8-minute read
Bloat in the Federal Public Service: Justin Trudeau Ranks Last among Canadian Prime Ministers over the Past 40 Years
Justin Trudeau has increased the size of the federal public service more than any other Canadian Prime Minister since 1984, concludes this study published by the MEI. “Since the Trudeau government came to power, there has been an unprecedented expansion in the size of the bureaucracy,” deplores Gabriel Giguère, public policy analyst at the MEI and author of the study.
11-minute read
Full-Time Struggle and Two-Job Juggle: A Tax Holiday for Canadians to Fight Rising Costs
Canada’s federal and provincial governments should reassess the tax treatment of second-job income for full-time workers, recommends this study published by the MEI.
9-minute read
Streamlining Energy Infrastructure Development: The Corridor Approach
Energy corridors could go a long way towards restoring Canada’s attractiveness for energy transportation projects, according to this study by the MEI. “Getting regulatory approval for energy transportation projects in Canada takes so long that investors are increasingly looking elsewhere,” explains Krystle Wittevrongel, co-author of the study.
8-minute read
Wing Heavy: The Fees That Undermine the Competitiveness of the Airline Sector
The high cost of domestic air travel is largely due to the various fees the federal government charges airlines and airports, according to this MEI study. “Ottawa prefers to treat our airports as cash cows, rather than the essential transportation infrastructure that they are,” explains Gabriel Giguère, public policy analyst and author of the study.
9-minute read
Internal Trade Provincial Leadership Index – 2023 Edition
Quebec is the Canadian jurisdiction that is most closed off to interprovincial trade, according to the most recent edition of the Montreal Economic Institute’s Internal Trade Provincial Leadership Index.
9-minute read
The Nurse Shortage in Quebec: Improving Flexibility and Working Conditions
Quebec needs to improve flexibility and working conditions to keep young nurses in the profession, according to this study published by the MEI. “For every 100 nurses we train, 44 will leave the profession before their 35th birthday,” explains Emmanuelle B. Faubert, economist at the MEI and author of the publication.
11-minute read
Nudge: A New Way of Governing That Needs Oversight
There should be oversight of the government’s use of “nudges,” according to this study released by the MEI. “At the moment, Canada has no structure in place for the oversight of the use of behavioural science by governments to direct the choices of citizens,” explains Nathalie Elgrably-Lévy, senior economist at the MEI and author of the study.
20-minute read
Encouraging Entrepreneurship: Billions of Dollars of Subsidies or Tax Cuts?
Income tax increases since 2015 have impeded the creation of thousands of businesses, shows this MEI study. Federal revenues collected by Ottawa’s most recent tax hike are equivalent to the entirety of production subsidies promised to Volkswagen and Stellantis.
8-minute read
Greater Flexibility in Hiring and Firing Teachers Improves Quality of Education
Greater flexibility in the hiring and firing of teachers would substantially improve the quality of education in Quebec, notes this MEI study. Out of 111,000 Quebec teachers, four were fired for incompetence over the past five years.
9-minute read
Impeding Natural Resource Development Undermines Economic Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples
Economic reconciliation with Canada’s First Nations goes hand in hand with natural resource development, but such development is too often blocked by the federal government, according to this study published by the MEI.