Steve Jones, a former member of the co-op who went on to join the SaveMEC campaign, is calling for a change in the law of British Columbia province, which he says contains a loophole which allows a co-op board to sell and demutualise the business without consulting members.
In a blog post, he highlights a “single line in the BC Cooperative Association Act which I believe is the crux of the issue.” This clause states that an “association must not dispose of the whole or substantially the whole of the undertaking of the association unless the disposition is authorised by a special resolution of the members.”
But, he adds, “there is a catch. If a large company, including a co-operative, experiences financial stress, they can make a petition to the court for protection under the federal Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). The CCAA then takes priority over provincial regulations. By necessity, the CCAA gives the court significant power, including the ability to authorise a sale or disposition without shareholder approval.”
Read the rest at Co-operative News
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