Thank you very much. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to the committee.
I'm the co-chair of the Manitoba Federation of Non-Profit Organizations, and we reflect the ideals and the challenges that are facing our sector organizations and their capacities to deliver services in community. My conversation with you is about infrastructure organizations that actually deliver service, and specifically those organizations that are focused specifically in terms of reducing, and hopefully eradicating, poverty in the long term.
We're connected to a range of networks across Canada, umbrella organizations with the same conversation about sector organizations, where they fit, and what they need to survive and be able to provide service to community. In the Manitoba context, we actually are an umbrella organization representing more than 8,000 community-based organizations. Our vision is to use our collective voice and the assets of our organizations to build and sustain healthy and thriving communities.
The national survey of nonprofit and voluntary organizations, which was completed in 2003, indicated a couple of important things that I think will set the context for this, which is about the economic contribution of the sector and how this plays out in terms of Canada.
Organizations in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and the territories reported more than $12 billion in revenue. In addition, these organized received in-kind donations of more than $154 million. Organizations in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and the territories reported 174,000 employees, which constitutes approximately 13% of the labour force in this area. Manitoba organizations reported $7.6 billion in revenue. We are economic contributors to the community and to the economy generally, and that's not often known, but it's true. You may not have placed community-based organizations in that context, as contributing to our economy, but in essence we provide 6% of GDP in Canada. Many of our community-based organizations are working in communities where poverty is a significant challenge. They provide either indirect or direct services to people living in poverty.
The presentation is about organizations in this sector, about their staff, but let me first establish some context.
In 2001 Canada signed an accord with the non-profit sector. I'm not sure most of you are aware of that, but there is an accord that from our point view is still there, and we desire for it to be operationalized at some point in time. The focus of that accord, which was signed off by the government and the sector leadership at that time, was to streamline regulations affecting the sector, enhance the knowledge of the sector, and propose a new approach to financing the sector that is sustainable and long term. And ultimately two codes of good practice were developed: on good practice on funding and on policy dialogue.
Let me be clear. This accord, signed by the Government of Canada and this sector in good faith, perhaps has failed both of us. There has absolutely been no follow-up on it, no commitments to what was stated in the accord, no application of the two codes. We believe there was a chance to collaborate and build a relationship of trust between government and the sector, and perhaps that is not necessarily true, and that is something we have to focus on.
Our organizations themselves range from culture and recreation, health and social services, to environment, to international development. There are approximately 11 subsectors of the non-profit sector known nationally and internationally. All these organizations are involved in a range of activities, and most of them are focused on people who are living in poverty. Others have talked specifically about poverty; I want to talk about infrastructure. And again, that's about the organizations, the staff, and their capacity to deliver services to community.
In a document called The Capacity to Serve and other studies that have come out since 2003, there were a number of questions asked and information provided that reflect on today's discussion. What type of external factors constrained the ability of non-profits to fulfill their missions and to meet their objectives to deliver service? What type of capacity challenges are these organizations facing now and in the future? At the same time, new ideas were brought forward, described from this research, based on the notion that there are obviously opportunities to go forward, not just necessarily to look at the problems we have to solve. New funding models that provide organizations with stability and support were proposed. New models of financial accountability were proposed. Opportunities to share infrastructure and other services were proposed. Strategies to help organizations address long-term labour market quality and quantity challenges were identified.
I do have to let you know, that seems to be the most significant element of our work across Canada. It's all about the labour market and how the non-profit sector fits into provincial and national labour market strategies, and there's some activity taking place in that area.
We knew there would be regional variations in this capacity map, but ultimately the questions that were asked were focusing on declining funding from government, which has incredible results in terms of mission drift for organizations; lack of stability; and, we believe, organizational and service loss in the long term. Yes, organizations will go under and disappear. The question is, will services be brought back to the community?
There is a need for a shift from project funding to something much more stable that will reduce mission drift, allow organizations to think long term, and deliver services to the community. As well, there's an increased demand for services in the community, and that is a very important issue.
In terms of where I think there is traction now in government—and we're trying to work backwards in terms of that context—is labour markets. The Government of Canada has signed labour market agreements with provinces. It signed an agreement with Manitoba. It has focused on this issue. It is one that I think is very healthy for us to consider in the context of service delivery.
However, even moving in that direction is not that positive because the labour market challenges the sector faces are enormous, for the reasons I mentioned: lack of funding, lack of infrastructure support, increased demands, and financial accountability. If you think about it from a labour market perspective, are we prepared for the next generation of staff for our organizations?
Recently I came back from a round table that brought in a range of organizations we have been working with across Canada. This organization represented a body in Alberta that focused on disability services. They've been doing quite a bit of work in the area of looking at labour markets. Surprisingly and shockingly, they identified that if they hadn't acted on it, in 10 years disability services in Alberta would not be in existence. They have acted on it; however, they've also identified that turnover rates have increased, the quality of staffing has decreased, the levels of education for staff have decreased, and the workload is increasing. It doesn't bode well for sector organizations across Canada unless we address that infrastructure conversation.
There are still issues around organizational governance and the decrease in the availability of qualified board members. There are concerns about sector skills in terms of organizational renewal. There is demand by governments and other funders to secure information to look at the efficacy of organizations. That's problematic in terms of demanding more from organizations that may not have capacity. Of course, one of the areas that become very much a concern is lack of funding for infrastructure, including organizations not having access to space.
An area that I think is also somewhat interesting and important is inner city communities across Canada. We believe strongly that large pockets of people are living in poverty, and in the Manitoba and Winnipeg context, inner city organizations are primarily run by and for aboriginal peoples. They have clearly said, in terms of many reports I've read, that there are concerns about their funding and sustainability based on the notion of project funding and not core funding. There is concern about their own staffing, about their ability to meet ongoing need, and their ability to be able to direct service where it's needed.
In closing, the case I'm making in terms of the non-profit sector and its organizations is that if you want to look at poverty and services to people living in poverty and the things my colleagues have spoken about, if we don't address the infrastructure we may not necessarily have the services we require. If they're not supported, if we're not addressing the change in labour market needs and that dynamic, if we're not looking at the funding and the nature of services that are required in communities, we may have some significant challenges in Canada. Our eyes need to be opened about infrastructure, about organizations of the sector, and that's where we are coming from.
There are two questions I want to leave with you that I think you need to pose in your process. First, how does Canada view the non-profit sector and its role in strengthening the social infrastructure of Canada? Second, what is Canada's long-term strategy to ensure that Canada's social infrastructure is successful, innovative, and robust to meet the changing needs of communities coast to coast?
Thank you very much.