Welcome to our newest series “We Are Co-ops” in which we profile our diverse membership and demonstrate the innovation the flexible co-op model supports and enables! This week, our Co-op Champion Madelyn Read, connected with Marc Baumann, member-owner of Shift Delivery, to learn about how they have been adapting to the COVID-19 crisis. Marc … Continued
Daniel Brunette, Director of Advocacy and Partnerships at Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada (CMC) led our May 8th Co-op Meetup and shared his vast knowledge of federal financial programs and supports are currently available to co-operative businesses. Along with reiterating that co-ops have equal access to all federal COVID-19 emergency financial programs and supports, Daniel highlighted that … Continued
The B.C. and Alberta Provincial Governments have both recently released their strategies for restarting local economies by outlining phases for businesses to re-open over the coming weeks and months. But are you ready to re-open? Have you been operating an essential service since the outbreak began but are wondering what you may need to do … Continued
The Federal Government recently announced the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses, which will lower rent by 75% for small businesses that have been most affected by COVID-19. CECRA will provide forgivable loans to qualifying commercial property owners to cover 50% of three monthly rent payments that are payable by eligible small business … Continued
For this week’s edition of “We Are Co-ops”, we are excited to feature our member Golden Community Social Services Co-op (Golden Community Co-op) and their new hire Lori Baxendale who was brought on to fill their newly created role as Community COVID-19 Response Coordinator. Our Co-op Champion Madelyn Read, connected with Golden Community Co-op to … Continued
The BCCA Co-op Meetups strive to be an opportunity and platform for co-ops to come together and share their knowledge and insight with each other, spark new ideas, and help each other grow and flourish. This week, we had the opportunity to engage in an international conversation with the Alberta Community & Co-operative Association … Continued
On May 4th, the Lobbyists Transparency Act will come into effect, increasing requiring registration and reporting requirements for all organizations (including co-operatives) that lobby provincial employees or office holders in BC. “Lobbying” is defined broadly. It includes attempting to influence government decisions, such as legislative proposals, bills, resolutions, regulations, programs, policies, directives and guidelines. It … Continued
Our first Co-op Meetups session featured Mary Childs as our guest speaker. Mary is a lawyer with Vancouver office of Miller Thompson LLC and is a part of the firm’s Social Impact Group. She works with many co-operatives, charities, non-profits, and social enterprises and also sits on the steering committee of the CoopZone Legal Network, … Continued
As credit unions work tirelessly to respond to the needs of their communities and members, we are seeing many stepping in to provide financial relief programs and other solutions in response to the crisis. For example, Ladysmith & District Credit Union has immediately made available up to $1,000,000 in Emergency Relief Term Loans for existing … Continued
We recognize and understand that current times are uncertain and that COVID-19 has had a strong impact on everyone, particularly small businesses. Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada (CMC) recently confirmed that co-operatives will be eligible for the same funding as other businesses from Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan: Support for Canadians and Businesses, so long as they qualify for the … Continued