizations, the Investment Readiness Program aims to benefit diverse and underserved SPOs in Canada, including those led by or serving Indigenous peoples, Black Canadians and other racialized communities, women, official language minority communities, people living with disabilities, and other equity deserving groups. The Government of Canada recognizes the important work social purpose organizations do, and will continue working with them to help expand their reach and services to even more Canadians.

Quotes

“Our Government sees great potential in growing social innovation in our communities. More Canadian organizations and businesses are offering smart solutions to reduce poverty, reach social equality and fight climate change. The Investment Readiness Program will help them scale up and become investment-ready, so that they can create impacts for Canadians for years to come.”

– Karina Gould, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

“This renewed investment is welcome news, especially at this critical time. Social purpose organizations led by diverse women and Two-Spirit, trans and non-binary people are doing impactful work. They’re innovating to address major social and environmental concerns in Canada today, and these funds will help them keep moving forward. When the return on an investment is greater equity, well-being, justice, and economic prosperity for all, it’s always a smart investment to make.”

– Paulette Senior, President and CEO, Canadian Women’s Foundation

“The Chantier applauds the renewal of the Investment Readiness Program, an essential lever for the emergence and acceleration of numerous entrepreneurial projects that respond to needs in their communities, and bear witness to the commitment of actors that support these projects to work together to ensure its deployment in Quebec.”

– Béatrice Alain, Director General, Chantier de l’économie sociale

“Social purpose organizations from coast to coast to coast continue to uplift and support their communities following the pandemic. The Investment Readiness Program supports their purposeful ventures while growing Canada’s social finance market. At CFC, we are thrilled to once again be part of this program through this new funding opportunity. We look forward to working alongside community foundations to support the incredible efforts of social purpose organizations.”

– Andrea Dicks, President, Community Foundations of Canada (CFC)

“The NAFC is excited to continue its role as a readiness support partner for this iteration of the Investment Readiness Program. Having supported Friendship Centres in developing, starting and growing their social enterprises in the first years of the Investment Readiness Program, we are eager to continue this work as well as to expand the Program’s impact to other urban Indigenous social purpose organizations from coast to coast to coast. Urban Indigenous community organizations are leaders in the social economy, and we hope to facilitate the growth of these institutions and the collective intergenerational wealth of urban Indigenous communities.”

– Jocelyn Formsma, Executive Director, National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC)

Quick facts

  • The Investment Readiness Program, a $50 million program over two years (2021–2023), is a core initiative under the Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy, which was announced in 2019. 
  • The Investment Readiness Program concluded a successful pilot program that took place between 2019 and 2021. The pilot benefited 680 social purpose organizations across Canada. 
  • Based on the success of the pilot, the Government of Canada renewed the Investment Readiness Program in Budget 2021.
  • There are an estimated 170,000 charitable and public benefit non-profit organizations and 25,000 social enterprises across Canada, according to Statistics Canada. They are all part of the Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy ecosystem.
  • The non-profit sector plays a significant role in supporting women, who represent about 77% of this sector’s workforce. 

Interested in learning more? Connect with Sarah Leeson-Klym, Dir. of Regional & Strategic Initiatives (sleesonklym (at) ccednet-rcdec.ca) and watch the irp-ppi.ca site for updates coming soon. 

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The Stronger Together Award celebrates individual and organizational members who have made exceptional contributions to Community Economic Development and/or who have provided outstanding leadership to CCEDNet in achieving our vision of sustainable, equitable and inclusive communities directing their own futures. 

The next Stronger Together Award nomination period will take place in Spring 2023.  But you don’t have to wait until then to nominate a fellow CCEDNet member for this recognition.  Please reach out to Adriana Zylinski at for more information.  

2022 STRONGER TOGETHER AWARD RECIPIENTS

Momentum

Momentum logo

Momentum began operations in 1991 as an employment program of the Mennonite Central Committee of Alberta with an initial focus on providing trades training to new Canadians. In 2002, Momentum became an independent community-based, charitable organization grounded in a community economic development approach and today not only provides trades training to new Canadians, but has supported thousands of Calgarians to build wealth and economic resilience through small business training, micro business loans, personal money management courses and financial coaching. Momentum works with individuals, businesses, communities and systems to increase each individuals’ income and assets and create a thriving local economy for all.  

Momentum’s impact has been felt across Alberta and through the history of the CCEDNet Network.  They have contributed to advocacy at various levels of government including leading the way for the City of Calgary to undertake social procurement.  They have organized collective action through initiatives like Calgary’s anti-poverty strategy Enough for All, as well as supported ecosystem and capacity building of other organizations through Be Local, a Calgary network of community-focused businesses that have integrated social and environmental impacts, while prioritizing relationships in the community.   In partnership with Mount Royal University, Momentum has also advanced CED learning locally through the Economics for Social Change Program.

The contributions extend to the development of CCEDNet in important ways.  A founding member of CCEDNet, today, Momentum participates in the National Policy Council and partners on AB Seed, an ecosystem building initiative in Alberta that enhances collaboration, communication, and strategization of leaders and contributors working in the social economy.  Momentum was also lead host of EconoUs2017.

Their success is an example of the power of shared work and relationships being held over a long time.  Consistently, thinking bigger than their own mandate, their pragmatic and strong systems approach has been invaluable to building a sustainable and locally-controlled economy in Alberta.

Ryan O’Neil Knight

Picture of Ryan O'Neil Knight

Ryan O’Neil Knight has surely demonstrated his inestimable influence as an ecosystem animator.  Ryan is a co-founding partner and President of the Afro-Caribbean Business Network (ACBN), a network for the Black community that bridges the economic gap for Black entrepreneurs providing Black businesses with the resources they need to start, grow and scale up.  As one of Canada’s leading organizations for mentoring and developing Black businesses, it also created the first Black-led micro loan program in Ontario!

Ryan’s commitment to black and youth entrepreneurship, compassion for others, ability to build consensus among partners, strong capacity for leadership and his dedication to community economic development initiatives and co-operative principles has led to multiplied impact within the community.  

Recently, Ryan championed the planning of the Federal Black Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Conference 2022, a strategy developed in partnership with the government of Canada and the Ecosystem Strategy.  The event focused on building capacity within the Black entrepreneurship ecosystem and was an important step towards rebuilding community since the onset of the pandemic.

Ryan’s energetic commitment to community economic development and personal mantra There is No Progress without Collaboration continues to create impact through  CCEDNet’s CreateAction program, his contributions as CCEDNet’s Parliamentarian and Elections Officer, ACBN’s role in the Investment Readiness Program and his participation as part of the CCEDNet delegation to meet with Minister Hussen in March 2020 in Ottawa.

Spence Neighbourhood Association

Spence Neighbourhood Association logo

The Spence Neighbourhood Association was incorporated in 1997 as a non-profit housing group formed by five volunteers who wanted to work together to improve the living conditions within the Spence neighborhood in Winnipeg.  The Association has grown into a community anchor for the people of Spence and focuses on revitalizing and renewing the community in the areas of holistic housing, community connecting, community economic development, environment and open spaces, and youth & families.  It additionally provides the Community Incentives Program that contributes to a thriving neighbourhood, the Fix-up Incentives Program that provides financial assistance to fix up property exteriors and the Homebuyer Assistance Program that offers financial contribution towards a downpayment to qualifying families looking to buy their first home.  

The organization’s motto, When the going gets tough, the tough get creative, has served well in SNA’s steadfast efforts to impact the Spence community and the greater CED network.  SNA staff are active in many advocacy coalitions and activism work in Winnipeg, combining their strong approach to community development with a push for broader systemic change towards more equitable and sustainable communities and economies.

Recently, SNA has opened a community greenhouse that serves as a social hub and a community beautification project that will grow produce for the SNA’s youth employment social enterprise.  Additionally, members of SNA’s West End 24 Hour Safe Space for Youth (or WE24) led a workshop at the CCEDNet Gathering called Community-Led Safety & Alternatives to the Police focusing on immediate and long term strategies, inspiring member organizations to collectively imagine safer & more equitable communities.

Led by incredible staff, board and community members, SNA exemplifies a community-led, community-owned, and place-based community economic development approach that places

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In May of this year, a white supremacist attacked a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, murdering 13 people, 11 of whom were Black. This massacre is yet another fatal manifestation of anti-Black hatred, which is woven into the daily experiences of Black people and communities across the United States, Canada, and indeed, around the world. 

In the wake of the Buffalo mass shooting, a coalition of 21 community organizations and foundations from across the Greater Toronto Area issued a statement entitled “We Can No Longer Wait to Address Anti-Black Hate.” The statement describes how anti-Black racism operates simultaneously at the systemic and individual levels, and how it is connected to other forms of hatred, such as Islamophobia. 

The statement maps out a clear set of demands aimed at federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments:

  1. Work with Black communities to ensure that concrete measures such as tackling hate speech and radicalization online to address anti-Black hate are incorporated in the National Action Plan on Combating Hate. 
  2. Every provincial and territorial government to establish an Anti-Black Racism Directorate/Office/Secretariat if one does not already exist.
  3. The federal government ensures it works with Black communities to build on the gains of the United Nations Decade For People of African Descent as a permanent forum in accordance with the decision of the United Nations.
  4. Expanding the Supporting Black Communities Initiative program to support community organizations assisting victims of anti-Black hate.
  5. Continue to support the Mental Health of Black Canadians Fund with a focus on addressing racial trauma.
  6. That the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada accelerate and work closely with Black Canadian communities in the development of the Black Canadians Justice Strategy
  7. We urge the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to encourage its members to develop plans to combat anti-Black racism and hate in municipalities, similar to the work of Toronto’s Confronting Anti-Black Racism Unit.

CCEDNet has formally endorsed these demands, and we encourage everyone to support these demands as well by becoming signatories to the We Can No Longer Wait to Address Anti-Black Hate statement.

In addition to issuing this statement, the coalition organized a Vigil Against Anti-Black Hatred and Terrorism at Toronto’s Nathan Phillips’ Square on May 19. You can watch the recordings (part 1 and part 2) on Instagram. 

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First page of the 2021 Highlights

The massive challenges that we experienced in 2021 – from the worsening pandemic and climate crisis to the uncoverings of mass graves at residential schools –  all have their roots in an economic system that treats people and nature as dispensable commodities. 

To address these challenges, we must shift the economic system away from extraction, exploitation and endless growth. By anchoring the economy in strong, inclusive communities, we can foster ways of being that nurture interdependence and wellbeing for all. 

Throughout 2021, the collective efforts of members and staff helped unlock the transformative potential of community economies from coast to coast to coast. 

Public Policy & Government Relations

  • CCEDNet helped members sharpen their policy and advocacy skills with our Strengthening Community Economies webinar and campfire chat series.
  • We gave a week-long, cross-country tour of Social Innovation and Social Finance to Honourable Ahmed Hussen, then Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, and his team. Later, CCEDNet hosted a national post-budget debrief with Minister Hussen attended by over 200 people from throughout the social innovation and social finance ecosystem. 
  • Through a series of op-eds in national media and an advocacy campaign, we promoted the renewal of the Investment Readiness Program in the 2021 federal budget.
  • CCEDNet organized meetings with the People-Centred Economy Group and six federal Regional Development Agencies to discuss shared priorities.
  • We provided advocacy materials to CCEDNet members to promote supportive policies for community-based economic alternatives during the federal election. 
  • Our members urged the new parliament to advance a Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy as part of our ‘‘Take Action for Community Economies’ campaign. 
  • We met with the Honourable Karina Gould, the new Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, to introduce our policy priorities. 
  • CCEDNet contributed to peer-learning partnerships on internationalization and legal frameworks for the social solidarity economy as part of the OECD Global Action promoting social and solidarity economy ecosystems.  

Learning & Capacity Building

  • Social Enterprise Ecosystem Project (S4ES)
    • In September 2021, after five years of helping Canadian social enterprises build vital capacity, S4ES wrapped up its activities. Throughout the year, the S4ES partners – Buy Social Canada, CCEDNet, the Chantier de l’économie sociale, Social Enterprise Institute, and Social Value Lab – ran incubators, launched courses, distributed resources, and energized communities of support.
    • S4ES Loan Fund, administered by CCEDNet and managed by six fund managers across Canada, completed disbursements of $800,000 in 2021 to 33 social enterprises. The access to social finance allowed those social enterprises to either launch or grow their business and created 168 jobs and volunteer positions. 

  • External Learning Programs
    • CCEDNet designed a Social Innovation Anti-Masterclass, and piloted a delivery of the curriculum to five cohorts of learners across five regions of the country.
    • We successfully pivoted the in-person Community Leadership Program to a virtual format, completing program delivery with two different organizations. Overall, 93% of learners indicated the training was very effective, 97% of learners would recommend the training to a friend or colleague, and 100% of the learners who moved through the program said they used the learning in their roles (90% of whom felt they would use it often or every day!)
    • We made preparations for the Toward Co-operative Commonwealth massive open on-line course in partnership with Synergia Co-operative Institute and Athabasca University.
    • CCEDNet participated in a video series on Bill Ninacs, solidarity development activist.

  • Internal Learning
    • We facilitated staff through monthly anti-oppression and collective liberation learning sessions, including self-guided study and small group work on how white supremacy culture operates within organizations. Joint Board and staff sessions considered intersectionality, and CCEDNet remained an active participant of the Solidarity Working Group.

  • Research, Data, and Impact Measurement 
    • CCEDNet began work on communities of practice as part of the Adopting Common Measures project to strengthen social impact measurement for the Sustainable Development Goals in partnership with the Centre for Social Innovation and the Common Approach to Impact Measurement.  
    • We completed final surveys for a longitudinal study on the impacts of Work Integration Social Enterprises for vulnerable populations at risk of homelessness. 
    • CCEDNet’s Community Data Program added a pandemic Community Recovery Dashboard and a Housing Dashboard to the suite of datasets available to local communities throughout Canada. 

  • Member Engagement
    • We engaged our members in the process of finalizing the Theory of Change document and began tracking our progress through the second half of the year.  We also developed a member-wide annual survey to better learn how we can best support our collective efforts to build stronger communities.
    • At the 2021 AGM, we hosted the third annual Stronger Together Awards, celebrating the contributions that West Central Women’s Resource Centre (WCWRC), Fireweed Food Co-op, Rosalind Lockyer of PARO Centre for Women’s Enterprise, Wendy Keats of Co-operative Enterprise Council of New Brunswick & Bill Ninacs of Coopérative La Clé have made to our network and to CED.

  • CreateAction
    • In partnership with the National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC) and the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation (SRDC), we hosted the first and second cohorts of CreateAction. Through the program, we helped support 50 community organizations (including 12 Friendship Centres) to recruit and employ 55 young people facing barriers to employment for six-months of practical work experience.
    • We ran multifaceted learning and support programs that helped both employers and youth advance personal and professional development goals. Along with our partners, we also helped develop vital resources for long-term learning such as an Anti-Oppression backgrounder.

Communications

  • We engaged staff, Board, and network members in the planning process for a complete overhaul of CCEDNet’s website. In collaboration with Relish, a B Corp based in Winnipeg, we then dove into the intensive process of designing a new website. We’re thrilled that our new site will be launching in summer 2022! 
  • We sent out four member communiques, packed with information and resources from across our network, shining a light on the wonderful work that members are doing.
  • Through our national newsletters, we shared CED insights, jobs, and events with more than 3,000 subscribers on a bi-monthly basis. And we used our social media feeds to amplify our advocacy campaigns, boost member visibility, distribute news and resources, and share learnings from our events.

Regional Projects

  • Regional ecosystem development
    • As part of our ESDC Investment Readiness Program role, we elevated community investment organization models in social finance by convening a pan-Canadian community of practice, as well as Western and Atlantic learning communities, and adapting the BC Community Investment Co-op Startup and Operations Guide for Alberta, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI.  
    • With the Cooperation Council of Ontario and support from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, we published a report on the status and prospects for new Community Investment strategies in Ontario and an Ontario Community Investment Co-op Startup Guide.  
    • We partnered with Cooperative Enterprise Council of New Brunswick to release a report detailing the economic impact of Nova Scotia’s Community Economic Development Investment Fund (CEDIF) model.
    • We partnered with Flourish Community Development Co-op (formerly Leading Edge), Co-operative Enterprise Council of New Brunswick, and CDR-Acadie to complete an action research project detailing the social succession opportunity in Atlantic Canada.
    • We worked with the BC Co-operative Association to convene two broad social economy ecosystem building events. 
    • We continue to sit on the Ontario Social Economy Roundtable steering committee and with them supported one broad ecosystem building meeting in Ontario.
    • We continue to participate in the Alberta SEED steering committee, and extended our commitment by agreeing to provide ongoing administrative and financial management support to this collective. Alberta SEED also secured support from the Alberta Civil Society Fund, forged a new partnership with Creative Partnerships in the Government of Alberta, and hosted a Reconvene event bringing the Alberta social economy ecosystem together. 
    • We were invited to join an advisory group for the Healthy Communities Initiative, advocating for strong diversity and inclusion measures and partnerships to reach rural regions with this federal program working to transform public spaces in response to COVID-19.  
    • We worked with a research mapper and authored chapters covering Manitoba and Saskatchewan as well as Grassroots models in the State of Social Finance in Canada report and interactive sector map released by the Table of Impact Investment Practitioners.

  • Spark
    • In addition to its pro bono matchmaking work, the Spark team took on the social enterprise development services previously provided under CCEDNet-Manitoba’s Social Enterprise Manitoba program, supporting local non-profit organizations who are exploring, developing, or currently operating social enterprises and revenue-generating activities.
    • In 2021, 100% of organizations surveyed said they would recommend the Spark volunteer with whom they were matched.

  • CCEDNet-Manitoba
    • The CCEDNet MB team held a successful virtual member meeting in May, facilitated 165 meetings with members, stakeholders, and community members; responded to 110 information brokering requests; led 16 external presentations to almost 1,000 participants; engaged municipal, provincial, and regional governments through 70 meetings and 20 submissions, and supported six policy and member coalitions.
    • The Manitoba team successfully advocated for the adoption of Winnipeg’s first-ever Poverty Reduction Strategy through the Make Poverty History Manitoba coalition and as a member of the City’s Core Working Group. Additionally, the team successfully advocated for the adoption of Winnipeg’s Social & Sustainable Procurement Framework and participated in a city-led working group.
    • Almost 250 participants attended the Manitoba Gathering, which the team hosted virtually over the course of 3 days. 99% of attendees reported an increase in knowledge from the workshops they attended.
    • The team engaged 102 participants in two workshops on Social Enterprise for Nonprofits and Creating Accessible Employment. Also, CCEDNet MB coordinated a group of capacity-building organizations that provide learning and training opportunities to community-based organizations and social economy enterprises.
Download the 2021 Highlights
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New deadline: June 9!

The launch of CCEDNet’s new website is just around the corner, and we couldn’t be more excited! The site will go live in May, and then we’ll formally launch it at our Annual General Meeting on June 9.

One thing you may have noticed about our current website is that the photos we use are, well, somewhat *vintage.* So, the new site is also an opportunity to update our collection of images – we want to showcase the contemporary CED sector in all of its vibrant diversity.  

Here’s where you come in. To build our new collection of images, we’re launching the #CEDLooksLikeThis photo contest. Send us your photos from the front lines of CED! Show us what you and your team look like in action, and show us the impact you’re creating in your communities. Show us what CED looks like. 

To sweeten the deal, we’re offering prizes from beampaints, a natural paint-making enterprise in M’Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island/ Mnidoo Mnising. The grand prize is a shell gift set – a collection of handmade paints that comes bundled with a paintbrush, an abalone shell, and some sage. Three runners up will receive Mini Birch Cookie gift sets, which include handmade paints, a birch palette, a paintbrush, handmade paper, and a reusable cotton bag. 

Throughout the contest, we’ll also share some of the photo submissions we receive on our social media feeds, using the #CEDLooksLikeThis hashtag. If we share your photo on social media, we’ll tag you and include a description of your work, too. Hopefully this helps drive visibility for the wonderful CED work that our sector is doing. 

Submissions must be received by midnight Pacific Time on June 9, 2022. You don’t need to be a CCEDNet member to participate. 

Enter the #CEDLooksLikeThis Photo Contest

Contest Rules

Term: The #CEDLooksLikeThis Photo Contest begins on May 2, 2022 and ends on June 9, 2022. By submitting an entry, each contestant agrees to the rules of the contest and states that they are 18 years old or older. Also, the person providing the photos attests that they are the copyright owner and that they are legally permitted to authorize others to use the copyright, and that anyone appearing in the photo has duly authorized their appearance to the owner / copyright holder.

Entry deadline: All entries must be received on June 9, 2022 by 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

Who may enter: The #CEDLooksLikeThis Photo Contest is open to anyone doing community economic development work within the territory called Canada. The contestant certifies that they are the sole creator and copyright owner of the submitted photograph.

Judging: Photo entries will be judged based on creativity, quality, originality, responsiveness to the prompt and overall impact. CCEDNet will determine winners’ eligibility in its sole discretion and will notify winners via the contact information provided at the time of entry. CCEDNet may disqualify anyone who fails to respond to the notification within five business days. In the event of a dispute regarding the winners, CCEDNet reserves the right to award or not award the prizes in its sole discretion. Decisions of CCEDNet are final and binding.

Prizes: 

  • Grand Prize: A shell gift set from beampaints. 
  • 3 Runner Up Prizes: Mini Birch Cookie gift sets. 

Should CCEDNet be unable to purchase these gift sets for whatever reason, CCEDNet reserves the right to replace these prizes with similar beampaints gift sets at its own discretion. 

Photo Usage: By entering the contest, you grant CCEDNet royalty-free, world-wide, perpetual, non-exclusive license to publicly display, distribute, reproduce and create derivative works of the entries, in whole or in part, in any media now existing or later developed, for any purpose, including, but not limited to:

  • The CCEDNet website
  • External and internal publications (reports, presentations, press releases, briefing notes, articles, newsletter, emails, etc.)
  • Social Media

Photo Credit: Any photograph reproduced will include a photographer credit as feasible. CCEDNet will not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such uses.

Photograph requirements: High resolution images are preferred, and photos should be smaller than 5 MB. Please upload images with the original pixel size (unless cropped). Do not scale and do not change the resolution.

Contest Rules: CCEDNet reserves the right to cancel the contest or modify these rules at its discretion. 

Enter the #CEDLooksLikeThis Photo Contest

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Every year, CCEDNet members are invited to submit nominations for CCEDNet’s Board of Directors. This year, there were four vacancies to be filled.

Four eligible nominations were received by the deadline, leading our Elections Officer to declare the following candidates elected by acclamation:

The results will be ratified at CCEDNet’s Annual General Meeting of the members on June 9.

Congratulations to these amazing CED leaders from across Canada, who will be part of CCEDNet’s dedicated Board of Directors.

Aftab KhanVidal Chavannes

Vidal A. Chavannes, Ed.D, M.A.Ed., B.A., B.Ed, is currently the Director of Strategy, Research & Organizational Performance with Durham Regional Police Service. In this regard, Dr. Chavannes charts the strategic direction of the organization and manages teams responsible for strategic planning, key performance indicator (KPI) development and tracking at the organizational and divisional levels, and all education and training for members, inclusive of the use of force and academic portfolios.

Vidal has more than fifteen years of extensive experience in education and training in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, including secondary, post-secondary and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) teaching and program development, delivery, evaluation and review.

He holds a Doctorate in Education from the University of Calgary, with a specialization in Higher Education Leadership. Dr. Chavannes has worked in a full-time and consulting capacity with a variety of public, private and non-profit organizations, all within the training and education ecosystem. Through these engagements, he has written curriculum, developed articulation agreements, managed faculty and staff and charted the strategic direction of a variety of organizations across North America and internationally.

Katie Allen, in front of a tree with a dogBarb Davies

Barb is a facilitator, educator and practitioner of social impact.

In her role at Mount Royal University with the Institute for Community Prosperity and Trico Changemakers Studio, Barb develops transformational learning experiences that build bridges between campus and community and uses developmental evaluation to foster a vibrant changemaking ecosystem on campus.

Previously, Barb worked for Momentum, a changemaking organization in Calgary that uses systems-based approaches to address poverty reduction. Her work focused on strengthening supports for social entrepreneurship both locally and provincially. In addition, she developed learning initiatives to empower individuals to use economic tools to address social issues, including hosting an award-winning national conference.

Barb is a co-founder of Local Investing YYC, an impact investment cooperative that provides capital to Calgary-based businesses generating social and environmental returns. She has also served on the board of Green Calgary and participated on advisory committees with Health Canada on regulatory approaches within the natural health sector. As the previous owner of a leading natural health retailer in Calgary, Barb built bridges in the community growing awareness for local producers and growers and served on the board of the Business Revitalization Zone. Barb uses a values-based approach to advance sustainable solutions that prioritize people and place..

Katie DamanYvon Poirier

Yvon has a long history of involvement in the labour and social movements in Québec and Canada. He was founding President of the Corporation de développement économique communautaire de Québec in 1994, and member of the organizing committee of the Global Meetings on Community Economic Development in Sherbrooke, Québec in 1998. 

From November 2003 to July 2013, he co-edited a monthly international e-newsletter on sustainable local development published in four languages. He has been a CCEDNet member since 2003 at first as an individual and since 2012 he represents the CDÉC de Québec.

He has been involved in  tnternational representation for CCEDNet since 2004. His most significant international involvement has been in the  Intercontinental Network for the Promotion of the Social Solidarity Economy (RIPESS). He has participated in many RIPESS conferences in different continents and since October 2013 is a member of the RIPESS Board of directors. He has also participated in different World Social Forums and he represents RIPESS in the UN Inter-Agency Taskforce on SSE.

Michael NorrisNicole Rosenow-Redhead

From Atlantic Canada, Nicole has worked in community socioeconomic development for many years in the creation of economic opportunity led by populations that can experience oppression, including policy research, curriculum development, program management, financial literacy, and leading intercultural diversity and inclusion research, education, and strategies. 

Nicole has a Master’s degree in International Development, and recently completed Dalhousie University’s Intercultural Communication Program. Many years ago she had participated in CCEDNet’s CreateAction Program and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, particularly CCEDNet’s emphasis on authentic intercultural collaboration and working with, and valuing, multiple worldviews. 

Nicole advocates for interculturalism as the way forward in supporting the positioning of all-inclusive diversity as a strength; interculturalism wholly supports all residents of a community as a way to intentionally engage across dimensions of our identity that can systemically act as barriers to relationship-building. 

Nicole serves as Vice President on the Board of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of Atlantic Canada, and works with Halifax Public Libraries, valuing the opportunity to support the innovative intersection of a commons-based approach to knowledge, education and resources with public space and community engagement, in partnership with community organizations.

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In Manitoba, instead of teaching CED 101, we often lead groups through a facilitated session called Ideal Communities.* Before we begin to think about CED actions, we create a collective imaginary community that really lives up to our vision and values. In countless sessions, the same themes emerge – if our communities are to be fair, equitable, loving, joyful, and sustainable, we need to see enterprises putting these values and principles into action. With this lens, there might still be typical businesses, but enterprising non-profits, co-operatives, collectives, community efforts, and mutual aid are essential for achieving the communities we want to live in. 

These kinds of enterprises are CED enterprises. They put the deep knowledge and diverse leadership of the local community at the center, focussing on how to solve problems, create holistic value for a community, and sustain their work for as long as necessary. In CCEDNet’s Theory of Change, eventually communities across Canada will be using these CED approaches and strategies to strengthen sustainable, locally-controlled economies for all. For this to happen, we must put policy and practice to work to support these local, resilient enterprises.

When we embed social procurement across the country, community benefit and diversity become essential ingredients in decision making around purchasing supplies and services. Multiple coalitions and social enterprises like We Want to Work Manitoba or Toronto Community Benefits Network, along with the strong support of Buy Social Canada, have been leading work to embed these practices into every level of government and large institutions with recent advancements in Winnipeg, Calgary, and Public Services & Procurement Canada. Slowly, a social value marketplace is emerging where CED enterprises have a better shot at sustainable work and governments create more impact across all of their spending, not just through grants and contributions. 

Community investment organizations, like CEDIF’s in Nova Scotia or Opportunity Development Co-ops in Alberta, are creating pools of funds governed by local people to loan out to local businesses. These funds stabilize rural economies, invest in green infrastructure, and motivate the development of social enterprises. These intermediaries are powerful impact tools, bringing communities together to create the conditions for people to re-direct their savings and investment power into the places and initiatives they care about most.

Amidst the forthcoming mass retirement of business owners without a succession plan, people are seeing an opportunity to deepen community ownership. The pandemic has hastened this demographic transition in many places, and rural and innercity communities are likely to feel the loss of small businesses most. In the midst of this challenge, social succession (also known as co-op conversion or social acquisition) brings community members together to buy retiring businesses, keep keystone enterprises in place, share ownership more democratically, and potentially shift business models to deeper social impact. 

These exciting models need strong and inclusive community leadership, supportive policy, and deepening skills and knowledge for practitioners, which is why our strategies focus on building political action, creating access to information and resources, and centering the voices of lived experience in CED strategies. Together, as a Network, we are moving towards our collective vision of sustainable, equitable, and inclusive communities!

*Thanks to Brendan Reimer for developing this exercise! 

Sarah Leeson-Klym

Sarah Leeson-Klym is CCEDNet’s Regional Network Director.

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AGA 2022 AGMYou’re invited to take part in CCEDNet’s Annual General Meeting (AGM!) Please save the following date.June 9, 202210am Pacific, 11am Mountain, 12pm Central, 1pm Eastern, 2pm  Atlantic, 2:30pm NewfoundlandThis year’s AGM repeats the success of the last seven years by being entirely virtual and bilingual. Members are able to make motions, vote and comment in English or French, all from the comfort of their computer.For additional background information, you can consult CCEDNet’s by-laws.

AGM Documents

Meeting documents will be posted here as they become available.

AGM Resolutions

We are no longer accepting resolutions

Board Nominations

Nominations are now closed. This year, there were four vacancies to be filled. Four eligible nominations were received, leading our Elections Officer to declare the candidates elected by acclamation. Meet the new board members!

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