Montreal, March 18, 2020 – Canada’s federal government announced measures this morning totalling nearly $30 billion in order to stimulate the Canadian economy. While fast, targeted action is required to help Canadians struggling due to the economic slowdown to meet their needs, MEI researchers nonetheless believe that other options should be considered.

Montreal, March 17, 2020 – As COVID-19 continues to spread across Canada, a rising chorus is calling for expensive fiscal stimulus to fight its economic fallout. An MEI publication launched today asserts that given already low interest rates, fiscal measures are the textbook response.

Montreal, March 12, 2020 – With tax season in full swing, Canadians once again have to devote time and money to filling out their income tax returns. Unfortunately, a lot of them—including many of modest means—will not claim the considerable sums to which they are entitled. This troubling situation is due to an overly complex tax system, as shown in an MEI publication launched today.

Montreal, March 9, 2020 – Quebec’s robust economic growth in recent years has allowed the government to record a surplus each of the past five budgets. Between the 2014-2015 and 2018-2019 fiscal years, Quebec accumulated budget surpluses totalling $21.3 billion, a strong argument for a personal income tax cut, shows an MEI publication launched today.

Montreal, February 24, 2020 – The decision by Teck Resources to abandon its Frontier oilsands mine project in northern Alberta shows once again that Canada’s regulatory, legal, and political environment entails unreasonable delays and uncertainty that chases investors away.

Montreal, February 13, 2020 – Will Canada import California’s job-killing experiment and risk putting freelance work out of the reach of Canadians who need it? An MEI publication launched today shows that forcing companies to consider freelance workers as employees could reduce these workers’ incomes and deprive many of them of this first rung on the jobs ladder.

Montreal, February 12, 2020 – Protests are taking place across the country as certain members of First Nations express their opposition to the Coastal GasLink energy project in British Columbia. Yet according to Germain Belzile, Senior Associate Researcher at the MEI, we must keep in mind that the democratically elected band councils of the communities along the pipeline’s route are in favour of the project.

Montreal, February 5, 2020 – Ottawa has the prices of drugs in its sights. On the one hand, it has made changes to the calculation method for the price ceilings imposed on drugs sold in Canada. On the other, the idea of national government pharmacare to replace the provinces’ mixed plans is still in the air. These ill-advised public policies could actually raise total health care spending, while threatening Canadians’ access to the best available treatments, shows a publication launched today by the MEI.

Montreal, January 29, 2020 – Last year, nearly 380,000 Quebecers—or over 1,000 patients a day—ended up leaving a hospital emergency room without having been attended to by a doctor, shows a publication launched today by the MEI.

Montreal, January 22, 2020 – During the last federal election campaign, all parties promised to raise taxes on the digital giants. Although this is on ice awaiting the conclusion of OECD discussions on the matter, the idea is still present in the public debate, and may end up being adopted one way or another. A publication launched today by the MEI shows, however, that the so-called GAFA companies have been taxed at a level similar to or higher than large Canadian corporations, and that it will be consumers and the Canadian economy in general that would pay for such a measure.