Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am presenting today is from folks across Canada who are concerned that certain charities could be targeted based on their views and forced into a values test. The petitioners note that the Liberals have promised to deny charitable status to groups that they view as being dishonest. This could jeopardize the charitable status of hospitals, houses of worship, schools, homeless shelters and other organizations. We have seen a similar values test applied to the Canada summer jobs grant.
The petitioners are asking the House of Commons to protect and preserve the application of charitable status rules on a politically and ideologically neutral basis, without discrimination on the basis of political or religious views and without the imposition of another values test. They also ask for an affirmation of the freedom of expression for all Canadians.