Alberta Wheat Pool
My first exposure to co-operatives was the Alberta Wheat Pool. For 10 years, my farmer father was the local Pool delegate. Once a year, he went to a week-long convention in Calgary to cast his vote for various Wheat Pool directives.
The Alberta Wheat Pool (as well as the Saskatchewan and Manitoba Wheat Pools) were farmer-owned co-operatives created in the 1920s. Previously, the private grain companies used their monopoly positions to take advantage of lower bargaining position of the many independent farmers. In other words, the farmers were kept poor because they had limited options to sell their grain. Many prairie farmers united to form their own grain companies: The Wheat Pools. The three Pools probably handled half the grain in Western Canada.
Circa 2000, the three Pools underwent some reorganization and privatization. There is no longer any co-operative movement for western Canadian grain. Today’s farmers have other options if the grain companies get too greedy.
Co-operators Insurance
My parents used a co-op for their insurance. I got my first car when I was 16, and I got my first insurance with “The Co-operators.” When I grew my own wings, I went to another insurance company, probably just to annoy my parents.
About 25 years ago, I had a sudden rate increase in my auto insurance premiums. I shopped around to a few insurance agencies to get quotes. The Co-operators could not help me. But one insurance agency was able to look at my great driving record more than the new standards for issuing insurance. I have been with this firm ever since.
The Co-operators is still going today.
Mutual Life of Canada
When I was about 30, I bought a life insurance policy with Mutual Life of Canada. The company was supposedly owned by the policyholders, but I never figured out how this co-op worked.
Mutual Life was privatized to Clarica Life, which was later sold to Sun Life. I still have the original life insurance policy from the co-op days. Several agents have tried to get me to change to a modern policy. But I’m not seeing any advantages.
Calgary Co-op Foods
The City of Calgary has a robust retail co-op grocery chain. This Co-op has about 20 modern stores, coupled with an extensive distribution network. One of those stores was in walking distance of my Calgary apartment. I joined, and probably did half my shopping there. I never got a dividend while I lived in Calgary.
When I moved to Brooks, Alberta, I joined the co-op grocery store there. It belonged to the Calgary Co-op network. I did most of my grocery shopping at this store. I never did get a dividend. This Brooks store eventual shut down, signifying this business unit was not profitable for the co-operative.
Credit Union
In the early part of the 20th century, private banks headquartered in Central Canada treated their western Canadian customers as something to be toyed with. It’s no surprise that credit unions became popular in western Canada.
I got my first car loan with my local credit union. But for some reason, I never became a reliable customer. When the loan was paid off, my credit union account was closed. I was young.
In 1998, I decided to make a practical statement on not using corporations. So I joined my local credit union. I put $1000 down to buy “credit union shares.” Dividends have increased this fund to $4300.
Credit unions used to be local and separate legal entities. In the past 15 years, local credit unions have been merging with each other. I used to belong to the credit union in Brooks, but now I belong to a credit union based in Southern Alberta. Soon Southern Alberta will merge with Northern Alberta.
I’m not sure the reason for these mergers. I hope these mergers are not designed to eventually take the credit unions to the private sphere.
Co-Op Fuels
I took my rely-less-on-corporations stand to Co-op Fuels. In 2000, I joined my local Co-op fuel station. It was a local legal entity, buying its fuel from a Co-op refinery in Regina, Saskatchewan.
I do get a dividend, but the calculation is a bit convoluted. I get about 5% of my fuel payments back as a dividend.
Like the credit unions, these local fuel co-ops have been merging. I believe the legal entity now encompasses southeastern Alberta — and includes both fuel and foods. Again, I hope this is not a precursor to eventual private ownership.
I’m a Co-op Fan
I will move my consumer decisions toward co-ops when practical.
For example, there is public/private partnership between the City of Brooks and a fibre-optic company. New fibre optic cable is being installed throughout the city. We will be getting top-notch internet connection soon. This is not a true co-op because the profits go to the City of Brooks. But I will still switch when the network is ready.
When I’m in a conversation where the topic comes up about the insane profits of Big Oil, Big Banks, and Big Food, I can only say: “If you don’t like those profits, then join my co-ops.” Too many people don’t like that answer.
Part of belonging to a co-op is accepting that sometimes the co-ops are not profitable. Sometimes we need to pay a little more to keep the co-op viable. Too many people do not like this social responsibility.
These days, the major Canadian food retailers are making record profits. I doubt this was a deliberate and successful attempt at collusion to gouge the public. Rather, it is just some business fluke as the managers changed their business matrix to anticipate supply chain disruptions & higher inflation. They somehow got lucky with increasing profits while retaining customers.
Instead of letting market forces take their natural course, the Canadian government is setting up inquiries and commissions to challenge the profits of food retail chains. To my thinking, a better solution would be for consumers to shift their allegiance to the co-operative food outlets. If co-ops have bigger volume, they could reduce prices. If they don’t reduce prices, then the co-op members would get the excess profits. So simple!
In these days of record profits in the Canadian grocery industry, the Calgary Co-op says it will be shutting down two grocery stores in Calgary. What gives?
Beyond the Co-operative Model
All the co-ops I have described are all customer-based co-ops. That means the profits go back to the customers.
Many new style co-ops are known as worker co-operatives. This means the workers share the profits. I don’t have much experience with these entities.
I would like to take the co-operative concept to a higher level. I have a co-op idea where profits are shared between:
1. investors,
2. workers,
3. customers,
4. suppliers, and
5. philanthropy.
In other words, the profits of one business affect the profits of other businesses. All sorts of business entities would be connected to each other, which should induce more interesting synergy.
At this point, I believe I have fleshed out most of the structure of this co-operative system. Unfortunately, all the ideas are still only in my head; nothing has been put in my computer. And I need to do some mathematical simulations to show how one company’s profit moves across other companies to keeping all industries viable.
Income Protection Co-operative
And I have another social engineering idea that could be put into a co-operative.
I have a self-sustaining income protection plan. Basically, I have taken away the fragile balance between premiums and benefits that insurance companies have to manage to remain financially solvent.
In my plan, various forms of income disruption — like unemployment, disability, old age, et al — will be covered under one umbrella. It allows consumers to build plans that suit their own self-interest, yet that self-interest helps keep the various sub-funds remain viable.
Similarities between Co-ops and my Alternative Democracy
Going back to the Alberta Wheat Pool, I think it’s safe to say that this movement was not started by businesspeople. Average farmers of the 1920s had to put some effort into this co-operative. This included going to meetings, with a few farmers taking on leadership roles. It also meant many farmers committing to selling their grain to the co-op in its formative years. In those days, there was no guarantee of success. And the Alberta Wheat Pool did face several financial challenges. Yet the farmers kept up their commitment. Their alternative was the private grain companies, who did not treat the farmers well.
In a like manner, the building of Tiered Democratic Governance (TDG) will be done by average citizens. Their drive is that the current political system is not working for them, and maybe this TDG has some promise. Is it not better to try out this system than to watch democracy sink lower?
But it seems we in the 21st century have lost that spirit to try new types of social engineering.
Published on Medium 2023
Toto, I feel we aren't in the 1960s anymore
Be the example you want our politicians to be
