The addition of federal administrative requirements in digital security—as Bill C-26 proposes—would lengthen the time required for companies to act and respond to breaches, according to this publication by the Montreal Economic Institute.

Former Premier Jacques Parizeau takes the top prize in terms of fiscal responsibility, according to this ranking of Quebec premiers since 1944 published by the MEI. The size of the Quebec government reached a historic high of 28% of GDP last year. François Legault is ranked 12th out of 14 premiers in terms of fiscal responsibility.

To mark this week’s 60th anniversary of the election of the Jean Lesage government in 1962, the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) publishes a short work of economic history looking at the national myth surrounding Hydro-Québec in this province.

This study from the MEI describes how the federal government’s proposal to cap the energy sector’s greenhouse gas emissions would cause substantial economic losses, without achieving any net reduction in global emissions.

Provincial governments in Canada should implement cash-for-care systems to encourage home care, while respecting taxpayers’ ability to pay, according to this publication from the MEI.

The federal government’s bill to impose a surtax on the revenues of digital companies would hurt Canadian consumers according this MEI publication. “No matter how the government dresses up its digital tax bill, it is Canadian consumers who will once again pay for it,” said Olivier Rancourt, Economist at the MEI and author of the publication.

The Quebec population is aging faster than the current long-term care residence system can handle, which forces us to consider new ways of doing things. The government of Quebec must allow more seniors to remain in their homes by doing a better job of supporting informal caregivers, shows this new publication released by the MEI.

The demands on police in non-criminal areas have grown as governments have saddled officers with increasing responsibilities divorced from their core mission. With pressure coming from all sides, including recent calls to “defund the police,” this new MEI paper proposes to outsource non-core tasks to auxiliary private security agents in order to make the best use of scarce police time and public resources.

Proposals to increase taxes on the rich resurface often in the news. MEI researchers conclude in this study that, however the term “rich” is defined, this selective taxation does not pay, due to its longer-term indirect effects. By penalizing those who create wealth, this gives rise to a number of adverse effects that threaten the prosperity of all Canadians.

For over a year now, statistics have shown an unusual rise in the general price level as calculated by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The highest seen in 40 years, this increase has fuelled public debate as well as anxiety among Canadians. Researchers at the MEI believe that the actual deterioration in purchasing power is much more pronounced than the official rate would indicate, and they challenge the validity of the metrics employed by Statistics Canada which in their view do not reflect the true inflationary pressure experienced since the beginning of this year.