40th PARLIAMENT, 2nd SESSION
EDITED HANSARD • NUMBER 018
CONTENTS
Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Youth Voluntary Service

Mr. Ed Komarnicki (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour, CPC):

Mr. Speaker, the member for Papineau speaks with eloquence and passion in that which he believes.

In my view, volunteerism transcends gender and age and we need to look at it from a wider perspective than only youth. However, we do know that youth play a very important part.

As my colleagues will no doubt agree, volunteering increases skills and knowledge. It helps us to network. It strengthens our ties with neighbours and our communities.

Almost without exception, volunteers will tell us that giving and helping others is more satisfying gives a sense of satisfaction that is greater, many times, than receiving.

As any MP knows from experience, there is a vast number of good causes in need of good people to help out within any community, regardless of where it may be.

Volunteers are on the front lines in our constituencies, whether they live in rural areas, small towns or major urban centres. Volunteers run food banks and homeless shelters. They work at the fire hall, at the hospitals, they coach and mentor young people in countless sports and activities and they spend time with those in nursing homes.

For example, in my riding of Souris—Moose Mountain, Bob Burns of Estevan, Saskatchewan, who just turned 79 years of age, has put in countless hours in community service, including coaching and mentoring youth people. He received the commemorative medal for the Centennial of Saskatchewan from the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, a medal awarded to individuals who have made significant contribution to our province. Bob has completed 58 seasons of umping baseball. He has promoted umpire classes. He was inducted to the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.

Another person who comes to mind is Bill Baryluk who has committed hours to fundraising and other tasks for the Knights of Columbus as well as Albert Petrash, many Legionnaires and a host of others.

In the community of Estevan and Weyburn, scores of volunteers are involved in the Estevan United Way Telethon and the Weyburn and District Communithon. Estevan has been the first in Canada to top its goal 31 times in the telethon's 32 year history. Volunteers came from across the community. Volunteers worked cameras, answered phones and provided a host of other services. John Deadlock, one of Estevan's founding members, who is instrumental in the setup, has since retired.

Weyburn and district utilizes over a thousand volunteers in their annual campaign. Volunteers are very important to what happens in our communities. My constituents are making a real difference in our communities. I want to thank and commend them for their time and efforts.

The collective impact of these individuals' efforts is enormous. A 2004 survey conducted by Statistics Canada found that close to 12 million Canadians generously gave their time, talents and energy to improve the lives of their fellow citizens.

Volunteers each contribute an average of 168 hours annually. That adds up to almost two billion hours. That is the equivalent to one million full-time jobs. Volunteerism is a huge area that needs attention.

The numbers are equally impressive when we put a price on the contribution of the not-for-profit sector to the economy. In 2005 the value added of the not-for-profit sector, not including hospitals, universities and colleges, amounted to $31 billion. This represents 2.4% of the total Canadian economy. Clearly, volunteers and the not-for-profit sector are a significant, positive, economic and social force in Canada.

There can be no question of the value, nor of the necessity, of volunteering to our country. Nor is there any doubt about the need to bring new people, young people, into the ranks of Canada's volunteers.

As my earlier example has shown, many of Canada's long-standing volunteers are now in their seventies. They have given more than their fair share to the betterment of our communities and our country. Other, younger Canadians need to step up and help with this crucial work. It is very important for us to encourage the younger generation to take up the torch and continue the tremendous contribution and efforts made by today's seniors in our voluntary sector.

Indeed, that is why our government funds numerous youth programs and encourages young Canadians to use their talents in their communities.

For example, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada runs the Canada summer jobs program that provides young people with summer work experience in organizations such as not-for-profits. My constituency of Souris—Moose Mountain has certainly endorsed this program and benefited from it.

Thanks to our economic action plan, this program will receive an additional two year targeted funding of $10 million per year to enable more employers to hire summer students.

I am pleased to note that the value of this program is appreciated on both sides of the House, especially by my colleague from Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, who indicated in committee the other week that he thought it is an outstanding program and one of his favourite projects. We are glad to have the support of the lead critic.

Other federal departments also have programs for youth service, including the junior rangers and cadet programs of the Department of National Defence and Young Canada works of Parks Canada.

Our economic action plan announced a one-time grant of $15 million to the YMCA and the YWCA to place youth in internships in not-for-profit organizations with a focus on environmental projects. I am sure my colleagues can get behind that one as well.

Creating a strong, resilient society through voluntary efforts requires the efforts of Canadians across the country and across all age groups.

Recent research indicates that volunteer behaviour in our country has been changing. While older volunteers remain consistent in their volunteer commitments, volunteering by baby boomers and young people is generally more short-term and sporadic.

Young people have the energy and passion that we want and they need to be encouraged to volunteer. Building habits of volunteerism while younger will encourage volunteerism for years to come. As more and more of our existing group of hardworking volunteers are no longer able to contribute, younger Canadians need to step up and continue that work.

People of the baby boomer generation particularly have a wealth of experience and expertise to offer and many of these people are entering their retirement years. This huge segment of the population offers a tremendous source of new volunteers.

We believe that expanding the scope of the proposed review to look at volunteerism across a range of demographic groups is something worth considering, given these realities.

The review could consider the value of volunteering to Canadian society. Charities, service clubs, foundations and aid agencies across the country are always on the lookout for new volunteers and more resources.

The not-for-profit sector acts as a hub for volunteering, but often lacks the required infrastructure to recruit and train volunteers. We know that tens of thousands of our charitable community and not-for-profit organizations rely solely on the contributions of volunteers to keep going. Without this generosity from their volunteers and contributors, tens of thousands of these service and not-for-profit organizations would find themselves mere paper entities unable to help anyone.

This review could consider what sort of conditions best encourage the giving of time and money to charitable, volunteer and not-for-profit organizations and how we could provide more of that encouragement.

Given the importance of volunteering to many community programs and services across Canada, the standing committee's study of current and new means of raising the profile of volunteer efforts among younger Canadians may be a worthwhile effort.

While we are not opposed to the motion per se as proposed by the member for Papineau, the member will know that should the motion be adopted, it in no way binds the committee to undertake this study, let alone report back to the House in any prescribed timeframe. That is simply a reality of the way our rules are set up to work in this place.

Parliamentary tradition respects the convention that committees are masters of their own agendas and affairs. As such, government support for the motion should in no way, if it is given, be interpreted as the government wishing to usurp the HUMA committee's right to undertake studies on its own volition and on its own timeframe. The committee will do what it deems best.

Should the member's motion pass, I look forward to considering it in concert with my colleagues on committee, alongside the business that we have already decided to pursue and any other business the House sees fit to send to committee.

I am thankful for the opportunity to rise in the House to recognize the tremendous efforts made by literally millions of Canadians. Their voluntary and charitable work and contributions help untold numbers of their fellow Canadians and help build and maintain the bonds of community and Canadian society.

I am looking forward to where this will go. I believe it will be more expansive than the member envisions, although our youth are a critical and important part of the process.

As I said at the beginning, volunteerism extends and goes beyond boundaries of gender, of age and is something that is important to all of us.

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