Canadians warm to tax on energy use, Globe-CTV poll says (Globe and Mail)

Canadians warm to tax on energy use, Globe-CTV poll says

BRIAN LAGHI

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

OTTAWA — A majority of Canadians say they would be willing to pay a new user tax on their consumption of energy to help fund federal programs aimed at reducing greenhouse gases.

The results are from a new poll for The Globe and Mail/CTV News, which also found that 84 per cent of people surveyed would back levying heavy fines against industries that do not reduce their carbon emissions.

“There's a sense of fairness. He who uses most, pays the most,” said Allan Gregg, chairman of the Strategic Counsel, which conducted the poll.

“What it says is, ‘If I'm a good person and don't use a lot of energy, I wouldn't be paying much.' “ The survey found that 55 per cent of respondents either support or strongly support new energy taxes based on consumption.

“If you talk about energy consumption, generally, that's far more acceptable than talking about specific fuels,” Mr. Gregg said.

He added that there appear to be few Canadians willing to defend big industry on the issue.

Even in the West, where the energy industry produces most of the country's greenhouse gases, 79 per cent of Canadians surveyed supported slapping large financial penalties on those companies that do not go along with reductions.

“Not only is that the path of least resistance and therefore the most accepted, but it's widely accepted across the country,” Mr. Gregg said. The poll suggests that even westerners “are no more prepared to defend industry than people who live elsewhere and that the defence of the industry is largely an elite exercise,” he said.

The poll of 1,000 Canadians was conducted Oct. 12 to 15 and is accurate to within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. It comes as the federal government prepares to unveil its much-anticipated green plan, featuring legislation aimed at reducing smog emissions.

On another matter, Mr. Gregg's company found that support for the military mission in Afghanistan has inched up in the past month, but the operation remains relatively unpopular with Canadians, particularly in Quebec.

According to the poll, 42 per cent of respondents said they believe Canadian casualties are the price that must be paid to bring stability to the region, a figure that is up six percentage points from last month.

By comparison, 55 per cent said the price is too high, down two points from the same time period.

Mr. Gregg said Canadians may be getting a little more inured to the deaths as they increase in number and frequency. “That said, it's still a highly divisive issue.”

For example, when asked whether they believed it was right or wrong to send troops in the first place, respondents split evenly at 48 per cent and 48 per cent, with the other 4 per cent not knowing.

Mr. Gregg said the split can be seen as somewhat heartening for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, because Tories are generally supportive of the mission. It is, however, a divisive issue for Liberal and New Democratic Party supporters.

In a related question, 36 per cent of those surveyed said the country's reputation in the world community would worsen if Canadian troops were withdrawn, while only 14 per cent said it would improve.

Another 62 per cent said it would be a good idea to negotiate with the Taliban to end violence.

Mr. Gregg said the positive response might stem from a general Canadian inclination to compromise rather than a deep knowledge of the Taliban and their history.

“It strikes an intrinsically responsive chord with middle-of-the-road Canadians who like the notion of negotiating.”