Article content continued

Earlier this week, Hajdu told the Huffington Post there could be some clarification of the attestation next year, but said the goal of keeping grants away from groups protesting abortion would remain. “I think there is room to make it more clear in the years going forward that that’s what we are getting at,” she said.

Our government remains committed to ensuring that taxpayer funds are never used to work against women's rights, LGBTQ2 rights, or other human rights

It remains unclear if Hajdu will consider changing the attestation itself, rather than just including supplementary information. The coalition’s letter says “many of our organizations remain concerned that the question of ‘reproductive rights criteria’ and other undefined values will remain present in the application form in 2019.”

They have suggested an alternate attestation that reads: “My organization complies with all laws to which we are subject, including all applicable human rights laws and labour/employment laws, and will use the Canada Summer Jobs grant only for the activities stated in our application. My organization recognizes that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms of all Canadians.”

Asked about the meeting and whether the attestation could get amended next year, a spokesperson for Hajdu said the minister “meets regularly with stakeholders to hear their views on how to best support young Canadians.”

“Our government remains committed to ensuring that taxpayer funds are never used to work against women’s rights, LGBTQ2 rights, or other human rights,” said the statement.

After the final rejections are received, the coalition’s members will turn again to the question of taking legal action. There is already one constitutional challenge scheduled to be heard in Federal Court on June 19, but it was launched in the early days of the attestation controversy by an anti-abortion group. Religious organizations have waited to see how the whole process played out before deciding whether to go to court.

• Email: bplatt@postmedia.com | Twitter: btaplatt