Sectoral Involvement in Departmental Policy Development

August 8, 2001

Government of Canada and Voluntary Sector Team Up

OTTAWA - The Honourable Lucienne Robillard, President of the Treasury Board of Canada, Minister responsible for Infrastructure and Chair of the Reference Group of Ministers for the Voluntary Sector, today announced $11.6 million in support to voluntary sector organizations to lead 21 pilot projects that contribute to federal policy development. This investment was financed from the Sectoral Involvement in Departmental Policy Development fund which was established under the Voluntary Sector Initiative (VSI) - a joint initiative between the voluntary sector and the Government of Canada. In the VSI, the voluntary sector and the Government of Canada are working 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.

"These projects are instrumental in building the voluntary sector's capacity to influence Government of Canada policy-making," said Minister Robillard. "This is an important step towards realizing our long term vision to fully engage the voluntary sector in the day-to-day business of government."

Patrick Johnston, Co-Chair of the VSI's Joint Coordinating Committee and President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Centre for Philanthropy said, "This is a concrete example of an investment in voluntary sector organizations to build their policy capacity and strengthen their relationship with the federal government. By working together, government policies, programs and services will be improved to better meet the needs of Canadians."

Proposals were solicited by federal departments from voluntary sector organizations across Canada. Several hundred organizations will work on the 21 pilot projects in partnership with eight government departments. They will focus on a wide range of policy areas, including key government priorities in the areas of health, security, child poverty and environmental issues. The departments include Canadian Heritage, Citizenship and Immigration, Environment, Health, Human Resources Development, Justice, Solicitor General and Veterans Affairs.

For further information on the Voluntary Sector Initiative, call 1-800-O Canada. (1 800 622-6232) or check the VSI website at http://www.vsi-isbc.org.

See the attached Backgrounder and List of Approved Projects for further details.

For more information, contact:

Barry MacKillop
Senior Policy Analyst
Voluntary Sector Task Force
Privy Council Office
(613) 943-0212

Daniel Grenier
Press Secretary
Office of the President of the Treasury Board of Canada and Minister responsible for Infrastructure
(613) 957-2666

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