CWCF, COOPSCO join financial services co-operative

The Co-operators, a leading co-operative provider of insurance and financial services, has expanded its membership, welcoming two new members. The Canadian Worker Co-operative Federation, and Fédération des coopératives québécoises en milieu scolaire/COOPSCO bring to 39 the number of co-operatives, credit unions and like-minded organizations that comprise the ownership group of The Co-operators Group Ltd.

The Co-operators 39 members are based in every region of the country and represent six sectors: agriculture, finance, retail/consumer, service, health, and labour.

“Our members provide important links to a number of sectors of the economy, and a variety of communities throughout the country,” says Kathy Bardswick, president and CEO of The Co-operators. “Our membership provides us an opportunity to more thoroughly understand the issues and concerns of the sectors they represent, so that we can better meet their insurance needs. The Co-operators warmly welcomes these two new members, and we look forward to forging strong and mutually beneficial relationships with them.”

Canadian Worker Co-operative Federation (CWCF) is a non-profit co-operative representing approximately 65 worker co-op members and 75 co-operative developer members across Canada. Its vision is to be a growing, cohesive network of democratically-controlled worker co-ops that provide a high quality of life and support the development of healthy and sustainable local economies based on co-operative principles.

Fédération des coopératives québécoises en milieu scolaire, operating under the banner COOPSCO, is a federation of 60 student co-ops present in the majority of post-secondary institutions and a growing number of high schools in Quebec. The co-ops have a combined membership of nearly 400,000 and are governed by a board of directors, the majority of who are students. They work together to make needed goods and services such as books, stationery, computers and food, available to students and other members of the institutions’ community.