Media Coverage
What will follow "the great pandemic pause on family formation" in Canada? Declining marriage rates are the result of private decisions, as they should be, but they "have public consequences," writes Peter Jon Mitchell, family program director at Cardus.
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As VIP programs start offering bonuses or other inducements to encourage Ontario gamblers to spend more, many are raising concerns. Brian Dijkema, vice-president of external affairs at Cardus, tells the Toronto Star, “If gambling is like a drug — and for many people it is — this is effectively a strengthening of the dose.”
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With new census data showing a continuing decline in Canadians who identify as religious, a public inquisition appears to be emerging: "Should our education systems stamp out religion?” David Hunt, Education Director at Cardus, takes to the pages of the National Post to answer that question.
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"Governments of all stripes have ... centralized Ontario’s education system over the years," argues Brian Dijkema, Vice-President of External Affairs at Cardus. "By building a centrally controlled education monopoly, the government has left the province uniquely vulnerable to strikes."
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Ontario's government is in the wrong in its latest labour dispute with education support workers, but so is the union. Brian Dijkema, vice-president of external affairs at Cardus, untangles the mess and suggests a way out that works for parents and children.
David Eby’s B.C. Builds proposal "deserves enthusiastic support from people of all political stripes, including conservatives," argue Brian Dijkema, vice-president of external affairs at Cardus, and Renze Nauta, our work and economics program director. But they also warn the premier-designate needs to make sure restrictive community benefits agreements don’t ruin his good plans.
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"Let’s cut to the chase. The current federal-provincial child-care deal in Alberta isn’t working. And it’s certainly not going to work come 2023, when additional regulations go into effect," write Catharine Kavanagh, our Alberta policy liaison, and Andreae Sennyah, our Alberta-based policy officer.
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"Canadian political leaders are right to voice support for the working class. But do they understand Canada’s new working class and do they have an agenda to match it?" Renze Nauta, Sosina Bezu, and Sean Speer ask probing questions in their commentary in the National Post.
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"There’s nothing inherently wrong with having a bit of fun with a game of chance, but we’ve moved well beyond putting 20 bucks down on a game on Friday night," Brian Dijkema, Vice-President of External Affairs at Cardus, tells The Hub. "What’s happening is a mass, systemic revenue generation tool that operates on the back of the poor and addicted, and that’s a moral problem."
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"There are gaps in employment, income and education between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians," reports the Globe & Mail's Wendy Stueck. "A September report by the faith-based think tank Cardus found limited progress in those areas since 2008, when the federal government apologized for the residential school system."
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The trades have traditionally been seen as "what the kids who don’t make it to university do,” Brian Dijkema, Vice-President of External Affairs at Cardus, tells the London Free Press. But that cultural narrative is thankfully changing.
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Does it make sense to fund religious and independent schools with tax dollars? David Hunt, Education Director at Cardus, answers that question with a resounding "yes" in his Financial Post commentary.
"There’s been a major shift in the type of jobs that working-class Canadians do. The old image of blue-collar men on the manufacturing assembly line is no longer representative," writes Sean Speer, who co-authored the Cardus report Canada's New Working Class.
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"To dismiss the married-parent family structure as passé is what author and student of psychology Rob Henderson has termed a luxury belief—an opinion that is fashionable among elites but disastrous in practice for the lower classes," writes Peter Jon Mitchell, Family Program Director at Cardus. Ready his full argument in Christianity Today about the importance of the basic principle of family.
"In an age when society is 'deleting religion' from the everyday, supporting local religious organizations actually benefits the community fivefold," reports the Georgina Advocate as reporter Amanda Persico looks at the Halo Project by Cardus.
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There has been precious little progress on Indigenous economic reconciliation since the federal government apology in 2008 for Indian Residential Schools. Income and employment gaps remain, notes Cardus's Renze Nauta in this story in The Western Standard.
September 19th should be a national holiday, a nation-wide time of remembrance and mourning to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II, argues Brian Dijkema, Vice-President of External Affairs at Cardus. He tells host Jas Johal that a holiday only for some government employees falls well short of what is needed for the observance of the Her Majesty’s funeral.
Let's broaden the debate about making education better for everyone in Alberta. Michael Van Pelt, President & CEO of Cardus, and Andreae Sennyah, Cardus Director of Policy, write in the Edmonton Journal to offer four creative suggestions for improving K-12 education in the province.
"Educational pluralism, stated really simply, is a system of education that allows for the funding and regulation for forms of schools that are not necessarily government-operated," explains Deani Van Pelt, a Cardus Senior Fellow, in this Hub Dialogues podcast episode. Listen in (or read the transcript) for more on how all of us could benefit from more fully embracing this concept.
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Breaking with their tradition, the editors at The Hub publish a rare official editorial on the importance of work. "It should be relatively non-contentious to recognize that declining religious participation has had significant effects on modern society," they write. "We believe that a withdrawal from work could similarly have major consequences for our society that need to be better understood, debated, and ultimately contested."
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"Revelations of a class action lawsuit over horrific alleged abuses at a Saskatchewan independent school have led to renewed calls to end taxpayer funding for the entire sector," writes Deani Van Pelt, a Cardus Senior Fellow. She responds by building a case for a "pluralist education system" with "local-district, separate, francophone, and independent schools operating side by side."
"Toronto is facing another multi-million-dollar budget shortfall. While it’s easy to blame the pandemic, most of the problem is of the city’s own making. For years, Toronto has refused to recognize that construction competition could go a long way in keeping it out of financial trouble," writes Karen Renkema, VP Ontario at the Progressive Contractors Association of Canada.
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"Just as Ontario parents finally head into a 'normal' school year, they’re hearing talk of potential strikes amid tense teacher and support worker contract negotiations. Given the immense learning loss students suffered over recent 'COVID-schooling' years, there surely must be a better way to resolve these issues," writes David Hunt, Education Director at Cardus.
"Canadian religious congregations bring the country an estimated benefit worth $18.2 billion," reports Faith Today magazine, citing a Cardus study. Check out the full story if you'd like to learn more about the "halo effect" of religious congregations.
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