Budget Environmental joins Cardus as lead philanthropic partner in OpenBalfour project       FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE      August 28, 2019 HAMILTON, ON – A proposal by think tank Cardus to restore Hamilton’s historic Balfour House has taken a big step forward. Major Hamilton-based company Budget Environmental has now joined Cardus as lead philanthropic partner for the heritage preservation project. “We’re thrilled to join Cardus and its partners in support of the restoration of the Balfour Estate,” said Ian Bartels, President of Budget Environmental. “The restoration plan is solid and beneficial for Hamilton – a city that has been good to our company and family. So, we want to show our gratitude by getting involved in preserving this important piece of city heritage.” As lead philanthropic partner in the recently launched project to restore Balfour House, Budget Environmental joins two other local employers – Invizij Architects and Schilthuis Constrution – already cooperating with Cardus on the heritage restoration proposal.  “This signature gift is a major boost for the Cardus proposal to restore Balfour House,” said Michael Van Pelt, President and CEO of Cardus. “Budget Environmental is a highly respected company in Hamilton.  Their major gift adds credence to our request to Hamilton City Council for approval of our proposal.” Cardus has offered to take the full $1.5 million burden off the shoulders of taxpayers and the City of Hamilton by restoring and occupying the unused and deteriorating Balfour House.The property is currently owned by the Ontario Heritage Trust, while the city manages it. The goal of OpenBalfour would be to ensure a beautifully restored and meticulously maintained property for the Ontario Heritage Trust in 2039.  For more details on the propsal, visit OpenBalfour. -30- MEDIA INQUIRIES Daniel Proussalidis Cardus – Director of Communications 613-241-4500 x508 dproussalidis@cardus.ca

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 21, 2019 OTTAWA, ON – A new report by think tank Cardus has found that more than half the parents of kids in British Columbia’s indpendent schools have had to make major financial changes to access that educational option. Who Chooses Independent Schools in B.C. and Why? found that many parents have had to change jobs, take a part-time job, or make other budget sacrifices in order to send their kids to these schools. “The vast majority of independent schools in B.C. cater to average folks,” says report co-author and Cardus Senior Fellow Dr. Deani Van Pelt. “Our research has found that 65% of parents with kids in a B.C. independent school attended only public schools growing up. These are parents who’ve decided an independent school best meets the diverse needs of their kids, which is a family decision that deserves respect and support.” Among the key findings in Who Chooses Independent Schools in B.C. and Why? are the top three reasons parents choose an independent school: a caring and nurturing environment for their kids school safety an emphasis in character development. Researchers also found that B.C. independent schools cater to the growing diversity of the province: Nearly half (48%) of British Columbia independent school parents were born outside Canada, compared to less than a third (31%) of British Columbians. B.C. parents with kids in independent schools are more than twice as likely as the average British Columbian to speak mostly a language other than English or French at home. “It’s so important to understand what parents are looking for in education, their kids’ needs, and how a diverse range of schools can meet those needs,” says co-author David Hunt. “Equitable access to a range of educational options is a matter of fairness to average folks in B.C. and a recognition of the province’s growing social diversity, which is why public funding for independent schools is so important.” Who Chooses Independent Schools in B.C. and Why? is available online. -30- MEDIA INQUIRIES Daniel Proussalidis Cardus – Director of Communications 613-241-4500 x508 dproussalidis@cardus.ca

Dr. Lynn E. Swaner to contribute research acumen to think tank’s study of independent schools       FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 10, 2019 HAMILTON, ON – Dr. Lynn E. Swaner has joined Cardus as a senior fellow in its education program, bolstering an already strong roster of senior fellows. Dr. Swaner’s work will help strengthen Cardus research on the value of North American independent schools and the civic contributions their graduates make. Dr. Lynn Swaner  “Dr. Swaner knows education inside and out,” said Ray Pennings, Executive Vice President of Cardus. “We’ve relied on her in the past to help focus our education research and give it heft, so to bring her on formally as a senior fellow is a special privilege.”  Dr. Swaner is the Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), which strengthens and equips more than 25,000 schools in 108 countries, helping to give her a global perspective on education. At ACSI, she leads initiatives to address compelling questions and challenges Christian education faces – work that’s complementary to what she’ll do through Cardus. “Cardus research has been instrumental in establishing how much value independent and Christian schools bring to North American society, as well as to students themselves,” said Dr. Swaner. “I’m thrilled to be part of the effort to bring that research to school administrators and educators so that they can better articulate and achieve their mission, while engaging with the broader culture in winsome ways.” Prior to joining ACSI in 2015, Dr. Swaner served as a Christian school administrator and a graduate professor of education in New York. She is the lead editor of several books, including MindShift: Catalyzing Change in Christian Education (forthcoming 2019) and PIVOT: New Directions for Christian Education. She is also co-author of Bring It to Life: Christian Education and the Transformative Power of Service-Learning, editor of the ACSI blog, and host for the podcast Moving Forward in Christian Education. She holds an Ed.D. in Organization and Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University,  a master’s degree in counselling from Long Island University, and a bachelor’s degree in English from Binghamton University. -30- MEDIA INQUIRIES Rachel DeBruyn Cardus – Communications Officer 613-241-4500 x506 rdebruyn@cardus.ca

One in 10 payday loan shops shuts down, leaving desperate consumers with fewer options. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 27, 2019 OTTAWA, ON – Ontario’s payday loan users are likely worse off today than before the province capped payday loan interest rates and allowed cities to limit and regulate the location of lenders. A new Cardus report, The Changing Face of Payday Lending in Canada, finds that since the rate caps were introduced in January 2018, one in 10 payday lending shops in Ontario have shut down – all of them small, independent outlets. Several cities have also limited the number of payday loan outlets allowed within their jurisdiction, including Toronto, Ottawa, Kingston, and Kitchener. In most cases, payday loan shops will be limited to one per ward, which will leave big lenders with little local monopolies in the short-term, small-dollar loan market. Meanwhile, credit unions haven’t stepped up to provide better, lower cost alternatives to payday loans, despite the shutdown of so many payday lenders. “Ontario consumers now have fewer neighbourhood options for emergency loans than before,” says report author Brian Dijkema. “We know from polling Cardus has done with the Angus Reid Institute that 33 percent of Canadians say they’re so socially isolated, they’re not sure they’d have someone to turn to in case of a financial emergency. So, the need for emergency cash remains. While having fewer payday loan storefronts might look better, those desperate for credit might end up more dependent on impersonal and hard-to-regulate online lenders.” There is also evidence that the lack of competition among payday lenders in Ontario is getting worse. The three biggest such lenders in the province now command 63 percent of the market – up from 57 percent in 2016. The Cardus report also revealed another significant shortcoming in Ontario’s approach to payday loans: the province has little idea of whether it has actually helped consumers use fewer payday loans. The government hasn’t collected or published any data on consumer behaviour in this regard.  “Governments have not focused enough on how best to help those who are depending on short-term, high-interest loans,” says Dijkema. “That should be the focus for the future, instead of flashy announcements of policy changes with little to no follow-up to see if new measures actually helped.” Download The Changing Face of Payday Lending in Canada here. -30- MEDIA INQUIRIES Daniel Proussalidis Cardus – Director of Communications 613-241-4500 x508 dproussalidis@cardus.ca

 One third of payday loan shops have shut down, but where are the low-cost alternatives?     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 27, 2019 OTTAWA, ON – Alberta has managed to shrink the number of its payday loan shops in operation, but that doesn’t mean consumers are better off, according to a new Cardus report, The Changing Face of Payday Lending in Canada. Since Alberta introduced interest rate caps in 2016, 30 percent of payday lending shops in the province have shut down. Meanwhile, credit unions haven’t stepped up to provide better, lower cost alternatives to payday loans, despite the shutdown of so many payday lenders. Alternative, lower cost loans account for only 0.09 percent of the volume of all loans in Alberta.  “Alberta consumers now have far fewer neighbourhood options for emergency loans than before,” says report author Brian Dijkema. “We know from polling Cardus has done with the Angus Reid Institute that 33 percent of Canadians say they’re so socially isolated, they’re not sure they’d have someone to turn to in case of a financial emergency. So, the need for emergency cash remains. While having fewer payday loan storefronts might look better, those desperate for credit might end up more dependent on impersonal and hard-to-regulate online lenders.” The Cardus report also revealed other significant shortcomings in Alberta’s approach to payday loans: the province has little idea of whether it has actually helped consumers use fewer payday loans. The government hasn’t collected or published any data on consumer behaviour in this regard.  “Governments have not focused enough on how best to help those who are depending on short-term, high-interest loans,” says Dijkema. “If you’re going to change policy, you should do the follow-up to see if new measures actually helped.” Download The Changing Face of Payday Lending in Canada here. -30- MEDIA INQUIRIES Daniel Proussalidis Cardus – Director of Communications 613-241-4500 x508 dproussalidis@cardus.ca

 Lisa Richmond brings management and research heft to study of social institutions.        FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  June 24, 2019 OTTAWA, ON – Cardus is poised to expand and revitalize its research department with the appointment of Lisa Richmond as Vice President of Research. Lisa comes to Cardus after 16 years at Wheaton College in Illinois where she has been serving as Dean of Library and Archives. “Lisa is set to take the Cardus research department to the next level,” says Michael Van Pelt, President and CEO of Cardus. “She will join our senior management team, moving us further toward the goal of promoting a flourishing society North America wide. She is Canadian, has worked in the United States, and speaks both English and French, positioning Lisa excellently for growing the reach of our research.” At Wheaton, Lisa oversees 35 faculty and staff. She is responsible for staffing, programs, facilities, funding, and strategy at three separate libraries with $4 million in annual expenditures, while also planning a major capital campaign. Lisa has lived in five Canadian provinces and two U.S. states. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Regina, a Master of Library and Information Studies from UBC, and a Master's degree in theology from Regent College. She will soon finish her PhD in French literature from the Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier III, in France. Lisa and her husband, Jonathan, plan to relocate to Hamilton, ON where she will assume her duties in early September. “Cardus is unlike any other organization I've encountered,” says Lisa. “It combines depth and thoughtfulness with engaged and accessible research about North American society. It’s more important than ever that we help individuals and families thrive, that we spur our schools, workplaces, and cities to be places where everyone flourishes, and that our laws support the fundamental freedoms that make our common life possible. I am excited to join Cardus and become part of this work.” With Lisa coming on board, Executive Vice President Ray Pennings will move into his next phase at Cardus as senior public intellectual. Ray will take on a greater role in shaping public debates and advancing Cardus arguments. He will continue overseeing Cardus publications Comment and Convivium, while also driving cultural intelligence efforts, including the Spirited Citizenship project. -30- MEDIA INQUIRIES Daniel Proussalidis Cardus – Director of Communications 613-241-4500 x508 dproussalidis@cardus.ca

Quebec secularism bill based on “a historical fiction.”  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 17, 2019 Rev. Dr. Andrew Bennett, Director of the Cardus Religious Freedom Institute, has released the following statement the passage of Bill 21 in the Quebec National Assembly: “The assertion in Bill 21 that Quebec is a neutral, lay state is patently false and a historical fiction. A State that closes off the public square to citizens who choose to openly express their religious faith is not neutral; it asserts a secular ideology with secularist principles. A genuinely neutral State facilitates open expression of both religious and non-religious belief in the public square insomuch as such expression is respectful of others and of the legitimate rule of law. The new secularism law tries to maintain the fiction of upholding freedom of religion and conscience. Religious freedom is about the public living out of faith through observance and action, both inside and outside a place of worship. Such fundamental freedoms are not gifts of the State. The State must not unjustly limit fundamental freedoms. The new law denies freedom of religion to public servants in Quebec and, in doing so, will lower a pall over all public expression of religious faith there and significantly limits Quebeckers’ ability to engage in a genuinely common life with people of different beliefs. We possess the fundamental freedom of conscience and religion because we are human beings with dignity that the State may not sully. All opportunities for reasonable legal challenges should be pursued. Additionally, the Government of Quebec should not be surprised if public sector employers and employees conclude that civil disobedience is justified in opposing an unjust law.” MEDIA INQUIRIES Daniel Proussalidis Cardus - Director of Communications 613-241-4500 x508 dproussalidis@cardus.ca About the Cardus Religious Freedom Institute The CRFI researches Canadian religious freedom issues in order to educate Canadians and to strengthen the national network of religious freedom advocates. Central to the Institute’s work is the understanding that religious freedom is the fundamental right of all people, their communities, and their institutions to live out their most deeply held beliefs in both public and private contexts without interference from the state or other authorities. To learn more, visit the Cardus website.

Survey identifies pockets of resilience against isolation and loneliness in Canadian society. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 17, 2019 OTTAWA, ON – An extensive new survey by the Angus Reid Institute, conducted in partnership with think tank Cardus, finds that 23 percent of Canadians suffer from extreme social isolation and loneliness. An almost equal proportion of Canadians struggles with neither of those issues. The survey also found: 33% of Canadians say they’re not sure they could count on anyone for emergency financial help. 18% of Canadians say they’re not certain they could lean on anyone during a personal crisis. 45% of Canadians say they haven’t interacted socially with a neighbour in the last month. 38% of Canadians with a physical disability struggle with social isolation and loneliness. “Social isolation and loneliness are one of the biggest challenges of our time,” says Ray Pennings, executive vice president of Cardus. “They’re a symptom of our culture’s obsession with personal autonomy, leaving us living life as ‘I’ instead of ‘we.’ In doing so, we reap the poorer financial, mental, and physical health associated with isolation and loneliness, possibly making us more vulnerable to things like drug abuse, suicide, and the debt spiral caused by payday loan use.” The survey also identified pockets of resilience in Canadian society: 75% of Canadians who were neither isolated nor lonely were married (or living common law) compared to just 48% of those who struggle with both issues. 63% of Canadians who were neither isolated nor lonely had children, compared to 58% of the most isolated and lonely. 36% of Canadians who weren’t isolated attended religious services at least monthly, compared to just 17% of the very isolated. 51% of Canadians who weren’t isolated prayed at least monthly, compared to 38% of the very isolated. “Two key social institutions seem to provide a buffer against isolation and loneliness – family and faith,” says Pennings. “Governments, media, the academy, social agencies, and all Canadians need to recognise the value of these institutions in order to find the solutions so many of us need.” Check out the full survey results online. -30- MEDIA INQUIRIES Rachel DeBruyn Cardus – Communications Officer 613-241-4500 x506 rdebruyn@cardus.ca 

Initiative will help train young Canadians from coast to coast to bring their faith into the public square. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 6, 2019 OTTAWA, ON – The Cardus Religious Freedom Institute (CRFI) today launched its Faith in the Future Initiative – a project designed to help young people live a public faith. The initiative will support Canadian millennials in their efforts to live out their faith publicly in an authentic and integral way. Rejecting relativism, syncretism, and a mushy middle consensus, which involve a compromise of belief, the Initiative involves authentic engagement, requiring delegates to be honest about their beliefs. “Faith in the Future recognizes that we hold many different beliefs, but that we need to engage one another in these differences in order to better recognize our shared humanity which is so necessary if we are to live a common life together,” says Father Deacon Andrew Bennett, Director of the CRFI. The Faith in the Future Initiative aims to build a network of 100 young faith leaders from Christian and other religious traditions across the country over the next three years. This initiative will support the development of public faith among Canadian millennials by organizing events, creating tools, maintaining engagement, and convening conferences with young faith leaders. “Faith in the Future is off to a running start, with fifty young leaders from various faiths involved already thanks to ten coffeehouse meetings we have held in seven different provinces across Canada,” said Fr. Dcn. Andrew. “But all that was in preparation for the real work, which begins today.” What will Faith in the Future delegates do? Throughout the summer and into the autumn of 2019, Faith in the Future delegates will meet in their local communities to study and discuss various materials related to religious freedom and living a public faith, including An Institutional History of Religious Freedom in Canada, a foundational CRFI report.  In the autumn, delegates will gather at two regional conferences – one in Western Canada, one in Eastern Canada to consolidate their learning and expand their multi-faith networks. At the same time they will engage their own faith communities in examining how effective they are in living their faith publicly and contributing to a deep pluralism. In early 2020, delegates will design and propose projects for which they will be solely responsible. The projects will support and encourage delegates’ own faith community to live a public faith. Delegates will have the opportunity to submit articles for consideration to Convivium magazine’s Voices from the Crowd series, giving them a platform to articulate the importance of public faith in their lives. The CRFI Advisory Council will mentor local Faith in the Future communities. Each community will have its own mentor to support them in living a public faith.    More information on the Faith in the Future Initiative is available online. -30- MEDIA INQUIRIES Daniel Proussalidis Cardus - Director of Communications 613-241-4500 x508 dproussalidis@cardus.ca About the Cardus Religious Freedom InstituteThe CRFI researches Canadian religious freedom issues in order to educate Canadians and to strengthen the national network of religious freedom advocates. Central to the Institute’s work is the understanding that religious freedom is the fundamental right of all people, their communities, and their institutions to live out their most deeply held beliefs in both public and private contexts without interference from the state or other authorities. To learn more, visit the Cardus website.