- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Conservative
- Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan
- Alberta
- Voting Attendance: 67%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $170,231.20
- Government Page
- Feb/12/24 4:10:29 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition that I am presenting raises a concern about a proposal from the government and the Liberal Party in its last election platform to effectively politicize charitable status determinations. The Liberals proposed to deny charitable status to organizations with convictions regarding abortion that the Liberal Party does not like. This, petitioners say, would jeopardize the charitable status of hospitals, houses of worship, schools, homeless shelters and other charitable organizations that do not agree with the Liberal Party on matters of conscience.
The government has previously used a values test to discriminate against worthy applicants to the Canada summer jobs program, denying funding to any organization for which the applicants are not willing to check a box endorsing political positions of the governing party. This proposal would amount to a second values test.
The petitioners say that charities and other non-profit organizations should not be discriminated against on the basis of political views or religious values and should not be subject to a politicized values test. Therefore, the petitioners call on the House and the government to protect and preserve the application of charitable status rules on a politically and ideologically neutral basis, without discrimination on the basis of political or religious values or the imposition of another values test, and to affirm the right of Canadians to freedom of expression.
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- Oct/5/23 10:22:33 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate that the member for Winnipeg North is concerned about the politicization of the House of Commons. We certainly would not want to see that happening.
The petitioners say:
The government has previously used a "values test" to discriminate against worthy applicants to the Canada Summer Jobs Program, denying funding to any organization which was not willing to check a box endorsing political positions of the governing party;
Charities and other non-profit organizations should not be discriminated against on the basis of their political views or religious values and should not be subject to a politicized "values test"; and
All Canadians have a right under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to freedom of expression without discrimination.
I am happy to reflect those concerns of petitioners without, in any way, commenting on my personal views on the matter, in order to satisfy the member for Winnipeg North.
Petitioners call on all members to protect and preserve the application of charitable status on a politically and ideologically neutral basis, without discrimination, and to affirm the right of all Canadians to freedom of expression. That is the view of some very wise petitioners.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to table a number of petitions in the House today.
The first petition is in support of private member's bill, Bill C-257, a bill that I put forward, along with a parallel bill, Bill S-257, that has been presented in the Senate by Senator Ataullahjan.
This bill would add political belief and activity as prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act. We are seeing an increase in incidents where individuals are discriminated against or threatened with discrimination on the basis of their political views. Not only is this an unjustified form of discrimination like many others, but it has a chilling effect on democratic deliberation, according to the petitioners.
Petitioners call on the House to support Bill C-257, which bans discrimination on the basis of political belief and activity, and defend the rights of all Canadians to peacefully express their political opinions.
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling is in support of Bill C-257, which is a private member's bill that I have put before the House. It responds to the problem of political discrimination, which is about people being discriminated against on the basis of their political views. The petitioners note that Canadians have a right to be protected against discrimination on the basis of their views and that it is fundamental to Canadian democracy when people are free to express their political views without fear of discrimination. Therefore, they ask the House to support Bill C-257 and defend the right of Canadians to peacefully express their political opinions.
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- Jan/31/23 10:16:47 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, next I am tabling a petition from people who are concerned about a Liberal proposal in the Liberals Party's last election platform to politicize the charitable status determination.
The Liberal proposal was to withdraw charitable status from organizations where the people involved had views on abortion that the Liberal Party disagreed with. This proposal would jeopardize, the petitioners say, the charitable status of hospitals, houses of worship, schools, homeless shelters and other charitable organizations that happen to have a difference of opinion from the Liberal Party on these issues. It would hurt the many Canadians who depend on the work of these charitable organizations.
The petitioners say the government has previously used a values test to discriminate against worthy applicants to the Canada summer jobs program, denying any funding to organizations that were not willing to check a box endorsing the political positions of the governing party. The petitioners say that charities and other non-profit organizations should not be discriminated against on the basis of their political views or religious values and should not be subject to a politicized values test.
Therefore, the petitioners call on the Government of Canada to protect and preserve the application of charitable status rules on a politically and ideologically neutral basis without discrimination on the basis of those values and without the imposition of another values test. The petitioners also call on the government to affirm the right of Canadians to freedom of expression.
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- Oct/24/22 4:18:35 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition is about a proposal put forward in the Liberal Party of Canada's 2021 platform to deny charitable status to organizations that have convictions about abortion that differ from the Liberal Party's views. This could jeopardize the charitable status of hospitals, houses of worship, schools, homeless shelters and other charitable organizations that have a different opinion. This mirrors the values test used in the past by the government to discriminate against worthy applicants for the Canada summer jobs program.
Petitioners believe that charities and other not-for-profit organizations should not be discriminated against on the basis of their political views. They should not be subject to a politicized values test. Therefore, they call upon the House to protect and preserve the application of charitable status rules on a politically and ideologically neutral basis without discrimination on the basis of political or religious values and without the imposition of another values test, and to affirm the right of Canadians to freedom of expression.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition I will table is in support of Bill C-257. It is my private member's bill seeking to combat political discrimination, people being discriminated against on the basis of their political beliefs and opinions. It would add political beliefs and activities on the prohibited grounds of discrimination to the Canadian Human Rights Act.
The petitioners want the government to support Bill C-257 and defend the rights of Canadians to peacefully express their political opinions.
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