Canadians Want More Effective Government, Better Social Safety Net
For Immediate Release - Nov. 3, 2009
Toronto, Ont. - An assessment of national values has revealed that across regions, gender, age and background, Canadians want the same things: to cut bureaucracy, improve the accountability of government and strengthen the social safety net.
Released today at a leadership forum in Toronto, the national values assessment was conducted by the Todd Thomas Institute for Values-Based Leadership at Royal Roads University in Victoria, B.C. A survey of 1,251 Canadians conducted in May was adjusted to reflect the Canadian census on region, age and gender. Using an international assessment tool developed by the Barrett Values Centre, which has headquarters in the United Kingdom and the United States, the survey asked participants to select their priority personal values as well as those they see expressed in the current Canadian culture and those they wish to see reflected in the national culture.
"The results show a widely shared set of personal values that emphasize relationships and qualities that contribute to social cohesion, such as honesty, family, and caring," said Marilyn Taylor, PhD, director of the Todd Thomas Institute of Values-Based Leadership. "They also show a high level of agreement among Canadians that our culture is being compromised by a serious level of dysfunction in the form of social risks, economic vulnerability and institutional ineffectiveness."
While Canadians identified human rights, freedom of speech, law enforcement and quality of life as significant strengths of the current national culture, six of the top 10 identified current values are indicators of dysfunction. They were: bureaucracy, unemployment, crime/violence, wasted resources, corruption, and uncertainty about the future. These were identified across all regions, generations, gender, from the public and private sectors and among Canadian-born and foreign-born respondents.
The overall proportion of values that are indications of dysfunction in the current culture provide a measure of what is called cultural entropy. Canada's measure of 32 per cent indicates the country's level of dysfunction and unproductive use of energy is too high to be sustainable according to the estimates of the Barrett Values Centre (http://www.valuescentre.com/). The centre's estimates are based on assessments of thousands of organizations as well as six other countries and one region in the United Kingdom.
"An entropy score over 30 indicates a need for immediate action," said Richard Barrett, the centre's founder and chairman. "Scores of 50 per cent or higher usually indicate bankruptcy and the imminence of a dramatic change in leadership and policies. Among countries, we've seen that borne out when the U.S. scored 52 per cent just before the presidential election and when Iceland scored 54 per cent just weeks before the country went bankrupt."
Asked to select 10 values they would like to see reflected in Canadian society, the highest number of responses went to: accountability, caring for the elderly, affordable housing, effective health care, caring for the disadvantaged, concern for future generations, poverty reduction, employment opportunities, human rights and governmental effectiveness.
"From the combined responses to all three questions I see a clear call to strengthen the social safety net and an emphasis on the importance of trustworthy public institutions that can reliably deliver results," said Taylor.
The Todd Thomas Institute plans to promote a public dialogue based on these results and conduct subsequent national values assessments (see social media discussion sites at (www.royalroads.ca/tti). The institute will also support further applied research on values with specific communities and organizations. Demographic variables for the national values assessment were selected in consultation with Environics Research so results can be compared to the social values survey data collected for 25 years by that organization.
"The results of this assessment will be widely distributed so Canadian individuals, organizations and governments can use this information to help realize our desired future for Canada," said Taylor. "The opportunity for our business and government leaders to hear from Canadians and to lead through a values-based model is significant. And in today's economic climate, there is no better time to embark on a bold new direction."
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Backgrounder attached
For media queries, contact:
Communications Officer, Phil Saunders
phil.saunders@royalroads.ca 250-391-2526, cel 250-812-5065 or,
Community Relations Director, Stephanie Slater
stephanie.slater@royalroads.ca 250-391-2712, cel 250-361-5020
More news and events at Royal Roads University
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Royal Roads University - Royal Roads University was established by the Province of British Columbia in 1995 as a special purpose university charged with advancing professionals in the workplace. It is the only public university in Canada exclusively designed for this demographic and, as such, all its programs and research are focused on applied, real-world relevance and experience.
Todd Thomas Institute for Values-Based Leadership - The Todd Thomas Institute for Values-Based Leadership is named in honour of the son of Peter H. Thomas, founder of Century 21 Real Estate in Canada and the not-for-profit LifePilot organization. Peter Thomas donated $500,000 to Royal Roads University in 2007 to found the institute. Its mission is to add significantly to the leadership and organizational research currently undertaken at Royal Roads University by exploring the theory and practice of values-based leadership.
National Values Assessment Highlights
Personal Values
- 1) Honesty
- 2) Family
- 3) Caring
- 4) Humor/fun
- 5) Respect
- 6) Friendship
- 7) Responsibility
- 8) Positive attitude
- 9) Trust
- 10) Patience
Values That Describe the Current Culture
- 1) Bureaucracy
- 2) Human Rights
- 3) Freedom of Speech
- 4) Wasted Resources
- 5) Unemployment
- 6) Crime/violence
- 7) Law Enforcement
- 8) Corruption
- 9) Uncertainty about the future
- 10) Quality of life
Desired Values for Culture
- 1) Accountability
- 2) Caring for the elderly
- 3) Affordable housing
- 4) Effective health care
- 5) Caring for the disadvantaged
- 6) Concern for future generations
- 7) Poverty reduction
- 8) Employment opportunities
- 9) Human rights
- 10) Governmental effectiveness
International Cultural Entropy Levels
Bhutan 4%
Canada 32%
Denmark 21%
Iceland 54%
Latvia 54%
Sweden 31%
United States 52
Read the Summary Report on the National Values Assessment for Canada 2009
Join the discussion on Canada's national values on:
