Media Coverage

Denying charitable status to crisis pregnancy centres because of their stance on abortion "is a threat to freedom of expression in a pluralist society and sets a troubling precedent for the politicization of charitable status in Canada," writes Andreae Sennyah.

"Have the authors of this report, reputable leaders with credentials and careers in public service, all been so blinded to their worldview that they can write their report without realizing the offence it provokes?" asks Ray Pennings, Executive Vice-President of Cardus?

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A report recommending Canada's government remove Abrahamic faiths from the military chaplaincy is "one of the most egregious examples of anti-religious sentiment I have ever seen in Canada," writes Brian Dijkema, Vice-President of External Affairs at Cardus.

After Michael Van Pelt, President and CEO of Cardus, called out discriminatory recommendations for re-defining the military chaplaincy in Canada, the defence minister took a step to put some distance between herself and the recommendations.

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"Eliminating sexism, racism and other social evils from the Canadian Armed Forces is a laudable goal. But sadly, the National Defence Advisory Panel on Systemic Racism and Discrimination has recommended an approach that appears to be based in religious bigotry: a theological cleansing of the military’s chaplaincy from some faiths," writes Rev. Dr. Andrew Bennett.

A recently released report from the Minister of National Defence’s Advisory Panel on Systemic Racism and Discrimination calls for discriminatory action itself among some of its many recommendations. The panel recommends the Canadian Armed Forces not employ chaplains affiliated with religions “whose beliefs are not synonymous with those of a diverse and inclusive workplace.” Cardus is calling on the defence to reject that part of the report.
 
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$272.6-million to improve the employment prospects of people with disabilities is “pretty underwhelming,” says Cardus's Brian Dijkema, compared to what the government spends on other priorities.

Comment pouvons-nous comprendre les croyances et pratiques religieuses à l'Alberta et les autres provinces du Canada? Lisa Richmond, Vice-Président de recherche à Cardus, explique les résultats d'un sondage par l'Angus Reid Institute.

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Brian Dijkema, Vice-President of External Affairs at Cardus, speaks out on the importance of work and reforming Canada’s system of disability benefits.

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"Albertans and their fellow Prairie dwellers are more likely to be 'religiously committed' than other Canadians, a new survey on faith suggests," reports CBC Edmonton's Janet French.

A new survey by the Angus Reid Institute in partnership with Cardus suggests Canadians' religiosity is on the decline. Others say some religions are, on balance, damaging to society. Ray Pennings, Cardus executive vice-president, helps put the findings in context.

"One third [of Canadians] say [religious freedom] is deteriorating, it's getting worse," Ray Pennings tells host Rob Breakenridge. Ray dives into the details on the latest polling on religion in Canada by the Angus Reid Institute in partnership with Cardus.

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"Growing immigration is changing the composition of religion in Canada, an in-depth survey shows, though not all communities of faith feel welcome. The Angus Reid Institute and Cardus survey ... is described as the first of its kind to take a comprehensive look at Canadians’ faith across a full religious spectrum," reports The Globe and Mail.

A new study from Joanna DeJong VanHof, a Cardus researcher, suggests Ontario’s pandemic experience raises a critical question about whether in-person schooling should be an essential service.

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Before the next public health crisis hits (or the current situation gets worse), Ontario should ask some hard questions about why its education system struggled to serve students well during repeated shut-downs and why independent schools seem to have fared far better, writes Cardus researcher Joanna DeJong VanHof.

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Andrea Mrozek, Senior Fellow with Cardus, tells host Adam Stirling why British Columbia would help more families by providing child care funding directly to them rather than supporting just one type of centre-based care.

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B.C. parents looking forward to $10-a-day child care shortly are in for disappointment. Provincial mismanagement of child care and disrespect for child care operators has been going on for years and it has hit a boiling point, writes Andrea Mrozek.

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"Just as we’ve seen in other provinces, the federal child-care plan’s fee reductions apply only to the families using licensed care. In Ontario, less than a third of children under age six use that kind of care," writes Peter Jon Mitchell in The Hamilton Spectator.

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"Allowing parents to find the best fit for their child(ren) is in the public interest," writes Cardus President and CEO Michael Van Pelt in the Calgary Herald. "These options are all part of public education. Funding them or allowing them to expand will improve public education, not undermine it."  

The Religious Freedom Institute's Eric Patterson and Andrew Bennett, director of religious freedom at Cardus, discuss the religious landscape in Ukraine, and in particular the threat the ongoing Russian invasion poses to the unique national churches in Ukraine.

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Anne Snyder, editor-in-chief of Comment Magazine, details the launch of "Breaking Ground" - a network of institutions and people created in the spring of 2020 to use the resources of the Christian humanist tradition to respond collaboratively and imaginatively to the year’s significant crises.

"I'm not sure courts are fully valuing religious freedom at times," says Dwight Newman, a University of Saskatchewan law professor. "We’ve had probably a secularization of the judiciary, to some extent." Prof. Newman is the author of the recent Cardus report Reasonable Limits: How Far Does Religious Freedom Go in Canada? 

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"Rather than abolishing taxpayer-funded Catholic schools, let’s let funding follow all students to their best-fit school — including religious independent schools," argues David Hunt, program director for Cardus Education.

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In the Hub Dialogues podcast, Cardus's Brian Dijkema discusses his unique path to the world of think tanks, the future of trade unions, the non-material benefits of work, and Quebec’s Bill 21.

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"Why would we want to crush creative educational models and squeeze new approaches into outdated policy boxes?" asks David Hunt in this article critiquing the Ontario's government's approach to family-organized learning hubs.

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