Hon. Flora MacDonald (Kingston and the Islands):

Madam Speaker, my question is to the Prime Minister, whose two-month delay in announcing the government's decision regarding an Olympic boycott has caused anxiety, not only among our allies but untold difficulty regarding the government's intentions among Canadian athletes.

I would like to ask the Prime Minister: given that the Conservative government had initiated detailed discussions with other countries about the holding of international games of a comparable standard in one site, or several sites or countries, since this had already been undertaken, what has the Liberal government done to advance this planning so that our athletes could be assured of such kind of international competition?

April 21, 1980

Right Hon. P. E. Trudeau (Prime Minister):

Madam Speaker, I know the question had been discussed by the previous government. My recollection at the time was that that alternative was not a very serious possibility. But I will inquire if the subject matter is still being kept alive.

Miss MacDonald:

Madam Speaker, I thank the Prime Minister, because I am sure that our athletes want very much to have this question kept alive. They want to know that they will have the opportunity to participate in games of an international standard elsewhere.

Will the Prime Minister give the House a commitment today that his decision, the government's decision on the boycott will be announced prior to the visit of Secretary Vance on Wednesday, so that it will not appear that Canada is being pressured into taking a position; so that it will at least be assured that the government has the moral fibre to take a decision on its own.

Hear, hear!

Mr. Trudeau:

Madam Speaker, I answered a similar question last week, and indicated that Secretary Vance's visit was not considered as a deadline by me. On the contrary, it might be used as an occasion to inform myself, from the Secretary, of various aspects of their international politics and international relations.

1 did say that the deadline for this government was, perhaps, the meeting next weekend of the Canadian Olympic Committee. But we may make a decision before, we may make a decision after Secretary Vance's visit, Madam Speaker.

Miss MacDonald:

We already know that 53 countries oppose going to Moscow. Twenty-seven countries, many of them Warsaw pact countries, favour going. I would like to ask the Prime Minister, what further consultation or what further information does he require before he is able to take a stand on Canada's behalf.

Mr. Trudeau:

Madam Speaker, I believe this is a repetition of the question the hon. lady asked last week. I suspected then that her figures were inaccurate, and now I have confirmation of it.

Hear, hear!

Mr. Edward Broadbent (Oshawa):

Madam Speaker, 1 have a question for the Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources. Would the minister confirm today that his department did conduct a survey on a variety of energy questions, and would

Oral Questions

he assure the House that the results, which should now be available, will be tabled either today or tomorrow?

Hon. Marc Lalonde (Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources):

Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question and for having given me time to check on the facts.

The department has had a public attitude survey conducted on energy conservation in February and March of every year since 1975. The contract is let out to Canadian Facts by the consumer research and evaluation branch of the Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs.

The report has not yet been received by Energy, Mines and Resources. It is expected shortly. I would like to advise the hon. member that the report will be made available to the public, as have all previous attitude surveys carried out every year in February and March on this subject. The report can be obtained from the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources or the Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs as soon as it is ready. As soon as I have received a copy, I will be glad to send the hon. member a copy, if he does not already have one.

Mr. Broadbent:

I thank the minister for that full answer. My next question, which is broader in its implications, is directed to the Prime Minister. On Friday, the Prime Minister said he would inquire into what polling was being done by other government departments.

In that context, 1 wish to ask him if he is now prepared to table information concerning all such polls, including questions and answers, and ask him what he meant when he said in the House on Friday that some surveys may elicit information which should not be made "very widely public". More specifically, can he tell us which opinions of Canadians would be inappropriate for Canadians to know about themselves?

Right Hon. P. E. Trudeau (Prime Minister):

Madam Speaker, that is a repetition of the question that was asked on Friday, and I undertook then to look into the matter. This is Monday morning, as the hon. leader of the New Democratic Party knows. I have not had the information yet from the departments, but it appears to me from the answer just given by the Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources that at least the way the hon. leader asked the question the other day was incorrect, since in his question he implied that we were keeping these polls secret.

Mr. Broadbent:

No.

Mr. Trudeau:

The hon. member says "No". I have his question here. He said, "the dubious practice of the government of Ontario by using taxpayers' money to do public opinion surveys which it keeps secret?". The Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources just indicated that for the past six years we have been making the results of these surveys public.

Mr. Broadbent:

Madam Speaker, I know the Prime Minister would not consciously distort what I had to say in my

April 21, 1980

Oral Questions

question. The words which he quoted said, "the dubious practice of the government of Ontario"-

Mr. Trudeau:

Read it.

Mr. Broadbent:

1 was attempting to obtain assurances from his government that the Liberal government was not pursuing such dubious practices. I was not implying that it was; I was happy with the answer I received from the Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources. I would like to ask the Prime Minister: given the fact that in one year alone the government of Ontario spent almost a half-million dollars on such polls, which they originally intended to keep secret, and since the minister has referred to only one poll which has been taken periodically and made available to the public, the general question remains open. Will the Prime Minister assure us that all such polling by other departments will be made available to the public?

Second, what are his grounds for saying-as he indicated in his answer on Friday-that some should not be? What are the criteria?