Canadians Favour Investing In Health Care Over Reducing Taxes

Ottawa, ON - A recent Ipsos-Reid study, conducted on behalf of the Canadian Medical Association, finds that when asked to choose between a wait time guarantee to ensure that patients get timely access to quality health care or a tax-back guarantee that would use the interest savings from paying down the government debt to cut personal taxes, Canadians chose a wait time guarantee by a margin of four-to-one (78% to 20%) over a tax back guarantee.

Those most likely to favour a wait time guarantee have typically attained lower levels of education and have lower household incomes. Women (84%) are also more likely than men (71%) to favour a wait time guarantee.

The survey also found that 86 per cent of Canadians feel it is important (53 % very important) that a wait time guarantee be delivered before the next federal election. When asked if a failure to implement a wait time guarantee would influence their vote in the next election, half of Canadians (54%) said it is likely that the failure to implement a wait time guarantee would influence their vote, with one-quarter (23%) saying that it is highly likely that their vote would be influenced.

Women (62%) are more likely to say that their vote would be influenced than are men (46%). Residents of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are least likely to say that failure to implement a wait time guarantee would influence their vote.

These are the findings of Ipsos-Reid telephone survey conducted between February 13th and February 18th, 2007 of 1,001 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire populations been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data.

For more information on this press release, please contact:
Will Daley
Vice President
Ipsos Public Affairs
613.688.8979
[email protected]

About Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

Ipsos
Ipsos is a leading global survey-based market research company, owned and managed by research professionals. Ipsos helps interpret, simulate, and anticipate the needs and responses of consumers, customers, and citizens around the world.

Member companies assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media. They measure public opinion around the globe.

Ipsos member companies offer expertise in advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, and public affairs research, as well as forecasting, modeling, and consulting. Ipsos has a full line of custom, syndicated, omnibus, panel, and online research products and services, guided by industry experts and bolstered by advanced analytics and methodologies. The company was founded in 1975 and has been publicly traded since 1999. In 2006, Ipsos generated global revenues of 857.1 million euros ($1.1 billion USD).

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