Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Monday, September 24, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - A national pollster says a recent public opinion survey in the NWT shows the highest support for conservation he has ever seen.

A massive majority of NWT residents support conservation, including minimizing the impact of industrial development on lakes and rivers, such as the Slave River. - NNSL file photo

"It's the highest in the country," said Angus McAllister, president of McAllister Opinion Research of Vancouver.

"Personally, I was surprised how strong support was across the board," McAllister said.

Ninety per cent of Northerners responded protecting land, water and natural ecosystems - before development - is a high priority, with 60 per cent calling it a very high priority.

McAllister Opinion Research conducted the poll for the U.S.-based Pew Charitable Trusts, which commissioned a similar poll in 2004.

One Pew project is international boreal forest conservation, which focuses on Canada.

"It's exciting to see the depth of support for conservation," said Steve Kallick, project director for the Pew campaign. "It bodes well for the future."

Pew Charitable Trusts help fund such groups as the Canadian Boreal Institute and Ducks Unlimited, which work with NWT First Nations.

Kallick said the poll shows Northerners understand development and conservation have to go hand in hand.

That is a model for the rest of the world, he added, noting it is not the approach in Alberta, where development comes first and conservation after the fact.

"That's absolutely the wrong approach."

Jennifer Morin, interim executive director of the NWT Chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, is happy there is high support for conservation in the poll.

"Having development done in a responsible way is something that people can stand behind," she said. "After development is too late."

The poll provides leverage to raise the profile of the environment among politicians, Morin noted, adding that, while most politicians agree conservation is important, they do not necessarily agree on what should be done.

In an open-ended question, people identified the issues that worry them most - environment and conservation (27 per cent), followed by drug and alcohol abuse (19 per cent).

"While our findings show that Northerners are generally supportive of resource development, they are becoming increasingly worried about the social costs to communities and strongly support measures to protect land and the Northern way of life," McAllister noted.

The poll found NWT residents from all demographic groups and regions want government to implement strong and effective conservation measures.

For instance, 65 per cent want to see Mackenzie Valley lands protected before pipeline construction begins.

More than eight in 10 support creating protected areas such as the proposed national park on the East Arm of Great Slave Lake (84 per cent) and the Ramparts wetlands and boreal forest near Fort Good Hope (87 per cent).

The planned expansion of Nahanni national park is supported by 83 per cent of respondents.

The poll also found the impacts of global warming (18 per cent); impacts of industrial development on rivers, lakes and streams (17 per cent); and wildlife and ecosystems (12 per cent) were most frequently mentioned as specific environmental issues.

McAllister said it is interesting to see water as such a high priority. "You don't get the same concern about water in the rest of Canada."

When asked about Prime Minister Stephen Harper's agenda for the North, NWT residents rated global warming and protecting the ecology of the North as first on the list (36 per cent), followed by giving Northerners greater political and economic powers (30 per cent). Protecting Arctic sovereignty (16 per cent) and promoting resource development (14 per cent) are less likely to be priorities.

The poll is based on a random telephone survey of 437 adults aged 18 and over conducted Sept. 6-12. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.7 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

The results are representative by region, aboriginal status, gender and age.