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Canadians want Ottawa to place higher priority on Human Rights in International Trade Relations

OTTAWA -  May 19, 1999 - Canadians want the federal government to assign a high level of priority to human rights in its international trade agenda and feel Ottawa's performance in the area falls far short of their expectations.

These findings emerge from a long-term study of Canadians' values conducted by Montreal pollster CROP for Toronto's Ideation Group as part of a research program on business ethics and human rights. The program was designed with the input of 15 national business, labour, government, academic and non-governmental groups. A portion of the research dealt with human rights and international trade.

The results of the research are being released on the eve of a major multistakeholder consultation on Canadian trade policy convened by International Trade Minister Sergio Marchi with labour, human rights, and non-governmental organizations.

The study found that:
81% of Canadians feel Ottawa should place a high priority in its trade relations on ensuring respect for the human rights of people in other countries who produce goods purchased by Canadians, but only 7% of Canadians rate Ottawa as very committed to ensuring respect for human rights in its trade relations

If the federal government were to increase the level of priority it places on human rights in its trade relations, 83% of Canadians say their feelings of pride in Canada would be strengthened.

"These findings speak to Canadian values including the advancement of human rights," said Dan Rath, president of Ideation Group. "We want our government to share those values and act on them by demonstrating leadership on human rights on the international stage. The data is noteworthy because it arises from a study of long-term values and trends."

"As Canada prepares for a new round of negotiations at the World Trade Organization and negotiation of a Free Trade Agreement for the Americas, these findings provide unequivocal support for a new position of human rights advocacy in our trade policy," said Betty Plewes, President - CEO of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation (CCIC).

The survey asked Canadians to rate the federal government's commitment in its trade relations to ensuring respect for the human rights of people living in other countries who produce goods purchased by Canadians. Only 7% rated Ottawa as very committed while 44% called it somewhat committed, 38% not very committed and 9% not at all committed.

"These findings are clearly telling the Chr?tien government that Canadians are unsatisfied with its performance to date on human rights. Canadians do not want to support human rights abuses in international workplaces, and they want Ottawa to listen them and act aggressively to build human rights protection into the international trade agenda," said Dick Martin, Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC).

When asked what level of priority they believe the federal government should place in its trade relations on ensuring respect for human rights, Canadians replied with conviction: 81% said it should have a high priority and 19% said it should have a low priority.

"Trading rules should be compatible with existing human rights standards," said Warren Allmand, President of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (ICHRDD). "And when the trading rules are not compatible, human rights law should have primacy. These findings show that Canadians support that point of view."

The large sample size and low margin of error make these findings the bellwether for Canadian attitudes on international trade.

In total, 2,893 Canadians aged 15 and older were interviewed in person in their homes as part of the 1998 3SC Sociocultural Trends Study, the largest annual survey tracking the values and beliefs of Canadians. The findings have a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9%, 19 times out of 20.