Albertans Divided on Government's Involvement in Resolving Teachers' Dispute

Edmonton, AB - The results of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted for CTV, Globe and Mail and QR77 show that Albertans are divided in their assessment of the government's recent involvement in ending the teachers' dispute. A slim majority (53%) supports the government's actions with respect to Bill 12 but a similar number (52%) agrees that the province should have left the school boards and the teachers' association to negotiate a settlement on their own. Overall, Albertans are divided on whether the government's solution to the dispute is "fair and reasonable" - 47% agree while 51% disagree.

This poll comes on the heels of a late February Ipsos-Reid poll that found that two-thirds (65%) of Albertans supported the provincial government's initial action to end the strike by declaring a public emergency.

"These results suggest that Albertans wanted the government involved in getting the teachers back in the classroom but that contract negotiations should be left to the school boards and the teachers' association," says Tim Olafson, Senior Vice-President at Ipsos-Reid in Calgary.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted between March 21st and March 25th, 2002. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 800 adult Albertans. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire population in Alberta been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual provincial population according to the 1996 Census data.

Slim Majority (53%) Support Bill 12 Respondents were read the following preamble and then asked if they supported the government's actions:

"As you may know, the Alberta government recently ended the teachers' dispute by passing Bill 12, the Education Services Settlement Act. In Bill 12, the government establishes a binding arbitration process that will determine the specifics of a new contract for Alberta's teachers. Binding arbitration requires that both the Alberta Teachers' Association and the Alberta School Boards Association meet with a 3-person arbitration board jointly appointed by the Teachers' Association, the School Boards Association and the Provincial Government. Once the board has heard each side it will impose a binding settlement that both parties must accept."

In all, 53% say they support the government's actions including three in ten (30%) who "strongly support" and one in four (23%) who "somewhat support". In contrast, 46% oppose these action with one in three (35%) who "strongly oppose" and one in ten (11%) who "somewhat oppose".

• Residents of Calgary (48%) and Edmonton (48%) are less likely than the more rural parts of the province (63%) to support the government's actions.
• Albertans under the age of 35 (58%) are more likely to support the government's actions than those aged 35 and older (51%).

But a Similar Number (52%) Agree that the Province Should Have Left the Parties to Negotiate a Settlement on their Own

While Albertans are tepidly supportive of the government's actions with respect to Bill 12, a similar number (52%) agrees that "the Alberta government should have left the Alberta Teachers' Association and the Alberta School Boards to negotiate a settlement on their own." This includes three in ten (28%) who "strongly agree" and a quarter (24%) who "somewhat agree". Meanwhile, 47% disagree that the two parties should have been left to negotiate a settlement on their own with one in four (27%) who "strongly disagree" and one in five (20%) who "somewhat disagree".

• Calgarians (60%) are more likely than residents in the rest of the province (49%) to agree that the teachers and school boards should have been left to negotiate a settlement on their own.
• Albertans aged 35 and older (56%) are more likely than those aged under 35 (47%) to agree that there should have been a negotiated settlement.

Overall, Albertans are Divided on Whether the Solution is "Fair and Reasonable" (47% Agree, 51% Disagree)

Albertans are almost evenly divided over whether the "the Alberta government's solution to the teachers' dispute is fair and reasonable". Forty-seven percent of Albertans agree with this statement while 51% disagree. However, intensity is greater among opponents. The percentage who "strongly disagree" (35%) is 14 points higher than the percentage who "strongly agree" (21%) with the statement. The results are rounded out by those in the middle where 26% "somewhat agree" and one in six (16%) "somewhat disagree".

• Calgarians (42%) and Edmontonians (42%) are much less likely than residents in the rest of the province (56%) to agree that the government's solution is "fair and reasonable".

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Tim Olafson
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid
Calgary
(403) 237-0066