The Collaborative Approach in Cooperatives

By Nathan Brunellière // Editor, Cooperation Council of Ontario

It is difficult to talk about a collaborative approach to entrepreneurship without mentioning cooperatives. In the early 21st century, when demands for more equitably shared wealth and moderate capitalism are commonplace, the alternative vision it brings to business seems to make sense today. However, cooperatives have not always been an obvious solution to the lack of equitable profit sharing within a company.

Photo: Fromagerie St-Albert

THE ORIGIN

Although it was not invented in a day and is the result of many initiatives spread over several centuries, the modern cooperative can be considered to have appeared during the 19th century. First in the form of friendly societies in the United Kingdom, then in the form of mutual organizations, they offered an alternative to the established system of the time by giving everyone a voice. Indeed, the idea that a member of an organization could have the right to vote without being the owner of the organization was quite new. This novelty did not prevent a large number of people from joining these organizations, which offered them a financial security that could not be found elsewhere.

La Fromagerie St-Albert is one of the oldest Canadian cooperatives, founded on January 8th 1894 by ten partners. It was registered under the name "The St-Albert Co-Operative Cheese Manufacturing Association" and is today the only cooperative cheese factory in Eastern Ontario still in operation.

If we have to point out a common point to all cooperatives, it is the shared responsibility.

IN ONTARIO

The first Mutual Life Insurance company was created in Ontario in 1863: Union St-Joseph du Canada (Union of Canada)1. The corporation aimed to help and rescue its members in the event of illness, as well as their widows and children in the event of their death2. At the beginning of the 20th century, the credit unions were added to their lineage. Many of them are still in good health today, thanks to the support of Alphonse Desjardins, among others. The cooperatives were not regulated by law until 1922; the Caisses Populaires had to wait until 1940.

WHAT ABOUT COLLABORATION?

If the International Cooperative Alliance defines a cooperative as "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise", this can only help to further confirm the multifaceted character so specific to cooperatives. This is not a problem, but a feature. Cooperatives have no limitations: they can be financial, such as credit unions, allowing loans to populations marginalized by the so-called "classic" banks, or they can be consumer cooperatives, pooling the purchasing power of several individuals to allow them to purchase agricultural equipment, for example (the common genesis of many cooperatives). The possibilities are numerous. If we have to point out a common point to all cooperatives, it is the shared responsibility.

First location of the Caisse populaire Notre-Dame d'Ottawa, 97 Clarence Street, around 1940. Photo: University of Ottawa, CRCCF, Collection générale du Centre de recherche en civilisation canadienne-française (C38), Ph123ph1-XOFDH-38.

We are proud to help share and spread the ideals of collaboration every day through our support of co-ops across the province. It's just one of many ways to do it, but it's the one we've chosen. What is yours?

HOW DOES IT WORK?

If it could be simplified to one word, it would be this: Voting. Each person who is a member of a cooperative has equal weight with all the others, without any preference or advantage related to his or her social, religious, gender, or other status. Thus, the cooperative model differs from any other model in that it truly guarantees the full understanding of the claims and demands of each of its members, under the sole condition of democratic participation in the general assemblies where all can express themselves without judgment. Added to this is the equitable sharing of profits, embodied by the principle of patronage: any savings or surplus is shared equitably among the members of the cooperative, thus preventing disproportionate enrichment at the expense of some, as can happen in the "classic" business model where few regulations are put in place for this purpose.

In 1950, the Cheese Factory inaugurated a brand new building: The St-Albert Cooperative Dairy Plan. It was dedicated to the production of butter and cheese. Photo: Fromagerie St-Albert

IN ACTUAL OPERATION

At the Cooperation Council of Ontario, it is our job to help co-ops be the best versions of themselves. This can mean building a network to consolidate the services offered by existing co-ops, as we have done in northeastern Ontario in collaboration with the Fédération des coopératives funéraires du Québec, or helping residents save their grocery store that is about to close by turning it into a co-op (for example, Moonbeam's grocery store3), or it can mean building a co-op initiative by raising awareness to help an entire community, as we were able to do in the community of Attawapiskat in Ontario's far north.

We are proud to help share and spread the ideals of collaboration every day through our support of co-ops across the province. It's just one of many ways to do it, but it's the one we've chosen. What is yours?