Protection within the Communication System
Public Opinion Research

Quantitative Research Report

Prepared for the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)

POR #: POR 045-14
Contract Number: 82082-150021/001/CY
Contract Award Date: March 2, 2015
Report Date: March 31, 2015

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communications@crtc.gc.ca

Proprietary Warning

Any material or information provided by the CRTC and all data collected by Harris/Decima will be treated as confidential by Harris/Decima and will be stored securely while on Harris/Decima's premise (adhering to industry standards and applicable laws).

Table of Contents

• Executive Summary
• Introduction
• Detailed Findings
• Mandate and Role of Protection of the CRTC
• CRTC Performance
• Survey Methodology
• Appendix A: Survey Instruments
  • English Questionnaire
  • French Questionnaire

Executive Summary

Harris/Decima is pleased to present this report to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) highlighting the findings from the “Protection within the Communication System” research study.

As set out in the CRTC’s Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP) for 2014-15, the CRTC’s strategic outcome is to ensure that Canadians have access to a world class communication system. The programs supporting this strategic outcome include: "Canadian Content Creation," "Connection to the Communication System" and "Protection Within the Communication System." These programs form the three pillars of the CRTC: create, connect and protect.

In order to report on its performance against the Protect pillar, the CRTC needed reliable data on the "Percentage of Canadians who consider that the CRTC is taking measures to enhance their safety and protection in the communication system" (the performance indicator).

Surveys were conducted with the general Canadian population, targeting adults, 18 years of age and over, across Canada between March 12^th and March 16^th, 2015 (in English and French) using our telephone omnibus study. The sample was a probability sample and as such can be extrapolated to the Canadian population with a margin of error of +/-3.1%, 19 times out of 20.

The key findings based on the survey results are presented below.

Mandate and Role of Protection of the CRTC

• More than half of Canadians (54%) do not feel informed about the CRTC’s mandate to ensure Canadians’ safety and protection in the communication system.
  • Merely one in ten Canadians (9%) feel they are very well informed and slightly more than a third (35%) feel they are well informed.

• Canadians over 35 are significantly more informed than those 18-34.
  • Those 35 to 54 years of age (49%) and those 55 and over (48%) are more informed than those 18-34 (32%).
  • Those 18-34 are almost half as likely to be informed, with more than twice as many uninformed (68%) than informed (32%).

CRTC Performance (unaided)

• Two in three Canadians (66%) agree that the CRTC is taking measures to enhance the safety and protection of Canadians in the communication system, unprompted.
  • With no information provided regarding the specific activities being carried out by the CRTC, 11% of Canadians are unsure if the CRTC is taking measures to enhance safety.
• Quebec is significantly more likely to agree (76%) than Ontario or BC (61% each).
• Younger Canadians, aged 18-34 (15%) are more likely to be unsure than those 35-54 (8%) or 55+ (11%).

CRTC Performance (aided)

• After hearing about activities being carried out by the CRTC, almost three in four Canadians agree (73%) that the CRTC is taking measures to enhance safety.
  • Prompted, merely 4% of Canadians were unsure if the CRTC is taking measures to enhance safety.
• Ontario is significantly less likely to agree (62%) than the Prairies (73%), Atlantic Canada (76%), BC (77%) and Quebec (87%).
  • Quebec is also significantly more likely to strongly agree (44%) after hearing about activities being carried out by the CRTC.

Additional Analysis

• The percentage moved upward from 66% unaided to 73% when aided, when looking at the level of agreement with the CRTC taking measures to enhance the safety and protection of Canadians in the communication system.
  • The percentage of those who are unsure drops from 11% (unaided) to a mere 4% (aided).
• Four in five (80%) of those who report being informed about the CRTC agree that it is taking measures to protect Canadians when asked before being read the list of CRTC activities.
  • After the list of activities is read to them, virtually the same percentage (78%) say they agree.
  • This indicates that additional information being provided to those who were already informed about the CRTC has little to no effect upon their level of agreement.
• Those who are not informed about the mandate and role of protection of the CRTC, and who say the CRTC is taking measures to protect Canadians when asked before being read the list of CRTC activities is lower (56%) than those who are informed (80%).
  • When asked after hearing the list of activities carried out by the CRTC, agreement increases to 69%.
  • This indicates that a small amount of additional information about the CRTC’s role among those who are less aware, can potentially have a strong impact on agreement and shape opinions in a positive way.

Research Firm: Harris/Decima Inc.
Contract Number: 82082-150021/001/CY
Contract Award Date: March 2, 2015
Contract Value: $6,394.66 (Incl. taxes)

Danielle Armengaud, Research Director
Harris/Decima Inc.

Introduction

Harris/Decima is pleased to present this report to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) highlighting the findings from the “Protection within the Communication System” research study.

As set out in the CRTC’s Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP) for 2014-15, the CRTC’s strategic outcome is to ensure that Canadians have access to a world class communication system. The programs supporting this strategic outcome include: "Canadian Content Creatpion," "Connection to the Communication System" and "Protection Within the Communication System." These programs form the three pillars of the CRTC: create, connect and protect.

The Protect pillar (Protection Within the Communication System) has been introduced for the first time in the 2014-15 CRTC’s RPP. Under this pillar, the CRTC’s priority is to strengthen the security and safety of Canadians within the communication system, by: promoting compliance with, and enforcement of, its various laws and regulations, including Canada’s anti-spam legislation and the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules, and; helping to ensure that Canadians have access to emergency communication services such as 9-1-1 service and alerting systems. Other activities under the Protect pillar include the Wireless Code, Caller ID Spoofing and Voter Contact Registry.

In order to report on its performance against the Protect pillar, the CRTC needed reliable data on the "Percentage of Canadians who consider that the CRTC is taking measures to enhance their safety and protection in the communication system" (the performance indicator).

Specifically, the key objective of this study was:

• To assess the CRTC’s performance against its Protect pillar and whether Canadians feel that the CRTC is taking measures to enhance their safety and protection in the communication system.

To meet this objective, telephone omnibus surveys were conducted with the general Canadian population, targeting adults, 18 years of age and over, across Canada. The sample included both landline interviews and cell phone interviews in order to ensure that those people who primarily use their cell-phone (or live in a cell phone only household) were included in the sample pool. The final sample of 1,013 Canadian adults is made up of 20% cell phone interviews and 80% landline interviews.

The results of this research will help the CRTC understand if Canadians feel protected due to CRTC measures and report on its performance against the Protect pillar.

The surveys were conducted between March 12^th and March 16^th, 2015 (in English and French) using our telephone omnibus study. The sample was a probability sample and as such can be extrapolated to the Canadian population with a margin of error of +/-3.1%, 19 times out of 20.

The detailed findings from this research are presented in subsequent chapters of this report. Appended to this report are the survey instruments (English and French) and detailed tabular tables (presented under separate cover).

Research Firm: Harris/Decima Inc.
Contract Number: 82082-150021/001/CY
Contract Award Date: March 2, 2015
Contract Value: $6,394.66 (Incl. taxes)

I hereby certify as Senior Officer of Harris/Decima Inc that the deliverables fully comply with the Government of Canada political neutrality requirements outlined in the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada and Procedures for Planning and Contracting Public Opinion Research. Specifically, the deliverables do not include information on electoral voting intentions, political party preferences, standings with the electorate or ratings of the performance of apolitical party or its leaders.

Danielle Armengaud, Research Director
Harris/Decima Inc.

Detailed Findings

The numbers presented throughout this report are rounded. In some cases due to this, it may appear that ratings collapsed together are different by a percentage point from when they are presented individually and totals may not add up to 100%.

Differences that are statistically significant are highlighted in this report. These findings are denoted by a black circle for the significantly different subgroups within the results.

Mandate and Role of Protection of the CRTC

More than half of Canadians do not feel informed about the protection mandate and role of the CRTC; younger Canadians feel the most uninformed.

When asked about the CRTC’s mandate to ensure Canadian’s safety and protection in the communication system, merely one in ten Canadians (9%) feel they are very well informed about this, while 35% feel well informed, compared to four in ten (41%) who do not feel very well informed and 13% who do not feel informed at all.

Canadians over 35 are significantly more informed than those 18-34. Canadians between 35 and 54 years of age and those 55 and over are almost uniformly split between those who are informed (49% and 48% respectively), and those who are not informed (50% and 49% respectively). Those 18-34 are almost half as likely to be informed, with more than twice as many uninformed (68%) than informed (32%).

Men are significantly more likely than women to be informed (48% vs. 41%). Those with a university education are significantly more likely to be informed (51%) than those with a college education (42%), high school or less (41%) or current students (29%).

Figure 1 - Role of the CRTC in Ensuring Communication System Safety and Protection - Demographics

Figure 1 Text version

CRTC Performance

Two in three Canadians agree, unprompted, that the CRTC is taking measures to enhance the safety and protection of Canadians in the communication system; nationally, this is significantly higher in Quebec and consequently among Francophones.

Almost two in ten (17%) Canadians strongly agree that the CRTC is taking measures to enhance safety, almost half (49%) somewhat agree, 14% somewhat disagree and 9% strongly disagree while 11% are unsure.

Francophones are significantly more likely to agree (82%) than Anglophones (63%). Consequently, Quebec is significantly more likely to agree (76%) than Ontario or BC (61% each).

Additionally, Canadians who are 35-54 and 55+ are significantly more likely to strongly agree (20% and 19% respectively) than those who are 18-34 (10%). Not surprisingly, Canadians 18-34 (15%) are more likely to be unsure than those 35-54 (8%) or 55+ (11%).

Women are also significantly more likely to agree (70%) than men (62%).

Figure 2 - CRTC is Taking Measures (unaided) - Demographics

Figure 2 Text version

After being informed about activities carried out by the CRTC, almost three quarters of Canadians agree that the CRTC is taking measures to enhance the safety and protection of Canadians in the communication system.

Respondents were told that the CRTC carries out activities related to: accessing 9-1-1 services, warnings of emergencies on TV and radio, Canada’s anti-spam legislation, protection against unwanted or telemarketing calls, a code of conduct for wireless service providers, and protection against misleading calls during federal elections. Almost three in ten (28%) Canadians strongly agree after hearing this list of CRTC activities, 45% somewhat agree, 13% somewhat disagree, 10% strongly disagree and 4% are unsure.

Regionally, Ontario is significantly less likely to agree (62%) than the Prairies (73%), Atlantic Canada (76%), BC (77%) and Quebec (87%). Quebec is also significantly more likely to strongly agree (44%) after being told about activities the CRTC carries out, compared to BC (28%), the Prairies (22%), Ontario (21%) and the Atlantic provinces (20%). Again, Francophones are significantly more likely to agree (89%) than Anglophones (69%) and women are significantly more likely to agree than men (77% to 69%).

Figure 3 - CRTC is Taking Measures (aided) - Demographics

Figure 3 Text version

Additional Analysis

When looking at the level of agreement with the CRTC taking measures to enhance the safety and protection of Canadians in the communication system, the percentage moved upward from 66% unaided to 73% when aided, a shift of seven percentage points. This indicates that providing a little more information has the potential to change opinions in a positive direction. Moreover, this shift is seen most clearly in the percentage who strongly agree, which shifts from 17% to 28%, while softer agreement declines somewhat (from 49% to 45%). The percentage of disagreement remains stable at 23%, while the percentage who are unsure drops from 11% to a mere 4%, again indicating that a small amount of additional information about the CRTC’s role can potentially shape opinions in a positive way. The proportion of people who disagree is the same (23%) before the list of CRTC activities is read as after, meaning that the group that is negative is unlikely to be shifted drastically by being provided more information.

When looking at the relationship between how informed people are about the protection mandate and role of the CRTC and their perception of the CRTC’s performance on its Protect pillar, four in five (80%) of those who report being informed about the CRTC agree that it is taking measures to protect Canadians when asked before being read the list of CRTC activities. After this list is read to them, 78% say they agree. This indicates that additional information being provided to those who were already informed about the CRTC has little to no effect upon their level of agreement.

Among those who say they are not informed about the mandate and role of protection of the CRTC, the proportion who say the CRTC is taking measures to protect Canadians when asked before being read the list of CRTC activities is, as expected, lower (56%) than those who are informed. However, when asked after hearing the list of activities carried out by the CRTC, agreement increases by 13 points to 69%. This indicates that a small amount of additional information about the CRTC’s role among those who are less aware, can potentially have a strong impact on agreement and shape opinions in a positive way.

CRTC is Taking Measures

Final Thoughts

When regarding the performance of the CRTC against their Protect pillar, 66% of Canadians agree that the CRTC is taking measures to enhance their safety and protection in the communication system.

Analysis shows that there are some important differences between those who say they are very well or well informed about the mandate and role of protection of the CRTC and the “rest”, who are not very well informed, not informed, or didn’t know.

Looking at these two groupings reveals that those who are younger and those who are students, are:

• Much less likely to feel informed about the protection mandate and role of the CRTC.

Analysis also shows that there are some differences between those who say they strongly or somewhat agree that the CRTC is taking measures to enhance safety and the “rest”, who somewhat disagreed, strongly disagreed, or didn’t know.

Looking at these two groupings reveals that those who reside in Quebec are:

• Much more likely to agree that the CRTC is taking measures to enhance the safety and protection of Canadians in the communications system, when both prompted and unprompted.

Similarly, those who reside in Ontario are:

• Much more likely to disagree that CRTC is taking measures to enhance the safety and protection of Canadians in the communication system.

This suggests that it is in the CRTC’s interest to ensure its mandate and role of protection are clearly presented not only on a national level, but with a focus on younger Canadians.

An analysis of how informed people are about the protection mandate and role of the CRTC and their rating of CRTC’s performance on its Protect pillar shows that those who are uninformed or unsure are:

• Much more likely to give higher ratings after being informed about activities which are carried out by the CRTC.

This indicates that there is potential to increase awareness of the CRTC’s mandate and role of protection, especially among young Canadians. By providing Canadians with more information about the CRTC’s mandate and role of protection, it is expected that scores on the performance indicator under the CRTC’s Protect pillar will increase.

Survey Methodology

Harris/Decima undertook a telephone survey with Canadian adults.

Overview of Methodology

This research consisted of a telephone survey with Canadian adults aged 18 years and older. Specifically, 1,013 Canadians were interviewed by telephone using both random cell and landline sample sources. A sample of this size drawn from the Canadian population would be expected to provide results accurate to within +/-3.1%, 19 times out of 20 samples.

This research was undertaken using our TeleVox quarterly omnibus project. This project aims to provide a nationally representative sample of Canadians that can reliably be used to gauge public opinion in a quick and cost effective manner.

The final sample of 1,013 Canadian adults is made up of 20% cell phone interviews and 80% landline interviews. This is done to ensure that people (especially those under 35) who do not have a landline phone, or primarily use a cell phone, are included in the research. Besides weighting the data to the population in terms of region, age and gender, weighting is also used to match the data to the general makeup of the Canadian population in terms of cell phone penetration (cell only, landline only or both), using 2011 Census and Statistics Canada telephone ownership data.

Surveys were conducted between March 12^th and 16^th, 2015 (in English and French). The CRTC questions took an average of three minutes to complete.

Since the sampling plan aimed to ensure a representative sample of Canadians, minimum regional and demographic quotas were set:

Harris/Decima reviewed the questionnaire provided by the CRTC to ensure all questions were appropriately worded and new questions were added to meet the CRTC’s objectives. All calling was completed from Harris/Decima’s Ottawa and Montreal call centers.

Sample Design and Selection

The sample for this survey was designed to complete a minimum of 1,000 interviews with Canadian adults. The sample was stratified by region to allow for meaningful sub-group analysis and to minimize the magnitude of weighting factors used.

The landline telephone sample was drawn using Survey Sampler technology, which ensures that all residential listings in Canadian provinces have an opportunity to be selected for inclusion in the survey. Within those households selected, respondents were screened to ensure they were eligible for the study. Survey Sampler also provided cell phone sample. Cell phone numbers are not provided from directories, but are randomly generated with known cell-phone prefixes. The person answering the cell phone was selected for the study if they were 18 years of age or over and not driving a vehicle at the time of the survey.

Survey Administration

The telephone survey was conducted with a total of 1,013 respondents in English or French using computer-assisted-telephone-interviewing (CATI) technology, from Harris/Decima's facilities in Ottawa and Montreal.

The survey was completed over a five day period from March 12^th and 16^th, 2015. The average length of time required to complete the CRTC questions was three minutes and the entire TeleVox questionnaire was 21 minutes in length.

All interviewing was conducted by fully trained and supervised interviewers, and a minimum of 5% of all completed interviews were independently monitored and validated in real time, with 75% of the survey needing to be monitored to count towards the 5%.

Harris/Decima used Confirmit’s Horizons CATI program for data collection. The software provided complete control over entry flow, including skips, valid ranges, and logical error-trapping. The system imported sample directly from databases – no need for re-entry and no entry errors. Moreover, the system automated all scheduling and call-back tasks, ensuring that every appointment was set within project time limitations and that an interviewer was available for every call-back.

Sample Distribution

A sample of 1,013 drawn from the Canadian adult population would be expected to provide results accurate to within +/-3.1%, 19 times out of 20 samples. Sub-groups have larger margins of error, as presented below:

Data were then weighted by region, age, gender and cell phone penetration to match the 2011 Census and data and the Residential Telephone Service Survey (RTSS):

Sample Disposition and Response Rate

A total of 133,532 Canadian phone numbers were dialed for this study, of which n=1,013 completed the survey (adult Canadians 18 years and older). The overall response rate achieved for the telephone study was 1.14%. The following report on sample disposition and response rate follows MRIA guidelines, which are set up to establish consistency in reporting across the market research industry.

Data Analysis

Upon completion of data collection, Harris/Decima cleaned, coded, and weighted the data. As requested by the CRTC, a weighted data file (in SPSS) and set of cross-tabulation banners were provided. Our data analysis procedures are outlined below:

Data Validity and Integrity Checks: Our custom system immediately identifies cases where the interview length is unrealistically short, contradicts established facts or presents patterns of response deserving attention. As a result, we can determine whether a case should be excluded from the final sample if necessary. All of these checks are performed manually and cleaned out of the data in the back end of the project. Harris/Decima uses a checklist to ensure all data that is delivered to the client has gone through a rigorous quality control process.

Data Cleaning: Harris/Decima analysts have considerable experience in cleaning data files, conducting statistical routines, producing tabular output, and weighting data to provide an accurate measure of the population as a whole.

The following are the basic steps taken when cleaning data files:

• Ensure that all coded questions have updated codes and multiple mentions do not have duplicate codes;
• Create all new variables as a result of programming;
• Confirm that all relevant variables are included in the data file;
• Final frequency check (for out-of-range values) and recodes created, including those for outliers;
• Verify that variable names and question numbers match the final version of the questionnaire; and
• Create and verify new variable creations (against source variables) as outlined in the analysis plan and perform spell check on all variables.

In addition to these generic rules, project specific requirements are also taken into account. It is also noteworthy that because the CATI software controls the questionnaire flow and data entry, data are typically quite clean from the outset.

Weighting: At the conclusion of the data collection and cleaning, Harris/Decima weighted the data by each stratum (in this case, region, age, gender and cell phone penetration). The targets used for this universe are derived from the 2011 Census and Statistics Canada data from the Residential Telephone Service Survey (RTSS).

Using these targets Harris/Decima uses a standard procedure for calculating weighting factors, based on established methodological standards and extensive experience in sample weighting over literally hundreds of projects (including many for the Government of Canada).

This procedure involves calculating the actual population within each segment and the true percentage of the sample that would fall into each segment if the survey were conducted on a strictly random basis. Into this number is divided the actual segment sub-sample to produce a weighting factor that is then used to “weight” the data for that segment. While there are various ways of accomplishing this task, this procedure is the most straightforward and effective.

The stratums selected for the project were as follows:

• Province;
• Gender (male and female);
• Age (18 to 34, 35 to 54, and 55 plus); and
• Cell phone penetration (Landline only, Cell Phone and Landline, Cell Phone Only)

The following tables outline the weighting scheme targets used for this study.

Appendix A: Survey Instruments

English Questionnaire

Protection within the Communication System – Public Opinion Research 2015
March 2015

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission or CRTC is an independent agency of the Government of Canada, responsible for regulating Canada’s communication system.

As part of that role, the CRTC ensures that the communication system enhances the safety and protection of Canadians.

1. Would you say that you feel you are very well informed, well informed, not very well informed or not informed about the mandate and role of the CRTC of ensuring Canadians’ safety and protection in the communication system?
   • Very well informed
   • Well informed
   • Not very well informed
   • Not informed
   • Don’t know
2. Would you say that you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree or strongly disagree that the CRTC is taking measures to enhance the safety and protection of Canadians in the communication system?
   • Strongly agree
   • Somewhat agree
   • Somewhat disagree
   • Strongly disagree
   • Don’t know
3. If I told you that the CRTC carries out activities related to:
   • accessing 9-1-1 services
   • warnings of emergencies on TV and radio
   • Canada’s anti-spam legislation
   • protection against unwanted or telemarketing calls
   • a code of conduct for wireless service providers, and
   • protection against misleading calls during federal elections

   Would you say that you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree or strongly disagree that the CRTC is taking measures to enhance the safety and protection of Canadians in the communication system?

   • Strongly agree
   • Somewhat agree
   • Somewhat disagree
   • Strongly disagree
   • Don’t know

French Questionnaire

¹ In percentage points, nineteen times out of 20