- Summer Jobs Program: Further Evidence of The Government of Canada’s Ideological Approach Toward Religious Charities
- Bussey on ipolitics.ca: Trudeau, Trinity Western and the war on religious dissent
- CCCC Open Letter To Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour
- Important Notice about the Canada Summer Jobs Program
- Agree with Abortion or Lose Government Funding! Watch Intersection
- BREAKING NEWS: Government has issued more information on the CSJ Program
- CCCC’s Response To Government’s Supplementary Information on CSJ
- BREAKING NEWS: Live News Conference from faith leaders on Canada Summer Jobs issue
- RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES CALL ON GOVERNMENT TO REMOVE ABORTION ATTESTATION REQUIREMENT
- Federal Court Refuses Injunction On Canada Summer Jobs
- Government Extends the Canada Summer Jobs Deadline to February 9
- CCCC’s Recommendation in Response to Government Rejections of CSJ Applications
- What the fuss about ticking a box on the Canada Summer Jobs application is about
- URGENT: Watch Live Now Debate at the House of Commons
- Parliament to Vote on March 19 on the Canada Summer Jobs Program
- Canada Summer Jobs Motion is Defeated But The Issue Remains Very Much Alive
- Bussey Op-Ed: Keep your money. Our religious conscience is worth far more.
- Minister Hajdu Says No to Changes This Year
- Minister Hajdu Says No to Changes This Year
- Canada Summer Job Program Heats Up in Time For Summer
- We Need Your Financial Help to Support Litigation Against the Government of Canada’s Violation of Freedom
- BREAKING NEWS on Canada Summer Jobs
- The government finally blinks on the summer jobs attestation — or so it seems
- To Apply or Not to Apply for Canada Summer Jobs Funding?
- 2019 Canada Summer Jobs Update
- Canada Summer Jobs 2020 – Applications Open!
- Canada Summer Jobs 2020: Approvals Now Available
- Canada Summer Jobs 2021: Applications Open
- A Win for Religious Organizations Challenging Canada Summer Job Rejections
- Canada Summer Jobs 2022
A news report was published today stating that the government has changed the wording of the Canada Summer Jobs application form so that “pro-abortion beliefs to funding eligibility is being dropped.” However, we have yet to receive the final wording on the federal government’s 2019 Canada Summer Jobs attestation requirement.
I am looking forward to receiving a copy of the wording to ensure it is wording our members will be comfortable in signing when they apply for the 2019 program.
Last year, about the same time as now, the government put forward a requirement that applicants were required to endorse a statement saying that they agreed with the government’s position on abortion and other undefined “Charter values.” That led to a massive protest throughout the country among many religious charities, including CCCC’s members. We simply could not, in clear conscience, recommend our members sign on, as it was an imposed “values test.” We organized a campaign, along with other organisations including the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto, Christian Legal Fellowship, and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, against this policy.
It took a while, but eventually the government began to listen to our concerns. Unfortunately, the government refused to modify the language for the 2018 program. As a result, over 1500 charities refused to “check the box” and many more chose not to apply at all. Changing the language for 2019 is definitely a step in the right decision.
It is pleasing to know that the government is making moves to remove last year’s offending language. The media reports that the new language will “require applicants to declare they don’t work to infringe on any Canadian’s legal rights.” No organisation that I am aware of has ever sought to remove or infringe on anyone’s legal rights. They simply want to be able to go about doing their charitable work without the government imposing its worldview on them.
Barry W. Bussey with Liberal MP Scott Simms. Mr. Simms was removed as Chair of the House of Commons Fisheries Committee because he stood against the Government’s CSJ policy.
The report also states that the changes will “disqualify any project or summer job that tries to restrict access a woman’s ability to access sexual or reproductive health services. Other disqualifying traits include jobs that restrict the exercise of human rights or that discriminate based on sex, religion, race or ethnic origin.”
Again, I have not seen any charity do these kinds of things, either. What we do know is that abortion advocates were upset over the fact that groups who oppose abortion on principle were receiving government money. The government responded to the complaint by making such a broad generalization it resulted in confusion and unnecessary stress on religious charities that had nothing to do with abortion or removing anyone’s “rights.”
Here’s hoping that the 2019 policy will be something that all Canadians of goodwill can support. We will find out soon. Stay tuned.
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Hello, Barry.
The link to the news report shows “This story is no longer available.”
Yes, I have noticed that. I am keeping my ear to the ground.
The National News Watch web site have moved the story to https://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2018/12/06/liberals-drop-contentious-anti-abortion-test-for-summer-jobs-funding-5/#.XAlh6OipGUl
MP Scott Simms is a true Canadian hero. He has the courage of his convictions. I am a conservative, but I will be supporting his reelection.
The National News Watch web site have moved the story to https://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2018/12/06/liberals-drop-contentious-anti-abortion-test-for-summer-jobs-funding-5/#.XAlh6OipGUl
Always appreciate your professional and insightful approach to advocating on behalf of the Christian Charitable sector
On your recent article in the Messenger on “Sovereignty”. In it you stated that the modern liberal democracy developed out of respect for individual freedom (of conscience). Actually this tolerance for freedom of conscience developed out of Christianity. Early Christians were stoned but the stones were always going in one direction only. Christians did not retaliate or persecute non-believers. Christians allow individuals to choose their beliefs. The state, what we call liberal democracy, does not. The state based on democracy, or universal equality hates the truth of the Gosple of Jesus Christ. Jesus taught inequality. He taught the judgment, and the separation of the wheat and the Tate’s. Democracy says “No, that’s wrong! Everyone is to be saved because we are all equal.” Democracy is intolerant except for those who accept their belief in universal equality. Those who are opposed to equality are persecuted and killed. To accept equality, or democracy, is to deny Christ for he is an unequal human being, being the Son of God the Creator of all things.
Thanks for your comments. The Messenger piece is only a small excerpt of a much larger work I am writing. The liberal democratic tradition flows from a very long stream of political and theological thought that includes Christianity. Indeed the freedom we enjoy today is because of the Christian idea that everyone is equal before God. We have inalienable rights given by the Creator. However that did not erase hierarchy. We are all unequal in many ways and will continue to be so. The radical idea that we are or should be equal in the absolute sense is not, in my view, a liberal democratic understanding, but flows from the radical French Revolution, Marxism and communism. We know how that turned out. Thanks again.