OTTAWA, Ontario – A new all-party caucus has been formed in this country’s capital that seeks to improve communication between parliamentarians and the credit unions that provide financial services in their home constituencies, also known as ridings.
The caucus has been welcomed by the Canadian Credit Union Association (CCUA) and the country's financial co-operatives, according to a released statement.
Government and opposition MPs said they agreed to form a caucus that will work across party lines to increase awareness of the important work that credit unions and caisses populaires do as unique players in the financial services industry. The caucus will hear from representatives of financial co-operatives and serve as a collaborative forum for MPs and Senators to work with the sector to find innovative ways to achieve economic growth and address community concerns and challenges, the organizations said.
"We are encouraged by the real interest among MPs to work closer with credit unions and with each other to better understand how our co-operative structure leads to good public policy outcomes for their constituents," said Martha Durdin, president and CEO of the CCUA in a statement. "We see this approach at work every day in strong support for small businesses and in tackling issues like financial literacy."
The founding members of the caucus are MPs Francesco Sorbara (Vaughan-Woodbridge, Liberal), Dan Albas (Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola, Conservative), Alexandre Boulerice (Rosemont -- La Petite-Patrie, New Democrat) and Elizabeth May (Saanich -- Gulf Islands, Green). The MPs have received early support from BC-based First West Credit Union, CCUA and the Desjardins Group of caisses populaires.
While similar all-party groups have been created for other sectors, this is believed to be the first such caucus dedicated exclusively to credit unions at the federal level. The founding meeting of the caucus took place on Tuesday. A future meeting is being planned.