Tina Stevens is the President of CHF Canada’s Board of Directors. Tim Ross is CHF Canada’s Executive Director.
Dear co-operators:
Nearly five years have passed since CHF Canada’s 50th Anniversary Annual General Meeting where members adopted a sector vision of Co-operative Housing for All. After taking stock of our opportunities and challenges, we set our sights on building a more inclusive, sustainable and growing co-operative housing movement. We imagined a future where co-operative housing is as well known as renting or owning in Canada, and where co-op housing is a place where everyone can realize a full sense of belonging and community.
The co-operative housing sector embodies the proverb: If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together. In 2022, amid a cost-of-living and housing crisis, our calls for federal investment in a new co-op housing supply were finally answered when the federal government committed $1.5 billion to create the first co-op housing development program in thirty years.
Together, through uncertain and challenging times like the pandemic and its uneven recovery, CHF Canada put member representation and service at the heart of our mission. Through member economic participation in CHF Canada, our sector has unlocked hundreds of millions of dollars in new public and private co-op investment. We’ve helped members develop and implement plans to become more sustainable, inclusive and responsive to member needs, and we’ve sewn the seeds of co-op housing development. Together, we promoted the co-operative identity to the broader public as an important solution to the housing and climate crises. We’ve supported our members in coming together to build community during and after the pandemic, and we continue to advance diversity, equity and inclusion through member education and engagement.
Though we have much to celebrate, there is much more to come. We must see to it that the federal Co-op Housing Development Program is launched as soon as possible so that more people can find security and belonging in co-op housing. Co-ops are feeling the pinch of labour shortages in property management, so we must work together to recruit and retain the next generation of co-operative housing staff. We must continue to fight inequality and confront the climate crisis by showing leadership in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We must continue to advance Truth and Reconciliation by supporting the creation of By Indigenous, For Indigenous housing co-operatives.
None of this work is possible without our members. Our advocacy is successful because we have strong co-op members leading in their communities, guiding CHF Canada to provide good services and advice on the best way forward.
To go far, let’s go together. Let’s continue to build co-op housing for all.