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Expanding Cultural Horizons in Canada

The Social Economy stories are designed to provide practitioners’ perspectives on what the Social Economy means to them and their communities. In particular, the stories featured here highlight the voices of Aboriginal, immigrant and women practitioners. Check back, each month as the Canadian CED Network will be featuring a new practitioner of the month.

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Marichu Antonio is the Executive Director of the Ethno-Cultural Council of Calgary (ECCC), a community-based organization comprised of more than twenty associations that makeup the collective voice of Calgary’s ethnically and culturally diverse communities; the ECCC creates social, economic and political change through collaborative action.

Marichu is also one of the founders of EthniCity Catering, which off ers high-quality, authentic multi-ethnic foods, and employment and training for immigrant women in transition. Newcomers participate in key workplace skills training in a commercial kitchen, from math and record-keeping skills to the process of finding work.

Crystal Tremblay, February 2010, PDF, 61 pages

The second paper builds on this literature review by focusing on the public policy instruments used to support the Social Economy in different jurisdictions. Specific policy instruments are identified that are being applied by governments to support the Social Economy in producing public policy outcomes that respond to the social, economic and environmental challenges they and their citizens’ face. The paper reveals an important trend of governments’ greater recognition of how organizations of the SE have applied core ideas in order to achieve socio-economic development goals that are equitable and just. Analysis is also provided of the ways in which social economy actors are working together to “co-construct” public policy. One conclusion of the paper is that where governments have fragmented or non-explicit approaches to the Social Economy and there is a lack of cohesion and collaboration amongst its across, there has been greater difficulty to maximize outcomes. There are also some important examples of public policy development within Canada and in other countries that suggest material for discussion on the future of public policy on the social economy.

Visit our research page for more information

Join us in Ottawa, May 30 – June 1!

For the first time, several of the leading cooperative, community economic development and social economy networks in Canada are coming together for an unprecedented gathering of community leaders, researchers and civil society representatives. The 2010 National Summit on a People-Centred Economy will craft a common agenda to scale up social and economic innovation for sustainable and inclusive communities.

The National Summit is part of the growing movement supporting economic alternatives in Canada and around the world. Several exciting speakers will offer inspiring examples of the successes and even greater potential this movement offers:

A representative of the new partnership between the United Steelworkers, North America’s largest industrial union, and Mondragon, the world’s biggest worker-owned co-operative, will present their new joint venture to open Mondragon manufacturing cooperatives in Canada and the United States.
Raj Patel, the New York Times bestselling author, academic and activist will make connections between our current food, climate and economic crises, as well as the democratic responses that can lead to more sustainable and equitable systems, drawing from his books Stuffed and Starved and The Value of Nothing.
Nancy Neamtan, President of the Chantier de l’économie sociale and Ian MacPherson, Co-Director and Principal Investigator of the Canadian Social Economy Hub, will survey the accomplishments of the social economy and cooperative sectors in Canada, and challenge participants on the path ahead.

As part of the preparatory process for the Summit, six issue papers have been drafted on key themes for the development of a people-centred economy. Each paper presents strengths, challenges and proposals for action to further reinforce the movement. The issue papers will be subject to an engagement and outreach process for feedback and revisions by Summit participants and other stakeholders between March 1 and May 15. To read the papers and find out how to provide your input, click here!

Register now! The deadline for early bird registration is April 15th so act fast to take advantage of reduced rates. For more information, visit: http://www.ccednet-rcdec.ca/en/summit.

We hope to see you in Ottawa!

David Bruce is a member of the Atlantic Node of the Canadian Social Economy Hub and Director of the Rural and Small Town Programme (RSTP) at Mount Allison University.

This program teaches individuals and organizations how to adapt to change and act on opportunities to develop sustainable rural communities and small towns. The program links research and action by generating and sharing knowledge, developing tools, and providing information and educational services, that lead to innovative approaches and solutions. Recently, the program completed a study on the impacts of low literacy rates in rural New Brunswick and created a series of student-produced videos about various aspects of rural community economic development.

The Canadian CED Network’s annual general meeting (AGM) is being held on May 30^th at the 2010 National Summit in Ottawa, ON.

Resolutions are currently being accepted until April 16, 2010 at 4:00 p.m. (PST). Late resolutions will be held over to the AGM in the following year.

Visit our AGM page for details

Research by the Canadian Social Economy Hub (CSE Hub) has featured analysis of the unique role and relevance of Social Economy organizations to public policy issues around the world. The discourse has grown as researchers, civil society organizations and governments seek to respond to inter-related socio-economic and environmental challenges. The economic downturn has fuelled this interest in seeking a more people-centered economic model, a role that the research suggests is unique to the social economy.

In this Newsletter, we summarize our research on the role of the Social Economy in public policy, and how to strengthen the outcomes of the Social Economy for societal benefit. We also feature public policy research produced by the regional nodes of the CSE Hub.

Building a People Centered Economy: Public Policy and the Social Economy (pdf)

Communities concerned about climate change and peak oil will now be assisted by a newly formed group. Transition Canada will provide support, guidelines and training to facilitate this expanding initiative.

Ottawa, ON; March 1, 2010 — On a daily basis we are confronted with an array of issues that threaten our life styles and livelihoods. However there is a grassroots movement that is spreading rapidly around the globe which helps to address two potentially devastating concerns – peak oil and climate change. The Transition Town initiative which was formed in the U.K in order to facilitate community based action to combat these forces has spawned Transition Canada. On their own, Canadians are moving to a new level of sustainability and happiness.

This newly formed group, chaired by Fred Irwin of Transition Town Peterborough, will provide some much needed guidance to towns who wish to become transition communities themselves. The steering committee consists of volunteers from other transition groups who are dedicated to building strong local communities less dependent on fossil fuel and to create resilient environments for the future.

The numbers in Canada are growing rapidly which has sparked the need for an overall support group to answer questions, provide training and act as a central hub to assist people as they form groups to initiate the process. One of the founding principles of Transition Towns is that all living systems are dynamic which means that transition initiatives moue through a series of stages as the process evolves. Since it is a ‘bottom-up’ rather than ‘top —down’ process the idea is to draw on the wealth of skilis, knowledge and expertise that is unharnessed in our own communities. That is what makes this movement so positive and dynamic.

The Transition Town initiative, started by Rob Hopkins in Totnes, U.K., is the coming together of diverse members of our societies from local businesses, community groups and local authorities to share success, insights and best practices in order to empower people with the concepts of a resilient future. By raising awareness of peak oil and climate change an amazing network of human endeavor has resulted in 13 communities in Canada being officially recognized by the Transition Network.

The communities that are leading the way are: Salt Spring Island, BC; Barrie, ON; Vancouver, BC; Popiar Hill/Coldstream, ON; London, ON; Powell River, BC; Cocagne, NB; Ottawa, ON; Nelson, BC; Victoria, BC; Dundas, ON; Guelph, ON and Peterborough, ON. Many more groups are forming and the momentum is building as this movement expands across the country.

The strength of technological support will make it easier than ever to connect communities from British Columbia to Newfoundland and everyone in between. You can fend out more about the origins of the movement at www.transitiontowns.org. And then check out the action Gloser to home on the web page of any of the thirteen transition towns.

Transition Canada is a non-profit organization formed by passionate volunteers to provide support and guidance to the ground swell of community based transition initiatives from toast to toast. The transition movement is the people’s response to the need to raise awareness of the issues of peak oil and climate change.

For more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview contact:

Fred Irwin at 705-932-7592 and gaiancf at nexicom.net, or
Michelle Colussi at mcolussi at telus.net

The provincial government of Prince Edward Island is establishing a new Secretariat – called Rural Development PEI – to implement the 40 Actions set out in the Rural Action Plan.

This Rural Development Action plan creates Community Economic Development Investment Funds, modelled after Nova Scotia. It also establishes a Community Accounts data system similar to that in Newfoundland and Labrador, and increases funding to Community Economic Development.

To view the complete Rural Action Plan, open the following link: www.gov.pe.ca/go/ruralactionplan

A short film depicting the Central Market for Global Families, an open air African style market in the heart of downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba. Challenges and opportunities for food provisioning, social capacity and community economic development are explored. The film is part of a short research project conducted during 2009-2010 at the Institute of Urban Studies, Winnipeg.

The Canada Social Economy Hub in partnership with the Canadian CED Network recently posted podcasts for a number of recent telelearning sessions. Topics include municiple government, building a people-centred economy, procurement and the Social Economy, and microfinance in the Canadian context.

To listen to the podcasts, visit our Social Economy: Get Involved page.

Dear CCEDNet Members and Friends,

Like people the world over, we at the Canadian CED Network are overwhelmed by the magnitude of the catastrophe that has struck Haiti. Tens of thousands of lives have been lost, while many more remain missing, or are without food and shelter.

The Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CÉCI), a Canadian CED Network member, has been active in Haiti for nearly 40 years and is one of the largest Canadian NGOs on the ground there. CECI and all its teams have been active since the moments after the disaster and they are working with a solid network of local partners, which greatly facilitates humanitarian operations. CÉCI’s teams are currently mobilized to bring first-aid, food and water supplies to meet the emergency needs.

You can follow the activities of CÉCI’s teams here:

publication.ceci.ca/en/bulletin/omni/archive/category/1046.aspx

Direct donations to CÉCI’s Emergency Haiti Campaign can be made:

Online at www.ceci.ca

By phone: (toll-free) 877-875-2324, (within Montréal) 514 875-9911

By mail: CÉCI (Haiti Earthquake), 3000 rue Omer-Lavallée, Montréal (QC) H1Y 3R8.

We’re excited to announce the launch of SEE Change Magazine in early 2010. With a mission to inform, inspire and educate, SEE Change will be the first publication in the country devoted to social enterprise and entrepreneurship.

Each issue will contain a mix of important news and information about social enterprise and social innovation in Canada, opinions and commentary, expert advice, and engaging features that will get people thinking, talking, moving…and changing.

The magazine will inform our audience about innovative approaches to improving our communities and new ways of doing business. It will inspire people to make changes in their own organizations – whether big or small – and educate readers about what’s happening in this exciting, emergent field.