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%.

Montreal, July 15, 2009 – Seasonal storage of floodwaters from three unexploited rivers that flow into James Bay and the channelling of this water to the Ottawa River would provide for the generation of 14 terawatt-hours of hydroelectric energy per year, producing annual revenues of nearly $2 billion.

Montreal, June 12, 2009 – Bill 40 amending the Balanced Budget Act, currently being debated in the National Assembly, is unjustified and opens a Pandora’s box, says Michel Kelly-Gagnon, president and CEO of the Montreal Economic Institute.

Montreal, June 4, 2009 – Consumers should be free to choose the Internet price and service combinations that best suit their needs rather than have the government legislate in the development of an industry as volatile as the Internet.