Madam Speaker, the fourth petition I am tabling deals with human rights issues here at home. It responds to a commitment made by the Liberal Party to impose another values test tied to charitable status. It says that in order to receive charitable status, one has to agree with a certain position of the government when it comes to the question of abortion.
Petitioners believe that charitable status should be provided on a politically neutral basis without discrimination on the basis of the views of the organization, and that this values test could negatively impact schools, hospitals, homeless shelters and other worthy charities that do good work for the public, but may not agree with the particular political positions of the government.
The petitioners call on the House of Commons to protect and preserve the application of charitable status rules on a political and ideologically neutral basis without discrimination on the basis of political or religious values and without the imposition of another values test, and to affirm the right of all Canadians to freedom of expression.