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House Hansard - 41

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 4, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 41 - Mar/4/22
Mr. Alistair MacGregor (Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, NDP)
  • Mar/4/22 11:03:39 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is cold out there. The generosity and community spirit of the Cowichan Valley was highlighted last weekend on the Coldest Night of the Year, a family-friendly winter walk in support of people experiencing hunger, hurt and homelessness. On February 26, I joined with nearly 500 walkers in 67 different teams, headed out into a grey and dark afternoon, facing a steady and persistent cold rain. That cold rain and darkening sky was the ever-present reminder of what our homeless community faces on a regular basis. That night, $90,718 was raised, blowing past their goal of $50,000. These funds will go to the Canadian Mental Health Association's Cowichan Valley branch to create a safe space and programs for homeless youth in the Cowichan Valley, a service that is unfortunately needed now more than ever. I also want to express my sincere thanks to the over 40 volunteers who were on hand to make for a well organized and fun evening.
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Context: House Hansard - 41 - Mar/4/22
Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)
Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to rise and table this petition on behalf of residents of Courtenay, Cumberland, Bowser and Royston in my riding. They are citing that 83% of Canada's total firefighting essential first responders are volunteers. In addition, 8,000 essential search and rescue volunteers respond to thousands of incidents every year. The tax code of Canada currently allows volunteer firefighters and search and rescue volunteers to claim a $3,000 tax credit if 200 hours of volunteer services were completed in a calendar year. This works out to a mere $450 a year. They are calling on the government to increase the tax exemption from $3,000 to $10,000 to help essential firefighters and volunteer search and rescue people across this country. They are calling for the support of Bill C-201. It is timely, because the PBO just released a report this week to cite that this would cost taxpayers in Canada $40 million for 42,000 volunteer firefighters and first responders.
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