Despite Detainee Furor, Majority (53%) Say Defence Minister O'Connor Should Stay in Post

Toronto, ON- Despite the recent furor regarding the treatment of suspected Taliban fighters who are detained by Canadian Soldiers in Afghanistan and then transferred to Afghani authorities, a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted exclusively for CanWest Global finds that a majority (53%) of Canadians believe that `it is unfair for the opposition parties to call for the resignation' of Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor. Canadians also think that O'Connor `can't be expected to know everything that happens to detainees that are handed over to Afghan officials'.

Conversely, only 36% of Canadians maintain that O'Conner `should have been monitoring what was happening to detainees after they have been turned over to Afghan officials, and that he has been negligent in his duties. Therefore, he should be fired immediately by the Prime Minister and replaced by someone else'.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of CanWest Global from May 1 to May 3, 2007. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1000 adults was interviewed by telephone. 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 adult population 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 that the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data.

Majority (53%) Say Calls for Resignation `Unfair'...

Recent reports of the possible torture of suspected Taliban fighters by Afghani authorities have had the opposition parties in the House of Commons calling for the resignation of Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor. However, that resignation appears to be unlikely as a majority of Canadians say that O'Connor `can't be expected to know everything that happens after detainees are handed over to Afghan officials', and that it is `unfair for opposition parties to call for his resignation'.

• Canadians most likely to claim that O'Connor should keep his job are those whose families earn over $60,000 a year. At 61%, this group runs 8 points higher than the national average (53%), and 17 points higher than those families which earn less than $30,000 a year (44%).
• Residents of Alberta and Atlantic Canada are most supportive of O'Connor's role as Defence Minister, with seven in ten (68%) saying that calls for his resignation are unfair.
• Men (58%) are more likely than women (49%) to think that O'Connor should stay in his post. To a similar margin, older Canadians (57%) are more likely to support the minister in his role than younger adults (49%).

Some (36%) Say O'Connor `Negligent' and `Should be Fired'...

Contrary to the views of the majority, some Canadians insist that O'Connor `should have been monitoring what was happening to detainees after they have been turned over to Afghan officials'. Further, they believe that the minister was `negligent', and `should be fired and replaced'.

• The most likely group of Canadians to say that O'Connor should be canned are those without a high school diploma. Nearly half (45%) of these individuals think that O'Connor should lose his post, compared to one third (32%) of those who have some post-secondary education'.
• To a similar degree, 45% of Canadians whose families earn less than $30,000 a year feel that O'Connor should be sacked.
• Residents of Quebec are the most likely (41%) of any region in Canada to claim that O'Connor has been negligent and, as such, should be replaced. In comparison, only one quarter (25%) of Albertans and residents of Atlantic Canada (24%) feel the same way.

For more Information on this news release, please contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Reid Public Affairs
416-324-2900
[email protected] For full tabular results, please visit our website www.ipsos.ca. News Releases are available at: http://www.ipsos-na.com/news/.

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