Mr. Speaker, again and again, we watch as the government puts itself before the people of Canada, which is the exact opposite of why a federal government exists. It is the exact opposite of why any government exists.
Government is in place to serve the people of the country, and in this case, a very vast country, composed of people from different ethnic backgrounds and religious or faith backgrounds. People from different countries all over the world come to Canada and call it home. The government has decided it is going to create an attestation statement within the summer jobs grant application. That attestation statement is incredibly discriminatory in nature toward Canadians and the diversity that exists within our country.
Let me explain more.
The purpose of the grant is to hire students to take on jobs for the summer. In order to apply for the grant, organizations now have to sign off on a values statement the Liberals have dictated to them. There is no choice in the matter. Institutions, organizations, and businesses that apply for the grant do not get to say no, that they do not agree with it, but that this is how they are advocating for the rights within the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Instead, they have to sign off on the values the Liberals are imposing on them, which I is a direct attack on their charter rights of religious freedom, rights of conscience, freedom of belief, freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly. They are no longer granted these rights under the current government. Instead, they have to sign this statement that is ascribed by the Liberals, as if they are the values held by every Canadian. That simply is not the case.
Many organizations being brought under attack by the Canada summer jobs attestation are in fact faith-based organizations. However, there are others as well. Let me talk a little about these faith-based organizations.
Many organizations in my riding of Lethbridge, Alberta will be impacted. I have heard specifically from 15 that are being denied funding by the government, which equates to close to 100 jobs in my riding. Young people from the college and the university in Lethbridge will no longer be able to find those jobs this summer because of the government's ideals that are being propagated.
I will talk about a few of them.
One of them is SABC, a summer camp for kids. It brings in kids from indigenous communities and children from homes where they are perhaps underprivileged or just have a hard time making ends meet. They bring kids in from the foster care system. They also bring in kids from all sorts of homes all over Alberta. Those children get to go to camp and enjoy all sorts of activities and care. It is an amazing time of their lives. Without the Canada summer jobs grant, that opportunity has now been taken from SABC.
SABC is hearty and it will find other ways to make it happen, because the people are compassionate and passionate about serving Canadian children, specifically the children in my province. They will move forward, but with no help from the government.
Another organization in my riding offers services with regard to the housing insecure and homeless. This organization does tremendous work feeding, clothing, caring for the needs of those individuals. This organization will be rejected funding based on this attestation statement.
Another organization in my riding does incredible things to care for refugee families, particularly Syrian refugees. It has done phenomenal work. It would normally hire several students over the summer to continue that work. It will no longer be able to do that.
Another is The Mustard Seed in Calgary. Three hundred young people will be denied an opportunity for employment because of the attestation statement.
The government talks a lot about compassion, dignity, and preserving diversity, but that is a lot of talk and there is no action to back it up. At the end of the day, if we want to raise our young people to function within society with compassion and increase their civic engagement, then we have to be willing to facilitate that. One of the ways we do that is through the Canada summer jobs grants. What better way than putting their boots on the ground and helping the homeless or being able to work with children at a summer camp? These are acts of compassion. These are our Canadian values.
The government has tried to paint these organizations into a corner. It has tried to force them to sign off on a values statement, which these organizations simply cannot sign in good conscience. That is a breach of their charter rights.