Despite accusations of discriminating against LGBTQ2S+ staff, evangelical Bible camp Young Life has received over $600,000 in government funding in recent years, according to its charitable tax returns. This included over $150,000 from the federal government in 2019.
A movement of current and former members of Young Life is rallying behind the hashtag #DoBetterYoungLife calling on the organization to abandon its anti-LGBTQ2S+ "sexual conduct" policies. That story is documented by Kathryn Post in Religion News Service.
Post describes how Christina Hofmann was an assistant director of the British Columbia-based Young Life camp Beyond Malibu. However, after she came out in 2015 her contract was not renewed. The camp is located on Princess Louisa Inlet, north of Egmont.
According to the Government's Grants and Contributions database, the federal government provided Young Life of Canada with $128,212 through the Canada Summer Jobs program for positions across the country. For 2019, the federal government included a requirement that programs funded through Canada Summer Jobs would not "...discriminate, contrary to applicable laws, on the basis of prohibited grounds, including...sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression."
Between 2015 and 2019, Young Life reported $616,049 in government funding. In 2019, the organization reported receiving $158,462 from the federal government.
An online petition calling on Young Life to change its policies has garnered nearly 6800 signatures.
The BC Humanist Association received less than $15,000 from Canada Summer Jobs in 2019 to fund three summer interns. The BCHA does not discriminate in its hiring or programs and actively welcomes applications from marginalized communities.
In 2019, the BCHA launched the BC Queer Humanist Alliance and this week launched a petition supporting a ban on conversion therapy.