Canada: Growing Gap, Growing Concerns: Poll
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2006/20/c6341.html
Full report at:
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/Reports/2006/11/GrowingGapPoll/index.cfm?pa=BB736455
TORONTO, Nov. 20 /CNW Telbec/ - A record high number of Canadians think
Canada’s gap between rich and poor is growing - and it’s causing them concern,
according to an Environics Research poll conducted for the Canadian Centre for
Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The poll reveals three-quarters (76%) of Canadians believe Canada’s gap
between rich and poor has grown compared to 10 years ago. That number is up
from 2003, when 70% thought the gap had grown. In 1990, 68% of Canadians
thought the gap had grown.
"The growing gap is clearly an issue that’s flying under the radar screen
of Canadian political life," says Armine Yalnizyan, research fellow with the
CCPA. "Canadians are well aware of the inequality that surrounds them and
they’re worried about it."
- Almost half of Canadians (49%) say they are always just one or two
missed paycheques away from being poor.
- About two-thirds of Canadians (65%) say most people have not benefited
from Canada’s economic growth and that benefits have mostly gone to the
very rich.
- Three-quarters of Canadians (76%) worry a growing gap will lead to more
crime and, if left unchecked, they also believe Canada will end up
being like the U.S.
"Canadians keep seeing evidence of wealth created in their society but
they are having a tough time confirming it in their own lives. They’re not
alone - they are among a majority who see the growing gap as a pressing
problem," says Yalnizyan.
The poll is the first in a series of CCPA reports examining income
inequality in Canada.
Environics interviewed 2,021 adult Canadians by telephone for this poll.
A survey of this magnitude yields results that can be considered accurate to
within plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.
For further information: Trish Hennessy, director of the CCPA’s Growing
Gap Project, (416) 263-9896 or c (416) 525-4927
