Microcredit, macro gain
Cohen MacInnis was stuck. The 20-year-old real estate developer from Antigonish had several promising deals in the fire, but because of his age and limited credit history, he was finding it tough to get financing. One day while doing his personal banking at the Bergengren Credit Union in Antigonish, a staffer told him about its microcredit program.

For organic growers, defining 'local' is a challenge
Define local. Is it 100 miles or 100 kilometres? Does arrival at market within 12-36 hours of being picked count? And, if one farmer distributes produce from 12 or 100 certified organic operations within a co-operative, does that satisfy a consumer's local food stipulation?

Fish farms dangled as small-town economy boosters
Government policy and guidelines continue to thwart expansion of the fish farming industry in Northern Ontario – an industry that could help revive struggling rural and single-industry towns, aquaculture industry insiders claim. The Northern Ontario Aquaculture Association says there is “excellent potential” for slow, carefully planned expansion of the industry in the North.

Jobs will reduce suicide rates on reserves, chief says
With swagger and a shoot-from-the-lip sense of humour, Chief Clarence Louie won over a crowd of corporate leaders yesterday with his simple prescription for the problems facing Canada's aboriginals - jobs. Creating jobs and spurring economic development are the best ways to reduce the high suicide rate among aboriginal people, he said.

Thank you to all who participated in our most recent telelearning session, especially to our partners at CCEDNet, RIPESS, Économie solidaire de l'Ontario, and BALTA, as well as David Francis Thompson for his presentation! For more information, please click here:

The Social Entrepreneurial Mindset: You, too, can think like an innovator
I guess you can say that Geoff Cape knows a thing or two about social entrepreneurship. For approximately 18 years, he has led Evergreen, a national charity and social business venture with a mission of bringing communities and nature together for the benefit of both.

World Social Finance Summit 2008

Hosted by INAISE and the Caisse d'économie solidaire Desjardins Towards a global network for Social Finance
Québec, Canada 5 - 6 June 2008
Coopérative Méduse 541, De Saint-Vallier Est Québec Qc
This conference will be fully carbon neutral. The carbon emission due to transportation of delegates will be offset in a responsible carbon project.

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The March 2008 ECO-SOC INFO bulletin of the Canada Research Chair on the Social Economy is now available on its website!

To read it, click here!

• Interview with Brendan Reimer by Lindsay Kearns
  (MP3 file, 11:48 mins, 4.7 MB)

Please click on the above link to listen to the interview.

Brendan Reimer, from the website of the Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet), where Brendan is the Prairies & Northern Territories Coordinator through the Winnipeg office:

Students Sit-In at York University President's Office Demanding a No-Sweatshop Policy
Forty students have been sitting outside the Office of the President at York University since 2:00 p.m. today, demanding that the university implement a no sweatshop policy. "York University has been stalling in negotiations over a no sweatshop policy for three years," said Terrance Luscombe, a student and member of the York Sustainable Purchasing Coalition.