“We don’t yet see a full suite of policy proposals that meet the needs of that working class,” Brian Dijkema, vice-president of external affairs at Cardus, tells The Hill Times in this story about how political leaders should respond to the demands of working-class Canadians. (Paywall)

Rev. Dr. Andrew Bennett, faith communities program director at Cardus, is calling on leaders at all levels to do more to reduce hate crimes against Canada’s religious communities. He took that message to The Mike Farwell Show on City News 570 in Kitchener, ON.

Religious hate crimes annually reported to Canadian police more than doubled between 2009 and 2021, according to a Cardus research brief. Brian Dijkema, vice-president of external affairs at Cardus, tells AM640 in Toronto it's time for leaders to take a stronger stand.

"Nearly one in five Canadian children witness the separation or dissolution of their parents’ relationship by age 18," writes Peter Jon Mitchell, family program director at Cardus. "Despite this high percentage, little public attention is given to family structure and child well-being as a result of family breakdown."  

"It took a recent controversy in the Cowichan First Nation to expose the serious, fundamental problems with the [Community Benefits Agreement]," writes Renze Nauta, work and economics program director at Cardus. "The program has not only failed to meet its stated objectives, but that the objectives themselves are fundamentally misaligned against the public interest."

"If every woman in Canada had exactly the number of children that she says she personally desires, Canada would have replacement rate fertility," Lyman Stone, a demographer and Cardus senior fellow, tells the Hub Dialogues podcast. "So you can either listen to what women say they want or you can think you know better than them." Photo by Juan Encalada on Unsplash 

"While many public schools and independent schools have created their own policies to ensure safety, there is no official accountability for partners such as recruitment agencies or homestay agencies," warns Joanna DeJong VanHof, a Cardus education expert and researcher as she calls for major improvements to Ontario's International Education Strategy.  Photo by Eliott Reyna on Unsplash 

Dr. Leonie Herx, the chair of palliative medicine at Queen’s University and a Cardus senior fellow, tells the Globe and Mail she's not impressed with the Parliamentary committee that recommended a massive expansion of medically assisted suicide to children and to those with mental illness. “The whole process was dismissive of the evidence," she says.

The Law Society of Ontario is heading into an April election where its controversial “statement of principles” about diversity and inclusion is front and centre. As the ideological conflict heats up, Brian Dijkema, vice president of external affairs at Cardus, notes, "One of the gifts of democracy is that you should not actually have to have a political opinion all the time."