The venue for the Canadian Worker Co-op Federation's AGM/ Conference has been moved to downtown Vancouver, October 28th - 30th. We are very excited to announce that our keynote speaker is now confirmed: Peter Robinson, CEO of the David Suzuki Foundation and former CEO of Mountain Equipment Co-op. The theme is Worker Co-operatives and Sustainable Development. It is very fitting to hold this Conference in Vancouver, as mayor Gregor Robinson has announced that Vancouver will strive to be the "Greenest City on the Planet". The CoopZone Developers' Network will be hosting workshops in conjunction with the CWCF Conference. Incidentally, the new location will be the downtown YWCA Hotel, a full service hotel with conference facilities. The reason for the move is that Bowen Lodge by the Sea has been put up for sale. More details will be available in coming weeks.

CWCF has recently completed two research papers, each on success factors for growing the worker co-op movement. One focused on the movements in each of Italy, Spain (Mondragon) and France which have the largest and most dynamic worker co-op sectors in the world; the other on the movement here in Canada. We will be posting them on the CWCF web site within about 1 week. CWCF is grateful to the Social Economy Hub, whose funding supported this research.

In the lead-up to the UN's International Year of Co-operatives in 2012, CWCF is preparing to host a North America-wide Worker Co-op Conference in the fall of 2011, in Quebec City - bringing together worker co-operators from the US, Quebec, the rest of Canada and featuring speakers from these places, plus Europe and beyond. At the same time, there will be an international Forum on the potential of worker co-ops for succession planning and in other business conversion scenarios.  Please watch this space for more details.

As always, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.

Hazel Corcoran

CWCF Executive Director

403-276-8250 hazel@canadianworker.coop