Latest news with #Cardus
Winnipeg Free Press
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Jewish, Christian leaders partner to combat antisemitism
Antisemitism in Canada has reached record-setting levels. That's the conclusion of the latest report from B'nai Brith Canada, a Jewish service and advocacy organization. In its Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, the organization says there were a total of 6,219 antisemitic incidents in 2024 — the highest number since the inception of the Audit in 1982. That's a 7.4 per cent increase in incidents from 2023, when B'nai Brith recorded a then-record number of 5,791 incidents across Canada. Altogether, there has been a 124.6 per cent increase from 2022 to 2024. According to B'nai Brith, the rise in antisemitism corresponds to the aftermath of the Hamas-led Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. Incidents ranged from an arson attack in Vancouver, shots fired at a Jewish school in Toronto, hateful graffiti written on the walls of synagogues and other Jewish buildings in various places across the country, to personal harassment, Nazi salutes and online hate. Winnipeg was not immune to antisemitism, although it was not as bad as in some other Canadian cities. It included when a man was arrested after spray painting antisemitic graffiti on various buildings and structures in Charleswood. Since he included the initials M.Y.K., which belongs to an international antisemitic extremist group, he was charged by the RCMP with facilitating terrorist activity, participating in activity of a terrorist group and the commission of an offence for a terrorist group. In response, a group of Jewish and Christian leaders from across Canada have decided to partner together in what they call the Simeon Initiative, a new national movement to build relationships between members of the two communities to combat antisemitism. The decision to create the partnership was made in June at the inaugural Simeon Initiative Summit, which takes its name and inspiration from the encounter in the Gospel of Luke between Simeon, a devout Jew, and the infant Jesus — an encounter interpreted by some as the start of the historic connection between Christianity and Judaism. The Summit, which brought together about 100 Jewish and Christian leaders in Toronto, was sponsored by Cardus, a Christian-led think tank, and The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA). It was a follow-up to the 2024 Canadian Christian Declaration on Antisemitism, which was signed by over 700 Christian clergy from across Canada. The declaration originated with Andrew Bennett, Director of Faith Community Engagement at Cardus and Canada's first ambassador for religious freedom. Through the declaration, the signers wanted to show Canada's Jewish communities that they are not alone. Through the declaration, they condemned antisemitism and pledged to peacefully stand against all 'who seek to demonize and dehumanize our Jewish fellow citizens.' For Michael Van Pelt, CEO of Cardus, the Simeon Initiative is a response to the dramatic rise in antisemitism in Canada. 'This is a devastating trend,' he said, adding that the goal is to help Christian clergy address this problem. This is something some clergy find hard to do since many Christian leaders don't know people in Canada's Jewish community, Van Pelt said. In the absence of good relations between local churches and synagogues, many clergy don't fully understand how insecure many Canadian Jews feel. As a result, 'it's easy for them to overlook the troubling realities facing Jews in Canada today,' he said. At the summit, Christian leaders had a chance to get to know their Jewish counterparts by meeting around tables while listening to keynote presentations and panels. At the end of the summit, participants committed themselves to creating joint projects between churches and synagogues in their local communities as a way to help their members to learn more about each other. While Cardus is concerned about all forms of religious hatred, including Islamophobia, the organization has decided to focus on antisemitism not only because of its 'dramatic rise,' but because of the tragic history between Christians and Jews, Van Pelt said. 'Antisemitism is a foundational brokenness in the Christian tradition,' he said, adding that Christians have a responsibility to address antisemitism because of the way Christians have historically persecuted Jews. 'That's why it requires our special attention.' Richard Marceau is the vice president for external affairs for CIJA. He welcomes the Initiative as a sign of Christian commitment to stand with the Canadian Jewish community in the face of rising antisemitism since the Hamas attack. 'Jews in Canada have been feeling under siege since then,' he said, adding the initiative 'makes us feel less alone.' Marceau is looking forward to ways Canadian Christians and Jews can work together, such as twinning churches and synagogues in various cities, or perhaps through joint projects aimed at addressing social needs in their communities. 'We want to take it down to the local pew level,' he said. 'We want to develop closer relations between our communities … we want to develop an alliance against hate.' faith@ The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba. If you appreciate that coverage, help us do more! Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow us to deepen our reporting about faith in the province. Thanks! BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER John LonghurstFaith reporter John Longhurst has been writing for Winnipeg's faith pages since 2003. He also writes for Religion News Service in the U.S., and blogs about the media, marketing and communications at Making the News. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Otago Daily Times
10-05-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
How passion for pottery took shape
Siobhan Cardus is bringing the sexy back to pottery. The 27-year-old began the trade in 2020 and says that although the craft was once seen as a bit of an "old lady" hobby, there are more young people working with ceramics than ever before. "I think it is re-emerging. It was very much a hobby for older people, but there has been a change of view on pottery I think. "In the past five years there has been a boom in pottery and arts. There is a mass range in Wānaka some make it for fun and some people are making their hobby a business too Cardus moved to Wānaka in 2018 because she had always spent much of her University of Otago holidays here because she was a keen skier. That turned into a job in marketing for Cardrona skifield and now she is head of marketing for the local Glendene Group. Fitting her once hobby alongside her day job has had its challenges, but she says the part-time role allows her enough time to be creative. Her pieces have a unique look and feel to them, with sculptures emerging off plates, pots and coffee mugs. "I sculpt a lot on to my pots. I start off with a basic vessel and sculpt on top of that and I guess I use more of an abstract kind of approach to glazing. I am not into the more traditional plain white pots and clean feel aesthetic." "Instead I am a lot bolder and a bit more fun on it and more playful in general." Asked how she comes up with the original sculpts, she said it was purely accidental and creative. "It has just been me farting about and having fun more than anything." Each piece can take up to two weeks from beginning to finish, with the pottery, then the sculpt, the glaze and the drying. "Each piece is somewhat unique. As you get better at pottery they do all become the same, so I really like that every single piece is 100% unique in terms of glazing the shape and the actual sculpture on top of that." "It's quite a time-consuming thing to make and there is never quite enough hours in the day to keep up with demand." Thanking her original mentor Joy Patterson, Cardus has even started teaching pottery classes herself to pass on the craft which is growing in popularity. She offers classes out of Patterson's Dublin Bay studio for $50 on weekends and evenings. You can view her work and get in touch through her Instagram page "Stoneware by squid". Be careful though, Cardus says the craft is an addictive and all-consuming love. "I got really into the rabbit hole quite quickly and instantly enjoyed it. It is one of those things that there is so much to know about it that you never feel you have learned everything that there is."
Newsroom
29-04-2025
- Business
- Newsroom
This major focus of the Canadian election is missing what could truly help workers
Analysis: Today is election day in Canada. The polls show Liberal Party leader Mark Carney with a narrow lead over Conservative Pierre Poilievre, as voters head to the booths. The major political parties have been pledging support for the manufacturing sector, but the country's working class is much broader than just manufacturing. Canadians are on edge because as many as 600,000 jobs are at stake due to tariffs levied by US President Donald Trump. But the focus on manufacturing obscures what truly ails the working class in an advanced economy like Canada's. Manufacturing's share of employment hovers at around 8.9 percent, while nearly 80 percent of Canadians work in the service sector. A recent report from the non-partisan Cardus think tank notes that Canada's working class today is 'likely to be a female, recently immigrated worker in the services-producing sector. The new working class, in other words, is now more personified by a Walmart cashier or an Amazon delivery driver than a General Motors factory worker or a Domtar mill hand.' Manufacturing gives way to services So why is there such emphasis on manufacturing? It's easy to understand. Manufacturing has been essential to industrialisation, from the British Empire to China's unprecedented growth in recent years. The late British-Hungarian economist Nicholas Kaldor argued that manufacturing is the engine of growth due to increasing returns to scale, strong links to other sectors and its role in technological development. But as countries become wealthier, an increased demand for services follows, creating jobs in that sector. Manufacturing sectors in wealthier countries tend to invest in labour-saving technologies. The US, for example, has seen manufacturing employment fall while output has increased. Labour-intensive sectors like clothing cannot compete with Bangladeshi wages, but discussions about manufacturing jobs in Canada and other advanced economies too often focus on wage competition instead of job losses through automation and increasing productivity. There were losers when the globalisation era began, but countries like Canada and the U.S. are wealthier today than they were in 1994, when the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed. As American economist Jeffrey Sachs has pointed out, governments have failed to redistribute the wealth created by gains from trade to those at the bottom of the income scale. Four policies of a real working-class agenda There are several key policies that politicians should be proposing that would really help the working class. First is one that all politicians are talking about: building more housing. Second is related to key elements of social reproduction — that is, care work. There must be strong funding commitments to ensure a national childcare system functions properly. With Canada on track to experience a surge of its elderly population, long-term care also needs to be a focus. Personal support workers must earn a living wage and must have better working conditions. Canada's aging population is also why decreased immigration is a bad idea. The third policy requires the federal and provincial governments to get serious about active labour market policies. This means building a labour market training system that actually works, something Canada has lacked. These policies are generally not implemented in liberal market economies like Canada and the US. But in countries like Sweden with active labour market policies in place, 80 percent of the population has a favourable opinion of robots and AI compared to two-thirds of Americans who are concerned about technological job loss. The state's ability — or lack of it — to provide social protections and job re-training has real impacts on how people perceive technological change. Canada also needs to recognise foreign credentials. Its reluctance to do so has had a negative impact on the economic prospects of immigrants. Canada should also consider making higher education free. The fourth policy involves better worker protections that include a strengthened Employment Insurance that is easier to qualify for, improved protections for gig workers and increasing union membership. Apart from the public sector, Canadian unions have not fared well organizing in service industries. Unions need to make a serious effort to organize in retail, food service, the gig economy and logistics, despite the challenges. Canadian unions may find that they have little choice but to do so, as their presence in the private sector continues to decline. Inequality, wealth redistribution The most significant barrier of these four policy proposals is that most require an increased redistribution of wealth. Canada over the past several decades has retreated from wealth redistribution and as a result, economic inequality has surged. White blue-collar workers in the US in areas hit by factory job losses swung to Trump. A Canadian version of this is happening with some blue-collar unions endorsing the Conservatives under Pierre Poilievre. Fixating on manufacturing is not a solution. After 2012, China began shedding manufacturing employment. Job demand in Chinese manufacturing today is in sectors that require skilled workers for software and AI systems. Services like retail, technology and transportation are also drawing in workers from manufacturing. Building infrastructure, green energy Not all blue-collar work will disappear. Canada needs labour to build not just homes, but high-speed rail. Active labour market policies will be key to ensuring manufacturing workers transition into building infrastructure and green energy. Canada can also remain competitive in areas like aluminum production . Policymakers need to understand our post-industrial moment, and focus on a just transition for manufacturing workers. Labour and progressive movements have long championed a just transition for fossil fuel workers. Like factory workers, fossil fuel workers have been courted by right-wing politicians who tell them environmental policies will destroy their jobs. At the same time, oil companies automate their jobs anyway. These policies are not easy to achieve, but there are few other options for Canada if it wants to be carbon-free, open to the world and more equal. Canada's economic nostalgia for manufacturing is ultimately strange given it's also a common talking point of Trump, a politician who's wildly unpopular in Canada. Gerard Di Trolio, PhD candidate, Labour Studies, McMaster University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
