Pollster Ipsos-Reid says most Canadians disagree with both parts of a new policy initiated by the Conservative government when it comes to honouring members of the Canadian Forces who die in the service. Nearly two-thirds or 66 per cent of those surveyed say the government was wrong to ban the media from repatriation ceremonies held most recently at CFB Trenton for the return of the remains of four soldiers killed in Afghanistan. And 55 per cent disagree with the government’s return to the traditional policy of lowering flags on federal buildings, like the Peace Tower, only on Remembrance Day to honour military dead.
So far as the media ban goes, “residents of Quebec (73%), British Columbia (70%), and Ontario (67%) are the most likely to believe this decision is really a muzzle and that it should be up to the families that it be televised to Canadians,” the pollster said.
The telephone poll of 944 adult Canadians was conducted April 25–27. The pollster claims that it is accurate to within 3.2 percentage points 19 times out of 20. Regional results will have a larger margin of error.