Archive for August 19th, 2009
Educate and Improve Lives
Posted on: August 19, 2009
From my desk here in beautiful Guelph, Ontario the health care debate that currently embroils the United States is playing out like a bad movie in clip after clip of outraged (and outrageous) Americans decrying the impending collapse of their way of life in the face of government funded health care.
As the American health care circus shifts its focus away from discussion about a public option to increased consideration of co-operatives, the mainstream media and the blogosphere is alive with mis-information about the capacity and role of health care co-ops.
Always excited about public participation and convinced of the great things that can come out of democratic engagement, I’m also a strong believer in the 5th Co-operative Principle:
Education, Training and Information
According to the International Co-operative Alliance’s Statement on the Co-operative Identity,
“co-operatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers, and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their co-operatives. They inform the general public – particularly young people and opinion leaders – about the nature and benefits of co-operation.”
I refuse to believe that if given adequate facts and shown how co-ops can work effectively for them, Americans would want to keep their current health care system, dominated as it is by profit-hungry mega-corporations.
Dismantling the culture of distrust around co-ops requires a heavy dose of facts, figures, and stories of co-operative success across the United States and around the world. The NCBA and individual co-op advocates have taken up the cause, but as we all know, overcoming ignorance is always an uphill struggle.
Consistency and persistence are the surest, though never shortest, route to changing public opinion through education.
So what does this have to do with co-op advocacy in Ontario?
Though not an issue of direct concern to those of us working for change in the Ontario co-operative sector, the situation in the US underlines the need for better education, both formal and informal, about the co-op model and its value to people, their communities, the economy, and our province.
With education in mind, I ask you to take the 5th Co-operative Principle to heart and not sit back while misconceptions and misinformation about co-ops overtake facts and experiences. Talk to your neighbours, your friends, your co-workers, and anyone else about the value of co-ops in your life.
A first step to political change is a changed attitude and a broadened perspective. Let’s work together to build a stronger model of co-op success and show the naysayers and fear mongers, wherever they are, that co-ops offer real solutions to real challenges, everyday.
- In: Co-op Advocacy | White Paper | Wish List
- 2 Comments
In a recent blog post, Amy Sample Ward presents the compelling metaphor of gardening vs. landscaping as a way to view community building.
At the heart of the metaphor is the idea that landscapers start by tearing down in order to build an idealized space. Gardeners, on the other hand, work by removing weeds and cultivating within the existing environment to nurture growth.
On Co-op’s own mission statement outlines our goal to lead, cultivate, and connect the Ontario co-operative sector. This cultivation, this gardening approach to building and growing co-op community is a key element in our current government relations strategy.
As momentum towards the creation of a Provincial Co-operatives Secretariat slows in the face of a government hiring freeze, we keep our eyes on the weeds, cultivating and nurturing growth where we can. The “Wish List” of short and long term initiatives is a perfect example of the small but substantial changes we’re seeking to implement to improve the environment for co-ops in Ontario.
Created at the request of the Ministry of Economic Development, the Wish List compiles easily deliverable initiatives to be carried out through partnerships between the Ontario government and the co-op sector. These initiatives include:
- incorporating information about the co-operative business model into the Service Ontario website
- bringing information and expertise about the co-operative model into the 70 Service Ontario centres across the province
- initiating online registration for co-ops via the Service Ontario website, putting co-ops on an equal footing with other businesses
- maintaining an up-to-date provincial database of co-ops
These initiatives, along with 9 others, are focused changes that will, to return to the gardening metaphor, remove the weeds and encourage greater growth. Surveying the landscape, it is clear that those of us in the co-op sector need to keep focused on what will strengthen all co-ops as we work to grow our community and build a stronger province for everyone.
To find out more about the Wish List, or to sign up as Co-op Champion in your area, please post a comment or contact me.
Co-ops in Ottawa Centre
Posted on: August 19, 2009
Ottawa Centre’s MPP is Yasir Naqvi.
Co-ops in Ottawa Centre
Abiwin Co-op
299 Somerset St. West.
Ottawa
613-233-1927
www.chaseo.org/d-abiwin.html
Alterna Savings (Ottawa Corporate Office)
400 Albert St.
Ottawa
613-560-0100
www.alterna.ca
Buduchnist Credit Union – Branch 3
913 Carling Ave.
Ottawa
613-722-7075
www.buduchnist.com
Canadian Co-operative Association
275 Bank Street
Ottawa
613-238-6711
www.coopscanada.coop
CHASEO
225 Metcalfe St. Suite 311
Ottawa
613-230-2201
www.chaseo.org
Coop d’Appartements des Jardins
100 Avenue Empress
Ottawa
613-238-7543
Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada (Corporate)
227 Metcalfe St.
Ottawa
613-230-2201
www.chfc.coop
Dalhousie Non-Profit Housing Co-operative
755 Somerset St. West.
Ottawa
613-234-5500
Des Jardins Co-operative d’Appartements
100 avenue Empress
Ottawa
613-238-7543
Desjardins Credit Union – Branch 21
99 Bank St.
Ottawa
613-239-1469
www.desjardins.com
Frontline Financial Credit Union – Branch 1
1053 Carling Ave.
Ottawa
613-761-4737
www.911cu.com
Frontline Financial Credit Union (Corporate Office)
365 Richmond Rd.
Ottawa
613-729-4312
www.911cu.com
Glebe Co-operative Play Group
175 3rd Ave.
Ottawa
613-233-9708
GREEN Co-op
66 Pineglen Crescent
Ottawa
613-255-7757
www.greencoop.ca
La Siembra Co-operative
4 Florence St. Suite 210
Ottawa
613-235-6122
www.cocoacamino.com
Mountain Equipment Co-op
366 Richmond Rd.
Ottawa
613-729-2700
www.mec.ca
Ottawa Police Credit Union
206-474 Elgin Street 2nd floor
Ottawa
613-236-1222
www.opcu.com
Ottawa Women’s Credit Union
271 Bank St.
Ottawa
613-233-7711
www.owcu.on.ca
Sidney Towers Co-operative
7 Sidney St.
Ottawa
613-236-7004
St. Stanislaus Polish Parishes Credit Union – Branch 11
379 Waverley St.
Ottawa
613-230-6220
www.polcan.com
Tompkins Housing Co-operative
10 Preston St.
Ottawa
613-238-3836
Westboro Nursery School
411 Dovercourt Avenue
Ottawa
613-728-1533
Westboro Village Co-operative Preschool
470 Roosevelt Ave.
Ottawa
613-728-9473
Your Credit Union (Education – Chamberlain/Corporate)
14 Chamberlain Ave.
Ottawa
613-238-8001
www.yourcu.com
Your Credit Union (Municipal/City)
110 Laurier Ave. West.
Ottawa
613-233-8977
www.yourcu.com
Co-ops in Toronto Centre
Posted on: August 19, 2009
Toronto Centre’s MPP is _______. (By-election Scheduled for February 4, 2010)
Co-ops in Toronto Centre
Alterna Savings – Branch 21
350 Victoria St.
Toronto
416-252-5621
www.alterna.ca
Alterna Savings – Branch 23
800 Bay St.
Toronto
416-252-5621
www.alterna.ca
Bleecker Street Co-operative Homes
85 Bleecker St.
Toronto
416-920-7340
www.bleecker-street.com
Cabbagetown Co-op Nursery School
2 Lancaster Ave.
Toronto
416-964-2984
www.cabbagetownnurseryschool.com
Caroline Co-operative Homes
93 Longboat Ave.
Toronto
416-862-0847
Church-Isabella Residents Co-operative
72 Isabella St.
Toronto
416-964-2311
City Park Co-operative Apartments
484 Church St. Suite 115
Toronto
416-924-6294
CoAction Staff Association
260 Adelaide Street East
Toronto
416-575-0810
www.coactionsa.org
Concept to Creation Co-op
700-890 Yonge Street
Toronto
www.conceptocreation.com
Counterpoint
920 Yonge St. Suite 601
Toronto
416-920-6516
www.counterpoint.coop
Desjardins Credit Union – Branch 48
56 Wellesley St. W. Suite 103
Toronto
416-928-6468
www.desjardins.com
Don Area Co-operative Homes Inc. (DACHI)
255 Carlton St.
Toronto
416-923-9574
www.dachi.ca
Edgeview Housing Co-operative
112 George St. S.
Toronto
416-363-9533
Ernescliffe Co-op
477 Sherbourne St.
Toronto
416-925-8543
www.ernescliffe.ca
Fieldstone Co-operative Homes
135 Bleecker St. Unit 107
Toronto
416-968-1853
Grace Macinnis Housing Co-operative
561 Church St.
Toronto
416-967-1525
Harmony B Housing Co-operative
150 Longboat Ave.
Toronto
416-363-7686
Hazelburn Co-operative Homes of Toronto
178 Jarvis St.
Toronto
416-863-1851
www.hazelburn.org
Hugh Garner Housing Co-operative
550 Ontario St.
Toronto
416-927-0407
www.hughgarner.com
Jarvis-George Housing Co-operative
279 Jarvis St.
Toronto
416-921-4136
Jenny Green Co-operative Homes
300 George St.
Toronto
416-923-1691
Libra Information Services
18 Eastern Avenue-Lower Level
Toronto
416-364-0050
www.web.net/~libra/
Margaret Laurence Housing Co-operative
81 Dalhousie St.
Toronto
416-365-6311
Marketview Co-op
110 George St. S.
Toronto
416-363-7787
Member Savings Credit Union (Corporate Office)
55 Lakeshore Blvd East.
Toronto
416-864-2461
www.membercu.com
Metta Housing Co-operative
99 Dalhousie St.
Toronto
416-368-1928
Muriel Collins Housing Co-operative
79 Richmond St. East.
Toronto
416-361-1667
Neill-Wycik Co-operative College
96 Gerrard St. East
Toronto
416-977-2320
www.neill-wycik.com
New Hibret Co-op Homes
2 Market St.
Toronto
416-363-0300
Oak Street Housing Co-op
120 Cornwall St.
Toronto
416-860-1888
www.oakstreet.coop
Ontario Civil Service Credit Union
18 Grenville St. Suite 1
Toronto
416-314-9444
www.mycreditunion.ca
Ontario Student Co-operative Association
96 Gerrard St. East.
Toronto
416-977-2320
www.osca.coop
OWN Housing Co-op
115 The Esplanade
Toronto
416-777-9543
Peggy & Andrew Brewin Housing Co-op
77 Charles St. East.
Toronto
416-975-9332
Peregrine Co-operative
18 Grenville St.
Toronto
416-944-8977
Spruce Court Co-op
330 Sumach St. Suite 60
Toronto
416-923-3696
St. Lawrence Co-operative Day Care
230 Esplanade
Toronto
416-363-5989
St. Nicholas Housing Co-operative Inc.
7 Inkerman St.
Toronto
416-323-1263
Starnews Credit Union (Corporate Office)
1 Yonge St.
Toronto
416-366-5534
www.starnewscu.com
T.C. Douglas Housing Co-operative
60 River St.
Toronto
416-366-0862
Terrace Housing Co-op
88 Mutual St.
Toronto
416-368-7140
The Police Credit Union – Branch 3
40 College St. Room 101
Toronto
416-961-2107
Three Streets Housing Co-operative
77 Winchester St.
Toronto
416-928-2170
Toronto Electrical Utilities Credit Union (Corporate Office)
14 Carlton St.
Toronto
416-542-2522
www.teucu.com
Toronto Women’s Housing Co-op
397 Shuter St.
Toronto
416-865-1765
www.womenshousing.blogspot.com
Windmill Line Housing Co-op
125 Scadding Ave. 10th Floor
Toronto
416-366-7358
Woodsworth Housing Co-op
133 Wilton St. Suite 201
Toronto
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