PARLIAMENT HILL—The leak of a potentially explosive draft report by Auditor General Sheila Fraser on $45.7-million spent by the feds on G8 summit projects in Industry Minister Tony Clement's riding last year caused concern among more than 70 per cent of voters nationwide, according to a Forum Research poll conducted at the end of last week.
But concern was greatest in Ontario, where the G8 and G20 summits were held last June amid a controversy over costs and a massive security clampdown that clogged the City of Toronto for an entire weekend.
The Forum Research poll, the first survey of voters asked about the sensational release of a draft report by the auditor general on only a portion of the spending to The Canadian Press last week, found concern over the report and its leak was highest in the region Prime Minister Stephen Harper is depending on the most for his majority breakthrough – the 905 metropolitan area surrounding Toronto.
Some 54 per cent of voters in the Greater Toronto Area said they were very concerned by the reports about Ms. Fraser's leaked report on G8 spending. A further 23 per cent said they were somewhat concerned, 17 per cent said they were not very concerned, and only five per cent said they were not at all concerned.
Nationally, 44 per cent of the 2,241 voters who responded to the survey last Thursday evening in local time zones said they were very concerned about the auditor general's report on the G8 summit spending in Mr. Clement's Muskoka region riding north of Toronto. The G8 was held in Mr. Clement's riding and the G20 was held in Toronto a day later.
Another 27 per cent across the country said they were somewhat concerned, 19 per cent said they were not very concerned and only nine per cent said they were not concerned at all. The respondents were asked, "How concerned are you about the auditor general's report on the G8 summit spending?"
The survey revealed a divide between areas in Western Canada, where Conservative strength and support for Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been highest, and east of the Manitoba border. Forty-eight per cent of voters in Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic were very concerned, with voters who were somewhat concerned averaging 26 per cent across those three provinces.
In Alberta, Mr. Harper's loyal base, only 26 per cent of voters were concerned about the controversy and potential spending abuse, 28 per cent were somewhat concerned, 35 per cent were not very concerned and 12 per cent were not concerned at all. Concern was higher in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, where the number of voters who were very concerned was just over 40 per cent.
Lorne Bozinoff, president of Forum Research, said he was not surprised at the high level of concern registered in the GTA—where citizens were most affected by the summits.
New Democrat incumbent Olivia Chow, who is running for re-election in the Toronto riding of Trinity-Spadina, agreed. She added that the responses also reflect concern over how an estimated $1.18-billion was spent on both summits.
"Businesses lost millions of dollars, and the city was tied up for a week," Ms. Chow said. "There is concern because of the money that was spent, and because the government is hiding what it did with the money spent on the G8 in Mr. Clement's riding."
Despite more than $900-million spent by the federal government on security for the two summits, with the G8 being held at a high-end resort near Huntsville, Ont., downtown Toronto experienced pockets of violent protests, unhindered by police, on the eve of the summit meeting, and the subsequent mass arrest of more than 1,000 protesters and hundreds of allegations of civil rights violations by police.
The survey, despite the fact that 54 per cent of respondents said they believe the election is unnecessary, found that interest is high as the campaign enters its final stage. Fifty-seven per cent of the respondents told Forum Research they were very interested in the election, and another 27 per cent said they were somewhat interested.
In the GTA, where it could be most important for Mr. Harper, 66 per cent of respondents said they are very interested in the election, and 26 per cent somewhat interested. Only eight per cent in the GTA said they are not very interested or not at all interested.
The Canadian Press reported last Monday that it had obtained a copy of a draft report from Ms. Fraser's audit of the G8 spending in Mr. Clement's riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka. The copy CP reporter Joan Bryden said she was shown by a Liberal supporter said the government had "misinformed" Parliament over the amount it intended to spend when it presented estimates to the Commons in 2009. The auditor general discovered that the money actually came from spending estimates Parliament had approved for border infrastructure.
Government House Leader John Baird the same day said he had seen a subsequent draft of Ms. Fraser's report, which did not contain the claim that Parliament was misinformed. All party leaders have said they want the final audit released but Ms. Fraser said she cannot until Parliament sits after the next election.
The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 per cent 19 times out of 20.
tnaumetz@hilltimes.com
The Hill Times
Source: The Hill Times
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