Some people think that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s new rule, that you have to agree with him about abortion, homosexuality and trans issues to submit a grant request, is simply to ensure that public money is not spent on activities that go against his positions on these issues. That is not the case.
The real problem is, do you think that Canadians should have to agree to the government’s ideas in order to participate in a government program that has nothing to do with those issues?
The Basilica, for example, every year hires several students as tour guides. The Basilica will not be eligible for grants this summer. Church-run summer camps that hire students as groundskeepers or lifeguards are not eligible. The Mustard Seed in Alberta, which provides services to poor and homeless inner-city people, is run by a Pentecostal group and is not eligible.
Some might say, well, I agree with the government on these issues. The real problem is, do you think that Canadians should have to agree to the government’s ideas in order to participate in a government program that has nothing to do with those issues? The government is not just saying “this money is not available for anti-abortion activism,” it is saying “you have to think right before you are eligible for this program, regardless of what you would use the grant for.”
I realize Liberal MPs were allowed to run only if they agreed with the policies of the Liberal Party of Canada regarding these issues. But when they agreed to that, did they intend to disenfranchise so many of their fellow citizens who, even though they didn’t agree with everything they stood for, voted for them?
Joe Mroz
St. John’s
