This 1967 document from Imperial Oil Ltd, the Canadian subsidiary of Exxon, is a “Public Relations Assessment for Imperial Oil Limited” concerning “Air/Water Pollution in Canada.” This document is part of the ClimateFiles Imperial Oil document set, gleaned by DeSmog researchers from the Glenbow Imperial Oil Archive Collection.

The report includes sections on “Public Attitudes Toward Pollution,” “Mass Media Coverage of Pollution,” “Pollution Control and Legislation,” “Political/Governmental Activities and Trends,” and “Business Implications for Imperial.”  Among other findings, the report observed regional variations in sensitivity toward pollution in the face of a government-endorsed educational campaign to increase awareness. It was also found that while “a majority of the people apparently do not feel strongly enough about air pollution to invest their own tax dollars in the problem,” “the public may be far more willing to invest the ‘profits of big corporations’ in pollution control” due to “a misunderstanding of basic economics.”