By Joan Bryden
OTTAWA (CP) - Canadians are not impressed with the Conservative government's handling of the Afghan detainee issue or its new green plan, a new poll suggests.
The two issues have dominated parliamentary debate for the last month, during which the Tories' lead in public opinion has evaporated.
A Decima poll, provided exclusively to The Canadian Press, indicates that 55 per cent of those polled believe it's likely that detainees captured by Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan wind up being tortured by Afghan authorities. And 58 per cent believe Canada has an obligation to ensure those detainees are not abused.
On that score, only 33 per cent were satisfied with the government's confused and contradictory handling of the issue; 42 per cent were dissatisfied. Dissatisfaction was highest in Ontario (49 per cent), the province that holds the key to Tory hopes for a majority in the next election, and British Columbia (50 per cent).
The Tory government fared a bit better with its new plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Nevertheless, 47 per cent were dissatisfied with the plan while 41 per cent were satisfied. Dissatisfaction was stronger than average among women and residents of Quebec - two core groups the Tories have been trying to woo in bid to secure a majority.
Moreover, two of the leading critics of the plan - environmentalist David Suzuki and former U.S. vice-president Al Gore - were deemed to be more credible than Environment Minister John Baird.
Suzuki and Gore have said the plan will do little to combat global warming while Baird insists it's a major step forward. Asked to choose whose view is more credible, 59 per cent chose Suzuki over Baird (25 per cent) and 44 per cent chose Gore over Baird (34 per cent).
While not exactly encouraging for the Tories, Decima CEO Bruce Anderson said the polls results could have been worse given the pummelling the government has taken on both issues.
"This is not as bad news as some of the coverage might have suggested, but it's certainly the case that this is the agenda that has been dominating and it's not a particularly good one for the Conservatives."
Anderson noted that the 41 per cent satisfaction rate on the green plan is much better than public reaction to the Tories' initial plan last fall and actually higher than current support for the Conservative party. Still, he said the improvement is "perhaps not" as great as the government had hoped.
On the Afghan prisoner issue, Anderson said Canadians are not necessarily blaming the government for torture and abuse of detainees. However, the poll suggests that the government's handling of the matter is at odds with the majority view that torture is occurring and that Canada has a duty to prevent it.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his cabinet ministers initially insisted there was no evidence of torture and that former detainees who'd complained of ill-treatment were not to be believed. They accused opposition MPs who raised the issue of caring more about the Taliban than Canadian soldiers - even though no one suggested any involvement by Canadian troops.
The government was embarrassed when evidence subsequently emerged that it had in fact received - and allegedly tried to hide - warnings that torture is rife in Afghan prisons.
Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor also came under opposition pressure to resign after providing inaccurate information about who, if anyone, was monitoring the treatment of prisoners handed over by Canada to Afghan authorities.
Finally last week, on the brink of a hearing asking Federal Court to block any further transfers of detainees to Afghan authorities, the government hastily signed a new agreement with Afghanistan. It sets out a new process for monitoring the treatment of detainees once they're handed over.
The poll of just over 1,000 Canadians was conducted May 3-7 and is considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points 19 times in 20.
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