An Outsiders Perspective on Ukrainian Experiences with Cooperatives by

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An Outsiders Perspective on Ukrainian
Experiences with Co-operatives by

• Ian MacPherson
• Emeritus Professor of History and Director
• The British Columbia Institute for Co-operative
  Studies
• The University of Victoria
• http//web.uvic.ca/bcics

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Ukrainians to Canada

• Biggest Ukrainian immigration, 1895-1913 when
  180-200,000 arrived
• Dr. Osyp Oleskiv, visited Edmonton district as a
  guest of the immigration department in 1895 and
  wrote Pro vilni zemli (About Free Lands) and O
  emigratsii (On Emigration)
• Work of Dr Josef Oleskow, immigration agent
• Later migrations 1920s, post WWII
• More urban, settled more in Central Canada

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The Nature of the First Migration

• Ukrainian peasant society was changing markedly
  at the end of the 19th century
• Main attraction in Canada was land
• The typical Ukrainian immigrant was probably
  moderately wealthy, free of debt, owned land, and
  carried a significant amount of cash when he came
  to Canada.

Ukrainian immigrants on the streets of Edmonton,
ca. 1905.
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Settlement Patterns

• Came mostly in groups,
• Many from Galicia (Catholic)
• and Bukovynia (Orthodox)
• Settled for the most part
• in blocks
• Led by colonisation
• agents
• Parkland areas of Prairies
• and in northern Ontario
• Worked in railways, mines,
• timber as well as farming

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Parkland
burdei
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Settling
Sawa Szalapaj breaking land, Athabasca
Districtca 1929
Settlers holding a building bee for Teodor
Chruszcz Alberta, 1930
Ukrainian family, Vegreville, Alta., 1906
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Community

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Schools
Plum Ridge School, Manitoba, 1908
School, Manitoba, 1913
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Politics

• Left
• Roles in Communist, CCF, NDP
• Roy Romanow

• Right
• Roles in Conservative movements
• Ray Hnatyshyn

Ukrainian importance at local level The growing
importance of central Canadian Ukrainians The
decline of differences
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Succeeding
Bukovynian FArm

granary
house
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Art and culture

Vegreville
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Religion
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Ukrainians and the Canadian Co-operative Movement

• The Left and Right Division
• Co-operative stores
• The agricultural marketing organisations Co-op
  dairy and pools

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Ukrainian Credit Unionsin Canada

• The credit unions mainstream closed bond
• US connections
• Roles in revitalizing the Ukrainian credit unions
• Growing commonality
• Council of Ukrainian Credit Unions of Canada (14
  credit unions, 70,000 members, 1 billion in
  assets)
• But some outside and role of Ukrainians in
  community bond credit unions

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The Co-operative Movement in Ukraine

• Started in 1868
• Est. 4,000 Credit co-operatives
• Roles of co-operatives in nationalist struggles
  (e.g., Galicia, Polish period)
• Diversity of Ukrainian co-operative experience
• The Soviet misapplication, notably in rural
  collectivisation
• Unexplored impact on Canada

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Ukrainian Movement Today

• Bad name for co-op
• 1992 return to International Co-operative
  Alliance
• 1995 Statement of Identity (International
  Co-operative Alliance)
• Legislative reforms over next five years

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Consumer Movement

• 1,000,000 members 125,000 employees
• 30,000 wholesale and retail premises
• 1,500 processing premises
• Gross sales 550 million Euros
• Established academic connections Poltava
  University, Lviv Academy, 24 colleges
• Huge adaptation to market economy
• Involvement of Swedish co-operators transitions
• Is there need for more? Something else?

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Credit Unions as Co-operatives
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The Revival of Co-operative Banking
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Credit Union Distribution in Ukraine
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The Size of the Ukrainian Credit Union Movement
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Membership
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Assets
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Credit Union Business
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Canadian Assistance

• Canadian Co-operative Association
• CCA Technical assistance programmes
  1995-961996-2000 2004-2009
• World Council of Credit Unions 1994-1996
• Over 500 credit unions established, with assets
  of 500 millions euros

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Possibilities?

• Connect?
• Foster development?
• Encourage in programme
• Possible use of credit unions as sustainable
  catalysts for growth?
• Possible links to other new forms of co-ops?

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Agriculture

• An old order existscan it be helped to
  transform?
• Recent efforts focussed on providing assistance
  to farmers having own property
• TACIS project establish 50 service co-ops for
  small farmers
• Possibility of niche markets, organic foods,
  wine, processing?
• Development of export connections?

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Adam Smith, the Usual View

• Based on parts of Inquiry into the Nature and
  Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776)
• Pursuit of individual benefits creates the public
  good rational choice
• Importance of the hidden hand
• Search for the perfect market (equilibrium)
• Suspicious of the state
• Questioning of collective capital and
  communitarian approaches
• Reinforced by victory of market economy in last
  fifty years
• Importance since the crumbling of the
  centrally-planned economies

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Adam Smith, a Less Common View

• Theory of Moral Sentimentshis first book (1759)
• Importance of sentiments and a special moral
  sense
• Care of own happiness, family, friends, and
  country
• Attack on privilege and preferment
• Belief in a beneficent Providence
• The search for business forms
• Contributes to other streams of economic/ social
  thought that will stand in opposition or as a
  corrective to the strong market emphasis

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Some Key Issues

• Should the goal of society be to foster the
  perfect operation of the market place?
• How does society respond to market
  imperfections e.g., unmet needs, unacceptable
  wealth discrepancies?
• How does society meet social goals not seen or
  not met by the market? Cultural goals?

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The Social Questions

• Why amid so much wealth is there so much poverty?
• How can people most control the forces that shape
  their lives?
• How can we live ethically each day?
• How do we make this a better world for our
  children and grandchildren?

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The Co-operative Responses
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The Co-operative Identity
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Locating the Co-operative Movement
Social Economy
Market Economy
Co-operatives
Service Cost Support Structure
Price Supply Demand
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Co-operative Stewardship
Spheres of Activity
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The Complexities of Development and
Understandings
culture
class
conception
context
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The Widening Co-operative Circle

• Expansion of co-operatives worker, social,
• Uncertainties of state roles
• Negative side of globalisation
• Migrations of people
• Challenges before youth
• Potential roles for contributing to peace process

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Needs

• Understanding
• Education and training
• Development of financial capacities
• Study of operational issues
• Creation of networks

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BCICS

• Established in 2000
• Research Institute formative stages BC
  situation
• Some teaching dimensions
• Commitment to technological innovation
• Focus on Co-operative Studies
• Training of students
• Commitment to genuine partnerships

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The Social Economy

• European origins
• Structure co-operatives, mutuals, associations
• Values democracy, community concern, not
  speculative investment, education, connections
• Culturally conceptualized
• In Québec, l,économie sociale in
  English-speaking Canada, Community Economic
  Development

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The Possibilities

• Rethink what organisations like co-operatives are
  about, where and how they fit in
• Share experiences and knowledge
• Enhance community-based approaches to economic
  and social change and betterment

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BCICSs Involvementin the Social Economy

• BCICS hosts the Hub for the Social Economy
  Suite, a 15,000,000 research, activation project
  funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities
  Research Council
• Involves 300 researchers and community acteurs
  organized into six nodes across Canada
• Annie will explain more