Human Resources committee  It's a difficult question to answer, but I've had a bit more time than Madame Campeau to think about it. I think it comes down to breaking down silos. It's community building. We all live, at various stages of our lives.... We're going to school or living a career life, or we're older and in a long-term care home or seniors' residence.

Human Resources committee  I know this is kind of the witnesses' most popular answer, but it's funding. We are partners in making society work. We weave the social fabric. That's not just volunteer centres; it's all the charities and non-profits that work in your communities. The mechanisms that are in place right now are just crippling in terms of us doing our best work and having the biggest impact.

Human Resources committee  That's right. When we talk about members, most of the time we're talking about our organizational members. There are, more or less, 1,400 charities in Ottawa. About 300 of them access our services directly. Many more use them indirectly, as well. They pay a membership fee to have access to our recruitment platform, our matching platform, our education programming and all of the events we hold.

Human Resources committee  That training for non-profit staff is a big part of what we do. Obviously, training people who are very new in their careers and new to working in charities or volunteer management is a big part of what we're doing. We go more broadly than that. We're offering training in governance—how decision-making processes work in not-for-profit organizations.

Human Resources committee  Actually, I heard about it when I listened to the testimony from Monday, but I'm not familiar with it myself. I can confirm that it is a real barrier or choke point for the volunteers and for the organizations. There are a number of different dimensions to that. It's a risk management process for the organizations in terms of making sure that the people they are engaging as volunteers can interact with the vulnerable people they work with.

Human Resources committee  Yes. Thank you very much for that question. It's a really important and fundamental question. I think the charitable and non-profit sectors in Canada should be seen and perceived as partners to government. We're helping to deliver services and programs to fill gaps and to respond to local needs.

Human Resources committee  It's an interesting question, and it's one that I reflected on even in preparing for this, because I don't think about intergenerational volunteering as being something very distinct. There are many collisions and meetings that happen around volunteering, and they all need to be carefully curated and attended to in order to make sure that people have what they need in order to come together successfully.

Human Resources committee  Data is a very important one, to understand the dynamics. I mentioned that the city of Ottawa has over a million people in it, and there's a lot of variety throughout the community. Older people are not a homogenous group. There are a lot of differences in terms of language, cultural background and ability to participate in activities.

Human Resources committee  A couple of examples might illustrate. There's a group here in Ottawa called the Ottawa Network for Education, which provides a lot of tutoring and support to students in school. Of course, a lot of seniors are doing that. A lot of that is done virtually now, and it's done through a tablet or through a computer, so it crosses that digital divide.

Human Resources committee  The costs of services and of providing that kind of environment to work in affect every aspect of our operations.

Human Resources committee  Thank you very much. That's a welcome question. I mentioned two of the projects we're working on right now: one to attract youth and the other to recruit seniors. In both cases, we're talking to people who can tell us what it is about volunteering that appeals to them and the barriers to their volunteering, to help us design a campaign that is going to speak to those things.

Human Resources committee  I think there's no one who doesn't recognize that the cost of living impacts all aspects of our lives. A couple of ways in which we've really seen and felt that in the work we're doing are with respect to the related impact on the labour market. There has been lower unemployment than we've seen in a long time.

Human Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to appear today. Thank you for highlighting the value and importance of volunteerism. My name is Christine Trauttmansdorff, and I am the executive director of Volunteer Ottawa or Bénévoles Ottawa. Volunteer Ottawa is a charitable organization that has been promoting, supporting and celebrating volunteering for over 65 years.