News Release

Government of Canada invests in the Cedar Opportunities Co-operative

Nanaimo, British Columbia, March 31, 2010 - The Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of Veterans Affairs, Minister of State (Agriculture) today announced that the Government of Canada is supporting community economic development. To that end, $30,000 in funding has been announced for the Cedar Opportunities Co-operative. Funded under the Government of Canada's Co-operative Development Initiative (CDI), the co-op will provide new opportunities and experience for persons with a developmental disability

"The Government of Canada recognizes the long history co-operatives have in our country and how much they contribute to local economic development," said Minister Blackburn, who is also responsible for rural and co-operative development. "Co-operatives create jobs and provide essential services to the community."

The goal is to open the first coffee shop in a small rural community of British Columbia, providing a gathering place for community members and employment to individuals with a developmental disability. The project funding will support the start-up of the business.

The Cedar Opportunities Co-op Coffee Shop is one of many projects funded under CDI, a four-year, $19.1 million program that helps Canadians develop new co-operatives and experiment innovative ways of using the co-operative model. This initiative, which has been successful in making the co-operative option readily available to Canadians by improving access to advisory services, helping co-operatives gather funding and advancing research and knowledge development, is co-managed by the Canadian Co-operative Association and the Conseil canadien de la coopération et de la mutualité in partnership with the Government of Canada.

Since it was established in 2003, CDI has supported over 1,500 co-op projects and helped to create over 200 new co-operatives. The program has also allowed for testing new kinds of co-operatives and undertaking research projects to understand how co-operatives can contribute to regional economic development. The Agriculture component of CDI, put in place in 2006, was responsible for the creation of over 60 value-added agricultural co-operatives.

To learn more about the Co-operative Development Initiative, please refer to the Backgrounder.

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For more information, contact:

Media Relations
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
613-773-7972
1-866-345-7972

Sophie Doucet
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn
613-992-3465

Backgrounder

Co-operative Development Initiative

The Co-operative Development Initiative (CDI) is a government of Canada program delivered in partnership with the two national organizations of the co-operative sector, which are the Canadian Co-operative Association and the Conseil canadien de la coopération et de la mutualité. CDI is designed to help people develop co-operatives and to test innovative ways of using the co-operative model. CDI makes the co-operative option more readily available to Canadians, to respond to their present-day challenges.

Description of CDI

The program has three interrelated components:

The Advisory Services component is delivered by the co-operative sector through a network of co-operative development experts established across the country. The objective is to provide access to professional and technical services needed for the successful launch or strengthening of a co-operative. The Advisory Services component is managed jointly by the Canadian Co-operative Association and the Conseil canadien de la coopération et de la mutualité.

The Research and Knowledge Development component is designed to undertake, support and share strategic applied research that will advance co-operative development and growth. This component is completely managed by the Governement of Canada.

The Innovative Co-operative Projects component provides funding to innovative projects that respond to public policy priority areas and generate best practices and learning. The policy priorities to be addressed through the Innovative Co-operative Projects are:

• agriculture, including farmer-driven value-added agriculture and biofuels;
• rural/northern community development;
• innovative goods and services, including innovative technologies; and
• capacity building and sustainability of the co-operative sector in Canada.

The upper limit of funding for Innovative Co-operative Projects is $75,000 per year per project. The minimum proponent contribution for Innovative Co-operative Projects is 25% per individual project. The Innovative Co-operative Projects component is delivered jointly by the Canadian Co-operative Association and the Conseil canadien de la coopération et de la mutualité.