CHFC – Woodsworth Housing Co-operative

CHFC and CHFT, co-op organizations

Woodsworth uses the model bylaws and other resources from CHFC and we send a delegate and alternate to the annual meeting.
https://chfcanada.coop

Woodsworth members can create a login with the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada website.
https://chfcanada.coop/education-and-resources/member-access/

Woodsworth is also a member of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto. In fact, CHFT was also our developer back in the 1970’s. If members are interested in their education and training opportunities please contact Management requesting they register to you.
https://co-ophousingtoronto.coop

Election 2025: Spotlight on CHFC

The Cooperative Housing Federation of Canada (CHFC) is made up of housing co-ops, as well as the organizations that support them, from across Canada.

CHFC holds an Annual General Meeting and Conference in a different city every year. Woodsworth always sends a Delegate and Alternate to represent us.

TESTIMONIAL from Woodsworth’s all-around do-gooder, Courtland Elliott:

I have been going to CHFC AGMs since the late 80s. I originally went as a board member because our Delegate had to drop out, and I had no idea of what to expect. Turns out it was pretty much what we used to call a Love Fest back in the day, possibly because a lot of the attendees were actually old school hippies, and social activists! In the intervening 40 years, I have come to understand that Woodsworth is a very valuable member of this community. Not an AGM goes by without some other co-op benefiting from our collective wisdom, both on how we have handled issues in the past, as well as how we are structured and functioning.

That we have had a Weekly for almost 50 years continuously is more than astounding to people in other co-ops across the country and, across the world! Did you know that a lot of co-ops only have a board? And that some co-ops do not even have an office? We have a LOT to offer!

As the Delegate or Alternate, there is a certain amount of homework that’s required, which is mostly determining what workshops would best serve Woodsworth. What has worked out is for the Delegate and the Alternate to publish what the workshops are to see if there is any general clamour from the membership for the workshop material. This past year, we did not receive anything in the way of suggestions of which workshops to take.

This being said, nothing is perfect. This past season, I missed out on one workshop because I couldn’t find it, and another one really did not seem to be what I expected — it was on finance stuff and there was nothing new to be glean from it. However, I did pick up a lot of information that is being useful for the safety and security committee, some of which has already been presented in the Weekly. I want to encourage people to consider getting involved. It often seems to be the same faces, but each time that I have gone to the conference, it has been with a new person that I was able to introduce to some of the old hands and we meet new folk.

Full disclosure, because of connections made at this last AGM, I have been asked to Chair the AGM of a co-op in Georgetown — that came completely out of the blue, and I am honoured and flattered to have been asked. All the training that I have had at these conferences and elsewhere should put me in good stead for doing this.
So consider running for the CHFC positions, and you will see me on that ballot as well!

Beyond Participation: building a foundation for real member involvement

This article was published by CHF Canada in 2010. While it may be dated, it raises some interesting questions. It also influenced co-ops including Woodsworth to change their participation requirements.

BEYOND PARTICIPATION: Building a Foundation for Real Member Involvement

PART 1

The END of Participation

Hands up if you think members in your co-op don’t participate enough.

It’s a complaint often heard in housing co-ops. But co-ops have been complaining about the same thing for almost 40 years. Why haven’t we solved the problem?

Maybe it’s time to ask whether our current model of member participation in housing co-ops is working. Maybe it’s time to ask some hard questions about how much we expect from our members and whether we’re getting the results we want.

What do we mean by participation?
When co-ops talk about participation, they usually mean the obligation to do some kind of work in running the co-op.

They think of participation as contributing to the daily operation of the co-op by doing chores, joining a committee, or doing some or all of the co-op’s management.

They aren’t talking about the governance role – attending meetings and making decisions. They also don’t call it participation if you pay your housing charges on time, take care of your unit and are considerate of your neighbours.

In other words, being just the kind of person everyone wants to have living next door to them doesn’t earn you any “participation points”.

In most cases, co-ops call their members who participate “volunteers”. But it’s usually not voluntary. these tasks are required by the co-op as a condition of membership. There’s nothing voluntary about it.

Co-ops seem to think being a volunteer means not being paid.

But look in any dictionary for the word “volunteer” and you’ll find that being unpaid isn’t the main part of the definition. To “volunteer” is to do something you choose to do — to do it “voluntarily.”

What co-ops call volunteering is really a system of unpaid management. And, if that’s the case, we should ask ourselves whether we are getting the outcomes we need from that management system.

Continue reading “Beyond Participation: building a foundation for real member involvement”