Majority (55%) Believes Vancouver Safe-Injection Site
a `Good Thing', Government Should Extend Federal Drug-Law Exemption to Keep Site Open (54%)

Ottawa, ON - In response to the question of whether the safe-injection site that serves the downtown east-side of Vancouver should be closed down or remain open when its protection under a federal-law exemption expires at the end of June, a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of CanWest News Service and Global Television reveals that a majority of Canadians believe the site is a `good thing' (55%) and that the site `should be permitted to remain open past June 30 by extending the federal drug-law exemption' (54%).

On the other hand, four in ten (40%) Canadians believe that the site is a `bad thing' and that `no extension to the exemption should be sought and the facility closed down when its exemption to the federal drug law expires at the end of the month' (41%). Five percent (5%) don't know whether the site is a good or bad thing, or whether the site should be permitted to remain open or be required closed down.

Thinking about whether the safe-injection site, which currently operates in Vancouver, should be expanded to other major cities in Canada, the country is divided. One half (50%) believes that safe-injection sites should operate in other urban centres, while nearly one half (46%) adopts the opposite stance and believes that safe-injection sites should not open in other major cities across Canada.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of CanWest News Service and Global Television from June 3 to June 5, 2008. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1000 adult Canadians was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 1773.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population of Canada 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 (55%) Believes Safe Injection Site a `Good Thing', while four in ten (40%) say they're a `Bad Thing'...

• Quebecers (66%) are most likely to believe that safe-injection sites are a `good thing', while those in Alberta (58%), Atlantic Canada (55%), British Columbia (54%), Ontario (49%) and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (45%) are less likely to think so.
• Middle-aged Canadians, aged 35 to 54, are most likely (59%) to believe that safe-injection sites are a `good thing', while younger Canadians, aged 18 to 34, are only slightly less likely (57%) to think so, and older Canadians, aged 55+, are considerably less likely (48%) to think so.
• Women (58%) are more likely than men (52%) to think that safe-injection sites are a `good thing'.
• Those in urban settings (57%) have a higher tendency than those in rural (50%) settings to believe that safe-injection sties are a `good thing'.

Majority (54%) Thinks Extension to Federal Drug-Law Exemption Should be Sought to Allow Vancouver Facility to Remain Open, While Four in ten (41%) Disagree...

• While Quebecers (63%) are most likely to agree that an extension to the exemption should be sought so that Vancouver's safe-injection site can be allowed to remain open, a strong majority (58%) of British Columbians are also in support of this idea. A majority of Albertans (55%) and Atlantic Canadians (54%) and those living in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (51%) also support this notion, while only a minority (48%) of Ontarians agree that an extension should be sought.
• Younger Canadians (58%) are more likely than middle-aged (56%) or older Canadians (49%) to believe an extension to the exemption should be sought to allow the facility to remain open.
• Women (57%) are more likely than men (51%) to adopt this stance.
• Canadians living in urban centres (56%) have a higher propensity than those in rural settings (47%) to say an extension to the exemption should be sought.

Country Split on Whether Safe-Injection Sites should Open (50%) or Not (46%) in Other Major Canadian Cities...

• Interestingly, urban Canadians (52%), those who this move would affect most, are much more supportive of this notion than are rural Canadians (40%).
• Quebecers (58%) are the most supportive of having safe-injection sites open in other major urban centres, followed by those in Atlantic Canada (55%), British Columbia (51%), Alberta (51%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (46%) and Ontario (43%).
• Younger Canadians (57%) are more supportive than middle-aged (50%) or older Canadians (42%) of opening sites in other Canadian cities.
• Women (51%) are slightly more receptive to this idea than are men (48%).

For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
(416) 324-2002
[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.

About 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 2007, Ipsos generated global revenues of e927.2 million ($1.27 billion U.S.).

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