Global Courant 2023-04-21 07:07:00
A new survey conducted by Research. Co found Canadians are divided over whether the justice system is fair for everyone.
According to Research Co., 45 percent of the 1,000 Canadians surveyed agreed that the justice system treats everyone fairly, while 43 percent of people disagreed and 12 percent said they hadn’t made a decision.
Just over half (51 percent) of Canadians aged 18 to 34 are more likely to question the integrity of the justice system than those aged 35 to 54 (46 percent) and those 55 and older (38 percent).
A lower percentage of Canadians (37 percent) said the Canadian prison system does a good job of rehabilitating prisoners so they become law-abiding citizens.
More than two in five respondents support the use of punishments such as fines, probation or community service as an alternative to prison for cases of credit card fraud (46 percent) and online harassment or cyberbullying (45 percent).
But when it comes to dealing with people convicted of drunk driving and arson, fewer people support those alternatives: 38 percent and 25 percent, respectively.
Breaking down the data by province, 53 percent of people in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, as well as 48 percent of Quebec residents, are most in favor of punishments other than prison for people convicted of online harassment.
However, 44 percent of people in both Alberta and Ontario and 39 percent in both British Columbia and Atlantic Canada support the alternative punishment approach.
“There is a gender gap when Canadians are assessing alternative punishments to prison for drunk drivers,” said Mario Canseco, president of Research Co., in a press release released Wednesday. “Men are more likely to endorse fines, probation or community service (42 percent) than women (33 percent).”
Research Co. also asked the respondents what they thought of three elements of the Juvenile Criminal Law Act.
Sixty-nine percent of people said they agree that non-violent, first-time offenders who are unlikely to reoffend can avoid trial by “participating in out-of-court sanctions programs.” The same percentage of people agreed with the possibility of finding parents in contempt of court if they do not attend hearings or participate in the legal process for their child, and 67 percent said it is only ok to disclose the identities of the young people who have been convicted. charged under special circumstances.
Just under half of Canadians (48 percent) said they supported the provision that no one can be convicted of a crime as long as he or she is under 12 years old.
In addition, a questionnaire conducted by Nanos for CTV News in January 2023 found satisfaction with Canada as a country continues to decline.
According to the survey, about two in three (64 percent) Canadians said they are satisfied with Canada as a country – a decrease from 2021.
The Nanos survey also found that Canadians aged 18 to 34 reported the lowest level of satisfaction with Canada as a country compared to all other demographics – especially Canadians aged 55 and over – who reported the highest level of satisfaction.
Research Co. Methodology: Results are based on an online survey conducted from April 7 to April 9, 2023 of 1,000 adults in Canada. The data is statistically weighted by Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error, which measures sample variability, is +/- 3.1 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.
Nanos Methodology: Nanos conducted an RDD dual frame (landline and mobile) hybrid telephone and online random survey of 1,054 Canadians aged 18 or older between January 27 and 30, 2023. The margin of error for this survey is ±3.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20
Coverage for this story was paid for through the Meta-funded The Afghan Journalists in Residence Project.
