Dear Editor,
MP Alice Wong has publicized her letter to Service Canada, refusing to validate Summer Jobs Applications over Human Rights Declaration, claiming political interference. I am not a federal Liberal Party supporter, and I certainly do not agree with much of what they have done or failed to do; but, when it comes to applications for government grants, I am 100 per cent in agreement with the condition of respect for individual rights, even those of people whose beliefs you don’t share.
Wong appears to have issue with the statement: “Both the job and my organization’s core mandate respect individual human rights in Canada, including the values underlying the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as other rights. 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 or sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression.”
Wong claims applicants must attest that they share certain values with the Liberal Party of Canada. In point of fact, applicants only need to agree to respect individual human rights that we enjoy in this country.
So, I’d like to know, Alice, precisely which of the listed individual rights you or your constituents will not agree to respect?
In my view, a government grant is not a right but a privilege and I detect a sense of entitlement from those who complain about the required attestation.
If an applicant’s core mandate does not respect all of these individual rights, I don’t want my government funding them.
It is their right to lobby or promote against any of the listed rights, but I certainly don’t expect their lobby to be supported by my tax dollars, nor should it be.
In my view, Wong is doing nothing more than grandstanding and pandering to those who think they are entitled to government grants and that The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms should protect their right to disrespect and limit the rights of others who don’t share their beliefs.
Keith Paterson
RICHMOND
