Madam Speaker, it is my privilege to stand in the House this evening to speak in favour of Bill S-201, An Act respecting a National Philanthropy Day. It is my privilege to speak on it in this Parliament.
This bill has come before this House several times over the last number of sessions. As a matter of fact, in the last Parliament I had the privilege of having carriage of this bill in this House. Unfortunately, as a result of the election we were not able to see that passed. Today we have an opportunity to try yet again to see that this bill finally passes.
National Philanthropy Day has been around for some time. As a matter of fact, it was first declared in 1986. Since this first declaration of National Philanthropy Day, organizations across this country and North America have adopted National Philanthropy Day. Many organizations as well as provinces and organizations respect National Philanthropy Day, not only here in Canada but also in the United States as well.
In 2009, this government under the leadership of our Prime Minister undertook to formalize National Philanthropy Day by declaring that it would be on November 15 in Canada. As I said, until now it hasn't been formalized in legislation, and that is what we are trying to do today.
Philanthropy is not an empty concept to Canadians. Canadians from coast to coast recognize the necessity of those who give of their time, money, resources and expertise to assist other Canadians. It is something that distinguishes Canadians. We as Canadians believe very much in the responsibility to care for our neighbours.
When we talk about philanthropy, we are not talking about only those people who have their faces etched on some kind of local statue in bronze or granite. We are talking about those people who give of their time each and every day. We are talking about those 84% of Canadians who give some kind of donation to their local charities and organizations.
We are talking about those people who give significant amounts of their time to local organizations, be it the person who volunteers at a local homeless shelter, senior citizens who give of their time at the local Salvation Army, those who coach local soccer or football, or teachers who give a little extra time at the end of the school day to make sure children have access to a literacy program or something of that nature. Today we are speaking about those people who make our communities better, those who give a little to make sure our communities are better off.
As I said, 84% of Canadians give money to local organizations, and that translates into 23 million Canadians who give to charitable organizations. When we talk about charitable organizations, it is interesting to note that there are over 80,000 organizations across this country that do charitable work. If we consider the contributions made to those organizations, some $10 billion is given on an annual basis. It is a remarkable amount. If one divides that by every Canadian, it is over $400 for every man, woman and child to these organizations.
I spoke about the time that is given to different organizations. We all benefit from having these organizations in our communities. It is estimated that in 2010, more than 13.3 million Canadians, or 47% of the population, volunteered their time to a local group or organization that makes our country a better place. That translates into 2.1 billion hours of volunteer time that is given by Canadians. It is some 1.1 million full-time jobs.
It is a remarkable feat. We as Canadians know we could never repay the efforts. We could never come up with the amount of cash that would be necessary to replace those contributions that Canadians make through their volunteer hours.
Today we are talking about declaring a day to celebrate those folks. It is in no way, shape or form going to make up for the contributions that these people give to Canada on an annual basis, but that is not what we are seeking to do. We know that people who give their time and their money have no expectation of repayment. They do it because they want to build a better community, better and stronger provinces, and a better and stronger country. For that we, as Canadians and parliamentarians, can be proud.
In 2011, our Prime Minister instituted an additional recognition of volunteerism here in Canada with the creation of the Prime Minister's Volunteer Awards. These are some of the most important awards given at the national level. They recognize those people who volunteer their time, who build our communities into better places. They are nominated by people who live in their communities.
This is also a special year. Not only are we celebrating the second year that the Prime Minister's Volunteer Awards will be delivered to Canadians, but we are also celebrating Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee. We will recognize our monarch's 60 years of service by seeing the creation of the Diamond Jubilee Award. It will be given to Canadians across this country who have contributed to their communities.
Those members of Parliament who are still seeking nominations, and I know in my office we are still seeking nominations, for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Award would all appreciate me letting Canadians know. It is important across party lines that we recognize those people who have built stronger and more vibrant communities. Through this award we will see the celebration of those people who have contributed so much. Again this year as Canadians from coast to coast, we will celebrate another way that we can recognize volunteers and those who contribute to our communities.
This is also a special year because we are celebrating the War of 1812. The question could be asked, what does that have to do with National Philanthropy Day and volunteerism. It really hearkens back to the creation of this nation and the role that volunteers played. Those who volunteered their service during the War of 1812 provided front line service on a voluntary basis. They were not paid for their militia service. They volunteered willingly, knowing that they were putting their lives on the line and believing in what would be Canada.
As we hearken back to that first step in creating this great country, or one of the most important things in establishing this country, we recognize that volunteerism played such an integral role even at that point in time.
I had the opportunity two weeks ago to be in Muskeg Lake, Saskatchewan. We were also in the Whitecap Dakota First Nation. In these communities we heard of people who fought in the War of 1812, first nations people who gave willingly, laying their lives on the line so that we might have this country of Canada. We are thankful for the service that those people gave to Canada, but also for the legacy for the communities.
We heard stories of inspiration, how the French, English and first nations came together to fight a common battle to see Canada created and protected. That legacy has continued even to this day. People continue to volunteer in respect of services. It is good for us to hearken back as we consider philanthropy and some of its origins here in Canada.
Communities across this country recognize the importance of philanthropy. In my own riding of Peace River, in the city of Grande Prairie and throughout the northern portions of my riding, we would not be as strong a community as we are today if it had not been for those people who give back.
We know there are business leaders within our community who have contributed significantly over the years to build a stronger community through their financial contributions to local and national charities. I can think of a number of different families. There are the Evaskevich, Henry Hamm, and Abe Neufeld families. I think of Peter Teichroeb and the Bowes family. I think of the Longmate and Diederich families who have contributed so significantly through their financial contributions to our communities. I also think of those people who have given their time. I can speak of Arta Juneau and a whole host of others who have given so significantly.
I am running out of time. I could continue for some time talking about the volunteer contributions of those in my community, but I should leave it there. We should all remember that in each one of our communities there are those people who give of their time and money. They truly are philanthropists.