RRU survey highlights Canadian values

Government corruption, economy top concerns

Canadians want accountability and a strong social fabric in their lives.

That’s what a survey conducted by Royal Roads University researchers, in conjunction with the Barrett Values Centre, has found.

Researchers with the RRU-based Todd Thomas Institute for Value-Based Leadership surveyed 1,250 Canadians in May to see what they value in themselves and their culture.

“If Canadians start paying attention to what our values are, they’re more likely to be influential in what happens in our country,” said Marilyn Taylor, Todd Thomas Institute director. “We will make better decisions and we will act in ways that are more likely to achieve (our desired culture).”

Canadians are strongly people-orientated, with personal values focused on relationships and the quality of them, Taylor said. Across all respondent categories, people choose honesty, family, caring and humor/fun as key values.

Respondents ranked human rights, freedom of speech, law enforcement and quality of life as important aspects of the current culture. Most people listed bureaucracy, wasted resources and corruption as a top problem.

“It is safe to say, generally in the culture, people want to see accountability,” Taylor said.

It is not surprising that concerns over the economy and employment ranked high given the current financial downturn, Taylor said. There was a difference between those factors and others highlighted, however.

“Things like corruption, crime and violence, as well as bureaucracy and wasted resources, are social and organizational difficulties,” she said.

For the culture Canadians wish to see, caring for disadvantaged people in society while providing for future generations ranked high. There was a strong focus on affordable housing, employment and effective government.

Based on a system devised by the Barrett Values Centre, Canadians registered an average “cultural entropy” level of 32 per cent. Cultural entropy is a measurement of how satisfied a group or culture is with the status quo. The same system has been used for surveys in seven other countries.

“An entropy score over 30 indicates a need for immediate action,” said centre founder Richard Barrett. “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.”

When people focus on dysfunctional aspects of the culture, other topics, such as the environment and education are bumped aside, Taylor said. Solving main problems — “the bread and butter problems” — will give Canadians more time to focus on other values, she said.

What the survey can’t explain is what values mean to individuals, she said. The Institute hopes to engage people in discussions through various forms of social media so they can expand on ideas highlighted in the survey.

“I would call this a starting off point,” she said. “This is something people can grab on to and talk to.”

For a copy of the survey report and links to online discussions, go to www.royalroads.ca/tti.

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