Montreal, December 8, 2010 – The fact that governments have made considerable efforts in recent years to reduce the tax burdens of businesses is good news for workers. In fact, corporate income taxes mainly harm workers, in addition to scaring off foreign and local investors. "Taxing corporations instead of individuals can be a very seductive option politically.

Montreal, December 6, 2010 – As part of the next "meeting of education partners" on December 6 to discuss university financing and accessibility, the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) suggests allowing universities to set their own tuition fees and letting those fees vary according to program of study.

Montreal, November 19, 2010 – In an Economic Note published today by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI), Germain Belzile and Michel Kelly-Gagnon compare the tax burdens of different Quebec taxpayers according to their income. With the assistance of a tax specialist from Samson Bélair/Deloitte & Touche, they conclude that not only do "the rich" not escape from paying taxes, their tax contribution is substantially greater than their share of income, contrary to popular belief.

Montréal, 11 novembre 2010 –La pharmaceutique Pfizer a dévoilé hier un plan d’investissement de 22 millions de dollars pour des travaux majeurs à son siège social, situé à Kirkland. Cette annonce est une bonne nouvelle pour l’économie montréalaise et québécoise.

Montreal, November 1st, 2010 — The Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) has given its two annual economic journalism awards, together with grants of $3,000 each, to Neil Reynolds, a columnist with The Globe and Mail, and to Annie Dufour, an economic journalist with TVA news.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.