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| The Blackout: Ontario Voters’ Report Card on How Ontarian, Canadian, and U.S. Leaders Performed During the Hydro Crisis; and What Should Be Done Report to Global TV and National Post |
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| COMPAS carried out a n>500 province-wide survey to let Ontarians score the performance of provincial, federal, and U.S. leaders during the blackout, to assign blame, and to spell out what should be done. With a report card score of 64%, Ontario Premier Ernie Eves is the big winner but it is not clear that he can transform his high personal performance during the crisis into re-election. Outgoing Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and New York Governor George Pataki earn adequate passing grades. Meanwhile, the Ontario opposition leaders join Prime Minister Chretien and President Bush in receiving failing or near-failing grades. Voters are more likely to blame the Ontario government than other hydro actors but they are almost as likely to blame the electricity producer in Ohio, where the problem seemed to start, Ottawa for not protecting the Canadian system, and U.S. regulators for not forestalling the collapse. Former Premier Mike Harris’ intended privatization is not resonating. Less than a fourth of the province’s electorate support the plan with about half of Ontarians wanting full government ownership and control of power transmission. The most that can be said about the Common Sense Revolution’s impact is that it removed the consensus favouring government ownership. But the CSR did not build a replacement consensus, and support for government ownership remains strong. As for whether priority flow of power should go to employers or consumers in a crisis, the public is split down the middle. |
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