Canadian CED Network

Adapted from “Local Governments Recognize Benefits of Buying Local” by Sarah McKinley on Community-Wealth.org

Efforts to localize economies expand and diversify local ownership, offer import substitutions, and foster business cooperation in a particular place with the result of creating more jobs — and, hence, wealth — per capita, and encouraging greater personal accountability for the health of communities.
 
In the US, BALLE is at the forefront of a growing national movement to encourage local purchasing to stimulate business and economic growth. More and more, local governments and large place-based institutions — anchor institutions — play an integral role in encouraging localism and fostering small business. When governments and institutions direct their procurement needs locally they help stimulate local business development and foster a stronger local economy. At the recent 2013 BALLE conference, Democracy Collaborative Research Director, Steve Dubb, moderated a panel on this topic entitled “Local First Grows Up: Localizing Procurement by Governments and Anchor Institutions.” 

With increasing frequency, local governments are passing ordinances that facilitate and incentivize local purchasing for city and county governments. Panelist Kimberly Lanning, Executive Director of Local First Arizona and board member for BALLE, worked with the city of Phoenix to change their procurement policy to favor locally owned businesses. Phoenix’s Small Business Enterprise Program requires that preference be given to bids from local businesses for all purchasing contracts under $50,000.   

Other jurisdictions have enacted similar policies. In 2010, the City of Cleveland passed an ordinance that offered a bid incentive to local producers, local-food purchasers, and sustainable businesses that apply for city contracts. Known as the Buy Local ordinance, this policy enables the city to apply a 2% discount on all bids made by businesses that are sustainable, locally-based, and/or purchase 20% of their food locally. Preferences can be combined for a max discount of 4%.            

Most recently, Dane County, Wisconsin successfully enacted a significant preferred purchasing ordinance that enables small local businesses to compete more effectively for county contracts. Supported by the local BALLE member, Dane Buy Local, this ordinance extends preferences in county bidding to businesses that sell county-, region-, and state-made goods. In the process of passing this law, Dane County government became the first unit of government to join Dane Buy Local as a member, setting the precedent for local city governments.

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Following up on their efforts to support Bill C-400 and a national housing strategy, the Dignity for All campaign is sending a letter to the Premiers in advance of the Council of the Federation meeting July 24-26. The letter urges Canadian premiers to put housing at the top of their agenda for this meeting. Specifically the letter calls on Canadian premiers to urge the federal government to renew the expiring federal operating funds for social housing and ask for a federal-provincial-territorial housing ministers’ meeting to lay the groundwork for a national housing strategy. 
 
The letter states:
“A robust national housing strategy based in human rights, which focuses on those most in need, includes measureable goals and timelines, engages a variety of stakeholders and provides monitoring and accountability mechanisms, is urgently needed.”
 

If your organization supports housing as a human right, as a key determinant of health, and a critical component of ending poverty, please consider signing the postcard below and sending it directly to Premier Wynne, the host of this year’s meeting. The postcard calls on the premiers to urge the federal government for implementation of a national housing strategy, and renewed funding of $1.7 billion in annual operating costs for social housing providers.

Download the postcard

The Canadian CED Network’s Work on Affordable Housing:

Housing relates directly to two CCEDNet-Manitoba policy resolutions, which are submitted and adopted by our members. Resolution 2013.5 calls on all levels of government to support the protection of existing, and creation of new affordable housing including through a national housing strategy. Resolution 2013.6 addresses the end of long-term operating agreements faced by housing cooperatives in Manitoba.

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This brief was prepared by the Canadian Community Economic Development (CED) Network for the Sustainable Development Office at Environment Canada as part of its consultations on the Draft Federal Sustainable Development Strategy 2013-2016.

The Government of Canada’s current approach to sustainable development reflects a commitment to “minimizing the environmental impacts of its policies and operations as well as maximizing the efficient use of natural resources and other goods and services.” The Canadian CED Network recommends that the Government of Canada broaden its understanding of sustainable development by adopting the International Institute for Sustainable Development’s definition and applying it to the Strategy: “for development to be sustainable, it must not only generate wealth: it must also advance social justice, reduce and eventually eliminate poverty, and remain within the limits imposed by ecosystem and resource resilience.” This definition suggests that truly sustainable development requires that sustainability be achieved on three pillars: economic, social, and environmental.

Taking this three-pillar approach to sustainable development, the brief makes recommendations for the federal government to enhance sustainable procurement practices and provide support for community economic development and community enterprises.  
 

Read the full brief

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At the Annual General Meetings of the Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA) and the Conseil canadien de la coopération et de la mutualité (CCCM), in Edmonton last week, delegates voted to create a single bilingual organization to represent co-ops, credit unions and mutual insurance companies for all of Canada.  

This is a historic decision because of the long-standing linguistic divide between English- and French-speaking co-operators, stretching back to the birth of the Canadian co-operative movement in the 19th century.  

The new organization is tentatively named Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada, and is expected to be launched in early 2014, taking over the domestic mandates of the CCA and the CCCM.  CCEDNet members Hazel Corcoran from the Canadian Worker Co-operative Federation and Vera Goussaert from the Manitoba Co-operative Association have been named to the interim Board.  

Also at the Congress, CCEDNet member and longtime CED leader Melanie Conn received CCA’s Canadian Co-operative Achievement Award.

Congratulations to CCA, CCCM, Melanie and all of Canada’s dedicated co-operators who are building a better world.
 

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A save-the-date reminder
October 25, 2013
Beginning at 8:00 AM
  
 

Winnipeg, Manitoba, at Garden City Collegiate

The Canadian CED Network is excited to announce the date of the 11th Annual Manitoba CD/CED Gathering, to be held on October 25th, 2013. The Gathering is an inspiring annual opportunity for people interested in community development and community economic development, to connect, learn, and celebrate together. Last year over 600 people attended the Gathering, and we are looking forward to an even larger turn-out this year. So please, mark your calenders and tell your friends, family, and coworkers,

As we head into our second decade, let us celebrate the success we have had and look forward to another decade full of hard work that leads to success, social and economic equality, reflection, and celebration.

Preliminary Topics to Include:

  • Social Enterprise
  • Policy
  • Cooperatives and Non-Profit Development

Don’t forget about the DELICIOUS LUNCH that is provided!

For more information, please contact Sarah by emailing

  

 

 
 

 

FOLLOW ON
TWITTER
  
 
 

FRIEND ON
FACEBOOK
  
 
 

FORWARD TO
A FRIEND
  
 
 

 

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As recently reported by SEDI, on June 20th, the Honourable Ted Menzies, Minister of State (Finance), took the first step toward fulfilling the federal government’s commitment to appoint a national Financial Literacy leader to spearhead the development of a national strategy to build the financial literacy of Canadians.

This position was recommended by the federal Task Force on Financial Literacy  in its 2011 report  and promised in the subsequent 2011 federal budget, but action was delayed by the slow passage of the necessary legislation, the Financial Literacy Leader Act, which finally received Royal Assent in March 2013.

The Financial Literacy Leader will be tasked with clear leadership and coordination on national financial literacy initiatives and the development of a broad national financial literacy strategy. They will report to both the Minister of Finance and to Parliament through the Commissioner of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC).

SEDI considers the appointment of a Financial Literacy Leader to be positive for two reasons.

First, it is an important step toward the development of a comprehensive national financial literacy strategy.  While attempts have been made by FCAC, the Financial Literacy Action Group, SEDI and others to coordinate diverse financial literacy research, programs, and policy initiatives across the country, these efforts have been hampered by the lack of a mandated champion and budget to support real cross-sectoral, national coordination.  The new Leader will have the mandate and budget to fill this gap.

Second, the new leader has been tasked by the federal government to develop a national strategy that places particular emphasis on seniors and vulnerable groups such as Aboriginal people, youth, immigrants and low-income Canadians.  This shows that the government has listened to the voices of SEDI and other community stakeholders who have underscored the need for targeted strategies to assist vulnerable and low-income groups, for whom generic approaches and programs are often not as effective.  

The deadline for interested candidacies to submit their CV is July 22, 2013. 

Read more about the Notice of Vacancy

Read more about the Selection criteria

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By Jackie Wong, Tyee Solutions Society.  Originally posted on The Tyee. 

Thinking back to the eight months he spent last year as one of the more radical Vancouver members of the Mayor’s Task Force on Housing Affordability, Mike Lewis is glad to see one recommendation starting to bear fruit.

On May 15, Vancouver city council approved a staff proposal to build 355 units of rental housing on four city-owned sites, to be operated by four community land trust partners.

Lewis praises the decision as “one way of pushing back” against the “rank individualism” of our times.

Last year, Lewis co-authored The Resilience Imperative. In it he writes about community land trusts around the world. He sees them as one way of reclaiming the commons and bridging what he calls the gap between the “we” and the “I.”

Community land trusts do that by owning property under a non-profit, multi-stakeholder, democratic governance model. They are guided by the idea that community control of land, instead of real-estate market investor control, helps keep down the cost of housing.

Vancouver’s Community Housing Land Trust Foundation is a registered charity created two decades ago by the Co-operative Housing Federation of BC. Under the new agreement, Vancouver will lease four city-owned parcels of land to the Land Trust Foundation. It in turn will sub-lease those sites to four partners to develop affordable rental-housing units.

The partners are Fraserview Housing Co-operative, Tikva Housing Society, Katherine Sanford Housing Society and HFBC Housing Foundation. The Land Trust will oversee housing development and construction. The four partners will operate the housing after it’s been built, with the Land Trust overseeing things and reporting annually to the city on how they are reaching affordability targets.

With construction slated to begin in March 2014, the first residents are expected to move in by November 2015.

“This is common sense,” Lewis says. “That’s what I’m excited about by this social-purpose development partnership. It’s principled, it’s pragmatic, and it’s leveraging assets.”

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In partnership with the Cape Breton University Creative Community Business Conference, CCEDNet invites you to CED in Atlantic Canada:  Strategies for Development
 
This session will consider the changing landscape for CED in Atlantic Canada and examine strategies and opportunities to create a more enabling environment.  Brendan Reimer, Manitoba Director for the Canadian CED Network will present the Manitoba experience of successful regional development, and representatives from the cooperative, social enterprise, CBDC, community, academic and government sectors across the region will share their perspectives.
 
Date: Wednesday July 10, 1pm-4:30pm
Location: SB100 in the Shannon School of Business building (map)

  • If you’re coming in person, no need to register.  See you there!
  • People who can’t attend in person can join via webinar. Register here for the webinar

The session precedes the opening of the Shannon School of Business Creative Community Business Conference, which brings together practitioners, researchers, and community organizations to discuss current practices, challenges, and emerging trends in community business.  The conference includes presentations from more than 20 thought leaders, with Kevin Lynch PC OC, former Clerk of the Privy Council as the keynote speaker. Distinguished plenary speakers include Drs Jan and Cornelia Flora (Iowa), on rural community economic development, and Dr. Tony Charles (SMU, Nova Scotia) on management of coastal resources. Presenters include Mike Toye, Brendan Reimer, Stewart Perry, Rankin MacSween, Rupert Downing, Greg MacLeod and more.

Register for the full Creative Community Business Conference

We hope to see you in Cape Breton!

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One of the main objectives of the 5th Meeting on Social Solidarity Economy in Manila 2013 is to build global consensus and highlight the dissents and issues on different global or specific aspects related to the practical, conceptual and political identity of Social Solidarity Economy.

RIPESS (Intercontinental Network for the Promotion of the Social Solidarity Economy) offers this working paper as a starting point for dialogue on the concepts, definitions and frameworks of the social solidarity economy (SSE). This is a basic document to inform the consultation process  that aims to clarify our visions and understandings of the SSE, in order to move towards greater convergence where possible, and to more clearly understand the divergences that remain. Your feedback will inform the discussions on Social Solidarity Economy Vision at the 5th International Meeting on Social Solidarity Economy, October 15-18, 2013 in Manila, Philippines.

RIPESS invites local, regional, national and continental initiatives and networks in all continents to participate in this global consultation.

You may answer all or only part of the questions below. For background and inputs to the discussion, please refer to the Working Paper (Document 2) and the RIPESS Charter of Principles (Document 3), available at the following links:

Comments can be sent until August 9, 2013 to .

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On a bright and warm day in Winnipeg, the Canadian CED Network gathered for our annual general meeting. Held at the St. Matthew’s Community Center, over thirty-five people attended, along with representatives from Newfoundland, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Calgary, Victoriaville, Montreal, and Quebec City, who were able to join virtually. CCEDNet President Carloine Lachance led the meeting, and governance expert Yvon Poirier was on hand to present new by-laws.
 
With formal business taken care of, substantive discussions on priorities and directions for the Network will be held at the Social Enterprise World Forum in Calgary from October 2-4. Time will be set aside for our members to get together to network, learn, and discuss ways to continue to build a strong national CED network. We look forward to the opportunity to gather with a diverse group of members from all over Canada at this great event. Click below to read our annual report for 2012.
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Change Toronto brought together three dynamic speakers on May 23rd to share their experiences in developing community benefit agreements (CBAs) from a community, government, and international perspective. CBAs are a way of integrating social benefits into procurement processes and development agreements.   

Guled Warsame, Unite here Local 75 presented about CORD (Community Organizing for Responsible Development) and rooted the audience in the effort and tangible outcomes that come from knocking on neighbours’ doors. Rexdale’s community buy-in led to incorporating good jobs, affordable housing, training, and childcare into the proposed Woodbine Live development.

Karen Wilson shared key lessons from her work at the City of Toronto Employment and Social Services in using city building initiatives to connect with the city employment programs. The positive results have led to exciting news – the city of Toronto will now embed social procurement in policy.

CBAs set an irreversible direction of travel according to Gerry Higgins, CEiS (Community Enterprise in Scotland) and he underscored the importance of raising the capacity of social enterprises to be ready for upcoming work opportunities. Gerry cited some local examples to explore CBAs – namely with Metrolinx and the 2015 Pan Am games. Since both will necessitate significant investments in infrastructure, there are opportunities to increase employment and training opportunities for local residents, and to support social enterprise.

Key take-aways from the session:

  • Identify champions and early adopters in different sectors who will support CBAs.
  • Prepare social enterprises to be at the right place when an opportunity for social procurement comes.
  • Tell the story of CBAs well – engage media partners.
  • Continue to work off the side of the desk and have unusual conversations.
  • Build off the shoulders of our ancestors.
  • Get going! Break down silos!

Change Toronto will be hosting more events about the future of Toronto and efforts that can be made now to address social challenges, click here to find out about the next opportunity.

On the same day, a member of CCEDNet – Social Enterprise Toronto (SET) invited Gerry Higgins, CEiS, to present on key strategies for the social enterprise sector from a global perspective. Gerry assisted the Department of Trade and Industry to create the first Social Enterprise Strategy for the UK in 2001 and was a founding director of the UK Social Enterprise Coalition (Social Enterprise UK). Setting the stage for the development of social enterprise in Scotland alone has led to the creation of 509 social enterprises in 2012.

Gerry highlighted the positive growth of the social enterprise sector in Canada and proposed a partnership between SET and CEiS to keep the sector moving forward. SET welcomed two interns from the CreateAction program whose research projects will focus on gathering information and practices that are of use to new and existing social enterprises, as well as organize a Greater Toronto Area social enterprise conference scheduled for October 2013.

All attendees were encouraged to think of at least two action items to move this sector forward – what will yours be? Bring them to the Calgary Social Enterprise World Forum where CCEDNet is looking forward to building on the important dialogue that resulted from the events on May 23rd and re-connecting with Gerry Higgins, host of the inaugural Social Enterprise World Forum in 2008.

Thank you to Out of This World Café for providing the tasty treats that helped keep ideas and questions flowing late into the afternoon. 

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Victoria, June 3, 2013 – The Community Social Planning Council of Greater Victoria’s Building Resilient Neighbourhoods project has just released a report highlighting research and lessons learned from Phase One of the project.

From the report: “Resilience is our ability to respond and adapt to change in ways that are pro-active, build local capacity and that ensure that essential needs are met.  Communities today are faced with multiple, complex challenges. If there ever was a need for whole communities to come together to adapt to change, it is today”.

The three sections of the report are:

  • Understanding Resilience: What have we learned about the characteristics of resilient communities from our research and engagement processes so far?
  • Characteristics of Resilience: What are some of the key characteristics of resilient communities, and what are some guiding or inspirational examples of resilience at the neighbourhood level that have been occurring here or elsewhere in the world?
  • Building Resilience: What are some of the key roles that different sectors- such as local governments, non-profits, and citizen groups- can play in fostering resilient neighbourhoods?

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