OTTAWA, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) — A pro-abortion group is advocating for employers opposed to euthanasia to be disqualified from summer job grants given by the Canadian federal government.
According to information published January 16 by Blacklock’s Reporter, Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC), the same group that successfully lobbied for pro-life employers to be denied federal summer job grants in 2017, is pushing to bar employers opposed to euthanasia from the same program.
“Rights include not just reproductive rights but also LGBTQ rights, racial equality, the right to medical assistance in dying and any other fundamental right protected under our Charter and human rights codes,” ARCC executive director Joyce Arthur wrote in a submission to the House of Commons human resources committee.
“When groups have a main focus on opposing human rights, funding them would contradict and even harm the government’s obligation to ensure equality,” Arthur added. “Regardless of the Canada Summer job, even if it is to mow the lawn, that work gives sustenance to the group’s harmful mandate and activities.”
Jack Fonseca of Campaign Life Coaltion told LifeSiteNews, “It’s deeply disturbing to see the federal government being lobbied to actively discriminate against employers who oppose euthanasia.”
“It’s even more disturbing because we already know that Justin Trudeau’s Liberal regime is fully committed to the death cult, and will most certainly act on Joyce Arthur’s recommendation,” he added. “After all, this is the same Liberal regime that is set to expand euthanasia to depressed and mentally ill Canadians in March of this year. These Liberal MPs value killing and death more than almost anything.”
“I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that the ARCC, a group whose entire mission is to advance the slaughter of babies in the womb is now pushing for employers to be coerced into accepting the murder of the elderly, disabled and mentally ill in exchange for government grants,” he declared. “The ARCC is a truly gross organization. In a sane world, MPs of every stripe would be standing in the House of Commons to condemn Joyce Arthur.”
According to Health Canada, in 2022, 13,241 Canadians died by MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying) lethal injections, which accounts for 4.1 percent of all deaths in the country for that year, and a 31.2 percent increase from 2021.
While the numbers for 2023 have yet to be released, all indications point to a situation even more grim than 2022.
In 2017, under the recommendation of ARCC, the Liberal government under the leadership of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau mandated that employers sign an “attestation” that they agree with abortion and transgender “rights” to be eligible to receive summer job grants.
The new law, aimed at pro-life organizations like Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), mandated that in order to receive federal job grants, employers must attest that: “Both the job and the organization’s core mandate respect individual human rights in Canada, including the values underlying the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as other rights.”
“These include reproductive rights and the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of sex, religion, race, national or ethnic origin, color, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression,” it continued.
The move sparked outrage from pro-life organizations across Canada, with the Right to Life Association of Toronto and the Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform of Calgary filing lawsuits.
In December 2018, Employment, Workforce and Labour Minister Patty Hajdu announced the federal government was scrapping the controversial 2018 Canada Summer Job attestation.
However, the new attestation for 2019 states: “Any funding under the Canada Summer Jobs program will not be used to undermine or restrict the exercise of rights legally protected in Canada.”
Further, the following question was added to the Canada Summer Jobs application form for 2019, asking applicants to specify “how your organization will be providing a safe, inclusive, and healthy work environment free of harassment and discrimination.”
Currently, the Commons human resources committee is examining the Canada Summer Jobs application process and accepting submissions from various groups on how the program has succeeded or failed.
Earlier this month, Evangelical Fellowship of Canada argued that the Department of Employment has continued to discriminate against Christian employers applying for summer job grants.
“The review process involves a case by case assessment of applications that can be subjective, arbitrary, inconsistent, unpredictable, lacking in transparency and which in some cases seems to involve ideological screening,” the Christian organization wrote. “We have heard from enough faith-based groups that we are concerned these are not just isolated incidents.”
According to Fonseca, “Now that this is public, we need the churches and spiritual leaders of all denominations to speak out. Most especially, the sleepy and mostly silent Catholic Bishops of Canada need to open their mouths and condemn this discriminatory recommendation and hold Justin Trudeau’s feet to the fire.”
“The Conservative Opposition also needs to condemn this outrageous and immoral discrimination,” he declared. “Finally, I hope this will lead to more lawsuits against the Canada Summer Jobs Program and this Trudeau regime.”