Winners of 2023 CMC Awards announced

OTTAWA- Cooperatives and Mutuals Canada [CMC] has announced the winners of the annual CMC Awards for 2023. Each year, CMC honours individuals and organisations working in the Canadian cooperative and mutual sector to recognise their outstanding contribution to the sector.

However, for the 2023 awards, CMC created two brand new awards to reflect the ongoing shifts within the sector, highlighting its commitment to JEDI [Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion] and environmental priorities. All winners were announced Wednesday during the gala dinner at the annual CMC Congress, held in Ottawa, Canada.

“It has truly been an incredible year for our sector and these winners are some of the amazing individuals leading the way,” said John Kay, president of the CMC board of directors.

He added: “As we move towards a more inclusive, just, equitable, diverse, and sustainable sector, it is important to highlight the work that has already been done while recognizing that this is just the beginning. Let us celebrate the hard work, dedication and acknowledge the ongoing success of the Canadian co-operatives and mutuals from coast to coast.”

According to Kay, the winners are carefully chosen by members of the CMC Awards Committee. The committee reviews all applications which were submitted by CMC’s member co-operatives and mutuals.

Here are the 2023 winners:

Cooperator of the year award: Stéphane Trottier

The CMC Cooperator of the Year Award honours individuals who have contributed outstanding efforts to the cause and the development of cooperative and/or mutual enterprises. This award provides recognition to an individual who has contributed in especially significant ways to promoting, developing, or uniting cooperatives and/or mutuals in Canada and/or internationally.

 Stéphane Trottier is an accomplished leader in the cooperative sector and a true ambassador of intercooperation. He was the first chairman of the board of directors of the Caisse Desjardins Ontario and the architect of the Desjardins movement’s largest merger project, which aimed to bring together the 11 Ontario caisses populaires and its federation in 2020.

He set up liaison committees made up of members and former directors of the 11 caisses to ensure that the voice of members and customers was heard. He was the first President of Caisse Desjardins Ontario and has held a number of other key positions, including Vice-President of the Desjardins Group Retirement Plan, Director of Desjardins Group, Desjardins Group representative to Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada, member of the Risk Management Commission and President of Caisse populaire Trillium.

Trottier has been a director for over 25 years. His passion for community service and representing members’ interests has been recognized on several occasions. In 2021, he received the Business Leader of the Year Award from the Capital Region Business Association, and in 2022, he received the Long-Term Service Award from the Director’s Forum.

Trottier is a proud, accomplished, committed and passionate individual whose leadership and contributions are a testament to the power of cooperatives and mutuals. His commitment, innovation and dedication have contributed to the success of Caisse Desjardins Ontario.

Young Co-operator of the year Award: Kristen Murray

The CMC Young Cooperator of the Year Award honours individuals of 35 years of age or less who have contributed outstanding efforts to the cause and the development of cooperative and/or mutual enterprises. This award provides recognition to an individual who has contributed in especially significant ways to promoting, developing, or uniting cooperatives and/or mutuals in Canada and/or internationally.

Kristen Murray is a community leader and social entrepreneur from St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador [NL]. She holds the degrees of Bachelor of Commerce and Master of Business Administration in Social Enterprise & Entrepreneurship [MBA-SEE] from Memorial University of Newfoundland. Kristen is currently the Project Specialist at the NL Federation of Cooperatives [NLFC], leading the development of a new cooperative incubator program and is also enrolled in CoopZone’s Cooperative Developer Training Programme.

She was the 2022 recipient of the Lemaire Cooperative Studies Award from the Canadian Association for Studies in Cooperation and a 2023 Co-operators Young Leaders Award recipient. Kristen was recently appointed to Canada’s Emerging Cooperators advisory committee and also sits on both the Inspiring Communities Atlantic Changemakers Council and the NL Social Innovation Coalition.

Small Cooperative of the year Award: Radish Cooperative

The Small Cooperative of the Year Award honours Canadian cooperative and/or mutual organisations that have made significant contributions to cooperatives and/or mutuals in Canada and/or internationally.

Radish is a restaurant food delivery and technology co-operative that is owned and operated by its restaurant, employee, and consumer members. Founded in 2020 in Montreal, it boasts over 140 merchants on its platform, and employs over 20 people. Its mission is to mutualize the technical needs of the restaurant industry.

large Cooperative of the year Award: Cooperative Housing Federation of Canada

The Large Cooperative of the Year Award honours Canadian cooperative and/or mutual organisations that have made significant contributions to co‐operatives and/or mutuals in Canada and/or internationally.

The mission of the Cooperative Housing Federation of Canada [CHF Canada] is to inspire, represent and serve our members in a united cooperative housing movement. CHF Canada is the national voice of cooperative housing, representing 2,200 housing co-operatives, home to a quarter of a million people in every province and territory.

Cooperative housing is a well-documented success story.

For over 50 years, co-ops have provided good-quality, affordable housing owned and managed by the community members who live there.

Environmental Initiative of the year Award: Sustainable Solutions Group

The CMC Environmental Initiative of the Year Award honours Canadian cooperative and/or mutual organisations that have made a significant contribution, through a project or the implementation of new practices, to reducing their environmental footprint.

SSG is an award-winning climate action planning firm. They create state-of-art climate mitigation and adaptation plans for municipalities, governments, organisations, and campuses to create decarbonised, healthy, equitable communities.

As SSG, they began their work in 2001 in Canada, where they’ve modelled low-carbon futures for more than 40 percent of the population. SSG now works in the US, Latin America, and beyond. They have helped over 100 municipalities and organizations respond to climate change through a combination of equitable community engagement and evidence-based energy, emissions, land-use, and financial modelling.

As a worker cooperative, they prioritise providing meaningful work for their member-owners and demonstrate how a democratic business model can thrive.

JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) Initiative of the year Award: Canadian Worker Cooperative Federation

CMC’s JEDI [Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion] of the Year Award honours Canadian cooperative and/or mutual organisations that have made a significant contribution to integrating notions of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion into their practices, their organisation and their community.

 The Canadian Worker Cooperative Federation [CWCF], incorporated in 1992, is a national, bilingual grassroots membership organisation of and for worker co-operatives, related types of cooperatives [multi-stakeholder coops with substantial worker control, and worker-shareholder coops], and organisations that support the growth and development of worker cooperatives.

CWCF’s vision is to be a growing, cohesive network of democratically controlled worker coops that provide a high quality of work-life balance, and support the development of healthy, just and sustainable local economies, based on cooperative values and principles.

CWCF works for the development and expansion of businesses organized according to the coop principles and the principles of worker ownership and control, and to promote the ideals of democracy in the workplace.

CWCF seeks to provide leadership and a voice for worker coops throughout Canada by creating and developing resources, supports and represents the interests of worker coops to the coop sector, governments, other organizations, and the public.

https://thecooperator.news/chf-canada-others-urge-action-on-affordable-housing-in-alberta-election/

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