PRIME MINISTER APPOINTS MINISTER RESPONSIBLE FOR THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR

October 8, 2002
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien today announced that he has appointed Minister of Canadian Heritage Sheila Copps to be responsible for leading the Government of Canada`s efforts to strengthen its relationship with the voluntary sector.

"The Government of Canada and the voluntary sector have a long history of working together to help develop strong, healthy communities," the Prime Minister said. "The appointment of a Minister Responsible for the Voluntary Sector indicates that we are committed to hearing the voices of the 1.3 million Canadians who work in the voluntary sector, so that our policies and programs can better reflect the diverse views of Canadians."

Minister Copps will work with her Cabinet colleagues to ensure that the Government of Canada fully implements the Accord signed by the Government of Canada with the voluntary sector on December 5, 2001, as set out in the Speech from the Throne of September 30. The Accord sets out the values, principles and commitments both parties want to see as a starting point for their future work together.

The Voluntary Sector Initiative was launched in June 2000 as a joint initiative of the Government of Canada and the voluntary sector.

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PMO Press Office: (613) 957-5555

Backgrounder - Voluntary Sector Initiative

The Voluntary Sector Initiative (VSI) is a joint project between the voluntary sector and the Government of Canada launched in 2000. The long-term objective of the Initiative is to strengthen the voluntary sector's capacity to meet the challenges of the future and to enhance the relationship between the Sector and the federal government in the service of Canadians. The VSI is a response to rapidly changing conditions for the voluntary sector. Voluntary organizations are under pressure to deliver a greater number of services and raise larger amounts of money to support their activities. The sector is facing difficult challenges such as adapting to the information age, recruiting volunteers among a population that is more pressed for time than ever and ensuring that organizations have the resources and expertise to continue to work effectively.

The voluntary sector consists of organizations that exist to serve a public benefit, are self-governing, do not distribute any profits to members, and depend to a meaningful degree on volunteers. Membership or involvement in these organizations is not compulsory, and they are independent of, and institutionally distinct from the formal structures of government and the private sector. Although many voluntary sector organizations rely on paid staff to carry out their work, all depend on volunteers, at least on their board of directors.

The voluntary sector in Canada is large, consisting of an estimated 180,000 non-profit organizations (of which 80,000 are registered as charities) and hundreds of thousands more volunteer groups that are not incorporated. In 2000, 6.5 million Canadians volunteered their time to a voluntary sector organization and the sector employed a further 1.3 million people. This diverse multitude of organizations ranges from small community-based groups to large, national umbrella organizations and includes such organizations as neighbourhood associations, service clubs, advocacy coalitions, food banks, shelters, transition houses, symphonies and local sports clubs.

Since 2000, the Government of Canada and the voluntary sector have worked side-by side under the VSI to develop:

• An Accord Between the Government of Canada and the Voluntary Sector, signed in December 2001, to guide future work together.
• Two codes, one on policy dialogue and one on funding policies and practices, which lay out good practices for the government and the sector.
• New research, including national surveys on issues such as individual giving and volunteering, and on the sector`s contribution to our economy.
• Projects to develop the capacity of the sector, such as a new policy internship and fellowship program to support exchanges between the government and the sector.
• The Canada Volunteerism Initiative, a new $43 million program that will establish national and local networks to strengthen volunteerism in Canada. This followed a highly successful International Year of Volunteers in 2001.