Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that the member brought forward this piece of legislation for the simple fact that I would never want to put a pass on being able to share some thoughts on the issue of charities and the important role they play in our society.
My colleague raised a question in terms of the cost. The parliamentary budget office is an apolitical office and the price it came back with was quite significantly more. I think we have an obligation to look at what our PBO says: over $750 million with the potential of a billion. That could be the actual cost if this legislation were to pass.
In listening to what the member had to say about the legislation and with what research I was able to do on the bill, I am not convinced that this is the best way for us to compliment our charities for the fine work that they have done over the years, continue to do today and, no doubt, will do well into the future.
One of the things that I have recognized as a parliamentarian for many years is the fact that Canada has to have some of the most generous people collectively in the entire world. If there is an immediate need in a community, city, municipality, province or territory, you name it, our constituents respond with open hearts and open wallets and purses. I have seen that on a wide variety of issues. We are very fortunate to have a population base that recognizes the importance of giving.
We see that taking place in many different forms. I would like to give a real tangible example. Let us say the PBO's numbers are accurate, because I believe they would be. When talking about those hundreds of millions of dollars, is that the best way we can invest potential tax dollars in terms of encouraging, promoting and supporting charitable organizations?
Every one of us is very much aware of what is taking place in Ukraine today, so I will use Ukraine as an example. The illegal, inhumane invasion that is taking place in Ukraine by President Putin is horrific. Tune into the news and one can see it first-hand on the TV, let alone imagining what the people are living through every day in Ukraine. I say that because one of the initiatives we took was on the issue of humanitarian aid. Even before Canada, as a government, came up with an approach in support of humanitarian aid, Canadians were already at the table. They were actually donating to charitable organizations that were ensuring there was humanitarian aid going to Ukraine. I remember it quite well when the federal government said that we are going to have, through the Red Cross, matching dollars.
That is why I say that it is a comparison. Take a look at what this legislation is doing and the amount of money that could potentially be redirected to see more benefit. In the Ukraine example, we allocated $10 million in terms of matching funds. It only took a matter of days before Canadians oversubscribed to that particular program, so the federal government increased it from $10 million to $30 million. I have not checked it recently in the last number of days, but I would not be surprised, if it were not there already, if it was very close, in terms of the contributions by Canadians.
That is what I mean when we take a look at charitable organizations, and there are many charitable organizations in every region of our country. Some of them have been hugely successful. Even during a pandemic, some have been successful. However, I concur that they have been hit hard as an industry during the pandemic, as other industries have also been hit hard.
However, there is no doubt in my mind that they will rebound. The real issue we should be discussing and debating today is how to maximize the benefits with what are the limited number of tax dollars that we have to deploy. When I look at this legislation, what I see is legislation that does not necessarily allow for an enhancement of the average person's ability to participate, or even provide that additional encouragement or be as universally accessible to some of the smaller organizations that are out there. Charities vary dramatically.
When we talk about health care needs in provinces, one can talk about the Grace Hospital Foundation that the member referenced. Check out their website. I did as the member was speaking. They have a wonderful donor's page with a list of different ways in which people can contribute.
We can talk about the Children's Hospital Foundations or we can go into the private area, such as the Ronald McDonald House Charities, which is across the country and which does an absolutely outstanding job as a corporation in providing the opportunity for Canadians, in particular, those from rural communities, to have a place when they are visiting cities because of a sick child. This is a wonderful organization.
Whether it is the larger charities that are there or it is the smaller charities, if we check with the Canada Revenue Agency, we can see a fairly lengthy list of non-profits and charities that are constantly looking for support. Going forward, I would like to think, in terms of dealing with charities, that, as parliamentarians, we would do what we can to support our charities, big or small.
As much as I can appreciate the member for Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, a fellow Manitoban, bringing forward a piece of legislation from his perspective, I am not convinced that he has actually allowed for a wider subscription or if we are maximizing the potential limited dollars that come into the government that could go toward charities.
I am a big fan of charities, because I see the fine work they have done in our communities. I think of where there is potential growth, and I think of individuals like Sharon Redsky, who talks about indigenous charities and how the government could look at ways to support indigenous charities and the private sector, and that there is wonderful potential growth in that area. I am very much interested in ideas in that area.
We have the need for charities to assist people in many different ways, whether it is through food banks or direct funds to individuals. It varies greatly. I believe that, as I said at the very beginning of my comments, Canadians are very generous and we need to support and enhance that in whatever way we can.
We can do that through accountability and transparency and by working with organizations like the Canada Revenue Agency and the many different organizations that do not have CRA charity status but continue to do a lot of fine work throughout our country.