On March 19, 2018, Members of Parliament had the opportunity to stand up for freedom of conscience, opinion and belief in the House of Commons.
Conservatives put forward the following motion: “That, in the opinion of the House, organizations that engage in non-political non-activist work, such as feeding the homeless, helping refugees, and giving kids an opportunity to go to camp, should be able to access Canada Summer Jobs funding regardless of their private convictions and regardless of whether or not they choose to sign the application attestation.”
The motion was defeated 207 to 93 with all but one Liberal in attendance voting against the motion. All Conservative MPs in attendance voted in favour.
“Today we had the opportunity to stop the Liberal values test which Justin Trudeau has imposed on the Canada Summer Jobs program,” said MP Ted Falk. “Unfortunately, only one lonely Liberal MP listened to the outcry from his constituents and stood up to the Prime Minister.”
The Canada Summer Jobs Program provides funding to assist employers and not-for-profit organizations create summer job opportunities for full-time students. However, just before Christmas, the Liberal Government quietly changed the rules of the program to require applicants to sign an attestation agreeing with the government’s ideological positions or be rejected for government funding.
More than 1500 organizations from across the country were unwilling to sign the new discriminatory attestation and have received notices that their applications have been rejected.
“Canadians should be extremely skeptical of a government that is basing funding decisions on whether or not you hold the same beliefs and values as they do,” added MP Falk. “Conservatives will continue fighting for Canadians on this important issue.”
