The Centre d'avancement et de leadership en développement économique communautaire de la Huronie (CALDECH) has the mandate to create jobs, contribute to the establishment of local businesses, ensure a francophone participation in the economy, strengthen the community's self-financing, and offer training and consultation services.

This Profile of Effective Practice is one of fifteen stories examining how innovative, community-based initiatives are using comprehensive approaches to improve social and economic conditions on a local level.

Many communities in Canada are using community economic development (CED) to successfully combat socioeconomic decline and build strong community-based organizations that contribute to citizen participation and the cultural diversity of their communities. CED refers to holistic, community-led approaches to building stronger communities.

This paper is a starting point for a discussion about the role the co-operative sector can play in assisting immigrants and refugees in Canada and the role that the immigrant and refugee community can itself play in revitalizing Canadian communities through the co-op model. The emphasis is on mutual learning and the sharing of new ideas and practices. We discuss the strengths that immigrants and refugees bring to Canada as well as the barriers they face in their goal to create new lives for themselves and their families.