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09 August 2018
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Dear Friend,Screen-Shot-2018-08-09-at-2-44-44-PM.png

I first wrote to you eight months ago about the serious concerns that many in the faith community had over a new requirement of the federal Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) Program.  With the end of summer now fast approaching, let me provide you with an update.
 
In the past, Christian charities across Canada had used CSJ funds to hire students to do everything from caring for the elderly, to providing assistance to refugees or the homeless, to running day camps in underprivileged neighbourhoods. This summer, many of our EFC affiliate organizations had to scramble to find the monies needed to hire students. Hundreds of programs were reduced or cancelled because of lost CSJ funding.
 
This wasn’t the result of a lack of government funds. In fact, the government had doubled its funding for the 2018 CSJ Program. However, the government did reject more than 1,500 applications this year (up significantly from 126 in 2017). The vast majority of the rejected applications came from organizations that refused to submit to a new values test that was being imposed by the government.
 
As you may already know, the federal government added a new requirement this year for charitable organizations and small businesses seeking CSJ funding. To be eligible, they must make an attestation to declare that both the job and the organization’s “core mandate” respect reproductive rights (defined as access to abortion), as well as other rights and values, including those around sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression.
 
Many Canadians have expressed grave concerns over this new requirement. Even the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, a group that supports abortion, is intervening in a court challenge to argue that it is unconstitutional to require this kind of “loyalty oath” in order to access government benefits. The fundamental freedoms of conscience and religion, thought, belief, opinion and expression, as guaranteed in the Charter, must be respected and affirmed in legislation, regulations and policy by a neutral government.
 
The freedom to hold and express differing views on any given issue is something that Canadians value. In a free and democratic society, everyone should be able to “beg to differ” with a government’s policies and values without fear of unfair treatment. Up until now, the government, tasked with ensuring equitable access to public benefits, has never imposed a biased values test to determine eligibility.
 
Whether they engage in anti-abortion activism or not, any organization that holds pro-life views are being unfairly discriminated against. It is unreasonable to ask faith-based organizations to separate their beliefs from their actions – an organization’s conscientiously held beliefs inform and is expressed in its activities, teachings, leadership decisions and conversations.
 
Since the new CSJ requirement was first introduced, the EFC and other faith groups have been calling on the Prime Minister and the Government of Canada to amend the CSJ guidelines and application process. We sought religious accommodation for faith-based organizations so they would not have to compromise their communal identity and beliefs. In March, the EFC and other faith groups met with the the Honourable Patty Hajdu, the Minister of Employment. We discussed the CSJ attestation and offered alternative wording that would express support for human rights without compelling agreement or belief on contentious issues. All to no avail! And because political persuasion has had no effect to date, many are turning now to the courts.
 
Screen-Shot-2018-08-09-at-2-45-29-PM.pngMany legal challenges have already been filed. At least three religious organizations and one non-religious charity have filed for judicial reviews. And several businesses in Ontario and Alberta have filed Federal Court challenges to argue that the attestation illegally forces businesses to express agreement with the government’s ideology in order to qualify for a public program. They are arguing that “compelled speech” is a violation of the Charter.
 
Meanwhile, other Christian charities and faith-based groups whose CSJ grant applications were rejected for failing to make the attestation are considering other types of legal challenges. The EFC is collaborating with the Canadian Council of Christian Charities, Christian Legal Fellowship and other partners on a legal strategy. Once the courts have sorted out which cases to hear, or whether they will hear various cases together, the EFC plans to intervene in those challenges where our legal support will be most helpful and strategic.
 
The policy change to the CSJ program sets a dangerous and far-reaching precedent. Might the government use ideological differences to justify stripping religious charities of their charitable status, for example? Might it go further and impose values testing on public benefits for individuals?
 
We need your assistance to help ensure that our freedoms are protected and preserved for this and future generations. Please pray for the judges who are being called upon to make judgments on these cases – that they would rule with godly wisdom and discernment. And please pray for our work going forward, both on Parliament Hill and in the courts, and consider making a generous gift today in support of all our endeavours. We also encourage you to contact your MP to express your concerns and to ask them to push for changes to next year's CSJ application.

Sincerely,
Bruce Clemenger
President


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