Frank Wheeler is the President of CHF Canada’s Board of Directors. Tim Ross is CHF Canada’s Executive Director.
Dear Friends,
We have been very busy setting in motion the agenda you chose for Canada’s co-op housing movement last year. And we couldn’t be happier, because it is truly an excellent set of goals!
Last year at CHF Canada’s 50th annual meeting in Victoria, BC, you endorsed a shared vision for the future of Canada’s co-op housing movement under the banner of “Co-op Housing for All”.
The process leading to this decision started in 2016, as we foresaw big changes in the needs and circumstances of Canadas’s housing co-ops. CHF Canada worked with regional federations on a resolution adopted by members to initiate a dialogue with members about the future success and growth of our movement. This led to nationwide surveys, consultations and – in 2018 – a Vision Summit.
In 2018, you approved the resulting Vision Framework. It has three pillars: sustainability, identity and growth. Since then, we’ve been working on many fronts to best serve the vision. This included a new strategic plan and changes to our organizational structure, staff roles and responsibilities.
It has also included a review of CHF Canada’s governance initiated by the Board and Ontario Council. This has led to a 2019 resolution to reorganize our governance structure to better oversee our progress on the vision.
While this work goes on, CHF Canada’s dedicated staff continue to provide outstanding member service, including education, advice and advocacy, and customized affordable services like insurance, asset planning and financing.
It’s essential that we lay the right foundation for these new initiatives. Proper preparation, research and resourcing are vital if we’re truly going to make significant progress on new growth and development. This includes making the public more aware of the co-op housing option.
Let’s all get behind our shared vision so we can achieve our goals. Let’s reach out to make new partners and allies as we have done with the Community Housing Transformation Centre – one of our most notable recent achievements – which will invest $68.6 million into capacity building for housing providers and organizations, including co-ops.
We’re not just doing this for the sake of making co-op housing a more long-lasting, popular and mainstream option. We’re doing it because there is a real need across the country for a housing option that is affordable, self-reliant, community driven and embraces the strength of diversity. That is what co-operative housing provides better than any other model.
We hope you are as inspired and ready as we are to fully engage in this shared vision.