Towards a citizen-based movement at the heart of the economy National Summit on a People-Centered Economy Ottawa June 30 th, 2010

An emerging reality on all continents The repeated economic crisis, the widening gaps between the rich and the poor as well as the environmental and food crisis give rise to fundamental questions on our development model In response, citizen-based action reveals itself in a variety of ways at the heart of the economy.

An entrepreneurial movement with social goals The beginnings of a citizen-based taking charge in the field of economy The social and solidarity economy emerges as a strategy for job creation and for the creation and sharing of wealth In Latin America, in some European, African and Asian countries, the social and solidarity economy is a stakeholder in the development strategies

A variety of terms Social economy Solidarity economy Community economic development Co-operatives, mutual insurance companies, associations Community enterprises Popular economy Etc.

A common reality Resulting from collective undertakings and citizen-based action Collective enterprises rooted in the local communities, producing goods and services with a social goal Managed separately from the state Primacy of persons over capital

Diverse and often contradictory realities Emphasis on an approach that is territorial and inclusive of a diversity of enterprise forms / centered on self-governed collective enterprises or democratically managed collectively controlled enterprises Stems from citizen-based movements/structured by restrictive top down governmental programs Uses existing legal forms/creates new legal structures/predominance of the informal economy Centered on microenterprises and microcredit/global view of all of the economy Supported by the social movements/supported by local development stakeholders/stimulated by government authorities In continuation/at odds with the established co-operative and mutualistic movement Integration in the dominant development model/integral part of the social transformation movement

Contributions to socioeconomic development Job creation Creation of new services Urban revitalization Rural development Social integration of marginalized or excluded populations Sustainable development Formalizing of the informal economy Transformation of international commercial methods

And in Canada? A co-operative and mutualistic movement well rooted throughout Canada Public policies that are favourable to co-operatives at the federal level and in the majority of provinces An important movement of organizations that identifies itself more as the volunteer sector rather than an entrepreneurial movement (more than 1 million jobs according to an Imagine Canada research) Public policies that are favourable to the movement of organizations or volunteer action in the majority of provinces and some federal initiatives and programs

And in Canada? For 25 years, an emerging movement of community economic development grounded in a territorial approach Public policies favourable to community economic development in some provinces (Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Quebec) and federal Community Futures Development Corporations Part of this emerging movement centered on the social enterprise, especially non- profit Innovative practices and exemplary institutions pave the way for others Emerging complicities between the various national networks – co-operative movement, community economic development, social enterprise, solidarity finance Links that are still relatively weak with the social movements

Quebec: a distinct society and an identifying movement In Quebec, an economic democratization movement is supported by a body of social movements: unions, community, feminist, environmental, cultural, co-operative This social economy movement is rooted in the territorial dynamics of rural and urban areas The social economy movement rests on collective enterprises (co-operative, non- profit, mutualistic) and supports a view of the transformation of the development model A variety of public policies have been won by the movement in favor of collective enterprise Adapted financial tools that rest on government policies and on agreements with workers’ funds A meeting place for all stakeholders: the Chantier de l’économie sociale

Quebec: a distinct society and an identifying movement In Quebec, an economic democratization movement is supported by a body of social movements: unions, community, feminist, environmental, cultural, co-operative This social economy movement is rooted in urban and rural territorial dynamics The social economy movement rests on collective enterprises (co-operative, non- profit, mutual insurance companies) and supports a view of the transformation of the development model A variety of public policies that are favourable to collective enterprises have been won by the movement but remain fragile Solidarity finance is in full bloom and supported by public policies, agreements with workers’ funds and innovation supported by the movement A meeting place for all stakeholders: the Chantier de l’économie sociale

Small steps… A movement that is still young (except for the co-operative movement) –Creation of the Chantier de l’économie sociale as a permanent structure in 1998 –Creation of the Canadian community economic development network in 1999 A network of national collaborative research partnerships: Canadian Social Economy Hub A federal co-operative development program: Co-operative Development Initiative, managed by the co-operative movement Tax incentives favourable to community economic development in Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island An investment fund for social enterprise in Edmonton controlled by stakeholders A government action plan for the social economy in Quebec as an economic initiative that involves 8 ministries Various financial tools in Quebec: Réseau d’investissement social du Québec (technical support, capital loans, prestart-up funds) and the Fiducie du Chantier de l’économie sociale ($ 52.8 million for patient capital) controlled by the movement, loan guarantees and quasi-equity loans (Investissement Québec), participation in workers’ funds (Fondaction, Fonds de solidarité) in various funding initiatives

A citizen-based movement at the heart of the Canadian economy: is it possible? The diversity of regional realities give rise to major challenges The diversity of concepts and of the vocabulary slows down the creation of an identifying movement The political context in Ottawa limits the possibilities for common action geared towards the Government of Canada But……

A citizen-based movement at the heart of the Canadian economy is possible if… The need for a common vocabulary and unifying concepts A vital condition: the rooting of practices in the communities through open and democratic organizations, institutions and networks A global view for all of the economy and not an economy for the poor The construction of a permanent space to share and act in collaboration between the various components of the movement Links in the discourse and practice with the large social movements The creation of a balance of power in favour of public policies at the municipal, provincial and federal levels The inclusion of the movement in a continental and intercontinental construction process

A contribution from Quebec to the construction of the movement: Because one is never a prophet in one’s land, join us in the preparation process for the INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON THE SOCIAL AND SOLIDARITY ECONOMY: GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES AND CIVIL SOCIETY October 17 th to 20 th, 2011 For more information: economiesocialequebec.ca