On February 7, the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool’s Board of Directors approved a proposed recapitalization of its shares and convertible subordinated notes, and a subsequent rights offering to all common shareholders, consistent with its capital market initiative, announced last December. The Pool will be holding meetings of its delegates (February 21), Class B shareholders (March 23) and noteholders (March 23) to seek their approval for the continuance and exchange of the convertible notes.

Correction: The February 3, issue of News Briefs mistakenly indicated that Class B shareholders were to vote on the Pool's capital markets initiative at the postponed January 27 meeting. This is an annual meeting held for the purpose of tabling the Pool's annual financial statements and auditor's report with stakeholders. No other business is conducted at the meeting.

Last year co-ops and credit unions across Canada were given the opportunity to vote on the theme for Co-op Week. It was so successful we’ve decided to do it again. Go to www.CoopsCanada.coop between now and Tuesday March 15 to vote for one of the following four themes:

·                     The Power of Co-operation…  Co-operatives and credit unions changing the world

·                     Co-operatives & Credit Unions ... Powered by co-operation

·                     The Power of Co-operation ... Innovation * Community * Commitment * Success

·                     The Power of Co-operation ... It's our future!

A bid by VanCity Enterprises and Windmill Development Group received unanimous support from Victoria City Council to redevelop that city’s dockside lands. The Council used a triple bottom line process, evaluating proposals on social, economic, and environmental factors.

The $200 million Dockside Green project will see 4.85 hectares of vacant contaminated land turned into a new community that includes affordable rentals and housing for seniors, a boutique hotel, a commercial village, and 75,000 square feet of offices and lofts in a light-industrial precinct. It will include on-site sewage treatment and be greenhouse gas neutral with heating and electricity provided by an energy system that will use wood waste. It will also include a facility to produce biodiesel from waste cooking oils, as well as a water-treatment system that will recycle wastewater for irrigation and also collect rainwater to feed creeks and ponds along a greenway running the length of the project.

Jim Barr, Senior Vice President of Corporate Relations with The CUMIS Group, recently returned from Sri Lanka where he visited affected areas from the December 26 tsunami. He led a three person team from the Canadian Co-operative Association/Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada, which was in Sri Lanka to meet with CCA’s partner, SANASA, to assess the situation and prepare a plan for CCA assistance in reconstruction.

“The people of Sri Lanka have a tremendous amount of hope and they are anxious to rebuild,” noted Mr. Barr.  He listened to stories that touched him deeply. Mr. Barr spoke with board members from a fishermen’s credit union and a women’s credit union — the women’s credit union was devastated and the fishermen’s credit union only has walls left standing. 

Mr. Barr is looking forward to raising funds to support this reconstruction effort. For more information about how co-operators have responded to the tsunami, please visit www.CoopsCanada.coop/tsunami.

The Ontario Federation of Labour, representing 700,000 Ontario workers in more than 1,500 affiliated local unions across the province, has announced plans to become a sponsoring body of First Ontario Fund.

First Ontario Fund was launched in 1995 as a Labour Sponsored Investment Fund with the objective of achieving long-term capital appreciation while stimulating job creation through its investment in small to medium sized companies in Ontario. The Fund currently has $59 million in assets and since inception has provided capital to over 30 Ontario based mid-sized companies.

The Fund is currently sponsored by the Ontario Worker Co-operative Federation and six trade unions: United Steelworkers of America – District Six; Communications, Energy and Paperworkers' Union of Canada; Public Service Alliance of Canada – Ontario Region and the National Capital Region; Service Employees International Union; Power Workers' Union – Canadian Union of Public Employees – Local 1000; and Brewery, General and Professional Workers' Union.

Members of Ottawa's CS Co-op credit union and Toronto's Metro Credit Union voted 95 per cent in favour of a plan to create a new financial institution: Alterna Savings. CS Co-op, originally created to serve civil servants, has 145,000 members, mostly in Ottawa, while Metro has 10 branches in the Toronto area and 45,000 members. Alterna, set to open April 1, will have $1.8 billion in assets. Ottawa will remain the company's head office with a branch office in Toronto. CS Co-op CEO Gary Seveny will head the new organization and promises there will be no layoffs and that employees will have expanded career opportunities in the larger organization.

Meridian Credit Union is set to launch April 4, following strong Member and Shareholder approval of the amalgamation agreement between HEPCOE Credit Union and Niagara Credit Union this week. More than two thirds of the Members and Shareholders at both credit unions voted in favour of the proposed amalgamation.

Meridian will become Ontario's largest and Canada's third largest credit union with 180,000 Members, $3.5 billion in assets and a network of 43 branches, 65 ATMs, and four commercial banking centres in 34 communities across the Niagara Region, the Greater Toronto Area and Central Ontario. No branch closures or layoffs are planned.

The Board of Directors of Red Deer AB-based Community Savings has approved $13.1 million for distribution in its 2004 Profit Sharing Program. This equates to 44 per cent of the past year’s before tax profits.

“Paying cash that is easily accessible with our Profit Sharing Program is our newest way of thanking customers for banking with Community Savings,” says President and CEO, Herb Der. “We’ve always provided significant returns in terms of dividends and bonuses. This year, individuals and businesses that bank with Community Savings, will receive instant cash rewards that they can reinvest or spend as they like.”

Over the past 60 years Community Savings has built its financial strength from an opening asset value of $9.50 to over $1.7 billion. Rated one of Alberta’s fastest growing companies, it is the province’s second largest credit union, comprising 110,000 owners, 465 employees, and 29 locations throughout central and southern Alberta.

Financial results for the Calgary Co-operative Association Limited (Calgary Co-op) as of its financial year ending October 30, 2004, show a slight increase over 2003. Sales for 2004 were $752 million compared with $750 million in 2003, and net savings after income tax and patronage returns were $3.0 million compared with $2.7 million in 2003.

For 2004, Calgary Co-op members will share $17.1 million in annual patronage returns, which are calculated based on the volume of business a member does with Calgary Co-op, including total grocery, petroleum, and travel purchases for the year.

VanCity Credit Union has reported its fourth consecutive year of high profits. 2004 consolidated earnings from operations were $93.6 million, up from $78.0 million in 2003. These results included a one-time $18.8 million boost due to an accounting policy change affecting the financial services industry. Net earnings increased to $57.2 million from $44.5 million in 2003. Total assets hit $10.5 billion, up from $9.0 billion in 2003.

The highest amount ever, $10.5 million, will go to Vancity members through patronage rebates and member share dividends as part of the credit union's Shared Success program, while $7.4 million will be distributed to non-profit organizations through Vancity's various grants, including the annual $1 million VanCity Award.

Vancouver’s Downtown East Side is the site of a remarkable restaurant and catering business. The Potluck Café offers meals, employment, and hope to residents who have nowhere else to go. A recent grant of $20,000 from The Co-operators Group Co-operative and Community Economic Development Fund will allow this highly successful enterprise to hire a Quality Control Manager and a Chef Trainer. This is the third such grant to Potluck, which became sustainable in 2004.

Conference proceedings from last fall’s National Rural Conference in Red Deer, AB, have been released and include a summary of participant comments. Among the statements concerning co-operatives is the remark that “co-operatives are an important rural development tool”. Under the section about what government needs to do to further support rural Canada, is the response: “Develop more policy and program funding to support the co-operative model.” The event, which focused on community capacity building, entrepreneurship, infrastructure, youth and northern issues, was attended by about 315 rural citizens, government representatives, and community and organizational leaders, including the Canadian Co-operative Association and others from the co-op sector.

People interested in nominating candidates for the Canadian Co-operative Achievement Award and Global Co-operator Award have until March 7 to do so. Both awards will be presented during Connections 2005 in Saskatoon, SK.

The Canadian Co-operative Achievement Award is one of the highest honours the Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA) can bestow on those men and women whose endeavours in the cause of the co-operative form of enterprise have been genuinely outstanding. Recipients are awarded honorary membership within CCA, which provides recognition for persons contributing in especially significant ways to promoting, developing, or uniting co-operatives in Canada. For more information, download the Call for Nominations.  

The Global Co-operator Award is bestowed on an individual who has consistently demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to the international development work of CCA and the Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada. The recipient will be presented with an international gift/award at the CDF Gala. For more information, download the Call for Nominations.

Registration information is available for the 3^rd Annual International Building Co-operative Futures Conference, which will be held in Saskatoon, SK, May 12 – 15. The conference focuses on youth engagement in co-operative organizations and furthering this engagement through education and community-centred participation. This conference is for youth between the ages of 19 and 35, who are members, employees or students of co-operatives, or other individuals who have a keen interest in co-operatives and the co-operative movement. For more information, go to bcics.uvic.ca/youthzone/youthconf-saskatoon05.htm.

Many of the youth participating in the Building Co-operative Futures Conference will stay in Saskatoon to join hundreds of co-operators and credit union people from across the country at Connections 2005, May 14 – 19. Jointly presented by the Canadian Co-operative Association and Credit Union Central of Canada, Connections 2005 will feature 21 workshops in seven tracks, as well as a variety of special interest sessions, sector forums, and plenary and keynote speakers. Keep your eye on CCA’s website (www.CoopsCanada.coop/meetings/nationalcongress/) for information as it becomes available. In the meantime, if you have questions, please contact Chantal Lalonde at CCA or Dorothy Vernon-Brown at Canadian Central.

The Canadian Co-operative Association’s Annual General Meeting will be held in Saskatoon, SK, May 19, as part of Connections 2005. A Call for Resolutions has been sent to the membership with a deadline to respond of March 11. More information will be posted on the CCA website at www.CoopsCanada.coop/meetings/agm/.

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, March 3, 2005