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S A S K AT O O N S TA R P H O E N I X
NatioNal co-op week
Sask co-ops focus on collaboration, community by Jonathan hamelin
In many ways, the co-operative business model in Saskatchewan came into existence before the province itself existed. This is because of the Indigenous people who for thousands of years prior had lived as a collaborative society. A co-op organization is owned and democratically controlled by its members and is designed to meet its members’ needs. The members of co-ops use the services or products of the co-op and control the direction the co-op takes. As Saskatchewan Co-operative Association (SCA) executive director Victoria Morris explains, a co-op is about people working together toward a common goal or purpose and this is a mentality that Saskatchewanians have always embraced. “In the early days, people had a lot of big needs and they really needed to work together to meet their needs. There were struggles when it came to accessing housing, food or banking services,” Morris said. “People in Saskatchewan felt that their needs weren’t being
Victoria Morris, SCA executive director. S u ppli e d Farmer Direct, an organic agriculture co-operative marketing group, organizes a field day demonstration. S u ppl i e d ph oto
met and realized that by working together they could gain better access.” There are approximately 950 co-operatives in the provinces and around one million members. One of the common types of co-ops is retail/wholesale co-ops, which sell groceries, gas, hardware and building supplies. Another common group of co-ops is credit unions, which provide financial services to its members. However, there is a larger variety of co-ops in the province that not everyone may be aware of. For example, there are over 100 childcare co-ops that provide families with an opportunity to be more active-
ly involved in decision making; almost 30 housing co-ops that provide more options for affordable housing/seniors’ housing; and four health care co-ops. Morris said that “co-ops can serve any need that its members have” and added that there are always new ideas for co-ops being explored in the province. “In the last couple of years, the province has been changing its relationship with some of the public pastures and there’s been more co-operatives forming around grazing. There’s been a lot of interest in making sure farmers can access that land and work to-
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gether,” she said. “There’s also been some Indigenous communities looking to the co-op model for economic development. There have also been developments in areas like car sharing and beer brewing – things that aren’t core needs but are things people are interested in.” The co-op model has proven to be very successful in Saskatchewan. This is evident in how well they fare in the annual Top 100 Companies in Saskatchewan list published by SaskBusiness Magazine. Since 2013, for example, Federated Co-operatives Ltd. has been awarded the top spot. In 2017, over 30 co-operatives earned a spot on the list. Co-operatives provide employment to 15,000 people
in the province and there are numerous other benefits for members and the public. For-profit co-operatives give part of their profits back to members, based on how much they have used the co-op. Additionally, when something is bought at the co-op, members sometimes pay less than non-members. Not-for-profit and community service cooperatives, on the other hand, reinvest their surpluses back into the organization and community. “If there is a co-operative in Saskatchewan, it’s owned by people in Saskatchewan,” Morris said. “In every co-op, there’s a belief in the need to try and make the community a better place. In the case of the SCA, when we have surplus our profits are reinvested into creating more community programming or education opportunities.” National Co-op Week 2018 began on Sunday and runs through Saturday. Morris said it’s a great opportunity to celebrate the power of co-ops. “When we’re shopping at a co-op or utilizing the services of a credit union, we don’t necessarily stop to think about the
bigger picture of what it means and celebrate all the wonderful things about co-operatives,” she said. “It’s really important to recognize that co-ops have a big impact on the provincial and national economy and provide benefits to the community.” There are plenty of events in Saskatchewan to mark the occasion. A flag raising ceremony will take place at the Legislative Building today at 11:45 a.m., followed by a free luncheon at the Travelodge Hotel Regina at 12:15 p.m. The Travelodge Hotel is also playing host to the Saskatchewan Co-operative Merit Awards ceremony and banquet today, beginning with a reception at 5:30 p.m. A film screening of A Silent Transformation, a film about the transformative power of the co-operative model, is scheduled for Wednesday, noon to 1:30 p.m., at the Broadway Theatre in Saskatoon. Thursday is International Credit Union Day and there will be numerous events taking place at credit unions across the province. For more information on co-op week events, visit www. sask.coop/events/co-op-week.
Co-op Youth Program celebrates 90 years by Jonathan hamelin
As the co-operative business model built momentum in Saskatchewan in the early 20th century, the founders of the movement identified one problem: they weren’t getting any younger. This realization caused them to launch the Saskatchewan Co-operative Youth Program (SCYP) in 1928. “These leaders realized that if they didn’t educate the next generation of people who would become co-op members, staff members of co-ops, or elected leaders, it would be less likely that they would get involved,” said Victoria Morris, executive director of the Saskatchewan Co-operative Association (SCA). “They realized that for people to want to become involved in co-operatives, they’d have to understand how they work. This program was developed as a way to help people understand how they could get involved in co-ops and why it’s important.”
The main way that SCYP educates youth is through Coop Camp, a series of summer camp sessions held in July and August at Candle Lake and Last Mountain Lake. There are five levels of camp, from junior to senior graduate. There is an educational component to the camp, as a curriculum has been specifically designed for youth ages 12 to 18 to help them learn more about co-operatives and how to get involved in the community. “There are co-operative learning sessions that take place at the camp that could be focused on skill building or learning something about a co-op,” Morris said. “All of our sessions are participatory and interactive, so they’re really fun but also effective at demonstrating the purpose behind the lesson.” In addition to learning, youth also have the opportunity to take part in traditional summer camp activities like swimming, canoeing or kayaking, boating, playing land sports like volleyball, or going
on a nature hike. Morris said the SCA always receives tremendous feedback following Co-op Camp. “Once people come to our camp, they really, really love it,” she said. “We often get calls or emails from parents who ask us what we did to their child, because they have come back and they notice that they are much more positive and want to get involved and help out around the house; part of what we do at our camps is everybody helps out with chores. “The program has a really big impact on people. We really teach you to value yourself and to value other people and see how people with different kinds of skills and interests can work together to achieve great things. To have that powerful experience of being accepted for yourself and appreciated for what unique skills and talents and personality you have is really powerful when you’re a teenager. We often hear from participants about how much they loved the experience and how they feel that they’re more
The Earl Hanson Graduate Co-op Camp is a program for senior campers sponsored by Innovation Credit Union. p hot o: SCA
able to take on leadership roles and get involved in their communities.” Scott Banda, who was an SCYP participant and became the camp’s program assistant in 1983, is one camp participant who has greatly benefited from the experience. Banda is now the CEO of Federated Cooperatives Limited. “I grew up in a ‘co-op family’ and was aware of co-operatives,” he said. “The Saskatchewan Co-operative Youth Program took that awareness to a new level… I met many new people with diverse perspec-
tives and clearly learned that more can be accomplished by working together. All of this has inspired my career and has remained foundational to the work I do today.” Morris said that the curriculum for Co-op Camp has naturally changed over its 90-year history, in many ways mirroring the evolution of Saskatchewan’s co-operatives and credit unions and the province’s shift towards urbanization. In more recent decades, there has been an increased emphasis on personal development of youth through self-
esteem building and leadership training. The SCYP has strongly focused on these areas through the LevelUp program, a three-day life skills and career development seminar for all youth of working age or who are interested in becoming more career ready. Morris said the SCYP has been exploring different formats for the program, such as a day-camp format or a similar format to Co-op Camp. “For a few years we’ve been looking at new and different ways of how we can educate young people on some of the skills they might need as they go out into the world,” Morris said. “The idea behind LevelUp is to focus more on career development, but also on personal development so people can be prepared for the transition into adulthood.” As SCYP celebrates its 90th anniversary this year, the program continues to evolve, while maintaining its focus on preparing youth to become leaders in co-operatives and communities.
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