Majority supports stricter lockdowns, hefty fines
OTTAWA — The majority of Canadians support much stricter COVID-19 lockdowns, including a requirement to carry proof of vaccinations at all times, mask-wearing in all outdoor settings and $10,000 fines for rule breakers, according to a poll.
The Maru/Blue Public Opinion survey found that 89 per cent of respondents support keeping the Canada-U.S. border closed, as well as forcing international travellers to provide negative COVID19 tests before returning to Canada.
But respondents also supported further measures, like forcing people to stay home except for essential purposes — grocery shopping, securing medication or getting vaccinated. A majority also supported broad-based school closures.
The results come as governments in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec have imposed stringent lock-downs as a way to curb rising COVID-19 cases.
Ontario last month announced province-wide restrictions that shuttered indoor dining and temporarily shifted schools to strictly online learning.
Quebec last week announced similar measures, including an 8 p.m. curfew.
Lockdowns have remained a controversial topic since the beginning of the pandemic, with many people voicing concerns over extraordinary limits to their civil liberties in the name of fighting a virus from which the vast majority of people quickly recover.
Respondents in Quebec were generally the most supportive of more severe restrictions, followed by Atlantic Canada and Ontario. Respondents in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta were less supportive.
On the question of new restrictions that would compel vaccinated people to “carry a health card verification on you at all times,” 71 per cent of total respondents said they would support the measure. That included 80 per cent support in Atlantic Canada, compared with 57 per cent in Alberta.
Asked whether they would support restricting people from leaving their homes except for “essential reasons such grocery shopping, getting medications, and being vaccinated,” 65 per cent said they would support, including 74 per cent of Quebec respondents.
Among those surveyed, 56 per cent favoured maskwearing in all public circumstances, “even outdoors when walking.” Atlantic Canada was the most supportive of such a measure at 67 per cent, and Alberta least supportive at 46 per cent.
Seventy-nine per cent were in favour of closing “all places of worship,” with the exception of weddings (up to five people) and funeral services (up to 20 people).
The same people were apparently less concerned with closing “skiing and snowboarding activity centres,” with only 56 per cent of them in support.
Sixty-four per cent of people said they would support $10,000 fines for people “found to be in violation of any lockdown rules.”
Responses varied by province, including Ontario (68 per cent sup-port), Quebec (66 per cent), Manitoba/Saskatchewan (58 per cent) and Alberta (51 per cent).
On the question of when to lift restrictions, most respondents said it should happen only after hospital usages are reduced (33 per cent), while another 27 per cent would prefer to see case counts fall to lows reached in August 2020.
Ten per cent of people opposed any and all restrictions, including wearing masks.