Poll reveals huge swing against Secret Police Bill

Breaking: Forum Poll reveals huge swing against Secret Police Bill C-51, with majority of Canadians now opposing the bill
Canadians oppose Bill C-51 by 50% to 38%; two-thirds of Liberals oppose the bill despite Trudeau’s support; opposition to the bill has tripled in the six weeks since it was first announced.

March 17, 2015 – A new opinion poll just published by Forum Research has revealed a massive swing against Bill C-51, commonly known as the “Secret Police” Bill. The poll shows that 50% of Canadians now oppose the bill, with just 38% approving.

The poll was published just days after thousands of Canadians took to the streets in over 70 communities across Canada, as part of a National Day of Action organized by the BCGEU, Leadnow.ca, and OpenMedia.

The full results of the poll are available on Forum Research’s website. Key findings include:

Half of Canadians (50%) now oppose the bill, with just over a third (38%) in favour.
This marks a tripling in opposition from an Angus-Reid poll published shortly after the bill was announced.
More than two thirds of Canadians (69%) are now aware of the legislation.
66% of Liberals oppose the bill, with just 22% in favour - adding pressure on Justin Trudeau to rethink his stance on the legislation.
Opposition is strongest in B.C. (61%), Atlantic Canada (60%), Manitoba/Saskatchewan (58%), and Ontario (51%). In the government’s electoral stronghold of Alberta, 40% oppose the bill.
There is strong opposition to specific parts of Bill C-51:
62% disapprove of allowing security services to “infiltrate, investigate and disrupt” opponents of government policy. Just 28% approve.
52% disapprove of the fact that the legislation makes no provision for parliamentary oversight of the security services.
More than 4 in 5 Canadians want to change Bill C-51 - just 19% want to pass the bill as written. 34% want to see more oversight, while 38% want to fight the bill unless it’s changed significantly. 46% of Conservatives want to see either more oversight or significant changes.

“These remarkable polling numbers prove that the more Canadians learn about Bill C-51, the less they like it,” said David Christopher, communications manager for OpenMedia. “Opposition to this reckless, dangerous, and ineffective legislation is surging across Canada, as awareness spreads about how it would undermine our privacy and democratic freedoms.”

Christopher continued: “We all know that Stephen Harper’s government is hopelessly out of touch with Canadians when it comes to privacy. But this poll should also prompt Justin Trudeau to reconsider his stance. With over two-thirds of his party’s supporters opposing this legislation, isn’t it time Justin Trudeau showed he can listen to Canadians, instead of backing government attempts to ram this extreme legislation through Parliament at breakneck pace?”

Over 92,500 Canadians have now spoken out about Bill C-51 at StopC51.ca

ENDS

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