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Cooperative
The following is meant solely to help the reader understand the main features of primary regulations governing this activity, and not meant in any way to provide a legal interpretation.
Cooperative Association Act; Cooperative Association Regulation:
The cooperative Association Act and Cooperative Association Regulation govern the formation, structure and operation of co-ops in BC. Before you can carry on a business, trade or enterprise, or deliver an community service as a co-op association, you must be incorporated or registered under the Cooperative Association Act.
Incorporation provides your co-op with an independent legal status seperate from its members. An incorproated co-op is a legal entity and can enter into contracts or incur debt in its own name. As a separate legal entity, a cooperative possesses many of the ligal rights and obligations of an individual.
The Cooperative Assoceiation Regulation contains additional requirements not contained in the act and is equally binding legislation. Its schedules include the current fees at the Corproate Registyr, offer a set of model Rules of Association and outline the forms required under the Cooperative Association Act.
Download a Guide to Incorporating a Cooperative Association in British Columbia from http://www.fin.gov.bc.ca/registries/corppg/crcoop.htm
Types of Business Cooperatives:
The range of business cooperatives is vast and includes retail, printing and publishing, manufacturing and tourism. Virtually any type of business is a potential cooperative organization.
Worker Cooperatives
A worker cooperative is a business owned and controlled by the workers. Therefore, the worker-members have equal voting rights and share in the profits of the business. The main objective of a worker coop is to create and sustain jobs for its members. Worker coops are active in many business areas. In Canada the largest worker coop sector is in the forest industry.
Producer Cooperatives
A producer coop is a business where members work together to produce a product. These coops are likely worker coops.
Marketing or Agency Cooperatives
These are coops that are created by producers to jointly market and distribute their products including fish, agricultural products, lumber and crafts.
Consumer Cooperatives
Consumer coops provide goods to members at competitive rates. Typical consumer coops include retail goods from gas to groceries.
Direct Charge Back Cooperatives (sometimes called a buyers club)
These coops charge members a fee to underwrite the operating expenses while providing the members with goods at close to wholesale cost. Food clubs and livestock feed-buying coops are common examples of this type of cooperative.
Service Cooperatives
Service coops include a diversity of services such as tour guiding, at-home health care, transportation and funeral services. Not-for-profit service coops, such as child care, housing and health care clinics, are often created by communities to provide a lower cost alternative to existing services, or to provide services that are not available in their area or where
available service is considered inadequate.
Primary Contact:
Ministry of Finance
Financial and Corporate Sector Policy Branch
PO Box 9418 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria, BC, V8W 9V1
Tel: (250)387-1269
Fax: (250)387-9093
htt://www.fin.gov.bc.ca
http://www.fin.gov.bc.ca/registries/corppg/crcoop.htm
Business Corporations Act:
This Act provides the framework within which a legal entity (a body incorporate, a legal person, a corporation) can be created for the purpose of operating a business intended to make a profit.
This legal framework separates the liability of the company (which undertakes the business operation) from the personal liability of its members (shareholders). The influence of a shareholder on the management of the company is dependent on the shareholder's relative investment in the company (proportion of total voting shares he/she owns).
The Company Act sets out how companies are created, dissolved and reorganized. It outlines the rights of company's shareholders, directors (who usually manage the business affairs of the company), and the rights of other parties. The Company Act requires companies to file certain documents at the Corporate Registry, and to make certain records available to the public.
Primary Contact:
Ministry of Finance
Financial and Corporate Sector Policy Branch
PO Box 9418 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria, BC, V8W 9V1
Tel: (250) 387-1269
Fax: (250) 387-9093
http://www.fin.gov.bc.ca
http://www.fin.gov.bc.ca/registries/transition.htm
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