COVID-19

An Error Plagued Affront to Liberty

Douglas Farrow

January 19, 2021

In Convivium’s series exploring the line between freedom and COVID-19 responses, Douglas Farrow argues Quebec’s curfew and lockdown cut off our noses to spite our masked faces.

The Quebec government, by order in council, has locked down the province for a month and deprived its citizens of their constitutional rights, on the grounds of a “public emergency” that does not presently exist, under cover of a pandemic that has almost ru...

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Protecting Freedom From COVID-19

Peter Stockland

January 18, 2021

There’s no question the pandemic is real and really deadly but we must never forget that liberty, too, can suffer the painful demise of simply being forgotten, Peter Stockland argues.

The thought occurred to me two Saturdays ago that freedom might end, or at least subservience begin, not with a bang or even a whimper but with a smart phone signal.

The catalyst was two blats from my iPhone that sounded like Amber Alerts except they...

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We Better Hear the Hoi Polloi

Peter Menzies

January 11, 2021

Politicians and bureaucrats caught flouting COVID restrictions should get over their embarrassment and heed the pandemic suffering of working people, Peter Menzies writes.

As Grandpa used to say “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

That’s probably as good a premise to begin with as any as we enter Phase Three and close in on month 11 of “We’re Not All In This Together.” For those of you who missed it, Phas...

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MAiD Muscles In

Peter Stockland

January 8, 2021

Staff layoffs and eviction of B.C.’s Delta Hospice Society from its facility outside Vancouver show MAiD advocates’ power to impose their will on those who don’t want it, Peter Stockland writes.

You might think the middle of a global pandemic is less than an ideal time to disrupt the operations of a hospice where palliative care patients receive comfort as they approach death.

If so, you would not share the apparent thinking of the B.C. gove...

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10 Highlights of the Year for Cardus

Daniel Proussalidis and Monica Ratra

December 28, 2020

Daniel Proussalidis and Monica Ratra write that while 2020 was a forgettable year for many reasons, Cardus initiatives throughout the year provided memorable highlights for the organization and our supporters.

It’s cliché at this point, but 2020 is surely a year most of us would like to forget. And not just because of the pandemic or the brutally polarized political rhetoric of the past year. But, as we think back on the past year at Cardus, there’s actually a lo...

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A Christmas of Spiritual Longing

Ray Pennings

December 15, 2020

An Angus-Reid/Cardus poll shows 85 per cent of Canadians abiding by COVID lockdown rules. But human need for family and friends means government can’t take compliance for granted, Ray Pennings warns.

If mommy kisses Santa Claus this Christmas, hopefully they’ll be in the same household bubble.

After all, COVID means this is going to be a holiday like no other we’ve experienced before.

Canadians’ plans for the holiday season are a reminder ...

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When Believers Become Invisible

Jonathon Van Maren

December 4, 2020

COVID-19 has revealed an uncomfortable reality, Jonathon Van Maren points out: closure of churches isn’t State persecution but widespread ignorance of what goes on inside them.

For the past several months, Christians have been bombarded by headlines warning us that places of worship are being unfairly targeted by government COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns. Most insinuate persecution without making the accusation outright, ...

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Great Reset? Or Grand Unravelling?

Peter Menzies

November 30, 2020

Prime Minister Trudeau has mused that COVID-19 will allow for Canadian society to “re-set” on a number of fronts. Peter Menzies says we’ll have to avoid coming apart at the seams first.

Last week’s unravelling of the so-called Atlantic bubble should erase any lingering romantic thoughts that Canadians are united in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since July 3, the nation’s four Atlantic provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, New Br...

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COVID's Contagion of Disbelief

Peter Menzies

November 18, 2020

Drug companies touting new pandemic vaccines should be causing huzzahs. But Peter Menzies warns septic skepticism in the body politic must also be addressed.

Today’s news that not one but two COVID-19 vaccines have tested 95 per cent effective casts a welcome burst of light into Canada’s gloomy COVID-19 narrative amid signs the pandemic is ripping into its social fabric.

Moderna announced Monday that its ...

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COVID Hope From Healthy Families

Winnie Lui with Todd Martin

November 13, 2020

Winnie Lui reports on research by Trinity Western sociologist Todd Martin revealing that around the world even the hardships of the pandemic have become sources of family strength.

"Life markers give us an indication that we have moved from one configuration or stage in our family lives to another," says Todd Martin, a family researcher and Dean and Associate Professor of Sociology at Trinity Western University.

Weddings, birth...

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Masks Speak to Common Humanity

Peter Menzies

October 30, 2020

Peter Menzies encounters fellow citizens who insist that refusing to mask up against COVID strikes a blow for liberty. No, he writes, it’s lone wolf rejection of the Golden Rule.

The go-to car radio station for people of my demographic profile in the Queen City, Regina, is Rawlco Radio, home of the John Gormley Show, The Hour of Rage and, on Sundays, replays of Montreal’s popular Roy Green Show.

This is red meat programming f...

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Hitting the (Ouch!) Bumpy (Owww!) Post-Pandemic (Ooof!) Road

Robert Joustra

October 20, 2020

CNN celebrity thinker Fareed Zakaria maps 10 potholes from here to post-pandemia. Reviewer Robert Joustra, as if channeling the Tao of Eeyore, isn’t sure the ride’s worth the ruts.

“There is no new normal,” “these unprecedented times,” “now we all have to work together” – whatever your favorite pandemic BINGO drinking phrase is, you’ve heard it enough since March that you probably had to either give up the game or check into rehab. ...

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Of Hope and Home Runs

Joseph McDaniel

October 16, 2020

Non-fans often deride baseball as large men in pyjamas standing on lawns, but Blue Jays’ fan Joseph McDaniel finds in the game stubborn wisdom from deep in the human spirit.

Why do I like baseball so much?

I asked myself this question a couple of weeks ago as I watched a young Toronto Blue Jays team stream onto the field with elation after clinching a berth in this year’s wild Major League Baseball playoff bracket.
...

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Testing COVID for Positives

Ray Pennings

October 14, 2020

Cardus Executive Vice-President Ray Pennings says 2020’s hardships, and concern for what’s next in 2021, can refocus our vision and practices at the personal and social levels.

As we enter the final quarter of this year, many Canadians are likely more than ready to say goodbye and good riddance to 2020, the year of the pandemic. But what if, in some ways at least, 2021 could actually be even more difficult?

Consider this...

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Countering Counter-Factual COVID Confusion

Sarah Hamersma

July 10, 2020

We don’t know what we don’t know, and we will never know what we can’t know, but by insisting on properly designed studies we can know if pandemic policies are working, Sarah Hamersma notes.

There are so many policy questions that need answers during the COVID-19 pandemic. We would like to know how every intervention has affected the spread: have extended testing, school closures, stay-at-home orders, or even just officially-recommended social...

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COVID is No Excuse to Close Immigration

Matthew Lau

June 29, 2020

Matthew Lau rejects as false and logically faulty the argument that Canada should keep out newcomers until the country’s employment levels return to pre-pandemic levels.

Three-quarters of Canadians, a poll commissioned by True North purports to show, want a complete stop on immigration for the time being. Thus, a ...

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Dignity That Illuminates Community

Peter Stockland and Andrew P.W. Bennett

June 19, 2020

Convivium Editor Peter Stockland talks with Rev. Deacon Andrew Bennett, director of the Cardus Religious Freedom Institute, about regaining the light of shared humanity in this time of pandemic and racial protest.

Peter Stockland: You talk about human dignity being something that radiates from inside us. What do you mean by that?

Andrew Bennett: Christians and other tra...

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Ottawa Must Give Giving a Nudge

Daniel Proussalidis

June 10, 2020

The toll COVID-19 has taken on the charitable sector makes this prime time for the federal government to launch an equitable national donation matching program, writes Daniel Proussalidis.

It didn’t take long for the federal government to help grieving families when an Iranian missile brought down a Ukraine-bound passenger plane back in January.

There were 57 Canadian citizens and 29 permanent residents among the 176 who died in the cr...

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Showing Up or Showing Off

Peter Stockland

June 9, 2020

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s appearance at an anti-racism protest in Ottawa wasn’t questioned for his support of the worthy cause, but for his ambivalence toward the sacrifices of Canadians during COVID-19, reports Peter Stockland.

During the COVID lockdown, a family friend was forced to cancel her 50th birthday party and, some weeks later, her 25th wedding anniversary party.

Meanwhile, on a spring thaw day, gun-holstered police threatened to fine our neig...

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Beyond Academics

Peter Stockland

June 1, 2020

Through the strengthening of their school community as well as the surprising growth of an extended community, Community Christian School in Drayton, Ontario looks beyond just the academic in their transition to remote schooling.

Raymond Verburg, principal of Community Christian School in Drayton Ontario, cites a Zoom meeting with a Grade Seven class in late April to illustrate how COVID-19 forced closures have affected students.

“There were a number of students (online), and...

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Upholding Community

Peter Stockland

May 27, 2020

Between hurdles such as rural Internet issues, emotional needs, and kids being kids, Northumberland Christian School has discovered that the path to teaching remotely relies heavily on the community they've always valued, reports Peter Stockland.

It didn’t take long after the mad scramble caused by COVID-19’s forced closure of Ontario schools for Ginette Mack to realize some things never change.

“Kids are kids,” Mack says looking back on the days after rural Northumberland Christian School re...

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Recalibrating Education

Peter Stockland

May 25, 2020

When the Ontario government made the call to shut down school buildings, John Knox Christian School's leadership team jumped into action. In the second of a series on independent education, Peter Stockland reports on how the school got back on track so quickly.

George Petrusma knows exactly where he was at 4:03 p.m. on Thursday March 12, and the decision facing him, staff and students at John Knox Christian School in Oakville, Ontario.

“I was having a conversation with all our staff who were in the buildin...

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The High C Campaign Against COVID-19

Susan Korah

May 22, 2020

Susan Korah introduces Convivium readers to an Ottawa-based Polish opera star who has lent her voice to better pandemic communication with the world’s disadvantaged.

She is Poland’s gift to Canada. Maria Knapik’s silvery soprano voice has filled some of the world’s most prestigious auditoriums such as New York’s Carnegie Hall, where she was the soloist at a concert honouring Beethoven’s 175th anniversary in 2002.
...

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Independence and Inequality

Peter Stockland, David Hunt

May 21, 2020

Ontario’s independent schools outperformed their government counterparts during COVID-19. Peter Stockland reports on policy recommendations from Cardus Education’s David Hunt to strengthen Ontario's education for all students.

In a policy brief submitted to the Ontario government today, Cardus Director of Education David Hunt says the COVID-19 crisis has exposed “the cracks”...

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