Canadians split on anti-terror measures: poll

Canadians split on anti-terror measures: poll
CTV.ca News Staff

Canadians have no problem with deporting advocates of terrorism or suicide bombing, a new poll has found.

But support for other draconian measures -- like detention without trial, infiltrating the Muslim community and restricting the number of Muslim immigrants -- is considerably weaker.

The Strategic Counsel poll, conducted for CTV and The Globe and Mail, found that 81 per cent of Canadians are in favour of "deporting or jailing anyone who publicly supports terrorist bombers."

The poll also found that Canadians are in favour of tough security measures.

Of those surveyed, 72 per cent support having video cameras in all public places, while 62 per cent believe we should provide the United States with "any information they request about Canadian citizens who they suspect of being terrorists."

When asked whether they supported detaining suspected terrorists without trial, 46 per cent said they strongly or womewhat supported the measure. Another 45 per cent strongly or somewhat supported the government sending agents to infiltrate the Muslim community.

However, only 39 per cent were in support of severely restricting the numbers of immigrants allowed into Canada from Muslim countries.

While there isn't a strong civil libertarian tradition in this country, "Canadians have always had a sense of fair play and the right thing," Allan Gregg, chairman of The Strategic Counsel, told CTV.ca on Wednesday.

"They do draw at least a faint line in the sand on some measures that do touch on those two things: Rule of law and prosecution of the prospectively innocent." At the same time, "they aren't particularly concerned about their own privacy," he said.

Gregg added that over the years, his company has found that Canadians have consistently said good people have nothing to fear from state surveillance.

Alan Borovoy, chief counsel for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, told CTV News: "I am concerned about some of those comments and especially because of the danger inherent in them."

The survey was conducted between Aug. 3 and 7, or about two weeks since the last attempted bombing of the London transit system. Pollsters interviewed 1,000 people, making for a margin of error of 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

When asked: How well is Canada prepared to deal with a terrorist attack, only 24 per cent of respondents said this nation is well prepared or very well prepared, and 62 per cent think such an attack is at least somewhat likely within the next few years.

Opinion is largely mixed on whether not participating in the Iraq war lessens the likelihood of this nation being targeted, or whether sending troops to Afghanistan increases it.

On the question of balancing fighting terrorism and protecting civil liberties, 51 per cent of Canadians surveyed think we have struck the right balance, while 14 per cent said they didn't know.

But if the government has erred, only 10 per cent think there has been too much emphasis on combating terrorism, while 25 per cent say there's been too much emphasis on protecting civil rights.

Gregg noted one of the most popular government decisions in Canadian history was then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau's decision to impose the War Measures Act in Quebec in 1970.

Interestingly, Quebec was slightly more hard-line in support for the war on terror measures listed above.

For example, 50 per cent of Quebecers would support the restriction of Muslim immigration versus 35 per cent in the rest of Canada.

Quebecers, however, are less likely to believe a terrorist attack is very or somewhat likely: 54 per cent hold that view, versus 65 per cent in the rest of Canada.

Quebecers "have always felt more insulated and isolated from the whole terrorist prospect," Gregg said. But he still found those numbers high, given that nothing has happened here yet.

Asked if this survey could form a baseline for Canadians' attitudes should an attack on Canadian soil by an Islamist group occur in the next few years, Gregg said yes.

"And if you want to blue-sky a little bit, if that eventuality was to occur, the government would probably move in with some pretty stiff measures and not meet much public resistance."

With a report from CTV's David Akin