Climate Change: Three Quarters of Canadians believe that our government must do more
Who will Prime Minister Harper be representing in Copenhagen?
(Copenhagen, Denmark) A recent Canadian poll shows that two thirds of Albertans and 74% of Canadians believe that the current government must go further in the fight against climate change and adopt a more ambitious greenhouse gas emissions reductions target.
Respondents believed that the federal government must take on more ambitious emission reduction targets, comparable to targets taken by provinces such as Quebec (-20%), Ontario (-15%), and British Colombia (-14%). 48% of participants strongly agreed and 26% agreed with that Canada should take on more ambitious targets, for a total of 74%.
The results of this poll clearly contradict the following statement made last Monday in the House of Commons, by the federal minister of the Environment, Jim Prentice: "Mr. Speaker, to reiterate, our target is clear. Our plan and policy is clear and Canadians support it."
“Poll after poll show that the position of the Harper government does not represent the opinion of Quebecers or the opinion of Canadians. The interests of the vast majority of citizens are being ignored. Who is Prime Minister Harper representing in Copenhagen?”, said Steven Guilbeault of Equiterre. “The Harper Government is not speaking on behalf of Canadians, Parliamentarians, the many provincial governments that have more ambitious targets than the federal government, or the majority of Canadian businesses. Who is the government speaking for in Copenhagen?”
“Results are consistent throughout the country, and in every province. Canadians are clearly united on this issue, yet this government continues to turn a deaf ear to their concerns about climate change.” said Dr. Rick Smith, Executive Director, Environmental Defence.
Canadian civil society representatives in Copenhagen are demanding that the Harper Government listen to the message Canadians are sending and change their negotiating position. « Canada must do its fair share, like all other rich industrialized countries », said Dale Marshall from David Suzuki Foundation.
“Prime Minister Harper is not only out of step with public opinion but he is underestimating the capacity of Canadians to address these challenges. Strong positions and laws will stimulate innovation and lead Canada to a new clean energy economy.” said Tzeporah Berman from Power Up Canada.
In order to fulfill this research objective, Léger Marketing conducted a web survey from November 30th to December 2nd, 2009, among the Canadian adult population. In total, 1502 respondents completed the survey. A probabilistic sample of the same size would yield a maximum margin of error of ±2.53%, 19 times out of 20. Final results were weighted by sex, age, region, language, children in household and education according to the latest Statistics Canada figures in order to obtain a representative sample of the Canadian population.
