Tory government pays for focus-group research on environmental policy

[tuvor]

OTTAWA (CP) - Prime Minister Stephen Harper insists he doesn't govern by polls, but a leaked report indicates his government has been paying for research to see what Canadians think about the environment.

Conservative plans for a new environmental policy - said to rely heavily on pollution-fighting measures rather than climate change - fall in line with what focus groups told researchers this summer.

The report, prepared for senior officials by the Strategic Counsel and obtained by The Canadian Press, is a compilation of the views of 75 Canadians across the country.

They identified air quality, water quality and health effects as key concerns, while respondents said they felt more detached about global warming.

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