A Newfoundland member of Parliament is petitioning his own government to remove a stipulation requiring that groups who apply to a 2018 summer jobs program affirm their support of abortion in order to receive grant money.
Newfoundland Parliament member Scott Simms maintains that the 2018 Canada Summer Jobs application — which currently mandates applicants attest their support of abortion by declaring they will respect the Charter of Rights and Freedoms — violates the rights of churches and religious groups who seek to apply and wish to receive funding for efforts that aren’t related in any way to reproductive rights. Section 7 of the Charter protects individual autonomy and legal rights, and is enforced such that the government does not interfere with a woman’s access to reproductive healthcare.
Groups must also affirm their support of LGBT and reproductive rights, following complaints filed to the Canadian government alleging that some organizations had refused to hire gay youths to hand out graphic cards, according to Global News.
“The application is asking them to do something that they shouldn’t be asked to do for the sake of a summer job for kids,” Simms told CBC Radio’s Central Morning Show, explaining that he intends to write federal employment minister, Patty Hajdu, to request a change in application requirements.
“Just last week, I spoke with one of the churches about housing, affordable housing. The Salvation Army is constantly doing things for anti-poverty. So I have a close connection with these groups, and I represent them, even if we have a difference in belief,” Simms, Newfoundland’s Liberal Member of Parliament, said, according to CBC.
A spokesperson for Hajdu told CBC that the application doesn’t necessarily exclude religious groups from eligibility because they can still declare the affirmative while maintaining their own beliefs. Simms responded to that comment, however, expressing disgust that the government would assume these groups would go against their beliefs simply to garner funding.
“To me that’s a lack of respect. If I was to say to someone, ‘Look, don’t worry about it, just tick the box or whatever’ — some people have a core fundamental belief that they don’t believe in this,” Simms said. “This application, as it stands right now, is not right.”
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