Minister of International Cooperation Julian Fantino responds to a question during question period in the House of Commons Monday February 11, 2013 in Ottawa. International Co-operation Minister Julian Fantino is defending the Conservative government's decision to provide funding to an Ontario evangelical group that has described homosexuality as a perversion and a sin. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
February 11, 2013 - 12:40 PM
OTTAWA - International Co-operation Minister Julian Fantino is defending the way Canada hands out money for development projects abroad.
He's under fire in the House of Commons following a Canadian Press report that funding went to an evangelical group that has described homosexuality as a perversion.
Ontario-based Crossroads Christian Communications, which produces television programs, received $544,813 in federal money to help dig wells, build latrines and promote hygiene awareness in Uganda through 2014.
Uganda has been shaken by virulent homophobia in the past and Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has condemned plans for an anti-gay bill there that could potentially include the death penalty for homosexuals.
Crossroads recently described homosexuality as a perversion and a sin on its website, although the post disappeared after the group was contacted about it.
Fantino tells the Commons that projects are financed based on results, not religion.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013