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OTTAWA — The Canada Summer Jobs program is usually one of the best parts of an MP’s job: they get to proudly go around their riding announcing grants to small businesses, non-profits and public sector organizations that subsidize the wages of summer students.

But this year the program has sparked a huge controversy over whether the government is violating religious freedom by requiring all applicants to sign an “attestation” that includes respect for reproductive rights — in other words, access to abortions.

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The government is refusing to back down in the face of a growing outcry from religious groups, and a court challenge has already been launched by an anti-abortion group.

Here’s how this all started, and where things go from here.

Why did the government add an attestation?

Last year, the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada published reports that showed how federal funding was going to anti-abortion groups. It specifically highlighted Canada Summer Jobs grants as a source of such funding.