Montreal, May 16, 2007 – Claude Castonguay, considered one of the fathers of Quebec’s health care system, says the system needs in-depth reform. “The future of our health care system is a fundamental issue,” he told a Montreal audience today. “If the necessary changes are not made, our system cannot survive. That is a certainty from which we cannot escape.”

Montreal, May 10, 2007 – With a provincial budget coming soon, the Montreal Economic Institute is calling on the government and members of the National Assembly to show vigilance in assessing the effectiveness of regional assistance programs that sometimes may actually harm the economy.

Montreal, May 7, 2007 – Canada needs to fully open its economy and drop restrictions on foreign ownership in all business sectors including banking, financial services and telecommunications, Preston Manning and Mike Harris say in a new policy paper released today by independent research organizations The Fraser Institute and the Montreal Economic Institute.

Montreal, April 30, 2007 – Quebecers own Hydro-Québec but gain little from the so-called “social pact” requiring that electricity demand be met at the lowest possible price. This policy subsidizes some consumers indirectly to the detriment of others and promotes over-consumption of electricity. Ending resource waste and pursuing greater equity through a gradual rate rise to market levels would ensure well-being for everyone.

Montreal, April 12, 2007 – Subsidies for Alcan aluminum smelters announced by the Quebec government are a loss to Quebec society, and this error must not be repeated in negotiations with Alcoa or in renegotiating shared-risk contracts with other major electricity consumers, says an Economic Note published today by the Montreal Economic Institute.

The Montreal Economic Institute is pleased to announce the appointment of Hélène Desmarais as chairman of its board of directors. She succeeds Adrien Pouliot, who has guided the progress of the Institute since it began its activities in 1999. Ms. Desmarais is an experienced leader who, among her other positions, is chairman and CEO of the Centre d’Entreprises et d’Innovation de Montréal, Canada’s largest incubator of technology companies.

Montreal, March 14, 2007 – The government should not increase public assistance to the pork sector but instead should encourage the industry to reorganize itself so as to raise productivity. In an Economic Note released today by the Montreal Economic Institute, associate researcher Éric Grenon states that “reform is made necessary by the high and recurrent costs to taxpayers of aid to pork producers and by the serious deficiencies in the aid models that are applied.”

Montreal, March 1, 2007 – In this electoral season, the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) welcomes the premier and leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, Jean Charest, as well as the leader of the Action démocratique du Québec, Mario Dumont, on the occasion of two luncheon speeches. At the request of the Quebec Liberal Party, the speech by Jean Charest has been moved from March 13 to March 15, since the televised leaders’ debate is scheduled on March 13 in Quebec City.

Montreal, February 28, 2007 – School boards are not indispensable, says Prof. Robert Gagné, director of the Institute of Applied Economics at HEC Montréal and an associate researcher at the Montreal Economic Institute. In an Economic Note published by the Montreal Economic Institute, Prof. Gagné explains that school boards form a structure that is not essential in providing educational services and that the school tax is an inappropriate way of financing education.

Montreal, January 29, 2007 – Paul Daniel Muller, president of the Montreal Economic Institute, is pleased to announce the appointment of Marcel Boyer as vice-president and chief economist. Mr. Boyer is one of Canada’s best known economists and is among the 5% of economists most recognized worldwide, based on a December 2006 survey from Research Papers in Economics. This same ranking places him first in Quebec and ninth in Canada.