Should wealthy drivers pay higher fines for speeding? Many B.C. residents think so
Most British Columbians would support a system of "progressive punishment" that forces wealthier drivers to pay stiffer penalties when they're caught speeding, according to a new survey.
The Research Co. poll found 69 per cent of B.C. residents in favour of issuing fines based on a driver's disposable income and how fast they were going.
That's slightly higher than the 65 per cent support recorded across Canada. When it comes to political leanings, pollsters found similar levels of support across all three major parties – though there were variations based on class.
"Canadians in the highest income bracket are decidedly more dissatisfied with the concept of progressive punishment for speeding tickets," Research Co. president Mario Canseco said in a news release.
"Opposition to this course of action among Canadians who live in households earning more than $100,000 a year reaches 34 per cent, 10 points higher than the national average."
Progressive punishments for speeders have already been implemented in Finland and Switzerland, and the idea sparked debate across B.C. earlier this year when a city councillor in the Vancouver Island community of Saanich put forward a motion calling on the province to consider such a system locally.
No one on council seconded Teale Phelps Bondaroff's motion, however.
Research Co.'s survey was conducted online from March 18 to 20 among 1,000 Canadian adults, and the results were statistically weighted according to census figures for age, gender and region.
The survey's margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Competition bureau finds 'substantial' anti-competitive effects with proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.