Some employers in Richmond may have refused to take part in the Canada Summer Jobs program, however the federal government says it has nevertheless filled its quota of 437 student jobs in the city.
Canada’s Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, Patricia Hadju, was welcomed with open arms at the B.C. Muslim Association last week in Richmond, where local opposition MP Alice Wong previously stirred up controversy surrounding the Canada Summer Jobs program.
Hadju’s ministry had required employers to sign an attestation that they would respect individual human rights in Canada, as laid out by the Charter of Rights and Canadian law — including reproductive rights, and the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of the sex, religion, race, gender identity and other factors.
Once an employer had done that, they would qualify for federal funding via Service Canada to hire a student for the summer.
Wong had written to Service Canada saying that she would not sign off on local Canada Summer Jobs Grant applications due to her opposition to the newly required attestation form, calling it a “politically motivated intervention.”
As a Richmond MP, Wong would have been able to help rank the qualifications of an employer, be it a non-profit group or small business. For instance, an MP can sign off on a business that may not have qualified with the default needs assessment set by Service Canada. As such, those in the Richmond Centre riding were prioritized automatically.
B.C. Muslim Association advisor Bilal Cheema told Hadju the association had no problem with the attestation.
According to Wong’s office, some employers did, and refused to sign the document.
“We need to ensure that when students engage in summer work that they will not be asked to undermine the rights of Canadians,” said Hadju.
Wong’s assistant, Sacha Peter, reiterated to the Richmond News, via email, that Wong opposed the attestation as it “opens the door to government mandated values testing on other public funding and grants.”
