Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House on International Volunteer Day. We are celebrating the invaluable work and countless hours of contributions made by volunteers in Canada.
Our government is proud to stand up and recognize the hard work volunteers do, especially around the holiday season for those less fortunate. Close to 12.5 million Canadians volunteer their time to charitable and not-for-profit organizations. This equals a contribution of over two billion hours annually, the equivalent of more than one million full-time jobs. It is a spirit founded on values that our Conservative government shares. We believe that volunteers play an enormously important role in our collective responsibility for better communities.
We are proud to work with organizations across Canada to support volunteerism. It is why we continue to invest in projects that connect individuals with volunteer opportunities and in our tax credit for volunteer firefighters.