It is easy and tempting for politicians to let deficits soar and to dig more deeply into public debt. No country can escape this. In France, the proposed government deficit for 2010 is equal to more than one-third of gross tax revenues. The Moody’s rating agency says world sovereign debt is likely to go from 63% of world GDP in 2008 to 80% in 2010. It is essential to think twice before yielding to this easy "game." This game is dangerous. Unless public debt is brought under control, governments run the risk of leading their countries into bankruptcy.

Executive compensation has become a controversial issue in recent years. Cases of CEOs leaving office with large sums of money while the companies they led were in financial difficulties are regularly covered by the media and presented as proof that there is a problem. More recently, the economic crisis and government rescue of failing firms with public funds has justified imposing caps to executive pay. An internal managerial decision which traditionally was of relevance only to the administrators and shareholders of a given company is now being debated as a policy of interest to the general public. Is there a problem with the way executive compensation is determined?

An economic recession produces its share of negative consequences: drops in the value of retirement funds, declines in the worth of real estate assets, lower corporate profits, a return to structural government deficits, and so forth. However, the most visible impact of a recession is unquestionably the job losses that are an inevitable result. This research paper covers different aspects of the financial crisis and economic recession which began in 2007.

Montreal faces enormous difficulties in playing its role as a metropolis because of its disappointing economic performance, its inadequate high school and university graduation rates, the rampant inefficiency of its municipal services, and a critical lack of action in implementing major projects. These shortcomings lead us to observe that Montreal comes close to deserving the title of marginal metropolis.

The Quebec and Ontario governments have recently signed a trade and cooperation agreement that will take effect on October 1, 2009. The agreement is intended to facilitate trade between the two provinces, promote labour mobility, strengthen economic cooperation and work toward greater regulatory harmonization. The goal is to create wealth and jobs by improving the competitiveness of the two economies and by combining the strengths of each of them in sectors seen as strategic.

In votes of various types, such as elections and referendums, the secret ballot is seen as a way of guaranteeing that voters are protected from pressure or intimidation and of ensuring that the vote represents their true opinion. However, this is not the approach used in labour relations in Quebec and elsewhere: the outcome of a union certification or a strike vote may be determined by a less rigorous process that involves canvassing workers to get signatures or a show of hands in favour of a strike. This procedure may alter workers’ true will and favour labour relations disputes, putting economic growth and investment at risk. The objective of this research paper is to examine reform options for the union certification process in Quebec.

The price of oil has been swinging for a number of years. Alarmist talk about resource depletion and overpopulation is coming back into fashion after an earlier peak in the 1970s. However, the Earth contains all the resources required to produce oil (synthetic oil, if need be) in any quantity demanded. Economic logic indicates that lack of demand, rather than of supply, will cause oil production to decline, with no particularly harmful impact on our standard of living. Let’s take a look at what could well be the non-event of the century.

Northern waters and energy hold a special place in our national mythology and daily economic reality, particularly since the major hydro-electric work at James Bay in the 1970s. Quebec’s environmental and energy policies were manifestly transformed after our northern rivers were harnessed. The impact was also positive on various other sectors of society, ranging from public finances to industrial development and including social and economic progress in Aboriginal communities. Despite these considerable achievements in exploiting Quebec’s blue gold, one question remains: are we yet making the most of this natural resource, which is increasingly rare in various areas of the world and is likely to rise in value in the coming decades?

In November 2008, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) denied a request from the Canadian Association of Internet Providers which wanted Bell Canada to cease its network “traffic-shaping” practices. The CRTC concluded that Bell’s measures did not violate the law and were not discriminatory since the company applied the same policies both to its wholesale and retail customers. However, the CRTC has decided to examine the broader issue of traffic management by Internet service providers – and thus indirectly to tackle the issue known as “net neutrality.” This proceeding will include a public hearing that is scheduled to begin in July.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has ordered telephone companies to sell to third-party retailers services matching the speed of their own retail Internet services on their next generation networks (NGNs). No one believes that grocery chains should be forced to share their distribution networks with smaller competitors, or that Amazon.com should be forced to make its on-line distribution system available to small bookstores. However, many believe that the government should force telephone companies to allow third-party suppliers access to their facilities.