Ray Pennings
Ray Pennings co-founded Cardus in 2000 and currently serves as Executive Vice President, working out of the Ottawa office. Ray has a vast amount of experience in Canadian industrial relations and has been involved in public policy discussions and as a political activist at all levels of government. Ray is a respected voice in Canadian politics, contributing as a commentator, pundit and critic in many of Canada’s leading news outlets and as an advisor and strategist on political campaign teams.
Bio last updated May 10th, 2023.
Articles by Ray Pennings
Mixing Journalism and Politics
By Ray Pennings
September 18, 2013
The nomination of two profile journalists as candidates in the Toronto Centre by-election has revived the debate about whether journalists should enter politics Given Canada's "long and rich tradition" of this, it's noteworthy when even Toronto Star columnists are raising "ethical issues" that four journalists are running for nominations in the same by-election
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Talking Hell in Public
Ray Pennings
September 11, 2013
What I do know, however, is that the hell that evil deserves, whether committed by notorious sinners or more refined sinners, has been paid for and grace and forgiveness are freely offered However, even though religious references to hell are relatively rare, casual and popular references to hell se...
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Power and Common Good: Squaring the Smiths
Ray Pennings
August 23, 2013
Jamie Smith, on the other hand, considers Daniel's influence exercised over people who clearly did not like him (hence the attempt to repurpose him as lion food) as the exercise of official power and the tool of government Christopher Smith uses power in a very personal way, focusing on the personal...
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Loyola's Freedom of Religion
Ray Pennings
August 2, 2013
The application of Charter protection regarding freedom of religion and whether that applies only to natural persons or also to institutions (such as a high school based on a religious order) The ERC purpose is straightforward: "The new program, which reflects the preference of the majority of Quebe...
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Oldest Human Institutions
Ray Pennings
July 24, 2013
The birth of another heir and successor to the royal throne is a reminder of those principles Human birth occurs approximately 370,000 times each day; each brings into the world an image-bearer of God and is a miracle to be celebrated ...
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No Class
Ray Pennings
July 10, 2013
Historically, Canadian politics has divided more along regional, linguistic, and ethnic lines with a much less pronounced economic class division in voting patterns than would be typical in Europe or even the United States Recognizing current trends, it is incumbent on all those who shape the public...
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True Patriot Love
Ray Pennings
July 4, 2013
In fact, I find myself celebrating American patriotism on this day, acknowledging the greatness of the country that is Canada's closest friend and neighbour, even as I share my colleague's concern about the current state of the union As with all of our loves, this needs to be a rightly ordered love ...
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Reflections from the Calgary Flood Plain
Ray Pennings
June 24, 2013
A state of emergency and the evacuation of 75,000 people from their homes; dramatic video of a home being washed away into a river and smashed against a bridge; and the iconic symbols of the city forlornly pictured in the midst of giant puddles, dirty and inaccessible—these are images not easily set...
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The Religion of the Nones
Ray Pennings
June 12, 2013
Why would we be surprised that a society which seems contented to live with contradictory opinions regarding what will happen to them after they die are comfortable living with similar contradictions regarding how they should live? Although the debate about faith is often framed in light of a contra...
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Taking a Bow
Ray Pennings
June 3, 2013
As one of those who serves as part of Cardus' leadership, I would like to believe that we do our best to ensure that those who really make the Cardus symphony perform are appropriately acknowledged and appreciated Dudamel's approach prompted reflection as these meetings are times when the Cardus lea...
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Bright Days Ahead for Faith-Based Universities?
Ray Pennings
May 28, 2013
Acknowledging that "secular education is not value-free; it often can be anti-religious," she urged the leaders of the faith-based university sector to assert their rightful place in the Canadian post-secondary landscape Szathmáry, President Emeritus of the University of Manitoba, yesterday suggeste...
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When Democracy Loses its Moral Authority
Ray Pennings
May 22, 2013
There is no system of regulation which can manage to keep government on the ethical high road and few and far between are the leaders that are able to rise above the ethical landmines that tempt them Although the natures of these purported scandals are quite different from each other, the bottom lin...
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Greatly Troubled
Ray Pennings
May 15, 2013
Away from the graveside, there was a place to explain to Martha the gospel of the resurrection, which in Lazarus' case would be demonstrated in an immediate and miraculous manner, but at most times of tragedy is represented only in consolation ...
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Can Ethics be Taught?
Ray Pennings
May 8, 2013
But if trust in our economic system cannot be created by legislation and regulation, then how is it created? As the conversation continued, the role of other institutions came into focus ...
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The Good of our Opponents
Ray Pennings
May 1, 2013
Still, it was particularly refreshing to read Ellen Ratner, a self-described Liberal Democrat who voted for President Obama twice, describe President Bush as having "saved more lives than any other U.S It is not that unusual even five years later, in casual conversation, to hear seemingly informed o...
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Attack Ads and Attention Spans
Ray Pennings
April 24, 2013
Last week we were once again exposed to attack ads in Canadian politics Secondly, in the mix of factors that determine political decision-making, attack ads might provide a public service in proposing a narrative that may in fact be true ...
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Watching Democratic Infrastructure Crumble
Ray Pennings
April 3, 2013
Apart from leadership campaigns, there are few notions of democracy left in our political parties ...
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Welcoming the End of "Government Compassion"
Ray Pennings
March 27, 2013
But the idea of structuring government involvement in foreign aid so that it coheres with foreign policy and trade objectives, while increasingly relying on non-governmental relief organizations to provide relief to those in need, is one that compels me ...
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Places of Worship Protected in City Core
Ray Pennings
March 15, 2013
The City of Calgary’s Municipal Planning Commission unanimously passed a series of amendments to the Calgary Centre City Plan on Thursday, clearing the way for the recognition of the role institutions of faith play in the development of the urban aesthetic ...
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Book of Jobes
Ray Pennings
March 6, 2013
The well-told and well-presented Book of Jobes challenged its Calgary audience to think deeply about theological, philosophical, and institutional questions, even as it shared a compelling story of God's grace at work in the world today The play powerfully shows this, not only in the challenges Rach...
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A Post-Politics Consensus?
Ray Pennings
February 27, 2013
Our 2006 Policy Options article "Replacing the Pan-Canadian Consensus" (a similar concept to Ibbitson's Laurentian consensus) suggests that this fundamental change in Canadian politics was already well-underway when Harper was first elected Still, one cannot help but observe that political process m...
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Impolite Canadian Conversations
Ray Pennings
February 20, 2013
While allowing that "a right to freedom of religion is part of a larger set of human rights," Natalie Bender still opined in the Toronto Star that "religion is too multi-faceted in its forms and contested in its practice to be championed impartially by any government office ...
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Democracy Lessons from Grade 9
Ray Pennings
February 14, 2013
There is no simple solution, and all of the suggestions raised by the Globe last week have merit and deserve discussion, but at a most fundamental level, addressing our democratic deficit starts with the most elementary of principles which we all learned way back in Grade 9—the different roles and r...