TORONTO STAR: "Parties, not panic, prevail at dawn of millennium - Canadians not fearful of Y2K glitches, polls say"

greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread

You can bet that Canadian bankers broke out the champagne when they read this story...

December 15, 1999

Parties, not panic, prevail at dawn of millennium
Canadians not fearful of Y2K glitches, polls say

By Peter Calamai
Toronto Star Science Reporter
OTTAWA - Canadians are preparing to party rather than panic as the millennium approaches with possible computer problems.

New polling data from the federal government shows a steady decline in public jitters about the computer switchover to the year 2000.

In April, 38 per cent of Canadians told Ottawa's pollsters they were ``very'' or ``somewhat'' concerned about potential Y2K computer problems. By November this had dropped by a third, to 24 per cent.

``It seems people are becoming much more reassured,'' said Louise Duhamel, a federal Year 2000 task force member.

The tracking survey was carried out in April, July, October and November by Environics Research pollsters in Toronto who interviewed 2,000 Canadians by phone.

In all four surveys, roughly seven out of 10 people polled said they were familiar with the Y2K problem. But among that group the proportion who feared they'd be personally affected dropped by almost half, from 41 per cent in April to 22 per cent last month.

In some areas, public confidence verged on complacency. Two-thirds told pollsters last month they didn't feel any need to prepare personally for Y2K problems, despite official urgings to stock up on batteries and keep three days' food and water on hand.

Yet half those polled in November said they would ``definitely not'' stockpile water or buy extra food. Half also said they didn't have an emergency survival kit at home with a flashlight and extra food and water.

Other recommended contingency plans have also plunged in public favour. In April, one-half of Canadians said they intended to withdraw extra cash from the bank just before Dec. 31. Last month, only one-quarter said they had or would.

Yet partying is holding its own. Just over half said they'll host a party at home or attend one elsewhere. Another 37 per cent had no special plans, and an unlucky 4 per cent said they would be working.

Canadians are also showing signs of being saturated with news about Year 2000 problems. The 26 per cent who said they hadn't received enough information in April dropped to 16 per cent in November, while the proportion who complained about too much information rose from 13 to 20 per cent in the same period.

Computer experts from industry or universities have topped all four surveys as the most trustworthy sources on Y2K issues.

The poll results were released yesterday after being mentioned during a botched news conference about the government's master plan for keeping Canadians informed about Y2K at year's end.

The plan called for only two formal briefings about Y2K progress, on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, despite the roll-over every hour into the year 2000 as time marches on around the world and across Canada.

Rejecting requests for more frequent updates, federal Y2K spokesperson Guy McKenzie said Ottawa needed time to thoroughly check all reports of problems before commenting.

``This is not entertainment,'' he said. ``We don't want to report the anecdotal stories that are so frequent in the Y2K environment.''

McKenzie's resolve appeared to crumble as journalists complained the strategy would leave Canadians less well informed than people in Britain and the U.S., where hourly briefings are planned.

Yet Ottawa's official position is that there won't be any major problems in Canada as computer chips flip to 2000. Some experts have predicted widespread chaos since older computer systems can't distinguish 2000 from 1900 because only the last two digits were stored in original programming.

``Canada is as ready as it could be for the year 2000. It is the place to be for the roll-over,'' said McKenzie.

Officials said yesterday Ottawa has so far spent $2.5 billion ensuring its own Y2K readiness. In August, a final progress report said 99 per cent of work was complete on essential federal services, such as employment insurance, customs, law enforcement, old age security payments and monitoring food safety.

[ENDS]

-- John Whitley (jwhitley@inforamp.net), December 15, 1999

Answers

John, Peter is just plain wrong. I don't know which Canadians were surveyed, but a local survey shown on tv news tonight said right around 50% of Calgarians are: somewhat concerned or very concerned, preparing, planning to take cash out of the bank, etc. I didn't see where the WIC station here got its stats from, but they were much higher than any stats I've seen before locally or elsewhere.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), December 16, 1999.

Thanks, Rachel. I didn't believe it, I just re-posted it. I take all newspaper stories of this genre at this point as being automatic "keep the public from panicking by telling them that no one else is panicking" pieces...:)

-- John Whitley (jwhitley@inforamp.net), December 16, 1999.

You know, John, all of the early reports to and from the federal government that I read (spring of 1998) said they would have to use triage and to focus on mission critical systems. I am assuming that the wonderful reports we have been receiving from the Canadian government in the past few months are referring to mission critical only. Correct me if I'm wrong.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), December 16, 1999.

Minor Typo: Title should read "pollys say"

-- Dave (aaa@aaa.com), December 16, 1999.

Moderation questions? read the FAQ