The United Nations' declaration that 2012 is The International Year of the Cooperative could not be more aptly timed.
There is real and palpable discontent in the land with our current systems of governance. A recent study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives reports that the top 100 CEOs in Canada earned on average $44,366 in a single day - the equivalent of what it takes the average Canadian to earn, working full time, in a year.
You don't have to be a left-wing radical to find those numbers deeply offensive. There is a reason why the Occupy movement struck a chord with the general public.
We have often looked to governments to balance the excesses of the free market, but clearly that's not happening. Both our provincial and federal governments seem loathed to fetter the profits of the extremely rich or to provide the support necessary to balance the table. And while more funding for the social service sector would be welcomed, government intervention is not always the best solution, anyway.
It is with this in mind that we enthusiastically embraced the notion of cooperative ownership - a model in which the users and owners are one in the same. A co-operative model requires the same disciplined financial responsibility we often (rightly or wrongly) associate with the business world, but the financial benefits go to the users - and that changes everything.
Co-ops can function in every part of society from horse stables to banking institutions, to sporting goods stores. But probably no area in Richmond have they had a bigger impact than in providing desperately needed affordable housing. Currently, about 2,500 local residents are living in housing co-ops. This is not welfare housing. This is housing in which members have a responsibility and a commitment to maintaining their asset while ensuring their members pay the best rate possible. Moreover, it's not just about the money. It's about a sense of ownership and investment.
The cooperative model may not solve all our woes, but it's a form of business and governance that needs to be looked at seriously if we don't want to see even more outrageous numbers in CCPA's report next year.
