(LifeSiteNews) — A Canadian judge argued it’s “reasonable” that the Canadian government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau mandates that applicants to the federal Summer Jobs Program (CSJ) first must attest that they support abortion. Toronto Right to Life has blasted the ruling.
On October 22, Justice Catherine Kane dismissed a legal challenge by Toronto Right to Life, its former President and now Vice President Blaise Alleyne, and a student.
Toronto Right to Life’s lawsuit said that CSJ attestation for support of abortion was an attempt to “influence or affect political speech, to compel or censor speech, to regulate beliefs, or to discriminate against them on the basis of their religious beliefs.”
Kane wrote that the “minister did not act for an improper purpose, rely on irrelevant considerations, or show bad faith or a closed mind in making this decision.”
“Given that the decision reflects a proportionate balancing, it is a reasonable decision,” she added.
Alleyne told LifeSiteNews that Toronto Right to Life is “quite disappointed” with Kane’s ruling, but vowed to continue the fight.
“We believe it’s a violation of our Charter rights to put a values test on a government program like that, and deny applicants on the basis of their beliefs, rather than relevant eligibility criteria. I think that all Canadians should be able to see the principle at stake here,” said Alleyne. “If the current government can deny equal consideration for funding based solely on beliefs about abortion, what’s to stop a future government from putting in place a different values test based on other beliefs? What’s to stop a government from putting values tests like this on other programs?”
Alleyne added that they will be “reviewing the ruling and exploring” next steps.
Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) also came out slamming Kane’s decision.
“This is a terrible decision from Justice Catherine Kane who dismissed Toronto Right to Life’s 2018 legal challenge and is an affront to the principle of equality under the law, enshrined under Section 15 of the Charter,” said Jeff Gunnarson, National President of CLC.
Gunnarson said that Kane has now said that it is alright for “the government to discriminate against pro-life citizens who hold that life is sacred from conception and that preborn children deserve legal protection.”
The controversy surrounding the Canada Summer Jobs Program (CSJ) began in 2017 after then Employment, Workforce and Labour Minister Patty Hajdu mandated that groups wishing to receive funding from program sign an attestation supporting the so-called “right” to abortion.
At the time, applicants to the CSJ had to sign a document affirming that “both the job and the organization’s core mandate must respect individual human rights in Canada, including the values underlying the Canadian Charter of Rights & Freedoms as well as other rights.”
The guide stated that the “rights” to which employers were obliged to pledge to included abortion access, as well as LGBTQ and transgender ideology.
After backlash, Hajdu said the government was modifying the controversial 2018 Canada Summer Job attestation, but the revised version in 2019 stated, “Any funding under the Canada Summer Jobs program will not be used to undermine or restrict the exercise of rights legally protected in Canada.”
Also added to the revised attestation was the requirement to explain “how your organization will be providing a safe, inclusive, and healthy work environment free of harassment and discrimination.”
Pro-life groups have the “right to participate in government programs as any other group”
CLC’s Gunnarson said that pro-life Canadians should “not be asked to compromise their core values in order to partake in such programs.”
“This test for values that differ from those of the government of the day is naked discrimination against pro-life Canadians. For a judge to see such discrimination as ‘reasonable’ in any sense is shameful,” said Gunnarson.
CLC Vice President Matthew Wojciechowski said the Trudeau government is waging a “not so hidden war against pro-life organizations in Canada, and Christians in general.”
Despite Kane’s October 22 ruling, other judges have ruled against the discriminatory rules attached to the CSJ.
In July, a federal judge ruled that the Canadian government unfairly denied access to Redeemer University and Mill Stream Bible Camp to Canada’s CSJ because they hold traditional Christian views on marriage and family.
Judge Richard Mosley ruled that CSJ funding for the school was denied solely because it holds the biblical view that marriage is between a man and a woman. He then ordered the federal government to pay the school’s full legal costs, a total of $102,000.
Mosley declared that Mill Stream Bible Camp operated by BCM Canada International was unfairly denied $45,600 in funds for six jobs for summer camp counselors because of their traditional Christian views.