The Canadian CED Network extends our condolences to the family and friends of Ian MacPherson, who passed away on the weekend.
Ian was a pillar of the co-operative movement in Canada, having been the founding President of the Canadian Co-operative Association, when it was created by the merger of the Co-operative Union of Canada and the Co-op College in 1987. He led the consultation process and wrote the background documents for the International Co-operative Alliance Statement on the Co-operative Identity. As an eminent historian, he was the author / editor / co-editor of some twenty books and author of over 150 articles, most of them on the Canadian and international co-operative movement. He was also the founder of the BC Institute for Co-operative Studies.
As the Academic Co-Director of the Canadian Social Economy Hub, Ian worked closely with CCEDNet for many years. The 6-year national research program produced a wealth of research and community-university partnerships. The challenges and successes of those partnerships were documented in a book Ian co-edited with CCEDNet Research Committee Chair Peter Hall, Community-University Research Partnerships: Reflections on the Canadian Social Economy Experience. Remembering Ian, Peter Hall noted, “He was a man of great intellect and good humour, who was guided in everything he did by a passion for justice. He worked tirelessly to help the co-operative movement and communities throughout Canada and the world.”
Ian will be missed. Read more about his many contributions and accomplishments.
The Canadian Co-operative Association has created a tribute blog and are asking people to contribute comments, stories and memories of Ian in the comments section. Please feel free to share your memories of Ian, or make comments about his significance to the co-operative movement there or below.
