Montreal, March 4, 2010 – Les chiffres dévoilés aujourd’hui par le ministre des Finances du Canada, Jim Flaherty, confirment que l’administration fédérale s’est endettée d’un montant de 53,8 milliards $ en 2009-2010 et prévoit devoir creuser le déficit de 49,2 milliards $ supplémentaires en 2010-2011. Selon Germain Belzile, économiste et chercheur associé à l’Institut économique de Montréal (IEDM), dix ans d’équilibre budgétaire seront donc dilapidés en seulement deux ans de déficit.

Montreal, March 3, 2010 – À un mois de l’échéance des conventions collectives des employés du secteur public, l’Institut économique de Montréal (IEDM) publiait une analyse préparée par Pierre Girardin, actuaire, en collaboration avec Michel Kelly-Gagnon, p.-d.g. de l’IEDM, au sujet des régimes de retraite des employés du secteur public. L’objectif était d’évaluer la générosité de ces régimes de retraite et de les comparer avec ce qui se trouve dans le secteur privé.

Montreal, March 2, 2010 – A month before collective agreements in the public sector are set to expire, the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) is publishing a study prepared by actuary Pierre Girardin, with the collaboration of MEI’s president and CEO, Michel Kelly-Gagnon. The study evaluates the generosity of retirement plans provided to public sector employees and concludes that their post-retirement benefits far exceed what the great majority of private sector workers receive. The government needs to take this into account before determining the size of the salary increases granted to its employees.

Montreal, February 16, 2010 – Buying locally as measured in “food miles” – the distance between where food is grown and where it is sold – is a poor indictor of a product’s impact on the environment and is thus not a valid way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This is the conclusion of an Economic Note published today by the Montreal Economic Institute and prepared by Pierre Desrochers, associate professor of geography at the University of Toronto Mississauga, in collaboration with Hiroko Shimizu, a private consultant.

Montreal, February 4, 2010 – With one month to go before the next federal budget is submitted, a joint publication by the Brussels-based Institut économique Molinari and the Montreal Economic Institute presents Canada’s management of public finances in the 1990s as a model for France and the other developed countries. Canada’s federal government managed to achieve a balanced budget in particular by reducing public spending and by cutting the number of civil servants.

Montreal, January 20, 2010 – A company’s shareholders and directors are in the best position to decide on appropriate compensation formulas, and it would be unwise to impose greater regulation in an area that is a matter of internal corporate management. This is the main conclusion of an Economic Note released today by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI). This publication was prepared by Michel Kelly-Gagnon, president and CEO of this independent research organization, and by vice president Jasmin Guénette.

Montreal, December 8, 2009 – A few days before federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s pre-budget consultations begin, the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) is publishing a research paper on the crisis that began in 2007. It shows in particular how the positive effects on employment that are attributed to stimulus packages based on government spending pale in comparison to natural job creation in the private sector. This observation should encourage the finance minister to hold firm on his intention to avoid new public spending commitments in his next budget.

Montreal, September 30, 2009 – The Ontario-Quebec Trade and Cooperation Agreement that comes into effect on October 1 is especially welcome because of the trade opening dynamic it creates, says an Economic Note published today by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI).

Montreal, September 18, 2009 – The Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) has just released a Quebec debt clock on its website. It shows the growth in public sector debt in real time based on data provided by the Department of Finance in its 2009-2010 Budget Plan.

Montreal, September 10, 2009 – More than seven out of 10 people in Quebec feel the government should amend the current law to establish mandatory secret ballot voting among employees involved in an application for union certification. Support for such a change is even higher among unionized workers, at 80%.