A dialogue of the deaf has been going on for months now between those who support lockdowns and those who have doubts about their effectiveness. Both camps often display a lack of civility, with insults flying in all directions. It is therefore quite difficult to find a good summary of the arguments of both sides. It is with a view to addressing this lack and helping people make up their own minds that the MEI has prepared this debate between two experienced economists on the costs and benefits of lockdowns.

Dethroning the sovereign consumer in favour of a set of ever-changing rules and regulations would undermine consumer power and welfare.

The federal government will soon publish the new Clean Fuel Standard (CFS). Although this reform has attracted less attention from the general public than the imposition of a carbon tax, it is once again Canadian manufacturing companies and consumers who will feel its effects. This Montreal Economic Institute publication shines a light on the unintended consequences of the CFS.

Alberta’s legislature passed Bill 30, the Health Statutes Amendment Act, on July 29. Considering Alberta’s underperforming health care system, the proposed reforms amount to a small step in the right direction according to the authors of this publication by the Montreal Economic Institute.

Espérons que le plan de 2021 respectera réellement les engagements du ministre, ne laissera pas tomber le développement économique des régions et leur donnera la liberté nécessaire en termes d’activités économiques.

Si nous ne faisons pas attention, l’IA peut être un outil de contrôle et de centralisation très efficace qui, entre des mains mal intentionnées, aurait des effets dévastateur.

L’innovation est souvent le produit d’une prise de risque qui peut se terminer par un échec cuisant mais aussi comme une grande avancée.

Lockdown measures were put in place hastily and, apparently, without considering their economic and social costs. In this publication, researchers attempt to quantify the impact of lockdown measures.

Before midMarch, for most Canadians COVID-19 was a remote concern, with a single COVID-19 death in Canada, a B.C. man in his 80s with underlying health problems. Then, suddenly, the world changed.

Because COVID-19 is far less dangerous to the young than it is to the elderly or immune-comprised, and because generalized lockdowns are economically devastating, many countries have implemented targeted policies instead.