Question of faith

Perry questions province on willingness to help groups left out of federal funding

The controversy surrounding faith-based groups and federal funding for summer students made a brief appearance in the P.E.I. legislature Wednesday.

Tignish-Palmer Road MLA Hal Perry asked his colleagues on the government side if the province could help pick up some of the funding slack if a group felt it could not apply for the federal grant program due to its religious beliefs.

“Minister, is it possible that the province could provide extra funding to these organizations that are not comfortable signing this document,” said Perry, referring his question to Workforce Minister Sonny Gallant.

Under the rules of the federal program, which were introduced in December 2017, organizations must check off a box in their online application which affirms the organization, among other things, respects the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including reproductive rights.

Some faith-based groups which have moral objections to some of those reproductive rights have said they cannot in good conscious agree to those terms, which leaves them without funding to hire summer students for their programs.

Gallant did not address the controversy directly in his response to this colleague. Instead, he listed a number of existing provincial programs all groups are able to apply for.

“Any organization that want to contact my department, we are willing to help them through some of these programs,” said Gallant.