Canada’s government is making good on its threat to exclude pro-life and faith groups from Canada Summer Jobs funding — and the financial cost is mounting, the National Post reports.
The Liberals are demanding that any organization accessing the employment grant agree to support full “reproductive rights” — or abortion on demand — and do not oppose LGBTQ rights or gender neutral language.
Trudeau boasted about his intentions at a town hall meeting last month:
Despite objection from across the political spectrum in Canada, the federal government has not moved on the issue. That decision is costing many groups millions of dollars in funding that they have traditionally been used to hire students for the summer.
The Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto is estimating it will lose $1.1 million in grant money. “We’re kind of in limbo right now, but obviously making contingency plans,” spokesman Neil MacCarthy told the National Post.
Youth for Christ has used the money in the past to provide more than 100 student jobs, while Toronto City Mission has lost the $70,000 it received in 2017. The groups can apply again for the funding but they will have to attest that their “core mandate” does not conflict with the government’s abortion policy.
The official opposition Conservatives will finally challenge the Liberals in the House of Commons with a motion that seeks to condemn the decision. The decision to do so is controversial in a country that has had no abortion law since the Supreme Court of Canada struck down its last one in 1988 — and where that status quo is rarely questioned by political leaders.
Pro-life groups in Canada are enthusiastic about the motion — even if it means they will be excluded from the program. In a statement provided to The Daily Caller from REAL Women of Canada, Vice President Gwen Landolt states: “This motion is not perfect as it disqualifies all political and activist groups, including pro-life organizations. However, the motion should be supported in order to discourage the Liberals from proceeding with the removal of the tax-exempt status from churches and faith-based organizations.”
Employment Minister Patty Hajdu is so far refusing to back down, claiming many faith groups are caving to the pressure, the Post reports.
But it’s not just churches, mosques and synagogues that aren’t signing. Conservative MPs are collecting letters from across the country from people who just don’t think the federal government should tell them what their position on abortion needs to be in order to qualify for a government grant.
