Successes achieved

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As Saskatchewan celebrates Co-op Week Oct. 15 to Oct. 23, a case study that has focused on the benefits of Aboriginal co-ops is coming to a finish.

"It's part of a larger study we're just completing. We've tried to pull together a comprehensive overview of co-operatives in Aboriginal communities in Canada," said Dr. Lou Hammond Ketilson, who is heading the project through the Canadian Co-operative Association and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.

The purpose of the study is to gather a comprehensive overview of what role Aboriginal co-operatives play on and off reserve.

"We have 11 case studies that have been completed that are all quite diverse examples of the way co-operatives have been used for economic and social development," said Ketilson. "Some are large urban settings within inner cities that are very successful."

The co-operatives that Ketilson has studied vary from housing co-ops to food and fishing co-ops.

One case study is the Stanley Mission Cooperative in northern Saskatchewan, which is part of the La Ronge First Nation.

"They are quite well established as far as the size of the co-op itself. They are working on a brand new building and cover a full range of services," said Ketilson. "They also run a gas bar, restaurant, groceries, hardware, sporting goods, clothing, housewares and so on. It's a very successful co-op that benefits the community and they get a lot of traffic through there."

Ketilson feels Stanley Mission Cooperative is an excellent example of the role co-operatives can play in assisting in the development of infrastructure in more remote rural areas.

As Saskatchewan prepares for Co-op Week, the province has plenty to be happy about, said Glenn Bohay, human resources co-ordinator for The Co-operators in Regina.

"Co-op Week is to celebrate all the different cooperative sectors and that philosophy," said Bohay. "A number of different organizations will do different things depending on the group. We try to promote staff to understand what it means to be a co-operative organization during the week and celebrate that."