November 2009

Many people who care about co-ops will have helped BCCA and the other co-operative associations lobby the federal government to renew the Co-operative Development Initiative (CDI), the nation-wide program funded through the Co-operatives Secretariat. We were very pleased when the minister, Jean-Pierre Blackburn, announced in May of this year that the program would be extended through 31 March of 2013.

Across Canada, co-ops and credit unions celebrated Co-op Week from October 11-17. BC was no exception and from Victoria to Vancouver and to communities in the interior co-ops took the lead in highlighting the contributions that co-ops make to their local communities, day in and day out. In Vancouver, BCCA once again sponsored the annual Co-op Week luncheon, which featured a keynote address from Mike Lewis of the Canadian Centre for Community Renewal. The subject of the talk was Reweaving Local Economies: Solutions for Sustainability.

Victoria Car Share Co-op

Investors Aid Co-operative of Canada

Shuswap Community Resources Co-operative

The Co-operative Career Internship Program is a new BCCA initiative designed to give eight youth interns experience in the co-op sector in BC. BCCA will help co-ops select, train and support interns for 21-week placements in the province. Eight youth in the province will have the opportunity to become involved in the co-op and credit union sector.  BCCA will provide them with an education in the history of the co-op movement and in the structure of co-operative enterprise.

YES Camp alumni Susie Welch gets honoured as Olympic Torchbearer, "Her nominees recognized Welch’s passion for school, her commitment to her community and her spirit of citizenship." To read the full article from Penticton Western News, click here.