Close to 90 angry co-op customers filled the Masset community hall Sunday to complain about skyrocketing prices and shortages of milk, eggs, butter and other essentials.
The crowd erupted with shouts and applause as member after member asked the board of directors why the shelves are often empty, why prices are different in the Masset and Skidegate stores, and why it's so difficult to buy supplies at the home centre.
The directors and members had gathered for the co-op's annual general meeting, held every January. But no one could remember an annual meeting that had such a heavy turnout, or given rise to so many serious complaints.
"There are a lot of things in that store that have gone up astronomically," said Lisa Coste, who told directors her grocery bill has risen about 50% in the past year. "Something has to change, or you will have a lot more people going off island to shop. I am all in favour of shopping locally, but I am starting to feel ripped off from my own co-op store."
Her comments were followed by loud applause. Members interrupted interim co-manager Ron Atwell as he offered an explanation that the supply problems were due to bad weather over Christmas, and that prices are high because it costs so much to bring freight to the islands. Several people said the problems had started well before Christmas, and that freight prices have always been high.
"I recognize we live on an island," said Fran Redick. "But we have lived here 30 years in September and we have never seen our store in the state it's in now."
Ms Redick said there has been no milk, eggs or butter for the last three weeks when she has gone shopping, and she asked why managers don't order more food when they know events like feasts or Christmas are coming up. She added that she has never before gone off-island just to shop for groceries - until this year.
"I also express my concern and dismay about the high prices," said Linda Osborne. "A 10 kilogram bag of flour costs twice as much... Does it come over on dangerous cargo or what?"
A cashier who works at the co-op told the meeting that she finally visited Bayview Market, a small independent grocery store in Port Clements, just before Christmas after hearing stories about its wonderful produce. She found beautiful healthy cauliflower at $3.29 a head, and romaine lettuce hearts at $3.57 for a bag of three - cheaper than at the co-op, and better quality.
"If a small store like Port can do it, why can we not do it here?" she asked, adding that Bayview must face exactly the same freight challenges as the Masset store. "I have a problem with everything being blamed on freight."
In response to the barrage of complaints, co-op association president Ken Rea promised that the board will be looking for ways to improve.
Shirley Kricheldorf asked why the co-op hadn't celebrated National Co-op Week in October this past year the way it usually does. The week is an opportunity for the co-op to communicate why it's important to shop locally, and appreciate its customers, she told the board.
Members immediately passed a motion directing the board to participate in co-op week this year.
Ms Kricheldorf also asked when the board plans to hire a new manager. The previous manager, Greg Baribeau, recently resigned and moved on to managing the co-op in Flin Flon, Manitoba.
Mr. Rea replied that Ron Atwell and Lori Holt are sharing the manager's position for now, and that the board wanted to wait until after the annual general meeting to hire a new manager, so that new board members could have a say.
Elections were held to fill three spots on the board. Members re-elected Mr. Rea, as well as newcomers Rollie Wheeler and Brian O'Hara. They'll replace Al Frick and Irene Oliver, who both stepped down after serving for the past 12 years.
In an unusual turn of events, Fran Redick was nominated for a board position but her name was struck from the list of candidates after the board declared she was not eligible to run. A surprised Ms Redick was informed that candidates must have bought at least $2,000 worth of goods and services from the co-op in the previous year, and she didn't meet that requirement.
Interim manager Lori Holt presented the financial statements to the members. Overall, sales were up 1.2-per cent for the year ended Sept. 30, 2002, to just over $11-million. Savings jumped 37-percent to $704,000, up from $515,000 the year before.
The bulk of the co-op's business was generated by the Masset store, which recorded $7.9-million in sales, down slightly from the previous year. Expenses were all down in Masset, and the bottom line was savings of $395,000, almost three times the previous year's savings of $133,000.
The Gwaii branch in Skidegate generated sales of $3.2-million, a six percent increase from $3-million the year before. But higher expenses led to savings of just $40,000, a sharp drop from last year's savings of $101,000.
Although Ms Holt described the 2002 results as "excellent" (the second-highest sales and savings in the last 25 years), some co-op members drew a bleaker picture from the figures.
"It's not because we're buying more, it's because we're paying more," Ms Kricheldorf said.
Indeed, the financial statements show that although sales were down in Masset, the gross margin (sales minus the cost of goods sold) was up nine per cent, meaning the co-op has been selling less stuff for more money. (In contrast, while Skidegate sales were up six per cent, the cost of goods sold was up by almost eight per cent, meaning the gross margin there rose only slightly.)