Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister for Municipal and Community Affairs and I’d like to follow up on my Member’s statement. Since Volunteer NWT folded, I think most non-profit and non-government organizations in the NWT have found it much more difficult to do their job. They have volunteer boards and they have less volunteers to work with. I think it’s been a loss to all of the NWT in the fact that they can’t provide the same services to the effectiveness that they could before when Volunteer NWT was alive and well.
I’d like to ask the Minister, I noted on MACA’s website that the Volunteer Support Initiative Action Plan is listed there. It’s dated Action Plan 2005-2008. The last Volunteer Support Initiative status report was dated 2006-2007. I’d like to know from the Minister whether or not there is any document that exists other than what’s posted on the website with regards to the Volunteer Support Initiative that is more up to date. Has there been any activity on the part of MACA to do updates and to do work on the Volunteer Support Initiative? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The final report on the Volunteer Support Initiative is expected in the fall of 2012. So we’re hoping to get that out by the fall and it will be an update to the past work that’s been done. Thank you.
Thank you. That didn’t really go very far to answering my question about what kind of activities have been in the works, but I’ll wait anxiously for the updated report.
From my information, MACA’s volunteer budget this year is some $263,000, and that, I understand, goes to staffing and management of the two programs that I mentioned, but only $70,000 of that $263,000 goes to the actual programs. It would seem to me that it would be possible for the department to re-profile $50,000 out of that $263,000 so that we could have a Volunteer NWT back in business. I’d like to ask the Minister whether or not he would be able to see his way through that. Thank you.
Thank you. Volunteer has a budget of $150,000 in the past year and that goes out to help support a lot of the volunteer groups under that particular umbrella organization. As well, the volunteer organization development contribution increased from $20,000 to $70,000. Again, our preference would be to put money right into the volunteer groups themselves and not in an umbrella organization. However, we’re coming up to a business planning process and it’s an issue, obviously, that the Member will raise and it’s something that we’d be more than willing to listen to. Thank you.
Thanks to the Minister. I’m hoping that he’s listening now as I raise this issue. I agree that certainly, and I was very pleased to see that the department has increased the contributions to volunteer organizations from $20,000 to $70,000, but without a coordinator, without a centralized person to assist organizations, they lack the ability to do the training that is needed for volunteers that allows our NGOs to do the business that they need to do for us. So if the Minister at this point, as he seems to have indicated that $50,000 is not available to reinstitute Volunteer NWT, what can the Minister suggest he could to do to get Volunteer NWT back up and running? Thank you.
I can assure the Member that the Minister is listening, and the Minister is listening also to other voices from across the NWT. I’ve heard nothing, really, on Volunteer NWT. They’re pleased with some of the volunteer support that they’re given; however, Volunteer NWT provided a service that was required by some organizations. We’d not be willing to commit money at this point; however, as I mentioned to the Member, we are going through a business planning process where it would be an opportunity for the Member or Members to raise any monies that they would like to see put towards Volunteer NWT again. As I said before, we’re listening and we’d be more willing to listen further.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. I’m really pleased to hear his assurance that he’s listening and I can assure the Minister that, yes, I will raise this issue when we review business plans.
If the department doesn’t feel that half a PY or some kind of human resource is necessary for Volunteer NWT, is there any hope that the Minister may see his way to increase the $70,000 going to the various organizations could be increased so that it could go to more than the 17 organizations – or, sorry, 16 I guess it was last year who were able to access it. I’m sure there’s a lot more organizations who would access it if they could.
Obviously it is something that we would have to look at. If we’re getting more requirements or needs for the money that we have, or more demands, then it’s something that I think as an organization, as a department that we would have to have a look at and see how we can best support those groups that are actually out there delivering these programs to their communities. We understand the importance of volunteerism and every one of us in here has volunteered at one time or another. We need to ensure that we do our part in assisting volunteers as much as possible.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
