CC Image courtesy of Scott Rogers: http://bit.ly/2ttwCcz
The Majority Are Not
Concerned By Sewage in Lake Ontario
But the plurality say they are more likely to change their
summer swimming habits because of it
Toronto, June 27th
– In a random sampling of public opinion taken by The Forum Poll™ among 1040 Toronto
voters, the majority (55%) say they are concerned about the fact that partially
treated sewage was dumped into Lake Ontario in response to heavy rain, referred
to as “bypassing.” Only (14%) say they are unconcerned about the release, while
a quarter (25%) say they are neither concerned nor unconcerned about the city’s
bypassing during heavy rain storms. Only (6%) said they do not know.
Respondents most
likely to be concerned include those 55-64 (60%) or 65+ (62%), females (58%),
earning $60,000-$80,000 (58%), $80,000-$100,000 (58%), or the wealthiest (57%),
with a college or university degree (60%), living in North York (57%) or
Scarborough (59%), and supporting John Tory (60%), or the NDP (66%) or Green
Party (64%).
Respondents most
likely to say they are unconcerned include those aged 34 and younger (19%),
males (16%), the least wealthy (21%), the least educated (27%), supporting Doug
Ford (17%), and the provincial Liberals (18%).
Summer swimming habits more likely to change
The plurality of
respondents (42%) did say that they are more likely to change their summer
swimming habits. Slightly more than a third (35%) said that their swimming
habits wouldn’t change, and (12%) said they are less likely to change their
swimming habits in response to the sewage bypasses. One tenth (10%) of
respondents said they do not know.
“The constant downpours of the spring and
early summer have thrust sewage bypasses into the news,” said Dr. Lorne
Bozinoff, President of Forum Research. “The majority are concerned about
partially treated sewage dumped into the lake and more than four in ten say
their summer swimming habits are more likely to change in response.”
Lorne Bozinoff,
Ph.D. is the president and founder of Forum Research. He can be reached at
lbozinoff@forumresearch.com or at (416) 960-9603.
