The Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA) and Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada (CDF) have raised over $130,000 from CCA members and individuals to assist the relief and reconstruction efforts of our partners in Asia. We are particularly grateful for the generosity of staff at Envision Credit Union in BC which contributed $70,000.

Initially, CCA will focus its efforts on Sri Lanka, where 800 credit unions were destroyed, hundreds of members and staff were killed, and whole communities were wiped out. CCA has worked with the Thrift and Credit Movement in Sri Lanka for more than 20 years. SANASA staff and volunteers have been working since December 26 to help people in the stricken communities, assessing the damage, distributing aid, assisting with the dead and comforting the living.  SANASA is now appealing to the international co-operative community for assistance in the long-term rebuilding effort and CCA/CDF hopes to raises $500,000 over two years to assist in reconstruction efforts in Sri Lanka and hopefully Indonesia once an assessment of the longer term needs can be done.

To keep updated on these efforts or to donate, go to www.CoopsCanada.coop/tsunami. 

The Ontario credit union system has responded overwhelmingly to the crisis in Southeast Asia. Credit unions, their members and staff, Credit Union Central of Ontario and the Ontario Credit Union Charitable Foundation have collectively donated more than $415,000 through the credit union disaster relief program – CanHelp – to the Canadian Red Cross Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Campaign. Other Ontario credit unions have individually collected over $10,000 more – money that will be distributed to various relief agencies.

In New Brunswick, credit unions have demonstrated their community responsiveness to their stricken international neighbors in South Asia by initiating the Credit Union-YMCA Relief fund campaign through their provincial credit union network. At the corporate level, New Brunswick credit unions are pledging 20 cents for every one of their customer-owners. These funds will go to the international YMCAs’ immediate relief efforts as well as their longer term rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in South Asia. This corporate donation is equivalent to approximately $18,000, and New Brunswick credit unions are asking their customer-owners and YMCA members to match this dollar contribution.

Envision Financial bid farewell to one of its most recognizable faces this month with the retirement of former president Peter Podovinikoff. Mr. Podovinikoff served as President & CEO of Delta Credit Union for 15 years before the organization merged with First Heritage Savings Credit Union to form Envision Financial in 2001. He served as President in the new organization until May of last year, when he became Special Advisor to the Board. In appreciation and recognition of his service, Mr. Podovinikoff was honoured by Envision Financial’s Board of Directors and named President Emeritus.

Mr. Podovinikoff is perhaps best known for his dedication to cooperative principles. “Throughout his career, Peter has been an active proponent of corporate social responsibility,” says Envision CEO Gord Huston. “To be sure, Envision would be a very different company if not for Peter. He has challenged all of us to go beyond business as usual and find new and innovative ways to care for the community around us.”

Envision Financial is BC’s third largest credit union with 17 branches throughout the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley and Kitimat. Recognized as one of the 50 Best Employers in Canada by the Globe and Mail's Report on Business magazine for the third year running, Envision has $2.7 billion in assets under administration and a $4.2 billion book of business, nearly 750 staff and more than 80,000 members. For its extensive support of the community, Envision Financial is designated a Caring Company by the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy and is a proud member of Canada’s IMAGINE program.

Gerard Adams has been named Chief Executive Officer of Credit Union Central of New Brunswick. The appointment will be effective on or before January 31. Mr. Adams held the former joint role of CEO for Credit Union Central of New Brunswick and the Stabilization Board, now called Risk Management Agency. Since leaving the credit union system in 2000, he has been employed as Vice President Finance and most recently as Chief Financial Officer for a print and publishing company with offices located throughout the Atlantic Region.

Hummingbird Home Help was created from a need in a rural area in BC when government funding was withdrawn. The North Kootenay Lake Community Services Society offered a range of community-based health and social services to Kaslo and its surrounding rural area. When the government support was cut, the impact was felt by clients, employees, and communities. With a grant of $20,000 from The Co-operators Group’s Co-operative and Community Economic Development Fund, Hummingbird Home Help can expand their operation, offering fee-for-service residential cleaning and personal care to the residents.  Due to the loss of mining and forestry jobs, there is high unemployment so this enterprise will also help to build capacity in these rural communities.

Huron Business Development Corporation (HBDC) and the Perth Community Futures Development Corporation (PCFDC) are exploring the possibility of a locally-owned co-operative wind farm, reports the Clinton News-Record (January 12, 2005).

Paul Nichol, economic development manager for HBDC, said many people are aware of wind farm activity along the lakeshore Huron County, but noted most of that activity is driven by large non-local corporations. He says the new wind-powered generating facility would be owned by local shareholders and investors.

The two organizations have already launched the program and have two test towers, one outside Milverton and one outside Goderich. Over the next year, the organizations will determine whether or not there is enough wind to create a viable source of energy.
In the meantime, Mr. Nichol said the groups will be developing bylaws for the co-operative, creating a business model and trying to attract local investors.

The federal government has announced a $196,000 contribution to the Holman Eskimo Co-operative for the construction of a hotel, restaurant and gift shop in Holman, Northwest Territories. The financing comes from the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada’s Economic Development Opportunity Fund Program.
The Holman Eskimo Co-operative, a member of Arctic Co-operatives Ltd, has begun construction of a 4,096 square foot, eight room hotel that will also include a 49 seat restaurant and gift shop. Financing for the project came from a number of sources including the Government of the Northwest Territories, Aboriginal Business Canada, Northwest Territories Development Corporation and Arctic Co-operatives.

North Shore Credit Union (NSCU), of North Vancouver, has become the first financial institution in Canada to successfully implement a photo identification anti-fraud program in its branches. The credit union implemented the program to protect its members against the increasing threat of identity fraud as well to combat increasing costs associated with this crime.

Many of NSCU’s members have voluntarily allowed their photograph to be taken and accessed by the credit union’s frontline staff at the time of a transaction. This process eliminates the need for members to show photo identification (such as a driver’s license) at any of the credit union's 11 branches. During the six-week pilot phase of the program, 760 members were photographed, with fewer than 20 opting out, representing a 97.4 percent response rate. The program is on track to be operational in all 11 branches by the beginning of February.

According to Phonebusters (Canadian anti-fraud call centre), British Columbians recorded the second-highest number of identity theft complaints in Canada in 2003. That same year, the crime cost British Columbians more than $1.8 million, an increase of approximately $600,000 over 2002.

One of the fastest-growing credit unions in Canada, North Shore Credit Union is a full-service financial institution serving 40,000 members. With its head office in North Vancouver, North Shore Credit Union has 11 branches in communities from Burnaby and downtown Vancouver to Whistler and Pemberton.

Customers of DUCA Financial Services Credit Union Ltd got another gift this month as the credit union distributed $3.9 million of its 2004 profits in the form of new Bonus Shares. In 2004, DUCA’s assets increased 12 per cent from $571 million to over $640 million. Each Bonus Share issue is based on DUCA’s net income and is paid annually based on the financial activity that a member has transacted during the year.

“This is the seventh consecutive year the credit union has shared its profits with its members,” said Jack Vanderkooy, President & CEO, which brings total distributions since the inception of the program in 1999 to $26 million.

DUCA Financial Services was established in 1954 and has grown to become a full service financial institution with over 32,000 members in the Toronto area.

The merger of three credit unions has created the largest credit union on Vancouver Island. Overwhelming support from members at a vote in October paved the way for the merger of Coastal Community Credit Union, Comox Valley Credit Union, and Evergreen Savings Credit Union to take effect January 1.

The new credit union is one of the 10 largest in the province, with 80,000 members, 21 branches and 500 employees. The credit union will use the name Coastal Community Credit Union until a name review in 2005.

Co-operative News Briefs, an electronic newsletter of the Canadian Co-operative Association, is published every two weeks and distributed by e-mail. It is available free of charge to anyone with an e-mail address and an interest in co-operative developments in Canada and around the world. Click SUBSCRIBE to have News Briefs delivered to your desktop. If you no longer wish to receive this e-publication, click UNSUBSCRIBE. You can view CCA’s privacy policy at www.CoopsCanada.coop/privacy.

We welcome comments about the publication, about stories we have run, or suggestions for stories we should run. Send your correspondence to Brenda Heald, editor of News Briefs at Brenda.Heald@CoopsCanada.coop.

Next Co-operative News Briefs: Thursday, February 3, 2005