| LEGISLATIVE
ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO
Official Record of Debate
(Hansard)
Volunteering
April 22, 2004
Mr
Ted Arnott (Waterloo-Wellington): I'm very pleased to
have an opportunity to speak in support of the resolution
put forward today by the member for Mississauga South
and say a word of welcome to the guests who are present
in the chamber to hear this debate.
I'll
begin by saying to the member for Mississauga South
that I agree with the premise of his resolution. To
paraphrase the idea that I think he's conveying, helping
others in one's family and helping others in your community
by volunteering is very important and, yes, volunteerism
does make Ontario the jewel of Canada, as his resolution
points out. The question becomes, what will we, as members,
do, including the member opposite and his Liberal colleagues.
What actions will we take to support volunteers in our
cities, towns and rural municipalities all across the
province?
As
the Conservative spokesperson for citizenship and immigration,
I was glad to speak on Monday, April 19, in this House,
along with members of the other two parties, about National
Volunteer Week and why volunteering is so important
to communities and the whole province.
Volunteering
is important and has such a profoundly positive impact
in large part because of the principles of freedom and
service; that is, men, women and youth who volunteer
and invest freely of their time, talents, experience
and expertise. To put it another way, they get the job
done so well because they care so much about what they're
doing and whom they are helping, be that a family member,
a senior, a disabled person, a child, a patient or a
person who needs food or clothing to supplement subsistence
living.
Volunteers
enhance our quality of life. Without them we would never
be able to make that high standard in Ontario second
to none in the world. Further, volunteer service is
not only given in the spirit of freedom in our democratic
society but it also enhances the enjoyment and fulfillment
of that freedom for all of us who are residents of Ontario.
That
is why I mentioned on Monday, and I'll say again, how
much I appreciate the sacrifices made by soldiers and
all volunteers, men and women who gave to their country
to bring us victory during the wars of the 20th century.
I want to remind members of this House how important
it is to recognize that service by remembering the 60th
anniversary of the D-Day invasion in Normandy in Nazi-occupied
France, which is coming up this June 6.
It is a challenge in a peaceful time for those of us
living in Canada, and with a peace that we hope and
pray will someday be enjoyed by the whole world, to
explain to young people how important civic responsibility
and volunteering is. While we dearly appreciate the
sacrifices of the generations before us, volunteer contributions
are, quite frankly, more a matter of choice than of
necessity these days. Yes, that choice makes the contribution
valuable and very effective, but ensuring a strong future
for volunteering must involve planting the seeds of
volunteerism in our children and our youth.
I
think of the example given to us by Gail Martin, the
editor of the Elmira Independent newspaper, in a recent
story that appeared about the crews of volunteers who
worked all night and into the morning to prepare for
the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival earlier this month.
She talked about Lavern Brubacher and his mall crew,
Sue Jacobi, Lee Ann Caudle and her daughter Jenny, who
worked all night alongside an energetic and enthusiastic
group of teen volunteers called the Venturers who made
a contest over how fast they could complete their task.
The article noted that the volunteers who make this
festival happen work hard for months on end and are
quite content to do so with little or no public recognition.
I
enjoyed my time at the maple syrup festival this year,
again serving pancakes on the 9 o'clock to 11 o'clock
shift.
Then
there's Mary Jansen, a retired health care aide at Chateau
Gardens nursing home in Elmira. She retired eight years
ago but continues putting in two shifts a week for the
Woolwich Community Services organization in Elmira,
working at the organization's thrift store in the Birdland
Plaza. She sorts through items donated to the store,
ensuring they're in good condition. She also returns
to Chateau Gardens every day to help a 100-year-old
lady get dressed in the morning and she's there to help
her get ready for bed at night. Mary also loves to babysit
her two youngest grandchildren. I think she's a wonderful
example for volunteers of all ages.
I
also want to mention my own experience volunteering
as a Big Brother and that I had a little brother from
1987 to 1990. His name is Harry Lefler. That experience
helped me to understand the rewards of providing guidance
and service over time and appreciate the need for those
services. The member for Mississauga South may also
recall my total commitment to Ontario's Promise, a program
aimed at helping young people reach their full potential
by making and keeping five promises to them. He will
recall that the former member for his riding, his predecessor,
my friend Margaret Marland, one of the finest MPPs,
who served with great distinction in this House from
1985 to 2003, was minister for children when she helped
launch Ontario's Promise in November 2000, along with
Premier Harris and retired US General Colin Powell,
who of course now serves as the Secretary of State in
the United States of America.
Here
are the five promises that Ontario's promise promotes:
(1) a healthy start for all children; (2) an ongoing
relationship with a caring adult; (3) a safe place with
structured activities during non-school hours; (4) marketable
skills through effective education; and (5) giving back
through community service. This program brings together
the government, good corporate citizens who donate money
and even their employees' time, and the volunteer agencies,
all with the common goal of making the future better
for young people and for the province. This endeavour
was well thought out, and I want to emphasize again
for members of this House my sincere belief that the
government needs to continue to keep these promises
to children and youth alive by continuing to support,
and by expanding, Ontario's promise. The fifth promise
is essential in keeping the spirit of volunteer service
alive; that is, providing an opportunity to give back.
This way we demonstrate how volunteering is truly a
two-way street. It's a message that we've said to our
young people holds true for volunteers of all ages.
Volunteer fire departments are essential in rural and
small-town Ontario. These communities rely on them.
Without volunteers, the property taxes needed to pay
for full-time firefighters would be prohibitive, to
say the least. I say to the member for Mississauga South
that it's not just rural communities that benefit from
these services; it's people from our cities and suburbs
who own vacation properties, cottages and farms in rural
Ontario and who would likely find out that volunteer
firefighters are the first on the scene for a fire,
car accident and other emergency calls in rural Ontario.
Volunteer fire departments are strengthened by the service
of local citizens and by firefighters who also work
in professional departments while serving as volunteers
back home. These firefighters have become known as double-hatters.
In
some cases, a young firefighter first joins the firefighting
service as a volunteer. He or she gains valuable experience,
as the volunteer fire department spends considerable
time and resources training that person. The firefighter
finds out whether or not he or she wants to do this
for a living. If their commitment strengthens, that
volunteer firefighter may be hired, usually as a full-time
firefighter in a city or suburban fire department. This
is a tradition of long standing in Ontario and demonstrates
that volunteering in this province is a two-way street.
The training is earned in the volunteer department and
the professionally trained double-hatters give back
to their community in their own free time.
The
problem is that in recent months there continue to be
instances where double-hatter firefighters are being
told by their union leaders that they must quit as volunteers,
that if these people try to give back to their community,
they will be barred from the union or thrown out. Either
way, that may mean losing their full-time job. This
is weakening volunteer fire departments in Ontario and
it is a threat to public safety. Action must be taken
by the provincial government.
In
May 2002 I tabled Bill 30, the Volunteer Firefighters
Employment Protection Act, in response to this problem
by protecting the right to volunteer. Bill 30 had two
days of public hearings before a standing committee
of the Legislature and had support from all the major
stakeholders involved in the fire service, save and
except the professional firefighters' union. It had
a record amount of debate for any private member's bill
in the history of this province. Although it wasn't
passed into law, I reintroduced it as Bill 130 on the
last day the House sat before the election, and a third
time earlier this month, now as Bill 52. I believe this
bill is a solution to the problem which has been created
by the firefighters' union leaders.
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Despite
an effective one-to-one lobby campaign by the union
against my bill with MPPs during the last Parliament,
all members of this provincial Parliament have to be
reminded that public safety in rural Ontario is not
a city-versus-rural issue; it's about public safety.
It's an Ontario issue. The MPP for Mississauga South's
predecessor, Margaret Marland, knew this. She not only
voted for my bill but also helped to obtain the full
and highly
effective support of Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion,
who came to a press conference I organized and spoke
in favour of action to protect double-hatters through
Bill 30.
In
sum, while I will support his resolution this morning,
I will also ask him and all MPPs of this House to support
Ontario's interest in public safety that is provided
on a two-way street by our double-hatter firefighters.
I would ask you to support Bill 52.
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