Lakeland MP Shannon Stubbs office has confirmed a sheet of information opposing the federal summer jobs program changes available at the local food bank May 16 came from a Conservative mailer sent by the office.
The sheet of information, photocopied from the mailer, discusses the Conservative opposition against changes to Canada Summer Jobs program funding. Photocopies of the mailer were available at the Athabasca Good Samaritan Ministries Association May 16, according to food bank secretary Lois Uchytil, after an undisclosed source brought in the photocopies and asked they be made available at the food bank.
Shannon Stubbs office manager consistency assistant Tina Warawa said the photocopy was taken from a mailer sent to 10 per cent of households in the consistency in April, but the office was not involved in any additional distribution beyond that.
“We were not aware that any residents were attempting to gather feedback by doing a form in public regarding the Canada Summer Jobs, but we certainly appreciate any efforts made that help share the concerns with either us or any level of federal government,” Warawa said in an email.
The mailer discusses the Liberal government adding a new requirement for applicants of the 2018 Summer Jobs program to affirm both the job and the organization’s core mandate respect individual human rights in Canada. These include reproductive rights and the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of sex, religion, race, national or ethnic origin, colour, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, according to the Canada Summer Jobs website.
The mailer said the Liberal government is imposing a “values test” to those seeking funding under the program, adding applicants “must prove that they agree with the Liberal government’s ideological positions.” The mailers further said many groups have decided not to apply as a result of this test, putting community programs at risk, and the Conservatives opposed the new requirement.
However, the mailer does not explain what the “values test” actually entails and the positions applicants must agree to.
The Canada Summer Jobs website notes the objective of the change was to prevent the funding going to organizations who are not respecting individual human rights.
“The objective of the change is to prevent Government of Canada funding from flowing to organization whose mandates or projects may not respect individual human rights, the values underlying the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and associated case law,” the website said.
The photocopy from the mailer was available at the Athabasca Good Samaritans Ministries Association food bank May 16 alongside information discussing opposition to Bill 24: An Act to Protect Gay-Straight Alliances. However, the source for the information on Bill 24 came from the Parents for Choice in Education website, not the mailer from Stubbs office.
Uchytil said in an interview the association will no longer host fliers at its facility.
Stubbs office responding to concerns
The mailer was a “10-percenter,” a party political flyer MPs can mail at no cost to themselves to 10 per cent of households within their constituency.
Warawa said the office received a lot of calls expressing concern about the Summer Jobs program change, which was why the office decided to send out this particular mailer to gather feedback to use when the issue is before the House of Commons again.
“Many MP’s sent out the 10%er (sic) with our return addresses so we could track those with concerns and bring those concerns forward asking for changes,” Warawa said in an email, adding Conservatives are opposed to making funding based on if you hold a certain value.
The mailer was sent to multiple Conservative MP ridings, Warawa said, but the form was not seen within Shannon Stubbs office before being sent out. The comments gathered will be categorized to potentially be used in House of Commons debate, Warawa said.
“It really is just kind of gathering more information like we do on a lot of topics,” Warawa said in an interview.
In response to a question about whether the negative slant of the mailer might lead to a certain type of feedback and whether that was fair, Warawa said there is a limit to how much information can go into a mailer and people are already aware of the summer jobs issues already.
“There’s only so much information that would go out on them. A lot of people were very aware of what was going on with it,” Warawa said in an interview.
A request for an interview with an appropriate spokesperson to further discuss the mailer’s formatting was not returned before publish time.
