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Andrew Scheer’s tenure as Conservative Party leader has been covered in a thick mildew of caution.

In January, the Liberals announced they would require all applicants for the Canada Summer Jobs program to check a box on the application form attesting they agree with the party’s position on abortion.

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It should have been an open net for Conservative shots — a clear case of the self-proclaimed “party of the Charter” infringing on freedom of expression.

Yet the Conservatives, leery of being drawn into a debate on abortion, backed away from engaging the government on the issue in the House of Commons.

The summer jobs issue was raised in question period just once, when MP Karen Vecchio said that including the values test for religious groups would deny money to organizations that provide aid to refugees, run day camp programs for kids with disabilities and help at-risk youth.

The smugness in the response from employment minister Patty Hajdu should have reinforced the Conservatives’ resolve to raise the heat on the subject.