With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are facing an unprecedented global challenge in most of our lifetimes. CWCF has a post on our website that contains many resources to help members (worker & solidarity co-ops, developers, everyone). We add to it as more become available; please share helpful resources by writing to Kaye Grant. We wanted to let you know both how we are responding, and ask how you are, as well.

This morning we wrote to Prime Minister Trudeau, most of the Cabinet, opposition leaders, and the Senators we know personally with a $100 million proposal to co-operativize the economy, to move toward a solidarity economy. By later today, that looked to be not nearly enough money. We invite allies, likely and unlikely, to work with us to collaborate on this proposal.

Also, we remind our members that CWCF is your co-op; it is you. We will host a webinar, soon - watch for a next emergency newsletter. It will include information on public health, federal programs, CWCF's response (including emergency injections of financial resources, advocacy, encouraging co-ops to buy from each other, online), & more. The webinar will also include an opportunity for you to go into small groups. We will repeat it at least once. Nous allons l'offrir en français aussi.

In terms of encouraging that we support each other directly, anyone who can handle online ordering or is still in business, please write to Kaye or me to let us know how we can order from you. E.g., many of us likely need things right now like fair trade organic coffee ( Just Us , Glitter Bean , Planet Bean , etc.), bicycles & parts ( Natural Cycle , Urbane Cyclist ), sex toys ( Come As You Are ), beer - lots ( London Brewing , La Barberie ), chocolate ( La Siembra/ Camino ) vegetarian food in Calgary ( The Allium ), deliveries ( Shift, in Vancouver), health care ( MCHB in Edmonton, DSW in Ottawa, les coopératives de paramédics throughout much of Quebec), gift certificates ( all of our members , all co-ops and other small, local businesses), and more. Please watch for a Loomio discussion space where we can commiserate, and also plan a bright new future in the solidarity, worker co-op economy, & how to support each other.

It's darkest before the dawn; hang on!

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Got a great idea for a youth-led arts and culture project promoting worker co-ops? Now's the time to get your application in! We are awarding grants of $1000 and $350 to the top two entrants.

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Over more than 40 years, the Winnipeg store now called Organic Planet has had several different names but one common mission: the distribution of food that matters.

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CWCF is pleased to welcome Jessica Valentine to its board of directors, acclaiming her as its director for the BC/Yukon region at its 2019 AGM. Jessica has been a member of Woodshop Worker Co-op for the past six years, currently serving as its marketing director. She brings 15 years of sales and marketing experience to the role.

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CWCF will host our second North American Worker Co-op Summit, in conjunction with the Co-ops & Mutuals Canada Congress, le Réseau de la Coopération du travail du Québec, local worker co-ops and other partners this year in Gatineau, Quebec. CMC’s Congress takes place on June 16 - 18. The North American Worker Co-op Summit 2020 will take place on June 15th, complete with a co-op-themed band. (This event will be virtual, in whole or in part.)

The webinar "Chucking the Co-operative Principles at the Peril of Worker Co-operatives" has been postponed until September 30, 2020, at noon ET.

CMC is monitoring the COVID-19 situation closely. We are participating in daily in conference calls with the Federal government to learn about the programs being developed to help businesses and Canadians. We are also in communication with many partners in the co-operative and mutual sector who keep us informed of their efforts to reduce the impact of this crisis..

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Information on sources of support during the pandemic, hosting a virtual AGM, managing employees working from home, and more.

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These are unprecedented, and unpredictable, times. The coronavirus, or COVID-19, has wreaked havoc on everyone’s plans for in-person workshops, conferences, trainings, and other programs. By all accounts, we will need to be practicing social distancing for some time. Now, in order to keep our work and causes moving forward, many of us will need to unexpectedly adapt our sessions (workshops, conferences, trainings, and more) to digital settings using video conferencing and other tools

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It’s time to make the profit-maximizing, shareholder-controlled corporation obsolete. In the perilous moment we face, with the crises of the climate emergency and spiralling inequality, the time is up on corporations acting as though serving financial shareholders is their highest duty.

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Incorporation can be intimidating and expensive. But it doesn't have to be.

For as low as $400 — a price that simply covers government fees and a small admin charge — we can take care of the paperwork for you.

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While most companies operating as cooperatives have shared management and ownership from the beginning, more conversions are likely as baby boomers—who own two-thirds of small businesses in the U.S.—move toward retirement.

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The Communications Officer will be in charge of the implementation of the overall communications strategy of both CICOPA and CECOP. The position covers internal and external communications throughout the use of different platforms. She/he will work under the direct supervision of the Advocacy Coordinator and Membership Coordinator, and in close cooperation with the rest of the team.

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C’est parti! La nouvelle Coopérative nationale de l’information indépendante (CN2i) a conclu mercredi ses ententes de financement. Sa transformation continue et le chantier de transition numérique demeurent sa priorité.

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