The recipient of CHF Canada’s 2018 Award for Co-operative Achievement is Bain Co-op in Toronto, Ontario for its Honour Canoe Project.
Bain Canoe crew member Crystal Walker-Habermel (pictured and featured in the award video) accepted the award on behalf of the co-op during the Annual Meeting in Victoria.
The Bain Honour Canoe is painted by Les Harper, an Indigenous artist, and filled with Indigenous healing plants. It features a marker stone acknowledging all those affected by the residential school system as exposed by the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It is a remarkable example of how one housing co-op is committing to reconciliation and an opportunity for all of us to reflect, learn and take action.
The Honour Canoe and permanent land acknowledgement will serve as a reminder of the role that non-Indigenous Canadians must play in working towards reconciliation.
CHF Canada is committed to action on Reconciliation as outlined in Resolution 3: Housing Co-ops and Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. June is National Indigenous History Month, and here are a few ways your co-op can contribute towards Reconciliation.