THUNDER BAY -- A member of the council at First Christian Reformed Church in Oliver-Paipoonge is speaking out against the federal government's demand that employers applying for subsidies to hire students for summer jobs attest that their core mandate respects individual human rights including reproductive rights.
Chris Grootenboer, an elder at the church on Cooper Road, says the requirement means that "any group that has an anti-abortion plank in its core values cannot receive funding."
A sign by the road leading to the church depicts an infant along with a caption that states "Take my hand, not my life." In an interview with tbnewswatch.com, Grootenboer said "the anti-abortion view is part of our church belief."
The past two summers, First Christian Reformed Church received a youth employment grant to hire three university students to manage sports camps and a youth camp for about 160 young people, as well as other activities.
Grootenboer said the attestation requirement that's now been added to the application form goes against the church's Biblical principles and conscience, is discriminatory, and violates the rights of Canadian citizens.
He noted that although he sits on the church council, he is speaking about the issue as an individual. It's his belief, however, that the church "can't in good conscience" agree to the attestation.
In the wake of concerns from some church groups across the country that religious freedom is at stake, Thunder Bay-Superior North MP Patty Hajdu—the minister of Employment— on Tuesday sought to clarify that the "core mandate" reference relates to the primary activities an organization undertakes, rather than its beliefs or values.
A spokesperson in Hajdu's office also issued a statement on her behalf saying the change in the grant application requires organizations to confirm that both the job that would be funded and the group's core mandate "respect individual human rights and labour laws and do not support discriminatory practices. The core mandate is the primary activities...that reflect the organization's ongoing services provided to the community. It is not the beliefs of the organization, and it is not the values of the organization."
Hajdu's press secretary, Matt Pascuzzo, said the attestation was added to the application form because some organizations that received funding had been using it "to undermine the rights of Canadians. For example, funding was used to support organizations that distribute graphic images of aborted fetuses, and organizations that do not welcome LGBTQ2 young people at their youth programs."
Under the new requirement, a group whose primary activities are focused on removing or "undermining" existing women's reproductive rights is not eligible for funding.
The government has indicated that a faith-based organization with anti-abortion beliefs which operates a summer camp offering programs such as leadership and skills development for disadvantaged youth would be eligible to apply for money to hire students as camp counsellors.
The attestation requirement, however, is mandatory for all applicants.
