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.

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.

• Read Rural Collectivity: A Different Kind of Economic Model with David Bruce (4 pages pdf)
• View all of the Social Economy Stories

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

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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)

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Continue reading…

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On Friday, December 4th, Mr. Brendan Reimer, Regional Coordinator for the Prairies and Northern Territories of the Canadian CED Network, made a formal presentation to Parliament’s Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA). Reimer called for a comprehensive approach to poverty reduction grounded in the principles of Communicty Economic Development.

“We are talking about people in communities working together at a local level to generate innovative and effective initiatives that create economic opportunities for individuals, families, and neighbourhoods in ways that improve social and environmental conditions,” said Reimer. “The CED model understands that complex community issues require multi-faceted and coordinated responses.”

Reimer referred to the The View from Here, a Manitoba-based document co-produced by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Make Poverty History Manitoba that calls for a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy with indicators, targets, and timelines.

“When capital projects are undertaken, we recommend that the federal government implement training and apprenticeship components that ensure that skill development happens in the local community.”

Reimer mentioned a number of areas where community-led CED initiatives could provide greater social and economic benefit to communities across Canada, but ended by emphasizing the need for a meaningful national poverty reduction strategy.

“There’s a long history, and there’s current strength and innovation in communities across the country already working at reducing poverty,” Reimer concluded. “But what we need is strong government leadership…”

Read the presentation in full from the committee

Read the Canadian CED Network brief to the Standing Committee

Read In From the Margins: A Call to Action on Poverty, Housing and Homelessness by the  Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology (290 pages pdf; 2MB)

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Canada’s co-operative sector is celebrating the United Nations General Assembly’s decision to proclaim 2012 the International Year of Co-operatives.

The proclamation of the International Year was included in a resolution entitled “Co-operatives in Social Development”, which was adopted by the General Assembly at today’s session in New York. The full text of the resolution can be downloaded here.

Since 1959, the UN has designated International Years in order to draw attention to major issues and to encourage international action to address concerns which have global importance.

“At a time when so many people around the world have a heightened interest in doing business with organizations whose values reflect their own, raising awareness of co-operatives and what they stand for is very important,” said Kathy Bardswick, president and CEO of The Co-operators, who was recently elected to represent Canada on the board of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA).

“The International Year of Co-operatives is an opportunity for people everywhere to learn more about this diverse group of organizations that contribute so much to economies and communities in virtually every corner of the world.”

On December 3, the federal government announced its support for the UN resolution, the first time a Canadian government has officially expressed its support for a UN International Year before it was proclaimed. “Our government fully recognizes the importance of co-operatives and their contribution to Canadian society,” said the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of National Revenue and Minister of State (Agriculture), at a news conference in Ottawa.

Carol Hunter, executive director of the Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA), said Canadian co-operative leaders, together with partner organizations in Canada and around the world, will be working on a program of International Year activities aimed at highlighting the social and economic contributions of co-operatives, including credit unions.

“Co-operatives and credit unions in Canada have more than 17 million members, but most Canadians are unaware of their social and economic impact on this country as a whole and on rural and urban communities across Canada,” she said. “The International Year will provide us with ample opportunities to generate awareness of that contribution, and to encourage people to organize themselves into co-operatives to address their own economic and social needs.”

Co-ops in Canada…and the world

• There are close to 9,000 co-ops and credit unions across Canada, with more than 17 million members.

• Some of Canada’s best-known businesses, including Mountain Equipment Co-op, Federated Co-operatives Limited, UFA Co-operative Limited, Co-op Atlantic, Gay Lea Foods, The Co-operators (insurance), Vancity (credit union), Agropur and Desjardins Group are co-operatives.

• The co-operative sector controls over $275 billion in assets.

• The world’s 300 largest co-operatives, nine of which are Canadian, have an aggregate turnover of $US 1.1 trillion, the size of the 10th largest economy in the world.

• According to the International Labour Organization, co-operatives provide more than 100 million jobs, more than all the world’s multinational corporations combined.

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