Co-operatives and mutuals in Quebec have developed a strategic plan to create and maintain 20,000 jobs by 2020. The plan was adopted on 12 March at the yearly meeting of Quebec’s Council of Co-operation and Mutuality (CQCM).
Set up 75 years ago, CQCM is an umbrella organisation for co-operatives and mutuals in the region, serving over 3,000 businesses with 8.8m members. The strategic plan was designed to provide co-operatives and mutuals a common vision for growth, sound financial management, innovation and performance.
To achieve these goals, the plan relies on the contribution of large co-operatives and strengthening small and medium-sized co-operatives. CCMQ envisions a particularly important role for new and existing co-operatives providing services to people in sectors such as health, housing, funeral and pharmacy, in partnership with provincial governments, regions and municipalities.
Another strategic orientation of CQCM is to develop promising partnerships. In that respect, the organisation aims to strengthen even further the partnership with the government of Quebec, as well as with the different regions and municipalities.
The plan mentions that creating a more favorable legal framework for co-operatives could also increase their efficiency. CQCM also seeks to pool expertise and establish a large inter-co-operative project to share the networks’ strengths.
"Our Strategic Plan for Quebec's Co-operative and Mutualist Networks: Looking to 2020 was drafted to support the economic and social momentum of members, communities and all of Quebec by creating and maintaining 20,000 jobs by 2020, 5,000 of which will be in Montreal. It suggests the co-operative and mutualist model as a way to meet Quebec's socio-economic needs, particularly regarding land occupancy,” said Monique Leroux, chair of the Council and president and chief executive of Desjardins Group.
Also present at the launch of the plan, Minister of Economy, Innovation and Exports, Jacques Daoust, said: "Quebec's co-operatives and mutuals are major partners to our government who offer a vision for our province's economic development. We are most pleased by this strategic plan, which is indeed a driving force in entrepreneurship and an effective economic leverage for Quebec".
The government of Quebec is looking at renewing a partnership agreement with CQCM to support co-operative and mutualist networks in reaching the strategic plan’s objectives, particularly creating jobs. CQCM member businesses employ nearly 99,000 people, registering CAD $34bn in sales and managing CAD $246bn in assets.
CQCM’s strategic plan is available online (in French).
