A timeline of how new rules were added to the Canada Summer Jobs program

OTTAWA — This week marked the start of jobs funded through the Canada Summer Jobs program, which has received attention this year because of the Liberal government’s efforts to screen organizations applying for funding and blocking any that refuse to attest that neither they nor the summer jobs in question would support an anti-abortion agenda.

Following is a timeline of events based on documents obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act, as well as other public sources.

2017

Jan. 11: The Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada puts out a press release saying that 112 crisis pregnancy centres registered as charities received about $3.5 million in government funding between 2011 and 2015. Data tables linked in the release show tens of thousands of dollars in Canada Summer Jobs grants.

Jan. 19: The Liberals announce an extension to Feb. 3 to apply for the Canada Summer Jobs program after officials find not enough businesses are applying.

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Feb. 20: Members of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada email Labour Minister Patty Hajdu and Status of Women Minister Maryam Monsef about the concerns laid out in the group’s January release. The email notes that anti-abortion activists are among those applying for summer jobs grants: “In the interest of patient safety, quality education and respect for charter rights, funding must be stopped immediately and permanently.”

Feb. 21: An official in Hajdu’s office forwards the message: “For correspondence. Thanks.” The coalition doesn’t get a response.

March 14: Members of the coalition send a second email to Hajdu, copying Monsef and Finance Minister Bill Morneau, making the same request as the February missive. Less than one hour after it arrives in Hajdu’s office, an official forwards it with a note: “For indexing. Thanks.” The coalition doesn’t get a response. This loop is repeated once more a week later.

April 10: The coalition puts out another release detailing summer jobs grants to anti-abortion groups. Among the groups is one from 2016 in Liberal MP Iqra Khalid’s Toronto-area riding: The Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform. Khalid emails department officials and says the group “should not be receiving funding” and thanks officials for “all your support and help on this.”

April 12: Service Canada calls Khalid’s office and writes a follow up email. Funding won’t go to the group, as per Khalid’s orders. News outlet iPolitics does a story about the grant in Khalid’s riding, but Khalid refers questions to Hajdu’s office. A spokesman for Hajdu tells iPolitics it was an oversight if Khalid gave an anti-abortion group funding the previous summer.

April 13: Hajdu’s department provides her with speaking points should she be asked about the issue during question period. At the back of the document is a mention of the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform: its project number from 2016, the amount of approved funding ($69,750), the amount paid ($56,695) and the number of jobs created (16). Additional information has been blacked out of the documents because officials say it could cause financial harm to the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform. There is no mention of new eligibility requirements.

Dec. 8: Hajdu’s officials provide her with another list of speaking points for question period, this time specifically about the new declaration. Officials recommend that she say the declaration “is consistent with individual human rights in Canada, charter rights and case law” and the Liberals’ “commitment to human rights, which include women’s rights and women’s reproductive rights, and the rights of gender-diverse and transgender Canadians.”

Dec. 19: Hajdu’s department produces a set of media lines for the opening of applications for the Canada Summer Jobs program, as well as a set of questions and answers. The new attestation requirement isn’t mentioned in the document. An applicant’s guide is also released. The guide says that sexual and reproductive rights includes “the right to access safe and legal abortions.” The guide says the point of the new rules is to prevent federal funding “from flowing to organizations whose mandates or projects may not respect individual human rights.”

2018

Jan. 30: Hajdu’s department crafts an updated set of media lines now that the application period has been extended by a week. One of the reasons was due to “recently provided supplementary information to address questions about what constitutes eligible and ineligible organizations, an organization’s core mandate and defining respect of individual human rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”

Feb. 27: Hajdu’s department crafts an updated set of media lines after applications close. The documents note the number of applications is on par with 2017, that demand exceeds the available budget and also addresses the new eligibility rules. Are religious organizations ineligible? “No. … Applicants are not asked to provide their views, beliefs or values as these are not taken into consideration during application for the program.” Are religious groups being treated differently? “No. … Faith based groups are required to meet the same eligibility criteria as any applicant.”

March 21: A group of religious organizations meet Hajdu about the eligibility criteria. One week later, the group releases a joint letter about the summer jobs requirements, saying it is “extremely disappointed” the Liberals won’t change the wording faith-based groups find problematic. Hajdu tells them she’s open to further clarifying the intent of the language, but there doesn’t appear to be a promise that the wording around reproductive rights in particular would be removed.

April 24: Hajdu announces the launch of jobs being funded through the 2018 version of the program, noting there are 3,000 first-time employers, that applications are on par with last year, and that hundreds of faith-based groups have received funding this year — meaning they marked the “I attest” box.

The Canadian Press