Variety Programming Ahead

During the past few weeks, the Olympics have had such an everywhere presence in the media that they demanded attention (and truth be told, I don't mind the bi-annual two-week distraction, so was a willing consumer of the media force-feed.) For the past few months, Cardus' 29to42 campaign and its focus towards the upcoming federal budget has certainly been a preoccupation on my professional time, with the impacts also evident on my blogging entries which have disproportionately focused on related themes. Monday being March 1st marks a new month and a quite different pace for me as I have a range of speeches and responsibilities in the next few months which will undoubtedly impact what you might expect to find on this page. Consider today's blog entry a quick summary preview, with a bit of PR thrown in for the events in case you might want to incorporate some of these into your calender.

Federal Budget - For the past several years, I have been in the budget lock-up for the few hours preceding the budget release, drafting an analysis that Cardus releases shortly after the budget's release. (See here for last year's effort.) If you are not on our email distribution list and want to ensure that a copy of this analysis lands in your in-box with a few hours of the Minister of Finance standing to deliver his speech on Thursday, sign up for a free subscription to Cardus Policy In Public here. In addition to our own analysis on Thursday, a few days later you will receive our next complete issue of CPIP which will include an index of other thinktanks and how they have analyzed the budget.

Social Justice for Canadian Conservatives - The following week I will be back in Ottawa participating in a panel discussion at the Manning Centre's conference. Former Cabinet Minister Monte Solberg, Dave Quist from the Institute of Marriage and the Family, Jennifer Marshall from the Heritage Foundation and myself will present and debate this important issue.

Reformed Post=Secondary Education On Monday, March 22nd, I will be at Redeemer University engaging in a discussion with the Student Group Kuyper's Cafe regarding some of the challenges and opportunities that face those of us interested in the provision of a Reformed University Education in today's environment.

God and the Global Economy On April 16-17 I will be participating in a conference at Regent College in British Columbia addressing global economic issues. My focus will be labour issues and we will be discussing them in the context of and response to Pope Benedict's encyclical last year Caritas in Veritate.

Public Christianity in a Privatized Society - On May 4th, I am scheduled to deliver the second annual Hill lecture sponsored by ARPA on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. I don't see a link to the event yet on their website but if you are interested, contact their executive director Mark Penninga (info@arpacanada.com) for further information.

Puritan Conference in August - I am scheduled to deliver two keynotes and participate in a panel discussion at the second annual Puritan Reformed conference to be held in Grand Rapids in late August. I plan to speak on "Living Christ-centeredly in Everyday Life" based on Psalm 111 in one of my speeches and on "Christology: Calvin, Kuyper and Politics" in the other. These sessions were chosen within the overall conference theme "The Beauty and Glory of Christ."

Given that most of these speaking assignments have associated written assignments for publication purposes, it is quite self-evident that my free time reading will be focused around these topics over the months to come, with probably some spill-over making its way onto this page. Of course, we still have the regular Cardus projects relating work and economics, Christian education, stained glass urbanism, and cultural change which have my active engagement at various levels, so there will be undoubtedly some blog fodder produced there. Given the fact that part of the reason I blog is to help me stay disciplined in articulating (hopefully) coherent thoughts on the everyday issues of public life, expect some political analysis and reflections on the quirky and important items that pop up in the newspaper to make their way here as well.

Like the title says, variety programming ahead....

Patriotism, Work and Comment.

After a busy week on the road, a few catch-up items ...

Patriotism Canadiana Style- The Olympics provide an opportunity for national pride and flag-waving. In my journeys through various cities, hotels, and airports, I have observed a significant percentage of the population adorned in patriotic colours and paraphanalia - much more than one typically encounters in Canada. While Olympic ratings numbers are very high and will only increase with the hockey craziness this weekend, the more significant measurements in my mind are those that are observable in behaviour. Last night I was flying aboard a Westjet flight to Calgary when the women's hockey final was on. It appeared that 99% of the TVs were tuned to the hockey game and when the final buzzer sounded, the plane burst into applause. A creative flight attendant's adaptation of Tom Connors The Hockey Song engaged the entire audience and it was a moment of spontaneous Canadiana patriotism, at 38,000 feet. Cool.

Work - A fascinating lunchtime conversation at our staff meeting provoked worthwhile insights about how our views on work impact not only our persona's but also the workplace. Talking about how to create buy-in and enthusiasm within a company, one of my colleagues insightfully observed that "Freedom 55" mindset and preoccupation with retirement and what we will do after work reinforces an assumption that work is something to be enjoyed for what we get out of it, rather than the inherent satisfaction that the project provides. That individual attitude is reinforced by corporate mindsets which hire and layoff based on short term economic cycles, communicating a lack of inherent loyalty and investment in the person. So we end up with two parties, neither of whom has a real loyalty or investment in each other and commitment to achieve a mission together, engaging in pretended corporate rah-rah exercises, supposedly expecting enthusiasm and high performance to be the outcome. (Thankfully there are many exceptions but the prevalence of this is clearly too wide-spread.) Some of our problems are clear systemic.

Recommending Comment - Most everything that is included in the fine publication of Comment is worth recommending (albeit I can hardly be described as a neutral observer), but if you are not a subscriber receiving our recent print edition, you are in my view missing our best yet. The print edition requires a paid subscription which of course I highly recommend. Today's email edition includes a fascinating take by David Greusel on the Olympic success of Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue. Enjoy.

New President for Redeemer

The past 24 hours have been primarily filled with my responsibilities as Chair of the Board of Governors of Redeemer University College. Last night, we held a special board meeting to consider the recommendation of the Presidential Search Committee to appoint Dr. Hubert R. Krygsman to become Redeemer's third President. Today, most of my day was spent introducing Dr. Krygsman at various events: to the President's Council (the lead administrative team and deans); at a public assembly and media conference attended by several hundred members of the Redeemer community; and at a faculty/staff reception.

The official media release can be found on Redeemer's website here.

The Hamilton Spectator has an article on the matter.

Dr. David Koyzis blogs his thoughts on the First Things blog.

In today's Herald

My column commenting on the vision (or lack thereof) characterizing the Alberta political scene is published.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/mobile/story.html?id=2595163

Good Men are Like Vowels

My reading today included Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalm 33. It included the following quote from "John Kitchin, M.S. in a Funeral Sermon, 1660":

I have sometimes compared the great men of the world, and the good men of the world to the consonants and vowels in the alphabet. The consonants are the most and the biggest letters; they take up most room, and carry the greatest bulk; but, believe it, the vowels though they are the fewest and least of all the letters, yet they are most useful; they give the greatest sound of all; there is no pronunciation without vowels. O beloved, though the great men of the world take up room, and make a show above others, yet they are but consonants, a company of mute and dumb consonants for the most part; the good men they are the vowels that are of the greatest use and most concernment at every turn; a good man to help with his prayers; a good man to advise with his counsels; a good man to interpose with this authority; this is the loss we lament, we have lost a good man; death has blotted out a vowel; and I fear me there will be much silence where he is lacking; silence in the bed, and silence in the house, and silence in the shop, and silence in the church and silence in the parish, for he was everywhere a vowel, a good man in every respect.

Dutch Coalition Government Collapses over Afghanistan

The domestic political implications regarding Afghanistan are challenging and it appears the coalition government in the Netherlands, led by J. P. Balkenende, is losing the support of the Labour Party on this issue. It appears the likely consequence will be an election in May, a year earlier than scheduled.

Here is a link to a British Guardian report.

How this issue plays out in the domestic politics of various NATO countries will be very significant in the year ahead. While every country has a distaste for the ongoing cost of the war -- primarily in human but also in financial terms -- I think most realize that a total withdrawal of all NATO troops a year from now is unlikely to have positive results either for the people of Afghanistan or for international security. The wisdom of our leaders and the collective vision of (primarily) western nations will be put to the test by this issue.

Some Olympic Impressions

We're near the half-way point of these Olympics. A few random Olympically-inspired observations....

Margin of Error - Over lunch today, was watching Men's Super G where the gap between first and eight place (presently - event is not yet complete) is 0.49 seconds on a time of 1.30.34. The fourth place finisher is .02 seconds behind the current bronze medal position. The results of winning a medal in terms of prestige and subsequent financial rewards are huge, while the fourth and eighth place finishers will soon be forgotten. I am thankful that the margin between success and failure in my chosen occupation rarely depends on 2/9000 of a gap.

International Games Coverage - For the past few days, we have been treated to the Canadian media paranoia about our international reputation, giving more coverage to the British coverage of the games than I think is deserved. (This morning's Gazette piece puts a bit more balance and perspective on the issue. I had reason to make various business-related calls in the past few days to acquaintances across the United States and each on their own prompted the conversation with positive comments about the Olympics, suggesting to me the American coverage must be more favourable.) Quite apart from what others are saying (or not) about us, it does betray something of our Canadian paranoia and lack of international self-confidence in that the concern about how others perceive us is almost as important as the event itself.

Olympics bring Whiners as Well as Winners - So there was not enough French at the opening ceremonies and the Language Commissioner needs to investigate .Edmonton is upset because the Calgary Stampede is getting more prominent play at the Alberta House at the games. The security fence around the Olympic cauldron is obstructing the view for taking pictures. There seems to be several stories a day from someone who is offended that some aspect of these games are not fitting their particular agenda or expectation. I have resolved for the rest of these Olympics to try and ignore the whiners, and instead spend the limited time I have available for these Olympics focusing on the winners (which in my mind, are most of the athletes.)

Hockey Hiccups - My Canadian roots mean that while I try to maintain a rational approach to sports, rationality goes out of the window when it comes to our expectations of our hockey team. Realistically, there are half a dozen teams (including Canada) that could win a medal, meaning there are at least three teams (including Canada) that could be disappointed. Canada remains the country with the most hockey talent (in my opinion) but the way that would be demonstrated is in a tournament with each country required to put together two or three teams. While the top teams of 20 or so players from each country are competitive, there is little doubt in my mind that in a tournament of the second teams from each country, the Canadian team would be much better positioned and in a tournament of third teams, we would be prohibitive favourites. But that (and 1.40) buys you a Tim Hortons coffee and is really quite irrelevant to the Olympic tournament (except to provide advance perspective to counter those who will use any Olympic defeat as evidence of the failure of Canadian hockey.)

The game between Canada and Switzerland last night was actually an interesting and entertaining game and while most were surprised it went to a shoot-out, I much prefer the tension of a close game to a blow-out. I suppose my hockey senses must be taken with a grain of salt given the fact that since my childhood, I have rooted for a team with a Maple Leaf on their jersey. I suppose that has conditioned me for disappointment and to celebrate the game more than the result. That won't stop me from rooting patriotically and feeling disappointment if Canada does anything other than win hockey gold, but keeping perspective is important -- even when it involves Canada's national obsession.

Redeemer Scores Well

The current issue of Macleans contains its annual university rankings. The balance of this post is a straight cut and paste from Redeemer's website but I suppose given my role at Redeemer, a bit of cheerleading is not only permissible; it is expected. No matter. These are results we can be proud of. Kudos to all involved in making it happen.

Redeemer Tops Student Satisfaction Survey

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Survey in Maclean's ranks Redeemer highest in student satisfaction amongst Canadian universities

Redeemer University College has again been ranked as one of the top undergraduate universities in Canada in terms of student satisfaction. According to data released in the February 11 Issue of Maclean’s magazine, 97% of Redeemer students were satisfied or highly satisfied with the overall quality of education that they have received. This is the highest ranking in the survey of the 34 Canadian universities that took part in a survey on student satisfaction conducted by the Canadian University Survey Consortium, or CUSC.

Redeemer was ranked first overall in many key areas such as:
· Those who agree or strongly agree that their professors encourage students to participate in class discussions (99%).
· Those who are satisfied with their university's commitment to environmental sustainability (96%).
· Those who feel their professors are reasonably accessible outside of class to help (100%).

Redeemer ranked high in the other categories as well:
· 97% of students agree or strongly agree that their learning experiences have been intellectually stimulating.
· 99% of students are satisfied with the quality of teaching they received.
· 96% of students are satisfied with their decision to attend Redeemer.
· 96% of students feel that their expectations of attending Redeemer have been met or exceeded.

"We have been very intentional about creating a a Christian academic community," says Richard Wikkerink , Registrar and Assistant Vice President of Student Development at Redeemer. "These results confirm that our students find their Redeemer education to be challenging and rewarding. But these results also recognize and validate the commitment that our faculty and staff have made to ensuring that our students remain an integral part of a campus that enriches their lives outside the classroom as well."

The Maclean 's article -- "2010 Student Surveys: Complete Results" -- can be found at http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/; complete data from the CUSC survey can be found at by clicking on the Rankings link (the full CUSC survey tables are only available on-line).

This is the second time this academic year Redeemer students have ranked the level of satisfaction they have with their university experience. Redeemer also received high marks in the October 2009 Canadian University Report, published by the Globe and Mail; that report can be accessed at http://www.globecampus.ca.

Still No Election Expected.....

The recent change in the polls which has the Liberals and Conservatives in a virtual tie for support has a few wags talking election, but I would be very surprised if that were to happen. I do agree with Andrew Potter who writes in his Macleans blog that with Parliament prorogued and no-one to yell at, the Liberals have turned the corner into a more mature opposition and the present poll results are indicative of that change. (I suspect a change of personnel in the leader's office has something to do with this change as well, but whatever the reasons, the result is clear.) Potter rightly observes:

But when everything is a scandal, then nothing is, and it didn’t take long for the public to conclude that the Liberals had no idea what they were doing. What the prorogation has done is remove the party from the bullying, reactive and optics-centred playground of question period. Under the banner “The Liberals are Working,” the party dutifully showed up in Ottawa on the previously scheduled date for the return of Parliament, and since then it’s been a blizzard of panels, conferences, and media scrums. With no one to yell at, the Liberals have been forced to take the initiative, and they have used the opportunity to quietly but methodically advance their own agenda.

That being said, I don't expect the Liberals to try to convert their new found momentum into an election campaign. There is no reason to expect that if they do a rerun of "Mr. Harper - your time is up" routine, their plunge in the polls will mirror that of last fall. They are being supported now precisely because they are being seen to be constructive and not simply self-serving.

What poll interpreters generally fail to properly account for is the framing of the question: "If an election were held today...." That is always an impossible question for even if an election were called today, there are six weeks of campaigning that will follow. And the campaign does matter. The adults in charge of the Liberal operation today understand that better than most. They know that there present momentum is hardly enough to overcome the financial and organizational advantages still enjoyed by the Conservatives. They also read the polls regarding leadership confidence which shows Mr. Harper still in a comfortable lead.

One other consideration. The Conservatives took a hit from the prorogation and perception that they were avoiding certain controversial issues. The Liberals to their credit have converted that into an advantage. The flip side of this coin is that the Conservatives do have an opportunity to redefine themselves and their agenda with a throne speech and budget in a few weeks. They also will undoubtedly at least refine (if not rethink)their strategy in defending on the controversial files that occupied Parliament before their departure. One of the interesting questions to watch when Parliament resumes if the Liberals will revert to their "everything is a scandal" opposition or whether they will continue on their present path of more constructive policy-building. In a Westminster system, it isn't really an either-or proposition but rather finding the right balance.

Election or not - the spring session does promise some interesting times.

From the "That's Neat" Department

Just noticed (via a facebook status update from Andrea Mrozek that Canada's Olympic Curling Team includes Kristie Moore who is 5 1/2 months pregnant. From the yahoo.sports site to which Andrea linked:

Moore found out about her pregnancy weeks before team officials invited her to join Team Canada as an alternate. When she divulged her secret, the team was more than supportive. Said team leader Cheryl Bernard, "she is young and fit. There's no reason we'll have any problems, and she'll be out there."
Barring unforeseen problems with the other four members of the team, it's unlikely Moore will see any Olympic action. During competition her role as an alternate is much like a backup quarterback in football: She'll be called on if needed. Moore has said that although she'd like to get out on the ice, doing so would mean having to play at the expense of someone else's injury.

Tuesday Tidbits....

Thanklessness of Politics - I notice a few stories this morning regarding Milt Romney being physically threatened after asking the passenger in the seat in front of him to put up his seat. On one hand this is nothing more than the story of a violent passenger which, if there was no celebrity involved, would not have made the news. (I did find it interesting to note a recent Presidential candidate and multi-millionaire sitting in Economy class.) However, the comments on the websites of the Globe and Mail and Boston Globe caught my attention. Six of the first thirteen comments had to be removed from the Boston Globe site and many of the remainder, as with several on the Globe and Mail site, are political rants. I realize that those who post comments on newspaper websites are (thankfully) not a cross-section of population but as I skimmed them this morning, I was reminded why it is hard to get good people to consider politics as a career. I don't care what the political opinions of a candidate are: any individual including those I most profoundly disagree with deserve civility and respect.

Our Christian Roots - My colleague Alissa Wilkinson in an entry on the Cardus afterhours blog highlights the revisionist and often careless history that is advocated by those who like to highlight the Christian roots of the United States (and I think similar arguments can be made as it regards Canada.) The point is an important one in our context. Those bent on expunging all religion from the public square are inclined to write out religious influences or to paint them as era-specific cultural practices that no longer have meaning for today. In countering these arguments, it is important that we get our history right and not try to oversell or romanticize our Christian roots. Alissa says it well:

It doesn’t mean we give up our understanding that the American founders were at least influenced by Christianity (or a kind of Christian/humanist hybrid), but it does call us to a lot more humility about who we are and why we’re here, and points out the danger of extreme polarization in this sort of political debate. It means we have to start defining our terms and not assuming that every reference to “God” is a reference to the first person of the Trinity, invoked by a person with saving faith in Jesus Christ – especially in the public square. It means that we, via our churches, must actually educate ourselves on our history and how it fits into the broader global intellectual historical context in order to responsibly deserve our voice in the public square.

Melancthon's birthday: Today is the 513th birthday of Phillip Melancthon, friend and colleague of Martin Luther and influential Reformational figure. I would ordinarily not notice the trivia of reformer birthdays however this note was included in an email I received yesterday highlighting a project being launched today at the Theological University of Apeldoorn in the Netherlands under the direction of Dr. Herman Selderhuis. Refo500 "approaches the Reformation as a movement of renewal and change that is important for the past, present, and the future and whose significance and influence upon many fields since 1517 is undisputedly great. In its program, Refo500 examines the connection between then and now, so that it becomes clear that the Reformation is relevant for today. These nine themes are central: education and science, belief and conflict, money and power, doctrine and the church, life and death, art and culture, freedom and preaching, renewal and piety, Bible and language." The website refo500.nl is presently only up in Dutch but the English site is promised soon.

Family Day Potpourri

When Family Day was Once Per Week - Today is a statutory holiday in several Canadian provinces, known as Family Day in Alberta and Ontario. It has been celebrated in Alberta since 1990 while Ontario introduced it in 2008. It is hard to argue with the value of highlighting the importance of family, and I plan to enjoy the day by taking in a WHL Hockey game together with my son. It does merit observation, however, that the need for setting aside a day to spend with family coincides with a decline in our society's respect for a common day of rest. For me, the setting aside of one day per week for rest and worship comes from an understanding of the continued relevance of the fourth commandment. I recognize that these views are not generally shared, either in society as a whole, or even in most of evangelical Protestantism. However, given that we now have a once-a-year holiday designed to give public sanction to the importance of family, it seems appropriate to ask whether society was not better off when there was a once-per-week rather than a few times per year occasion in which the commercial activities of daily life were suspended?

Forthcoming - Hunter's To Change the World - My Cardus Senior Fellow colleague John Seel sent a note that James Hunter's influential new book, To Change the World, is being launched at the New Canaan Society Annual Retreat at The Homestead on March 5-7 . Hunter is giving the keynote address on Friday evening on the central theme of the book, "faithful presence."

This book will change the conversation about cultural engagement and provide much needed academic grounding to well meaning, but too often unreflective activism. Hunter writes, "I contend that the dominant ways of thinking about culture and cultural change are flawed, for they are based upon both specious social science and problematic theology. In brief, the model upon which various strategies are based not only does not work, but it cannot work." All who are involved in the cultural renewal conversation will need to seriously engage this argument. Published by Oxford University Press, To Change the World will be released in April.

Having had the opportunity on several occasions to engage Hunter and his arguments, I am looking forward to the important book and the discussion on cultural change strategies that it will prompt. Hunter is proposing a paradigm of "faithful presence" which (according to the promo blurb) "is an expression of a desire to honor the creator of all goodness, beauty, and truth. Well reasoned and thought provoking, Hunter's corrective argument for authentic Christian engagement with the world is refreshing, persuasive, and inspiring." More on this to come, I am sure.

Olympics - Our house like most others in Canada is not escaping Olympic fever. The Friday night opening ceremonies had impressive moments but did not keep me from nodding off to sleep. Having to learn the scoring scheme of women's moguls during the broadcast of the finals hardly qualifies me to make an intelligent comment, but the Women's finals on Saturday evening in which Jennifer Heil won silver while American Hannah Kearney won gold did have some riveting drama and a real show of athleticism. (As someone born with bad knees, however, even watching that event causes pain cringes through my system - it cannot be good for anyone's knees, can it?) This morning, the replays of Alex Bilodeau celebrating his gold medal with his brother who suffers from cerebral palsy did put a very human touch on Canada's first gold medal on home soil. For me, however, one of those in the Olympics whom I admire is Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili who responded with grace in acknowledging the Canadian sympathy and care shown in connection with the death of the Georgian luger on Friday, but also stood firm against those who tried to exonerate course organizers for the dangerous course and put the blame on the athlete for his own death. Saakashvili's comments do put sports into perspective. "One thing I know for sure is that no sports mistake is supposed to lead to a death. No sports mistake is supposed to be fatal.” Enjoying these Olympics while maintaining a perspective that puts them into their proper place is something that we all will have to work at over the next few weeks.

Back.....

For those who regularly check this site, let me apologize for not posting here as regularly as was my pledge. There are interesting developments in the works related to both my professional and volunteer responsibilities which have proved to be very time-consuming of late. This may continue for a few more weeks but I am hoping a more normal pace will soon ensue.

In the meantime, a few quick hits that have caught my eye.....

Politicizing the Olympics - Politicians of all stripes can be seen at the Olympics. For better or worse, it is accepted that this is part of their job. When Prime Minister Harper did not attend the Opening Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, he was criticized for doing so. So while the attempt by the government to have Parliamentarians pay for their own tickets may seem egalitarian and a measure of restraint in these economically challenging times, I am with the Calgary Herald on this one. The Prime Minister should simply go and not make a show of paying for his own tickets. It's part of the job.

Political Games Coming - James Travers in his Star column today suggests that the opposition parties will put forward a question of privilege when Parliament resumes, alleging that the governments refusal to produce documents relating to the Afghan detainee question amounts to contempt of Parliament. I don't profess to know the intricacies of the procedural questions that emerge if all of the opposition parties join and pass such a motion, however if Mr. Travers logic is correct, it could back us into a spring election. My guess is that the Conservatives, in spite of a recent poll, might just be inclined to let the opposition back their way into an election, confident that in a campaign, they would more than make up whatever recent loss of support they had gained. Keep in mind how quickly the Liberal support fell when they determined last fall it was time for an election. Hard to believe they will make that mistake again this spring.

Vision and Cynicism - Last weekend I was among 100 or so Albertans who participated in a conference organized by the Manning Center on various issues facing Alberta. It was most interesting to listen to politicians and policy wonks of various parties address questions of vision by immediately jumping to policy. Sometimes the "vision thing" in politics can be over-rated and voters are simply looking for competent leaders and managers. But competent leadership almost always does emerge from a clear understanding of who we are and what we want to be. Being able to articulate that narrative and have it make sense to voters is probably more important in politics than the details of any platform proposal. I think it is safe to say (and intended in a non-partisan way with application to both our federal and provincial scenes) that for the most part, most politicians today are not particularly skilled at this piece of the game. Maybe that is part of why there is so much cynicism towards politics.

Always Remembering.....

As is evident from the lack of blogging over the past few weeks, I am swamped with travel and project responsibilities. I expect a more normal routine and pace to commence again next week.

Today finds me in Ottawa and I write this at my hotel, about ready to head off to Toronto. Coming from my meetings today, I walked past the National War Memorial and stopped for a moment, struck by a uniformed soldier who also there in an obvious moment of personal reflection and contemplation. I can only speculate as to what prompted his reflection as it was inappropriate to interrupt. However, observing him reminded me that remembering is not something that should be reserved for November 11th - every day our soldiers stand on the front line and defend our country.