News Release

Government of Canada invests in the Cowichan Biodiesel Co-operative

Duncan, British Columbia, March 31, 2010 - The Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Minister of State (Agriculture) today announced that the Government of Canada is supporting market development with $40,000 in funding to the Cowichan Biodiesel Co-operative. This project, funded under the Government of Canada's Co-operative Development Initiative (CDI), will further develop the market for biodiesel by-products used in the production of agricultural fertilizer.

"Co-operatives are used to address a wide range of community needs," said Minister Blackburn who is also responsible for rural and co-operative development. "The Cowichan Biodiesel Co-operative has responded to the needs of its members by bringing people together for a healthier and stronger community."

The co-op's biodiesel is produced mainly from cooking oil from restaurants. By uniting eight biodiesel producers and 115 users, the Cowichan Biodiesel Co-operative was able to meet the need expressed by the residents of the Cowichan region for this ecological alternative fuel. The co-operative wants to expand the market for the by-products made during the biodiesel production to fertilizer for agriculture. They also want to assess the feasibility of developing a market for carbon credits.

The Cowichan Biodiesel Co-operative 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.