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A New Advocate for Religious Freedom in Canada

January 10, 2017

OTTAWA – Cardus is making a new advocate for the defence of religious freedom available to the news media through the launch of Cardus Law. Dr. Andrew Bennett, Cardus Senior Fellow and Canada’s former ambassador for religious freedom, will lead this new program, which aims to develop a better understanding how defending religious freedom enables other freedoms to thrive.

“Freedom of religion is a foundational freedom because without it, concepts like freedom of speech and assembly become meaningless,” says Bennett. “Cardus Law will seek to articulate that fact, helping to ensure that fundamental freedoms are guarded and upheld by Canadian institutions, including the courts and legislatures, and individual citizens.”

Under Bennett’s leadership, Cardus Law will focus on fostering scholarship, public discussion, and engagement with the legal process to help better understand how the law relates to such fundamental principles as freedom, justice, and truth.

Cardus Law has also released two new research papers, one from Bennett himself, and another by Faisal Bhabha, Associate Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School of York University. Bennett’s paper focuses on religious freedom as a fundamental freedom. Prof. Bhabha, meanwhile, examines the implications of several religious freedom cases that have worked their way through the Canadian court system. Their research papers are available here.

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