Aboriginal Co-operatives in Canada - Centre for the Study of Co ...

~ C O - O P E R A T I V E S A N D C O M M U N I T I E SFour ways in which government might choose to employ co-operatives as a means toachieve community development are:1) by fostering the optimal functioning of the co-operative as a business organization;a co-operative is a vital force for community development when itfulfils its operational goals of good business management and member service,and its organizational function through a competent, well-informed board andactive membership;2) by supporting community development measures; a healthy co-operative is inan excellent position to support, and even initiate, community developmentmeasures in addition to fulfilling its business mandate;3) by supporting the development of new co-operatives; the challenge for cooperativesis to better implement the principle of co-operation among cooperativesin order to provide necessary support services to nurture new cooperativesin new circumstances. It also challenges governments to establish aclimate where co-operatives can extend beyond their day-to-day commitmentsand effectively support new co-operative enterprises; and4) by establishing development co-operatives—co-operative organizations thathave as their purpose the development of a community’s resources. 29The comments provided in the following section will focus on the role of government inachieving points two to four. It is assumed that if the government does a good job ofpoints two, three, and four, point one will be taken care of.Support for Community Economic Development MeasuresGovernment has a role to play, both in initiating and in sustaining a process of communitydevelopment.Government’s Role in Initiating the Community Economic Development ProcessFrom both an organizational and legislative point of view, government can make clearthat it is critically important for members of the community to increase their role indevelopment. Through policies and programmes, government can be the stage setter, theenabler, and the sponsor of a process that would transform localities according to thechoice and determination of the respective population. Under such encouragement,communities could do all in their power to realize a better society and allocate to29These points are elaborated in more detail in “The Socio-Economic Development of Communities: TheRoles of Co-operatives and Governments,” presented by Teresa MacNeil, Director, Extension Department,St. Francis-Xavier University, to the Conference of Ministers Responsible for Co-operatives, Summerside,P.E.I., 25 October 1991.~ 251