Pulse Of Toronto - Toronto Life

Support for Movie Filming (85%) and "Panhandling Meters" (66%) High While Only 45% Support Having More Pet-Only Parks

Toronto, ON - Two-thirds (66%) of Toronto residents believe the city is becoming more violent compared to five years ago a new Ipsos-Reid/CFRB/Globe and Mail poll released today reveals. Further, despite much debate about the necessity of a police helicopter in Toronto, two-thirds (63%) of residents agree that the police helicopter at a cost of one million dollars per year is worth it to taxpayers.

As the Toronto school board contemplates rebuilding some of the playgrounds it tore down earlier this year, almost three-quarters (73%) say that the Toronto school board was wrong to tear down the playgrounds of public schools in the first place.

On the economic side, greater than four in five (85%) residents indicate that the many movies being filmed in Toronto are worth it to the city even though they can sometimes interrupt things like traffic.

On the social side, two-thirds (66%) support panhandling meters (parking meters set up around the city that collect money for the homeless) in Toronto, while only 45 percent agree that Toronto should set aside more pet-only parks.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/CFRB/Globe and Mail poll conducted between October 13th and October 17th, 2000. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 404 adult Torontonians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 4.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Toronto population 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 Toronto population according to the 1996 Census data.

Two-Thirds (66%) of Toronto Residents Believe City is Becoming More Violent than Five Years Ago and Almost as Many (63%) Support Cop Chopper

• Many residents (66%) say that compared to five years ago, Toronto is becoming more violent. One-third (32%) disagree that the city is becoming more violent. Older residents (75%) are more likely than middle aged (62%) or younger residents (63%) to agree with this statement. Residents earning under $60,000 (71%) are more likely than those earning $60,000 or more (57%) to say the city has become more violent.
• Just under two-thirds (63%) agree that the police helicopter at a cost of $1 million per year is worth it to taxpayers while only a third (34%) say it is not worth it.

Torontonians Slam (73%) School Board For Tearing Down Public School Playgrounds

• The Toronto School Board spent millions of dollars tearing down the playgrounds at public schools across the city. In the aftermath, three-quarters (73%) of Toronto residents agree that the school board was wrong to tear the playgrounds down. Only 24 percent say the school board was not wrong to tear the playgrounds down. Women (79%) are much more likely than men (67%) to say the school board was wrong.

Support for Movie Filming (85%) and "Panhandling Meters" (66%) High While Only 45% Support Having More Pet-Only Parks

• The vast majority (85%) of Torontonians say that even though the many movies being filmed in the city can sometimes disrupt things like traffic they are worth it. Only 13 percent do not think the filming is worth it. Men (89%) are more likely than women (80%) to say that the movies are worth it and residents earning $60,000 or more (90%) are more likely than those earning less than $60,000 (81%) to say they are worth it.
• Two-thirds (66%) of residents would support the introduction of "panhandling meters", an initiative tried in cities such as Vancouver, to collect money for the homeless. One-third (32%) would not support this initiative. Higher income residents (61%) are less likely than middle or lower income residents (72%) to support panhandling meters.
• Residents are divided on the issue of whether or not Toronto should set aside more pet-only parks. Forty-five percent say they agree with this idea while 51 percent say they do not.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice President
Public Affairs
Ipsos-Reid
(416) 324-2900