The importance of the family undergirds many current policy debates including inequality, poverty, and child care. Unfortunately, we don’t want to talk about it, according to Nobel Laureate James Heckman, as Cardus Family Senior Fellow, Andrea Mrozek writes in this blog post featured by Institute for Family Studies.

Parliament needs to stand up for our fundamental freedoms by amending Bill C-6. Fr. Dcn. Andrew Bennett, director of the Cardus Religious Freedom Institute comments that harmful practices should be banned, but not at the cost of Canadians’ fundamental freedoms and ability to flourish.

Context Beyond the Headlines speaks with Cardus executive vice president Ray Pennings, for insight to the Christian view on the economy. As we move past the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and assess the impact it has had on our economy.

Fr. Dn. Andrew Bennett, director of the Cardus Religious Freedom Institute had the opportunity to speak about Pope Francis's historic visit to Iraq in this news feature by EWTN Global Catholic News (starting at the 41:00 mark).

Payday loans are short-term, high-interest-rate loans that you generally need to pay back within the typical two-week payday cycle. Are these lenders filling a need, or are they preying on Canadians who aren't able to borrow money from conventional sources? In a conversation with Alexandra Macqueen, Cardus Vice President External Affairs, Brian Dijkema notes, "There’s a certain inequality to affordable credit in Canada.” He adds, “One way to ensure that people on the economic margins have access to reasonably-costed credit is to be open to the development of unique solutions—through technology or social networks, for example—that can provide positive examples of low-dollar lending.”

Fr. Dn. Andrew Bennett, director of the Cardus Religious Freedom Institute, spoke to the National Post recently about religious persecution amid rising attacks on minority women in Pakistan. Human rights organizations estimate that over 1000 Christian and Hindu girls are kidnapped, raped, and forcibly converted each year in Pakistan.

Parental mindsets have shifted during this extraordinary year. COVID-19 has changed the habits of those in the work force, but parents of very young children have been especially hard hit. Prior to the pandemic, many parents were using childcare services for reasons of work and study. Changing situations demand that one-size-fits-all solutions, especially for Canadian families, whose childcare needs and desires range across a wide spectrum, should be viewed with suspicion, and this file should be relegated to the back burner until the new normal reveals its contours.

The Progressive Contractors Association of Canada (PCA) has issued a pre-budget submission to the Ontario government that focuses on open tendering, modernizing Ontario’s skilled trades and boosting apprenticeship investments. A Cardus report, which says that, "The city could generate at least $174 million in savings annually by simply opening up construction tendering to all qualified contractors,” has been cited in the submission.

Given recent narratives around the “evangelical” political movement in the USA, a question arises: Do America’s Christian independent schools contribute to political polarization? David Hunt, Cardus' Education and B.C. Director sheds light on this topic. He mentions that a bottom line derived from a recent Cardus Education Study shows that Churches and religious charities overcontribute to the common good, as do Christian schools and their graduates. Read more: