Public Opinion Research

XI.     Insights and Recommendations

B. Recommendations and Possible Next Steps

As is often the case, the findings of public opinion surveys can raise additional questions beyond those that are answered. While further refinement of these recommendations will be forthcoming in subsequent sub-level (e.g. within region and community size profiles), preliminary analysis suggests a number of areas for more exploration:

Awareness and understanding of the concept and dimensions of sustainability. In particular, we need to better understand the extent to which Canadians believe there is an issue of urban sprawl within our communities, and how this does or does not impact on building sustainable communities. As we noted above, it will also be important to uncover what Canadians view as the key compromises, if any, that will be required to achieve sustainability, assuming this is a goal that most Canadians support, and what trade-offs Canadians are/are not willing to make.

Local priorities. This survey provides some preliminary input from Canadians on their priorities, including housing, infrastructure, and public transit, among others. We need to drill deeper in this area and develop a clearer understanding of what public expectations are, particularly in terms of infrastructure improvements, and how any additional funds should be invested within communities.

Enabling Environments. The time limitations of a telephone survey also prevented us from examining a larger list of possible priorities, including the demand for and perceived role of public spaces. While we did assess the importance of green spaces and parks, we did not engage Canadians in an in-depth discussion of those factors or features within a community that enable broader civic engagement and participation. This topic lends itself well to discussion within a series of focus groups among community leaders, and possibly employing a hybrid methodology that incorporates a deliberative approach. Such a discussion should consider two points of focus, the social and economic impacts of public spaces. For example, a discussion of the social impacts would engage participants to consider the impact of public spaces on community cohesion, pride and the desirability of particular communities. The economic focus would draw upon some aspects of economic cluster theory, assessing the importance of informal and unplanned interactions among professionals in a shared field.

The "perceptual" links between culture, diversity and economically prosperous communities. Although only superficially tested, we see some evidence that the Richard Florida thesis is not well understood or necessarily supported by Canadians. We need to better understand how Canadians view the role of culture in creating vibrant and successful communities, how they define culture, and how culture connects with the broader social and economic fabric of Canada and Canadian communities.

Public expectations of the roles of local, provincial and federal levels of government at the community level. It would be useful to further deconstruct the performance rating of the Government of Canada on community issues, understanding how Canadians want the federal government to work with municipal and provincial/territorial jurisdictions. In particular, while accountability is currently a popular theme, specifically what level of accountability do Canadians seek around a New Deal, what conditions are acceptable and how will they know whether monies are being appropriately spent?

Funding options for municipal or local levels of government. The findings of this survey elicited the expected response from Canadians - don't raise my taxes or charge me more for services. Do Canadians think that addressing municipal issues should be a shared responsibility of governments, non-governmental organizations, businesses and residents? If so, what role can/should residents play? How should funding for municipalities be secured over the long run? And what are the relative merits and disadvantages of various funding options?

Governance models. Related to the above two points, the findings do not address how Canadians feel the administrative and legislative authorities between the federal, provincial/territorial and municipal levels of government should be realigned, if at all, in order to better meet the challenges facing Canadian communities.

Promoting and communicating The New Deal for Cities and Communities. The survey just touched upon awareness and understanding of The New Deal. How Canadians have heard about The New Deal, what they know of it, what their expectations are, the extent to which it is seen to be relevant to addressing real needs at the community level, and how best to ensure the long-term viability and modernization of Canadian communities are topics for further discussion.

Future surveys tracking these benchmark indicators on the quality of community life and exploring additional/emerging issues should consider the ability to break out the data not only by community size, but by key strata within communities. For example, it would be most interesting to examine the extent of variability, if any, in perceptions of quality of life and community priorities from the perspectives of those living in the city core versus those residing in suburbs and those in exurban areas.

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