From the boardroom and from their tractors, members of Manitoba Pool Elevators watched intently this summer as their sister co-operative in Saskatchewan voted to go public. The debate had a familiar ring to it. Manitoba Pool is also struggling to prepare itself for the future.
It shared with co-op supporters across the Prairies the soul-searching and agonizing over such a fundamental shift in direction. It made many of them uneasy. In the following special report, Winnipeg-based national correspondent Laura Rance examines Manitoba Pool’s ideological and organizational mood. It is a company struggling to balance members’ demands for service, profits and local control.
