Pierre Dorval is the Chief Executive Officer of the Caisse Alliance, a credit union serving 24 communities in northeastern Ontario. Established in January 2018 through the merger of 12 independent caisse populaires, the Caisse Alliance has 54,000 members and $2 billion in financial assets.
As a member-owned financial institution, the Caisse Alliance is closer to the communities it serves than the chartered banks and more responsive to local needs. That was equally true of the independent caisse populaires prior to their merger. For example, when Kimberley-Clark decided to sell the Spruce Falls mill in Kapuskasing in 1990, the caisse extended loans of $5,000 to $15,000 to employees to complete an employee buyout of the mill.
Smaller businesses can also look to their local caisse for assistance as in the case of the threatened closure of Moonbeam’s only grocery store in 2012. Fearful of losing their only local source of groceries, community members came together with the support of the caisse to raise the necessary funds to buy it and convert it into a locally owned cooperative.
Additionally, every year, the Caisse Alliance donates $600,000 to fund projects in the communities it serves. For example, it funded a van to transport seniors to medical appointments in the Sturgeon Falls area. It made a donation to a hospice in North Bay and a youth camp in Hearst. It also contributes to hospital fundraising campaigns for diagnostic equipment.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, it contributed to a Shop Local North Program to help local businesses adapt to the restrictions imposed by public health. University students were hired to help merchants make the transition to online sales and take advantage of government support programs.
Locally-owned financial institutions, Pierre tells us in this video, understand the importance of supporting local businesses in the new retail paradigm that allows shoppers to purchase an item on Amazon and have it delivered to their home in a few days. Local businesses in Northern Ontario communities create jobs and rely on the support of local communities and financial institutions like the Caisse Alliance to survive and grow.