A public opinion survey being conducted by the City of Kamloops on the water issue has been designed to deliver a pre-determined result, says Kamloops civic workers union.
CUPE 900, which had been invited to participate in the survey, today revealed that reviews of the survey by a leading opinion research company revealed significant flaws in the study, and found it to be biased in favour of public-private partnerships.
In December, 2000, CUPE was provided with a draft of the citys survey. CUPE commissioned a review of the draft by the Ipsos-Reid Corporation, Canadas largest public opinion research company. That review, a copy of which was provided to the City of Kamloops, found the study to be fundamentally flawed, and Ipsos-Reids report expressed grave concerns about both the methodology and the survey instrument.
On January 8, the City of Kamloops forwarded a final copy of a revised questionnaire, which CUPE was advised is now being conducted by the city.
Unfortunately, it seems that someone at city hall has already decided to use this survey to build a case for privatizing our drinking water, says CUPE Local 900 President Mel Hale.
Instead of using this survey to listen to Kamloops citizens, and to get a good understanding of peoples expectations and concerns in an objective way, the city is conducting a survey that asks questions designed to give them the answers they want to hear.
The Ipsos-Reid review of the final survey found that the study was once again significantly flawed and biased in favour of public-private partnerships.
Its unfortunate that the city has spent taxpayers money on a survey that will provide no real information, says Hale. I do hope, though, that members of council listen to the concerns that have been raised in the Ipsos-Reid review, and accept the findings of their survey with a big grain of salt.
- 30 -
For more information:
Mel Hale, (250) 374-0042 or (250) 319-1907
Jim Kirk, (604) 291-1940 or (604) 720-7905