Finance committee  I am indeed: the genuine progress indicators. Yes, I know him well.

Finance committee  No, not necessarily, but I think the percentage differences are fairly small. When we talk about the voluntary sector, I'm not just referring to volunteers, I'm talking about everything: the goods, services, what we produce, what we purchase, and the people who work in the sector.

Finance committee  In fact, a few years ago the federal government started to look at this kind of indicator, but I think it's fallen off the cliff. Maybe we could encourage the federal government to really start putting more resources into understanding these things. There's very little research and development going on around innovation in the non-profit sector.

Finance committee  I don't really have a problem with lots of government, but that's a personal view that I know many people around the table may not share.

Finance committee  Well, let's talk about better money, not necessarily more money. I think we need to find ways of making our investments much more strategic in the non-profit sector. That's where you build the things that everybody else is talking about, where you build citizens' capacity for skills building, for learning, for literacy, for engagement.

Finance committee  I certainly never think that federal government funding is a problem. I don't think it gets in the way. I think what we've created, however, is this huge patchwork of how we relate to organizations. The ability of some organizations to acquire federal government funding is very different from that of other organizations.

Finance committee  I won't discuss what's occurred. I will discuss what I think needs to occur. We need to look at strategic investments in the sector. We need to understand how we can support the work of a multitude of organizations—not by committing a whole lot of money, but by spending the money more wisely.

Finance committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I welcome you and the rest of your group to St. John's. We appreciate the opportunity to present to you. Let me just say that I represent the Community Services Council Newfoundland and Labrador, which is a non-profit, charity-registered social planning research organization.