The Social Economy and immigrants, refugees and cultural communities

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The Social Economy and immigrants, refugees and
cultural communities

• Metropolis Calgary March 2009
• Annie McKitrick

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Presentation agenda

• Introductions and agenda
• The Social Economy in Canada and Internationally
• A Perspective from British Columbia
• A Perspective from Manitoba and ICAN
• A Perspective from Québec
• The Co-operative Experience
• Summary

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Goals for the Workshop

• Introduction of the Social Economy as an
  innovative way of answering the question of
  ethical wealth production and distribution in
  Canada.
• Highlighting the use of the Social Economy by
  immigrants, refugees and cultural communities.
• Discussion of collaborative research regarding
  ways in which the Social Economy has helped to
  achieve successful integration by immigrants,
  refugees and cultural communities.

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The Canadian Social Economy Research Partnerships
Consists of

• Six regional nodes and a national hub bringing
  together community activists and academics from
  79 universities (Canadian and International) and
  15 academic disciplines.
• Partnerships with 140 organizations.
• Funding for publications, international
  collaboration, graduate student research, faculty
  time release for curriculum development,
  web-based learning tools, public policy
  development and conference presentations.
• The Social Sciences Humanities Research
  Council provided funding over five years for the
  Hub and the regional nodes

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CSEHub Organisation
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Background

• Immigrants and refugees face two major
  challenges social integration and economic
  security.
• Under-employment in low-paying,
  physically-demanding work can further isolate
  newcomers to Canada.
• With limited resources, and the stress of finding
  enough employment to meet the needs of their
  families, few immigrants have the time and the
  energy to develop social networks beyond their
  immediate families or ethno-cultural communities.
  
• Breaking the circle of isolated employment and
  lack of self-esteem due to the underemployment is
  an important aspect of economic security.

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What is meant by Social Economy"

• The best way to illustrate the Social Economy is
  to use the example of the group that manufactured
  the bags for the 2007 Metropolis conference in
  Toronto This was HAWEEN Enterprises Inc., a
  social enterprise of the Somali Women's
  Children's Support Network.

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Haween Enterprises Inc.

• Haween Enterprise is a division of the Somali
  Women and Children's Support Network. The main
  goal of Haween is to increase employment
  opportunities and work experience for both Somali
  and other immigrant women, through provision of
  services to the textile industry, manufactures
  and private companies. The social support
  component of Haween includes increasing
• life skills,
• leadership skills,
• social networks, and
• the capacity to integrate into Canadian Society.

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Another example Malalay Afghan Womens Sewing
and Crafts Co-operative

• Malalay is a grass-roots community economic
  development enterprise started in 2003 by the
  Afghan community in partnership with Immigrant
  Services Society of British Columbia.
• They now have a workshop and machines, and are
  developing as well as marketing products.
• The women participate in weekly meetings about
  the business and are supported by ESL classes,
  translation, childcare as they develop leadership
  skills and begin to earn income.
• The women manage the business and collectively
  make decisions.

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What is the Social Economy?

• Very prominent in Québec
• Sometimes referred as Community Economic
  Development (CED) in anglophone Canada
• Has strong European roots
• Known in some parts of the world as the Social
  and Solidarity Economy

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A Definition of the Social Economy

• The Social Economy consists of association-based
  economic initiatives founded on values of
• Service to members of community rather than
  generating profits
• Autonomous management (not government or market
  controlled)
• Democratic decision making
• Primacy of persons and work over capital
• Based on principles of participation,
  empowerment.
• The Social Economy includes social assets
  (housing, childcare, etc.) social enterprises
  including co-operatives, credit unions, equity
  and debt capital for community investment, social
  purpose businesses, community training and skills
  development, integrated social and economic
  planning and capacity building and community
  empowerment. The Social Economy is a continuum
  that goes from the one end of totally voluntary
  organizations to the other end where the economic
  activity (social enterprise) blurs the line with
  the private sector.
• From the CCEDNet National Policy Council
• Based on the definition from the Chantier de
  léconomie sociale

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Other aspects of the Social Economy

• The Social Economy is being created by community
  organizations (co-operatives and non-profits and
  social enterprises) that generate both social and
  economic benefits, bringing entrepreneurship and
  social goals together in new forms of social
  innovation.
• Not a substitute for social programs or a quick
  fix for cutbacks in community services, but a
  long term strategy for development of community
  social and economic self sufficiency.

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Key Definitional Indicators
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Values 1. Service to Community / Primacy of
persons over profit provides goods and services
for the public interest or to members, not a tool
in the service of capital investment 2.
Empowerment transformation of individuals or
communities, to become more invested with power
and authority however defined. 3. Civic
Engagement / Active Citizenry / Volunteer
Association concept of investing
(non-monetarily) and active participation in
ones community. 4. Social and Economic values
and mission the set of values and overarching
mission of Social Economy acteurs and
organizations are both social and economic in
scope.
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Characteristics / Structure 5. Profit
(re)distribution limited or prohibited
distribution of profits to members or invested
back into the business, limited return on
capital, not publicly-traded or available for
purchase in the sense of the capital economic
model. 6. Autonomous Management / Collective
ownership self-management by members or
communities, no one individual holds ownership
over the organization. 7. Democratic governance
and decision-making refers theoretically to the
principle of one member/person, one vote (not
one share, one vote). 8. Third sector /
Self-governing Sector a middle way that
operates for the most part operates between the
public and private sectors, and is governed by
neither sector.
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Approaches to the SE

• Reformist - Prioritizes market functions of SE
  over social change.
• Transformative - Empowerment of individuals and
  communities, and collective enterprise/action
  focus
• Inclusive - Bridging concept for organizations
  that have social objectives and generate some
  economic value.

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The Social Economy and Immigrants/Refugees -
Recent Developments

• Funding has been made available for development
  of co-operatives by immigrants and refugees
  through the Co-operatives Development Initiative
  of the federal government.
• CCEDNet has taken the lead to form a network of
  immigrants and refugees (ICAN) providing
  leadership in Co-op and Social Enterprise
  development.
• A book on best practices in co-op development
  included a chapter by Melanie Conn and Gulalai
  Habib who worked on developing the Afghan Co-op
  in BC.
• The Manitoba provincial government is funding
  enterprise development in immigrant/refugee
  communities.
• There are also a number of micro-loan programs
  and other funders who are providing support and
  funds to the settlement sector for development of
  enterprises.

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Some challenges in moving toward the development
of SE organizations

• Settlement agencies are usually divided between
  settlement and employment training /ESL
  departments. Creating social enterprises or
  incubating co-operatives does not fit in
  naturally within either department.
• Unlike typical employment programs, Social
  Economy approaches do not fit in easily with the
  traditional funding-based programs.
• Immigrants/refugees on social assistance face
  challenges as they get involved in Social Economy
  organizations due to the restrictions on earnings
  imposed.
• Practitioners must be trained and orientated to
  Social Economy approaches and practices.
• There is potential for co-operative development
  among immigrants and refugees but they must be
  supported beyond the initial formation stages.

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Promising Emerging Practices

• The entreprises dinsertion
• Worker co-operatives
• Social Enterprises with close ties to parent
  immigrant settlement agencies

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Key Research Questions

• What is the perception of immigrants, refugees
  and members of cultural communities of the Social
  Economy (co-operatives, mutuals, social
  enterprises, not for profits)?
• What is their involvement in the Social Economy
  (as volunteers, members, workers, users,
  entrepreneurs)?
• Are they using the Social Economy as a way to
  develop their communities?
• Do they only see the market or the state as
  providing opportunities?
• Are they able to use the Social Economy framework
  as opportunities appear?
• Is social entrepreneurship present in the
  immigrant, refugees and cultural communities
  population and to what extend?

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Key Research Questions, cont.

• What is the role that the Social Economy plays in
  the social, political and economical integration
  of immigrants? What role could it play?
• What are the barriers to accessing information
  about Social Economy resources by immigrants,
  refugees and members of cultural communities?
• What is the role that mutual aid organizations
  have and are playing in the settlement of
  immigrants, refugees and members of cultural
  communities?
• What is the role of immigrant settlement agencies
  in Social Economy activities?
• What public policies can play a role to
  facilitate the bridging between the Social
  Economy and immigrants, refugees or members of
  cultural communities?
• Do such policies exist in other countries that
  are receiving immigrants, or refugees?
• Should public policies do more, and if so, what
  kind of programs could be developed?

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PROPOSITION De Jean-Marc Fontan, ARUC/UQAM

• Nous proposons la tenue dune activité spéciale
  lors du prochain colloque Métropolis qui se
  tiendra à Montréal en 2010. Une activité qui se
  ferait conjointement avec CCRPES et Métropolis
  afin
• De sensibiliser les parties concernées à
  limportance de la recherche sur le thème de
  léconomie sociale et des populations issues de
  limmigration
• De faire le point sur létat davancement des
  connaissances au niveau canadien et mondial sur
  ce thème

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For More Information, Please Visit www.socialecon
omyhub.ca