Finance committee  Certainly with 46% of the population donating their time as volunteers to the 161,000 charities and non-profit organizations in the country, volunteers are a significant component of the labour force for organizations. Organizations rely on volunteers and any mechanism to maximiz

Finance committee  That's a good point. There are lots of ways to look at engaging volunteers in more innovative ways in fundraising activities for organizations.

Finance committee  That's certainly something to be looked at. Having a tax credit for the real costs that individuals incur when volunteering is quite a different matter than a tax incentive for time given.

Finance committee  I think there are some unique issues around tax incentives for volunteer firefighters or emergency services volunteers in terms of how volunteering plays out and the cost implications of volunteering. I think that's a bit of a unique niche. But just generally there is no basis

Finance committee  Some countries have a tax incentive. The U.S. has a tax incentive for volunteering. Our point as well is that talk about volunteering strictly in those terms is problematic to many volunteers, who find it off-putting when they think of the altruistic nature of why they came to

Finance committee  We know that volunteering is still a fairly middle-class construct. Volunteers tend to be well-educated and tend to be on higher ends of the income scale. We'd like to see some analysis done of the economic barriers to volunteering. Many volunteers can't participate in volunteeri

Finance committee  As Ms. McManus says, it's about effectiveness.

Finance committee  It's not necessarily on the table today, but using tax policy to address the economic barriers to volunteering.... As far as the issue that's on the table today, I would agree with Mr. Charters. The stretch tax credit is the most effective method to increase the donor base and

Finance committee  Yes. As I said, there's a link between volunteering and giving as a behaviour. I think we have about 45% of the population engaged as volunteers. It's very significant. We have about 84% of the population engaged in informal helping out in our neighbourhoods and communities. I

Finance committee  Thank you very much. I'm very pleased to be here this afternoon to speak with you on the important topic of tax incentives for charitable giving in Canada. Volunteer Canada is supportive of the efforts being made to encourage Canadians to contribute and actively engage in their