The impact of retail co-operation amalgamations in western Canada

Information and the expertise about financial products C E N T R E F O R T H E S T U D Y O F C O - O P E R A T I V E S R E T A I L C O - O P A M A L G A M A T I O N S I N W E S T E R N C A N A D A 5 can easily be delivered over the phone or on the Internet. [...] C E N T R E F O R T H E S T U D Y O F C O - O P E R A T I V E S R E T A I L C O - O P A M A L G A M A T I O N S I N W E S T E R N C A N A D A 1 1 PO T E N T I A L IM P A C T S O F AM A L G A M A T I O N S MA N Y. O F. T H E. I M P A C T S. O F. A M A L G A M A T I O N S on business operations can be inferred from the motivations. [...] In a smaller independent co-op, the hierarchy may con- sist only of the staff and the general manager; in a larger multibranch co-operative, the staff would report to the branch manager, who then reports to the operations manager at head office, who is accountable to the general manager. [...] The members took the dis- pute to court, where the judge ruled in favour of the board and management, explaining that the board was acting in the best interests of the co-operative. [...] In addition, the judge concluded that the 68 members who voted to keep the branch open could not be con- sidered as representative of the will of the more than 10,000 members of the entire co-opera- tive.