OTTAWA - Volunteer Canada, the national voice for volunteerism, welcomes the intention of Canada’s Parliament to examine ways of fostering volunteerism in our country, especially among young people.

 

Presented by Justin Trudeau (MP – Papineau), a Private Member’s motion is calling for the Human Resources and Skills Development Parliamentary Committee to study the creation of a national youth service policy for Canada.

 

“We are pleased to see renewed dialogue in Parliament around volunteerism,” says Ruth MacKenzie, president of Volunteer Canada. “At a time of economic crisis, the contribution of volunteers is more important than ever before.”

 

“It is crucial that our government recognizes this and provides the necessary support to promote and enhance volunteerism in Canada,” adds MacKenzie.

 

In response to the motion, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, Ed Komarnacki expressed his support and added:

 

“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.”

 

Since 1977, Volunteer Canada has provided national leadership to front-line voluntary organizations and continues to develop standards and benchmarks that allow these organizations to respond to changes in volunteering. This leadership also allows front-line organizations to focus entirely on their own missions and mandates – providing quality direct service to Canadians.

 

Volunteer Canada looks forward to working with Canada’s Parliament to fully explore this vital issue, and will continue to look to our government to support the sector and Canada’s volunteers.

 

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For more information, please contact:

Jung-Suk Ryu

Manager of Communications

Volunteer Canada

Tel: (613) 231-4371 ext. 226

Cell: (613) 266-9427

 

ABOUT Volunteer Canada www.volunteer.ca

Volunteer Canada is the national voice for volunteerism in Canada. Since 1977, the organization has been committed to increasing and supporting volunteerism and civic participation through ongoing programs, special projects and national initiatives, by developing resources and by engaging in research and training across the country. Working with volunteer centres, community and national organizations and businesses, Volunteer Canada actively leads national dialogues on how volunteerism is related to citizen engagement and civil society and provides leadership on issues and trends in the Canadian volunteer movement.