TEXT OF THE STATEMENT
On October 10th 2014, the Liberal Advocate for Co-operatives, Honourable Mauril Bélanger, made the following statement in the House of Commons regarding Co-op Week:
Mr. Speaker, the first International Summit of Cooperatives was held in October 2012, in Quebec City. The second summit, which I was pleased to attend this week, from October 6 to 9, again in Quebec City, was another success. There were more than 3,000 participants from 93 countries.
Major themes were addressed, including the role of the co-operative movement in ensuring our capacity to feed humanity, keep people healthy and contribute to sustainable development. The great thing is that the summit ends on the eve of Co-op Week, which will be celebrated across Canada from October 13 to 19.
A good way for us to celebrate co-op week would be for MPs to visit co-operatives in their riding during that week.
The co-operative model has been a proven structure for more than 100 years in Canada. They greatly empower each member, resulting in a wonderful combination of business success and social responsibility, which plays an important role in the economy and in the betterment of our communities.