Le 14 septembre, Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC), la plus grande coopérative de consommateurs du Canada, a annoncé dans la presse sa restructuration et, par conséquent, la vente de ses actifs et la perte de son identité coopérative. Le Conseil d’administration a pris à l’unanimité la décision de vendre MEC à Kingswood Capital Management sans en informer ses membres, qui sont plus de 5 millions. Ces derniers, qui sont propriétaires de leur coopérative, se sont immédiatement mobilisés en utilisant les réseaux sociaux et d’autres moyens de communication. Vous trouverez ci-dessous la déclaration de Bruno Roelants, le directeur général de l’ACI, qui exprime le soutien et la solidarité de notre organisation en faveur des membres de MEC (disponible en anglais). Si vous souhaitez plus d’information et si vous voulez les soutenir, vous pouvez consulter les informations suivantes disponibles en anglais and français.
To the Members-owners of the Mountain Equipment Co-operative
Vancouver
Canada
24 September 2020
Dear Members of the Mountain Equipment Co-operative,
We have been informed of the difficulties which your cooperative is encountering, and this has drawn all our attention and solidarity.
Mountain Equipment Co-operative (MEC) is one of the largest consumer cooperatives in Canada. Many of us, while visiting Canada, have been at the MEC and appreciated its extraordinary dynamism and quality. Like in any cooperative, the 5 million members and owners of the MEC need to exercise their democratic voice to shape the future of their cooperative. They need time to investigate the potential financial re-structuring that safeguards its cooperative identity and mission. It is fundamental that they exercise their rights in this critical juncture. Any decision regarding the sale and termination of the cooperative cannot be taken without the approval of the members’ assembly. Members should be able to exercise their rights to democratic member control (2nd cooperative principle) and ownership (member economic participation, 3rd cooperative principle) and seek a viable solution through cooperation among cooperatives (6th cooperative principle). As per the international definition enshrined in the ICA Statement on the Cooperative identity (1995) and in ILO Recommendation 193 (2002), cooperative members are not simply clients, but the co-owners of the cooperative enterprise that they control democratically.
Allowing the MEC to maintain its cooperative value and identity will be in the interest not only of its members-owners but also of the surrounding communities and of Canadian economy and society as a whole.
We are with you! We trust you will find the solution! Be strong!
In cooperation,
Bruno Roelants
