The Canada Summer Jobs program is an initiative created to subsidize the cost of hiring students as employees during the summer. However, the program and its thousands of summer-job grants may not be available for faith-based organizations after changes made by the federal government.
“In the non-profit and charitable sector, we don’t have huge budgets,” said Myron Rogal with the Saskatoon Roman Catholic Diocese, “so we rely on this.”
According to the diocese, many religious and faith-based organizations have used the grant in the past for a wide range of jobs including maintenance, archival and even relief work for regular employees away on vacation.
But under new rules announced in December by the federal government, organizations must check off a box in their applications that contains an attestation stating their organization’s core mandate respects the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as LGBTQ and reproductive rights.
“These include reproductive rights, and the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of sex, religion, race, national or ethnic origin, colour, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression,” the attestation reads.
Some groups see this as a challenge that would require them to betray their beliefs and violates their constitutional right to freedom of religion and expression.
“It’s never something healthy to impose morality and we see this as a direct violation of every Canadians right to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion as well,” Rogal said. “It’s been quite broad and something that we see as being restricted because we share a different view of when a human life may begin.”
According to the federal government, the changes were made to prevent the misuse of funds to discriminate against Canadians.
“Some groups like the Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reform, for example, were using those government funds in a way to create graphic pamphlets that featured aborted fetuses as a way to shame women,” Minister of Labour Patty Hajdu said at a news conference in Toronto on Tuesday.
Jason MacLean, a law professor at the University of Saskatchewan, said despite the confusing wording from the government, the declaration likely wouldn’t hold up in court.
“The problem with that is it’s constitutionally over-broad,” MacLean said. “What they’ve done instead in a very clumsy way is essentially made funding contingent upon having certain beliefs, and that’s discrimination.”
“It’s kind of ironic that in order to get the money, you have to check off a box saying you respect particular charter values and other rights,” MacLean said. “And in the meantime, you have to violate your own charter rights.”
Hajdu said the government is prepared to support its decision on the matter.
“I really don’t think that the government can actually make out an argument that the violations of the charter rights in question are justified,” MacLean said. “They could’ve used much narrower means to achieve their purposes.”
Saskatoon’s Roman Catholic Diocese is calling on the federal government to reverse the changes to the application process.
“To come up with an amendment that would open up this conversation a bit more,” Rogal said. “One that would ask someone to change their particular belief.”
The diocese is releasing a campaign and a strategy in the coming days on what to do if you’re involved with a local faith-based organization. MacLean recommends the organizations be very specific about what jobs will result from the summer funding.
“They simply say the funds will be used for legal purposes, not illegal purposes,” MacLean said. “That in a practical matter would satisfy the government.”
Applications are being accepted until Feb. 2.
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