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Media Releases

Léger Marketing Opinion Poll: a return to budget balance desired as of next Quebec government budget

Montreal, October 21, 2010 – A Léger Marketing poll released today by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) finds that a majority of Quebecers (51%) want a return to budget balance as of the next Quebec government budget, whereas 32% want to wait until 2013-2014, as the government plans. Moreover, 80% of respondents stated that the government should reach this objective by reducing spending.

SGF: no mistake made, its returns are poor

Montréal, October 13, 2010 – Following the release last week of a study prepared by Claude Garcia and published by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI), Pierre Shedleur, the CEO of the Société générale de financement (SGF), declared that Mr. Garcia’s analysis was mistaken in evaluating the SGF’s historical returns at -1.0%. The real number, he claims, should be 0.3% if dividends paid are included.

The merged SGF’s mandate must be redefined, according to a Montreal Economic Institute study

Montréal, October 7, 2010 – The announced merger of two government corporations, the Société générale de financement (SGF) and Investissement Québec, offers a good opportunity to take stock of the SGF’s historical results and to re-examine the relevance of its mandate. In an Economic Note published today, Claude Garcia finds that the SGF has obtained a negative rate of return (-1.0%) since its creation in 1962. Moreover, the public company has had a negligible influence on the creation of large-scale Quebec businesses.

The Québec Parental Insurance Plan’s Deficits should be eliminated by reducing certain benefits

Montreal, September 23, 2010 – Claude Garcia, former president of Canadian operations at Standard Life and associate researcher with the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI), analyzed the results of the Québec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP) in a paper published exclusively on the MEI’s website. According to the author, this program has had some positive impact on the number of births in Quebec and on the employment rate of women aged 25 to 54, which now exceeds that observed in the rest of Canada. Nonetheless, given the successive deficits recorded by the plan since its creation ($180 million in 2009 alone) certain benefits should be revised.

Innovations such as telemedicine would improve health care system efficiency

Montreal, September 16, 2010 – Innovations such as telemedicine are a way of improving the efficiency of the health care system and enhancing the choices offered to patients. In an Economic Note published today by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI), the authors say the current government monopoly in the health care sector has the adverse effect of eliminating most natural incentives for innovation and optimal use of resources. These characteristics are necessary, however, to promote the advance of new models of care like telemedicine.

Consumers and drivers would benefit from a reform of the taxi industry

Montreal, August 25, 2010 – For nearly 60 years, the number of taxis in Quebec has failed to keep pace with population and income growth. Whereas in 1952 there were 4,978 taxis on the island of Montreal, regulations limit this number to 4,445 today. Germain Belzile, director of research at the Montreal Economic Institute, and Vincent Geloso, a master’s student at the London School of Economics, suggest looking in particular toward Ireland and New Zealand in deregulating the taxi industry for the benefit of consumers and of people wishing to enter the industry.

Raising university tuition fees does not reduce access

Montreal, June 16, 2010 – The issue of university financing has returned to the centre of discussion on the future of Quebec’s higher education system. A growing number people in the academic world, the business community and the political sphere (including former premier Lucien Bouchard last February) are suggesting that tuition fees be raised. In September, McGill University will be receiving the first MBA students who will have to pay $29, 500 a year for their program, despite opposition from the Quebec Department of Education.

Quebec’s debt will rise past $220 billion tomorrow

Montreal, June 7, 2010 – The Montreal Economic Institute (MEI)’s Quebec debt clock, which estimates the size of the debt in real time, will rise past the $220-billion mark tomorrow. Germain Belzile, the MEI’s director of research, says there is an immediate need to ensure that public spending is limited to save Quebec from out-of-control indebtedness.

Reforming the Quebec Pension Plan to give control back to workers

Montreal, May 20, 2010 – With a further increase being proposed in the Quebec Pension Plan contributions paid by workers, Quebec should be looking instead to a reform of its public retirement savings system based on the Chilean experience, as about 30 countries have done. This idea is suggested by Éric Duhaime, holder of a master’s degree from the École nationale d’administration publique and a consultant in democratic development, in an Economic Note published today by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI).

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