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441-02179 (Taxation)

Paper petition

Original language of petition: English

PETITION TO THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA

Whereas:

  • Volunteer firefighters account for 71% of Canada's total firefighting essential first responders;
  • In addition, approximately 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 per year, which we allow these essential volunteers to keep of their own income from their regular jobs, $2.25 an hour;
  • If they volunteer more than 200 hours, which many do, this tax credit becomes even less;
  • These essential volunteers not only put their lives on the line and give their time, training and efforts to Canadians, but they also allow cities and municipalities to keep property taxes lower than if paid services were required;
  • Increasing this tax credit would allow these essential volunteers to keep more of their hard-earned money, likely to be spent in the communities in which they live; and
  • It would also help retain these volunteers in a time when volunteerism is decreasing.

We, the undersigned citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to support Bill C-310 and enact amendments to subsections 118.06(2) and 118.07(2) of the Income Tax Act in order to increase the amount of the tax credits for volunteer firefighting and search and rescue volunteer services from $3,000 to $10,000.

Response by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): The Honourable Chrystia Freeland

The community service shown by volunteer firefighters and search and rescue volunteers, especially following the extraordinary fire season over the past summer, is exemplary. The Government of Canada recognizes this service through the Volunteer Firefighter Tax Credit and the Search and Rescue Volunteer Tax Credit.

In addition to this credit, the government has committed to improving the resources available to emergency service volunteers. For this reason, Budget 2022 provided additional funding for firefighters and for wildfire detection and mitigation, including:

  • $269 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, to Natural Resources Canada as exceptional, time-limited support to help provinces and territories procure firefighting equipment such as vehicles and aircrafts;
  • $39.2 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, to Indigenous Services Canada to support the purchase of firefighting equipment by First Nations communities;
  • $37.9 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, with $0.6 million ongoing, to Natural Resources Canada to train 1,000 additional firefighters and incorporate Indigenous traditional knowledge in fire management; and
  • $169.9 million over 11 years, starting in 2022-23, with $6.9 million in remaining amortization, to the Canadian Space Agency, Natural Resources Canada, and Environment and Climate Change Canada to deliver and operate a new wildfire monitoring satellite system.

These actions will help ensure greater volunteer safety in the line of duty and will help ensure a higher degree of emergency preparedness in their communities.

Presented to the House of Commons
Carol Hughes (Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing)
February 15, 2024 (Petition No. 441-02179)
Government response tabled
March 22, 2024
Photo - Carol Hughes
Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing
New Democratic Party Caucus
Ontario

Only validated signatures are counted towards the total number of signatures.