|
The environment is bumping out the economy as the biggest concern
for Canadians as the new millennium approaches, a national opinion
poll suggests. Asked to name the "greatest threat to future generations,"
29 per cent of Canadians chose environmental pollution, compared to
a 20 per cent rating for economic hardship, according to an Environics
poll obtained by The Vancouver Sun.
Depletion of natural resources ranked third at 18 per cent, followed
by wars and conflicts (15 per cent), diseases (10 per cent), and
lack of food (five per cent). Just three years ago, the findings
were dramatically different, with 19 per cent of Canadians citing
environmental pollution and 40 per cent economic hardship. In fact,
environmental concerns have not ranked higher in Canadians' minds
over the economy since 1992, the polling company observes. Environics
attributes the rise in environmental concerns to a general improvement
in the nation's economy, which would include a balanced federal
budget two years in a row, something that hasn't happened since
1951-52.
"This finding seems to support conventional wisdom that says people
tend to worry more about the environment when their economic concerns
go down," says the firm's Environmental Monitor quarterly report.
Asked by Environics in January to name their top-of-mind concerns,
Canadians listed unemployment 28 per cent of the time, health/medical
13 per cent, the economy nine per cent, taxes seven per cent, and
environment two per cent.
|
Doug Miller, president of Environics International Ltd., said in an
interview Friday from Toronto that when pollsters scratch beneath
the surface, Canadians reveal their strong concerns for the environment.
"Our trends indicate that at a deeper level, people's environmental
concerns are growing," he said. "There is lots of stuff happening
under the radar scope. Once people stand back, the environment is
very significant." The poll also found that eight out of 10 Canadians
believe that protecting the environment should be given priority over
economic growth.
Canadians also generally believe that a healthy environment is
compatible with a strong economy, and they don't buy the argument
that environmental protection causes unemployment. When it comes
to reducing industrial pollution, 41 per cent of Canadians support
strict laws and heavy fines, while 27 per cent support tax breaks
and incentives. The BC government ranked lowest of any province
in Canada in terms of its environmental performance: 41 per cent of
British Columbians gave their province a poor rating.
Twenty per cent of British Columbians also named nature conservation
as a priority compared with 11 per cent nationally, and BC Hydro
received the highest rating of any power utility in Canada for its
environmental efforts.
The Environics national poll randomly surveyed 1,512 Canadian adults
by telephone between March 31 and April 17. The results are considered
accurate within 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
|
