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Finance committee Thank you very much. Mr. Chair, members of the Standing Committee on Finance, I feel privileged to be invited here today. This is important work that you are undertaking, and it's notable that you have recognized the critical importance of emergency services volunteers, firefig
June 9th, 2008Committee meeting
Ruth MacKenzie
Finance committee I don't have the statistics at hand, but the statistic floating around firefighting services is that approximately 85% of firefighting services in this country are delivered by volunteers. It varies from province to province, but I believe that's the average across the country.
June 9th, 2008Committee meeting
Ruth MacKenzie
Finance committee We're a national organization that promotes and works to strengthen volunteerism in the broadest sense. We work in partnership with voluntary organizations and provide them with tools and resources that help them to effectively engage their volunteers. We wouldn't work specifical
June 9th, 2008Committee meeting
Ruth MacKenzie
Finance committee We would not directly service them, but organizations that provide those services would be members of Volunteer Canada, or could be. At the community level there are volunteer centres--Volunteer Ottawa here in Ottawa, for example--that also work to promote and strengthen voluntee
June 9th, 2008Committee meeting
Ruth MacKenzie
Finance committee I hope not. I think that's what I said initially. I think there are some very concerning implications around starting to articulate volunteerism in an economic sense. I would never want this to be seen as the tip of the pyramid to have that implemented across the sector. I think
June 9th, 2008Committee meeting
Ruth MacKenzie
Finance committee I would certainly say there is a strong rationale for this tax credit, given the level of training, the on-call aspect of these volunteers, and the inherent risk they put themselves under in the execution of their volunteer duties, which certainly distinguish them from volunteers
June 9th, 2008Committee meeting
Ruth MacKenzie
Finance committee Well, I wouldn't have any concrete suggestions, but of course I think anything that recognizes the value and contribution of volunteers of this country, outside of simply saying that you recognize the value and contribution of volunteers in this country, would be helpful in recog
June 9th, 2008Committee meeting
Ruth MacKenzie
Finance committee I think all volunteer work is essential to our communities, and if we had a volunteer strike for even a single day, our communities would be at risk. We couldn't police this country without volunteers. We wouldn't have minor league sports. We wouldn't have elected officials. So
June 9th, 2008Committee meeting
Ruth MacKenzie
Finance committee No, we did not.
June 9th, 2008Committee meeting
Ruth MacKenzie
Finance committee Yes, I would agree. I certainly do think this is a good-will bill. I think it's something fairly small that could have a huge impact and demonstrate, in a very big way, this government's support for volunteers.
June 9th, 2008Committee meeting
Ruth MacKenzie
Finance committee Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak with you today. Volunteer Canada is the national leader on volunteerism. We are devoted to building the capacity of voluntary organizations, to involving volunteers, and to promoting and fostering volunteerism in all its forms. We
October 28th, 2009Committee meeting
Ruth MacKenzie
Finance committee Yes, we do, and we spoke with Imagine Canada in developing that. We're part of the committee that put together that recommendation so we absolutely support it.
October 28th, 2009Committee meeting
Ruth MacKenzie
Finance committee We arrived at the figure based on our experience of delivering national programs and promoting and strengthening volunteerism over the last 30 years. We want to focus the money on two specific areas. One is social marketing and promoting volunteerism and building on the core valu
October 28th, 2009Committee meeting
Ruth MacKenzie
Finance committee I don't have that data, but Canada has one of the strongest and broadest and most vibrant voluntary sectors in the world. The Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating is among the most comprehensive data gathered on giving and volunteering habits that exist in the
October 28th, 2009Committee meeting
Ruth MacKenzie