
4-minute read
Raising electricity rates to market levels can unleash the value of Quebec’s energy potential
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.

4-minute read
$300,000 per job each year for 35 years – Subsidies for aluminum producers: benefits that don’t add up
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.

2-minute read
Hélène Desmarais is named chairman of 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.

4-minute read
Already heavily subsidized – The Quebec pork industry needs a major overhaul
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.”

2-minute read
Jean Charest and Mario Dumont will speak at the invitation of the Montreal Economic Institute – Attention: Date change for the luncheon speech by Jean Charest
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.

5-minute read
Poll results: A majority in Quebec favour greater autonomy in school management – It is time to call school boards into question
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.

4-minute read
Marcel Boyer named vice-president of the Montreal Economic Institute
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.

3-minute read
Four out of five people in Quebec say social assistance should be fully conditional – Success elsewhere shows the way to social assistance reform
Montreal, January 25, 2007 – With Quebec reigning as North American social assistance champion, behind only Newfoundland and the District of Columbia, economist Norma Kozhaya of the Montreal Economic Institute says social assistance could be reformed in a way that would reduce dependency and poverty among persons fit for work. This change could draw insight from measures applied successfully in parts of Canada and in many U.S. states.

2-minute read
Un accord à ciel ouvert entre le Canada et l’Europe entraînerait une croissance du trafic et des retombées économiques très importantes
Montreal, January 10, 2007 – L’Institut économique de Montréal (IEDM) salue l’ouverture de négociations entre le Canada et l’Union européenne pour l’ouverture des marchés aériens. L’Union européenne a annoncé hier sa volonté d’engager des négociations avec le Canada pour conclure un accord de ciel ouvert. Un tel accord simplifierait les relations entre le Canada et ses 27 partenaires européens dans le but d’offrir un choix plus étendu de vols à des prix plus compétitifs.

3-minute read
Rigid labour laws hurt the unemployed, says the Montreal Economic Institute
Montreal, December 14, 2006 – Stringent labour laws explain in part why Quebec has had a consistently higher unemployment rate than its neighbours over the last three decades, the latest Economic Note from the Montreal Economic Institute indicates.