In October 2010 federations from across Canada met in Ottawa to discuss the future of co-op housing.

Major topics of discussion put forward by CHF Canada were Mergers; Refinancing at The End of Operating Agreements and Subsidies; Buying Programs and how to effectively merge many programs into one major player, and Education.

Mergers: of both co-ops and federations to create an economy of scale and eliminate duplication of services:

there are approximately 90,000 units of co‐op housing operated by some 2,200 co‐op housing corporations. Each one requires:

The present scale of the sector results in a great deal of duplication, effort and expense. For example, size has an impact on vacancies. A single-unit vacancy in a 20 unit co-op has a greater impact on revenue than it would in a larger co-op.

Refinancing: recognizing that financial reinvestment will be essential for renovating and redeveloping co-op properties for the next generation of co-op members. Developing a co-operative initiative to take the lead in obtaining the best results possible from Financial Institutions when we come to leverage our properties. Continue to lobby governments and develop partnerships to lobby governments to continue subsidy programs when operating agreements end.

Buying Programs: investigate the merging of all local buying programs into a national purchasing powerhouse to get the best bang for our members buck.

Education: develop a uniform core group of educational workshops to deliver the co-operative message to co-op members in all parts of Canada. Use CHF Canada site as a one stop shop for members to access resources.