While lowering interest rates has a short-term stimulative effect, maintaining low rates over a longer period of time may have the opposite effect, of inhibiting growth and productivity improvements, according to a Montreal Economic Institute researcher.

On Tuesday, March 22, the Quebec government tabled its 2022-2023 provincial budget. In this publication, we note the significant growth in portfolio spending in recent decades, taking into account the newly-released numbers, and we use different scenarios to illustrate the magnitude of this increase.

According to the authors of this publication, the Quebec government’s tabling of Bill 21 aiming to ban the exploration and production of hydrocarbons will hurt the province’s economic development potential and undermine its role in reducing global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

According to the authors of this Economic Note, it is time for the CRTC to re-examine its regulatory framework and to gradually dismantle its wholesale pricing regime and put its trust in entrepreneurs. Instead of another about face on wholesale pricing, the authorities should stop overregulating the sector, and transition to a framework based on real, dynamic, facilities-based competition.

The Quebec government, through Health Minister Christian Dubé, will soon present its plan to overhaul the health care system. The MEI is proud to unveil this major study by economist Maria Lily Shaw on the best practices of the health care systems of Sweden and the United Kingdom—two examples that Quebec should follow if it really wants its reforms to be successful.

The economic situation in recent years has pushed construction project costs up considerably. While this is true across the country, the regulatory framework governing the construction industry in Ontario poses additional challenges that further raise costs. After analyzing the application (or not) of Bill 66 by the cities Hamilton, Toronto, and the region of Waterloo, MEI researchers concluded that this bill has some blind spots, and that maintaining the status quo will have major repercussions not only on the province’s construction industry, but also on Ontario taxpayers.

The MEI is honoured to have been invited to participate in a consultation on the Canadian Competition Act in a continuing effort to ensure Canada has an effective and impactful competition law framework. We have read the discussion paper that examines whether digital markets have distinctive features that would invite significant changes to our competition law, prepared by Professor Edward M. Iacobucci, and wish to comment.

Following Minister Jean Boulet’s announcement that the minimum wage in Quebec will go from $13.50 to $14.25 an hour, certain community groups and unions suggested that this was a missed opportunity to raise it to $18 an hour. The authors of this publication conclude that even though a hike to $18 an hour may seem beneficial for low-income workers, this steep 33% increase would have negative consequences on the financial health of a range of companies in the retail, food services, and accommodation sectors. They even maintain that many workers in these sectors could lose their jobs.

Populism seems to have gained some ground in recent years. Yet many economists and political scientists argue that there is no such thing as “the people” except as a collection of distinct individuals, with their own preferences and values. In this publication, author Pierre Lemieux shows that this reasoning has important practical implications for democracy.

Contrary to perceptions disseminated by certain of its opponents, the forestry industry continues to innovate, and increasingly contributes to the fight against climate change. In this publication, co-authors Olivier Rancourt and Miguel Ouellette provide a survey of some of the innovations implemented by this industry.