Mr. Speaker, there is news and there is good news in the 1997 statistics released by Statistics Canada today.
First the news. Fewer Canadians gave money to charities in 1997. It was down 3.1% from the year before. Just under 5.3 million tax filers reported charitable deductions on their 1997 personal income tax returns. However the good news is that those who did contribute gave more, 6% more than in 1996, to the tune of $4.3 billion.
Now is the time to be generous. As all Canadians donate they should be aware that the maximum deduction limit allowed on personal income was increased to 75% of net income by the government in 1997 and compare it to the previous limit of 50%. It pays to donate more.
As we finish our holiday shopping over the next few weeks let us all remember the less fortunate and give the ultimate gift, a donation to a worthwhile charity.