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That stipulation applies not only to the job activity, but the core mandate of the organization.

The change to the Canada Summer Jobs program, which created nearly 69,000 jobs in 2017, stems from a controversy last year when officials approved tens of thousands of dollars for groups opposing abortion — a fact Arthur and her national political advocacy organization helped bring to light.

But Arthur said she thinks the message is getting lost, thanks to vague language that has faith-based groups fearful that the government is treading on fundamental freedoms of conscience, religion and thought guaranteed by the charter.

Many churches and other religious groups say that forces them to choose between their spiritual values and funding that helps run soup kitchens, shelters and other activities that have nothing to do with abortion.

“If there is a confusion in the wording, then that is a problem I think that they should look at and hopefully fix,” Arthur said. “There should be some way of doing it without raising the ire of all these other religious groups.”

Arthur wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Employment Minister Patty Hajdu last week, recommending the government clarify the wording on its website, both to “correct the confusions” and “mitigate the effects of any lawsuits.”

Some groups have discussed adding a letter to the application form explaining that while they do support all charter and human rights law, they do not want to be compelled to express broad support for reproductive rights. Employment and Social Development Canada suggests such applications would be rejected outright.