Gov’tsummerjobs program challenged

An Ontario business says it will take the Liberal government to court over the conditions attached to the federal Canada Summer Jobs program, arguing they violate freedom of speech.

Tamara Jansen, spokeswoman for a newly formed group called Free To Do Business Canada, says a number of other companies are also expected to challenge the government’s controversial attestation requirement.

She said Sarnia Concrete Products Ltd., was the first to challenge the requirement in Federal Court as part of her initiative.

Organizations that applied for funding under the program were required to attest that both the job and the organization’s core mandate respect individual human rights, including reproductive rights and the values underlying the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The core mandate means the primary activities undertaken by the organization.

Jansen says the requirement “forces” small businesses to take positions that are “irrelevant” to their business. She said her organization’s argument is not on the basis of religious freedom, but on the basis freedom of speech.

“It forces them to publicly agree with government ideology in order to access a public program that should be equally available to all small businesses. This is unfair and unjust,” Jansen told a news conference on Parliament Hill.

Jansen refused to answer questions about her own ideology and would not say if she opposes abortion. She wouldn’t say if she’s affiliated with any religious or political groups, reiterating that she’s tackling this issue from a business perspective.