Louis-H. Campagna has been investing in the co-operative model since he was a child. This fire service professional began his lifelong passion for co-ops at age seven with weekly contributions to his savings account at the local credit union. In CEGEP (Quebec college), he served on the board of directors for the school supply co-op, which educated him in business governance. When it was time to look for his first home, a co-op was the obvious choice. Twenty years, many board stints and two housing co-ops later, the Quebec/Nunavut director is more invested than ever. And he’s got a vision to match his drive.
His interest stems from a pragmatism coupled with an affinity for the democratic decision-making process. “Having a say in my immediate environment is important to me. It makes sense to work with other people to meet our economic needs outside of the profit motive.”
While he applauds the recent reinvestment of the federal government in subsidized housing, Louis wants to make sure we avoid the mistakes of the past. Namely, a clear government exit strategy is required for co-ops to gain their full business autonomy while the responsibility for supporting low income households – and thus, the integrity of existing communities – remains perennially in the hands of government. A National Housing Strategy is a must-have tool for the long-term planning of safe and affordable home availability for all Canadians.
Nationally, Louis will foster increased communication between Quebec and other provinces on common issues. To further improve networking both within and between co-ops, he advocates an increased use of communication technologies like Skype, virtual document storage and social media.
He would consider the establishment of a co-operative tribunal, inspired by what exists in India and certain African countries, for example, to settle conflicts related to membership issues, when such conflict has degraded beyond the remedy of mediation. Currently in Canada, such issues are either settled at great expense by mainstream bodies not specialized in co-operative practices or find no fair arbitration and result in a weighting down of the co-operative spirit.
At the local level, Louis believes co-ops have the capacity to be models of good governance and management through education and external, independent audits. He supports a decisive turn among co-ops to become market leaders in sustainable development through an emphasis on green buildings and integrated neighborhoods. And while we’re at it, we can become models in residential fire safety, prevention and preparation.
From the co-op sector end of things, he would like to see housing co-ops expand development outside of the government program paradigm and explore alternatives such as group mortgages, collective financing and equity projects. He would also encourage the Quebec government to pick up federal slack wherever it materializes with regard to conventional rental co-ops.
Louis strives to remain educated on the development of the housing co-op sector in Northern Canada (Nunavut), where the need is so blatant. In Nunavik (Northern Quebec) especially, he keeps informed on the joint development program under consideration by partners such as the Fédération des coopératives du Nouveau-Québec, Desjardins, the Société d’habitation du Québec, and the Quebec Housing Co-op Confederation.
Since April 2015, Louis sits on the board of directors of The Co-operators, one of CHF Canada’s cherished co-operative partners, providing value-added services to our member housing co-ops and federations. Since June 2015, he also sits on the CHF Canada Risk Underwriting Fund (RUF) Administration Committee.
